340 § ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949 
have been given much consideration, over 500 hybrids having been 
recognized in the New Zealand flora. Thus the taxonomist is often 
hard put to give a plant a proper name and to define the limits of 
species. Reference has already been made (p. 324) to the divaricating 
habit of growth. (See pl. 6, fig. 1.) Indeed, New Zealand has so 
many engrossing botanical phenomena that the great interest in 
plants on the part of so many people is not surprising. Perhaps the 
characterization of the country as a botanical paradise is not an 
exaggeration. 
THE INTRODUCED FLORA 
The vividness of the conflict between the introduced and the native 
flora in New Zealand makes consideration of the exotic plants more 
worthwhile in this than in many countries. We can study the history 
of this conflict here more easily than anywhere else in the world for 
several reasons. In the first place, the geographical isolation of New 
Zealand has reduced the number of ways plants can come in, thus 
enabling us more easily to scrutinize these channels. Secondly, there 
are certain rather definite records of “‘pre-pakeha”’ introductions in the 
legends of the Maori peoples. Finally, the records of plant and animal 
introductions since the arrival of Captain Cook are fairly complete, 
and the existing gaps do not materially vitiate the conclusions that 
may be drawn from these data. 
It appears on the surface that the native flora is doomed to disappear 
under the impact of the more vigorous invaders. But more thorough 
observations have led to the conclusion that the strength in the new- 
comers lies in the aid they have gained from man’s activities in chang- 
ing the environment to their advantage and to the disadvantage of the 
native species. Where competition occurs unadied by man, the 
indigenous species are able to maintain themselves and win supremacy. 
With a growing consciousness of the need for conservation in New Zea- 
land, late though it may be, the threat of extinction of the native 
flora will disappear. But it will be a long struggle to overcome the 
great losses already suffered here, as in so many other parts of the 
world, through man’s past failure or unwillingness to see the conse- 
quences of his acts and to restrain his desire for immediate returns 
to himself, in the interests of future generations. 
Most Maori legends of the bringing of food plants to New Zealand 
are plausible explanations of the presence of certain species. Among 
these are the hue gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris—Cucurbitaceae), the 
sweetpotato or kumara (Ipomoca batatas—Convolvulaceae), the taro 
(Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum or C. antiquorum—Araceae), 
and the ti tree (Cordyline terminalis—Liliaceac). Sometimes, how- 
ever, these legends do not fit the observable scientific facts. For ex- 
