100 PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND 



forks of the highest branches, eighty or one hundred feet 

 above the ground, appearing to the beholder from below like 

 huge birds' nests. 



The flowers of Astelia are sometimes tinged with purple ; 

 and the long sprays of berries, with intermingled colours of 

 red, yellow, and green, are very pretty. The latter have a 

 sweet taste, and are eaten by the Maoris. There are two 

 species of New Zealand Astelias which grow in the open, 

 instead of in the bush, and are consequently not epiphytic. 

 These are linearis and nervosa, both of which are found in 

 sub-alpine districts in the North, but at lower levels in the 

 South Island. 



The Astelias, like many other epiphytic plants, provide 

 against a long drought, by storing up water in the thick, 

 curved bases of their circle of leaves. In the hottest and 

 driest summer, when even the great forest trees are beginning 

 to show signs of drought, the climber can rarely pull down a 

 tuft of Astelia without a sprinkle of water-drops. These 

 plants are natives of Australia, Tasmania, the Pacific Islands, 

 and New Zealand. The latter country possesses seven species, 

 of which all are endemic. The berry is 1-celled in A. linearis^ 

 and A. Cunninghamii ; it is 3-celled in the other species. 



A. Cunninghamii. — Leaves 2 ft. -5 ft. long, ^in. to lin. broad, silky. 

 Flower scape 1 ft.-l^ft., much branched. Perianth Jin. A. Solandri is 

 distinguished from A. Cunninghamii by its broader leaves, (3 in. across), and its 

 larger flowers (^in. in diameter). ^4. linearis is a small alpine species, with 

 leaves rarely more than Gin. in length, and long, red berries. 



Genus jL rtliropodiu in. 



Herbs, with long grass-like leaves, and large, showy panicles of white flowers. 

 Perianth of 6 leaflets ; stamens 6. Fruit a capsule ; seeds angular, black. 

 Roots fibrous, fleshy. A small genus, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New 

 Zealand. (Name from the Greek signifying joi?iiefZ foot or pedicel.) 2 sp. 



Arthropod ium cirrhatum {The Curled Arthropodium). 



A handsome plant, 2ft. -3ft. high, with shining leaves and conspicuous white 

 flowers. Bracts leafy ; leaves 1ft. long, IJin. broad. Flowers fin. -lin. across. 

 The stamens of this plant are exceedingly beautiful. Seen under a magnifying. 



