NORTH-WESTERN BOTANICAL DISTRICT. 187 
The botanical districts of the South Island are distinguished by 
a good deal of local endemism, which consists in general of more 
widespread species than are locally endemic in the North Island 
botanical districts. Also, with the exception of the two Auckland 
districts considered together, the locally endemic species of the South 
Island districts are more numerous. 
The North-western Botanical District contains about 30 species 
peculiar to itself, including the beautiful white-flowered Pittosporwm 
Dallu, recently rediscovered by Mr. F. G. Gibbs—this but one of 
his many important discoveries; the slender Metrosideros Parkin- 
sonw ; several species of Aciphylla ; a prostrate broom with minute 
whitish flowers, possibly confined to the coast (Carmichaelia Fieldit) ; 
two species of Dracophyllum ; two or three forget-me-nots ; several 
gentians; two or three veronicas; about half a dozen species of 
Celmisia ; two groundsels, including the deciduous Senecio Hectori, 
a most striking shrub, with its large leaves, white flowers, and 
considerable stature. 
An important characteristic is the number of species which reach 
their southern limit in this district—species some of which are absent 
elsewhere in the South Island, while some do not occur even in the 
North Island except in the Auckland Botanical Districts or just 
beyond their southern boundary—e.g., Lycopodium cernuum, Adiantum 
adhiopicum, Blechnum Fraseri, Astelia Banksii, Schoenus tendo, Ptero- 
stylis puberula, and Dracophyllum latifolium. The following are other 
unexpected North Island plants: Cladium capillaceum, Peperomia 
Endlicheri, Lepidium incisum, Epacris pauciflora, Nertera Cunning- 
hamu, and Gnaphalium subrigidum. 
The forest is largely mixed taxad and southern-beech. The 
mountain southern-beech (Nothofagus cliffortioides) decends to sea- 
level. There is an extremely rich alpine flora, with extensive herb- 
fields. Stunted southern-beech plays an important part in the 
subalpine scrub. The subalpine forest is frequently composed of 
the silver southern-beech (Nothofagus Menziesii). The vegetation of 
those areas of wet ground known as pakihis much resembles that of 
portions of the Auckland gumlands, both in species and physiognomy. 
The North-eastern Botanical District offers a striking contrast to 
the district just described. Here forest is absent over wide areas 
and low tussock-grassland rules. The species confined to the dis- 
trict are mostly those of rock and fell-field, and not of forest or herb- 
