Plate 178.— DACTYLANTHUS TAYLOR I. 



Family BALANOPHORACE.*.] [Genus DACTYLANTHUS. Hook. f. 



Dactylanthus Taylori, Hook. /. in Trans. Linn. f^oc. xxii (1859). t25. t. 75 : Hmiflh. N.Z. 

 Fl. 255 ; C}iee.se,i>. Man. N.Z. Fl. 62fi. 



This very remarkable plant was first described by Sir J. D. Hooker fro mi speci- 

 mens communicated by the Rev. Richard Taylor ; but until quite lately all that 

 was known of its original discovery was the account given by Mr. Taylor in his well- 

 known book " Te Ika-a-Maui " (second edition, p. 697). where he says that he " first 

 met with it on a mountain-range near Hikurangi, returning from Taupo." 

 Mr. James Grant, however, in some notes published in the " Proceedings of the New 

 Zealand Institute " for 1910-11, p. 98, has quoted some extracts from Mr. Taylor's 

 manuscript journal, now in the possession of Mr. H. S. G. Harper, which show 

 that the plant was gathered in March, 1845, in the rough forest-clad country not 

 far from the Mangawhero River, the chief tributary of the Wangaehu River, and 

 a little above where the road for Pukehika branches off from that to Hikurangi. 

 From this it is evident that Mr. Taylor was travelling on the old Maori track from 

 Taupo to Wanganui via Wangaehu. At a later date a Mr. Williamson gathered 

 specimens at a place called Putotara and gave them to Mr. Taylor, and apparently 

 it was these that were forwarded to Sir J. D. Hooker and described by him. 



So far as I can ascertain, no additional information was obtained until April, 

 1869, when Mr. T. Kirk gathered it near the head of the Karaka Creek, at the Thames 

 goldfields. This locality has since been repeatedly examined by the late Mr. Adams 

 and myself, and no further specimens obtained. A few years later it was found 

 in great abundance between Port Charles and Cape Colville by Mr. H. Nairn, who 

 very kindly supplied me with flowering specimens of both sexes. Since then it 

 has been noticed in many stations between Hokianga and Cook Strait, as will be 

 seen froin the following Ust, which includes all the localities that have been brought 

 under my notice : — 



Wooded plateau between Hokianga and the Northern Wairoa, Percy Bedling- 

 tnn ! forests near the source of the Hoteo River, Kaipara, R. Glanville ! 

 between Port Charles and Cape Colville, H. Nairn ! head of the Karaka Creek, 

 Thames, T. Kirk ; vicinity of the East Cape and Hicks Bay, abundant, H. Hill ! 

 Tarawera and Nuhaka, A. Hamilton ; Runanga and Opepe, near Taupo, H. Hill! 

 T. F. C. ; Hawkston and Patoka (Hawke's Bay), F. Hutchinson ! Taranaki 

 (exact locality uncertain), W. H. Skinner ; Upper Wanganui, at Pipiriki, E. Phillips 

 Turner ; Upper Waitotara, /. R. Annabell ! between the Upper Wangaehu and 

 Taupo, Rev. R. Taylor, H. C. Field ; Upper Rangitikei, J. P. Marshall, E. Phillips 

 Turner ; Kaitoke, near Wellington, J. S. Tennant and others ! As to the altitudinal 

 range of the plant, it descends almost to sea-level at Port Charles, and ascends to 

 3,500 ft. or nearly so in the Upper Rangitikei and Wangaehu districts. 



The following notes, which may be regarded as an amplification of the descrip- 

 tion given in the Manual, are based on the personal examination of specimens, either 

 collected by myself, or communicated to me by other botanists, and in particular 

 by Mr. H. Hill, of Napier. The plant is parasitic on the roots of trees in all stages 

 of its growth. In its northern habitats the host is usually Schefflera digitata, but 

 Panax arboreum, Coprosma grandifolia, and Myrsine Urvillei are frequently attacked. 

 Further south Panax arboreuin, and Pittosporum eiigenioides are the two species 

 most commonly affected ; but Fagus, Hedycarya, and Geniostoma have all been 

 recorded. Careful observation will no doubt largely increase this list. 



