176 



PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



The tawa seed provides the Maori with two proverbs : — 



Ka mahi te tawa who ki te riri ! 



Well done tawa kernel fighting away ! 



He tawa para ! He whati kau taana. 

 A tawa pulp ! He only runs away ! 



Fig. 51. Beilsclniiiedia Tarairi (5 uat. size). 



The hard date-Hke stone of the tawa fruit symbohzes the 

 hero, whilst the fleshy pulp is the emblem of the coward. 



Genus Ca.ss/jtJi<t. 



Herbaceous plants, leafless, parasitical upon shrubs, to which they attach 

 themselves by suckers. Stems very slender. Flowers in heads, spikes or 

 panicles. Perianth of 6 segments. Stamens 12, 3 of which are imperfect. 

 Anthers 2-celled. Fruit enclosed in the fleshy perianth. A large genus, chiefly 

 Australian. (Name from the Greek, signifying the dodder, in allusion to the 

 resemblance between the two j)lants). 1 sp. 



