202 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



The common Acana was called by the Maoris Piri-piri, but 

 colonists frequently corrupt the Maori name, and call the 

 plant Bidi-bidi. As a general rule, the Maori names are 

 more incorrectly pronounced as we go southward from 

 Auckland to Otago. This is largely due to the fact that, in 

 the north, Europeans have been brought into closer contact 

 with the Maoris than in the south. In some few cases, the 

 difference in pronunciation may be due to differences in the 

 Maori dialects. The changes that take place often follow 

 phonetic laws — thus the Maori " p " is softened into the 

 European " b " as above, while " r " is replaced by " 1 " or 

 "d." Poro-poro (Solaniim avicidare) becomes Bulli-bulli, and 

 Puriri becomes Boradi. This also explains such a form as 

 " Kowdie " pine for Kauri pine. Korari — a flax-stalk — 

 similarly becomes Koradi or even Kalladi. " K " is also 

 sometimes altered into "g," thus Kie-kie (Freycinetia Banksii) 

 becomes ghi-ghi. The last vowel in a reduplicated syllable 

 was faintly pronounced in Maori, and often disappears 

 altogether in the European form of the word, e.g., Poro-poro 

 gives Bulli-bull, and Piri-piri gives Bidi-bid. 



Thus it is often possible to arrive at the correct Maori form 

 of a word from the aborted European spelling. At the same 

 time the reader should be careful not to assume that the 

 Maori plant-names given in the ordinary botanical text-books 

 are completely reliable. Very often they are merely local 

 Maori naines, or are names applied wrongly by Europeans, or 

 even merely fanciful terms, invented by some Maori on the 

 spur of the moment to please his botanical inquisitor. 



Distribution of tJie Genus. 

 The genus is found only in the temperate regions of 

 the Southern Hemisphere. All the New Zealand species 

 are endemic, with the exception of A. saiiguisorbae and 

 A. adscendens. These are more widely distributed. A. 

 sanguisorhae is a sub-Antarctic form. It is known from the 



