that loithstood the severe Winte)' q/" 1878-79. 55 



these were raised were from the province of Canterbury ; 

 and one of my plants produced in the middle of last June 

 a number of pretty small white flowers. 



6. CoRiARiA RUSCiFOLiA, and C. SAKMENTOSA of botanists 

 (the Toot poison-plant of settlers, and the Tutu or Tua-tutu 

 of the natives). — The disastrous cattle-poisoning peculiarity 

 of the toot have rendered it too well known to New Zealand 

 agriculturists. Having cultivated a number of plants for 

 some years, the seeds of which I had from the province of 

 Canterbury, I found that at the base of a south v/all they 

 stood most winters unharmed, and had only the points of 

 their shoots injured by frosts of unusual severity. In con- 

 sequence of making some ground alterations at an unfavour- 

 able season for transplanting, I lost my toot plants three 

 or four years since. Although they seemed to thrive well 

 all the time I had them, they never assumed that tree-like 

 form of growth which Sir, J, Hooker and other New 

 Zealand botanists attribute to this species, but presented 

 more of a sub-shrubby habit. 



7. Edwardsia (Sophora) pulchella, and E. qrandi- 

 FLORA (the native Laburnums of settlers, and Koivhai of 

 the Maoris), — These two, and the E. mia^ophylla^ grow to 

 about the size of our European laburnums, and, like them, 

 have dark-coloured heartwood, which is "valuable for 

 fencing, veneers," &c. Although all very distinct, these 

 three and another have been included under the generic 

 name E. tetraptera; and the first, although easily dis- 

 tinguished by its slender, zigzag, flexuose branches, has 

 been deemed identical with the straight-branched and more 

 robust-growing E. microphylla. It has grown quite freely 

 with me for the last twelve years on the south side of a 

 7 feet high wall, v/hicli it now overtops with its thickly- 

 branched head ; and its seeds have this peculiarity — that 

 while many came up the first season that they were sown, 

 others came up successively in each of the five following 

 years, E. grandiflora was planted out in spring 1878, 

 when about 2 feet in height ; also on a south wall, and it 

 stood the last winter perfectly uninjured. 



8. Clianthus puniceus (the Glory Pea and Parrot-beak 

 flower of the settlers, and Koivhai ngutvkaka of the 

 natives). — This being, according to Sir J. P. Hooker, a 



