PLATE 92.—PLEUROPHYLLUM HOOKERI. 
Famity COMPOSIT4.. | [Genus PLEUROPHYLLUM, Hook. r. 
Pleurophyllum Hookeri, Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvi (1884), 395; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. 
Fl. 296. 
The genus Pleurophyllum, of which three species are known, is confined 
to the islands to the south of New Zealand, and is in many respects a truly 
magnificent and imposing group of plants. Two of the species, P. speciosum 
and P.criniferum, were beautifully figured by Sir J. D. Hooker in the “ Flora 
Antarctica’ (Vol. i, tt. 22-25), and an inspection of the plates alone 
is quite sufficient to justify the enthusiasm of its discoverer, when he says, 
speaking of P. specroosum, Celmisia vernicosa, and Bulbinella Rossi, that 
“perhaps no group of islands on the surface of the globe, of the same limited 
extent and so perfectly isolated, can boast of three such beautiful plants ” 
(‘Flora Antarctica,” vol. i, p. 73). The subject of the present plate is much 
smaller than the two original species, and can hardly be considered so 
attractive; but it is nevertheless well worthy of being figured, if only to 
complete the representation of such a striking and noteworthy genus. 
P. Hookeri was first established as a species by Mr. Buchanan, who collected 
it in Campbell Island in December, 1883, finding it “‘common on the hills 
round Perseverance Harbour.” But there can be little doubt that it was 
observed by Hooker in 1840, for in his account of P. criniferum he says, 
“T have seen it so dwarfish upon the mountains as barely to exceed a span 
in height, with all the leaves lanceolate, more densely silky, and thus even 
more nearly resembling Argyroxiphium than it does in its ordinary state.” 
Had it been a little later in the season Hooker would have seen flowering 
specimens and at once recognized the distinctness of the plant. Three 
years previous to the publication of Mr. Buchanan’s description Dr. Scott 
visited Macquarie Island and collected a Pleurophyllum, which he referred to 
P. criniferum (Trans. N.Z. Inst. xv (1883), 489). Specimens obtained in 
Mr. Hamilton’s later visit of 1894, however, have proved that the plant 
was referrable to P. Hookeri (Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvu (1895), 567). In 1890 
Mr. T. Kirk visited the southern islands and found P. Hookeri to be not 
uncommon on both the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island. He obtained 
good material of all the species, of which he made excellent use in_ his 
paper “On Pleurophyllum” (Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxiii (1891), 431), 1 which 
revised descriptions of the species were given, accompanied with valuable 
notes. Lastly, the expedition organized by the Philosophical Institute of 
Canterbury, which visited the islands in 1907, obtained much fresh information 
respecting P. Hookeri and its relationships to the other species. 
From the above it will be gathered that P. Hookert is not uncommon 
in the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island, and Macquarie Island. All 
observers, however, agree in stating that it is usually found at some little 
height above the sea, whereas the two other species descend to sea-level. 
Dr. Cockayne, in his valuable paper on the ecological botany of the Sub- 
antarctic Islands, speaks of its chief habitat in the following terms: “ Near 
the summit of the hills, in sopping wet though frequently stony ground, 
is a plant formation of a more or less open character, made up of many 
species which grow close to the surface of the ground. First and foremost, 
and giving a most striking appearance to the landscape, come the silvery 
