4 FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. 
Nova Zelandiz,’ containing the names of all the plants then known to inhabit the islands, 
and descriptions of many: this was published by fragments in the ‘Companion to the 
Botanical Magazine,’ and ‘Annals of Natural History of London,’ about the year 1839. 
“DC. Prodr." refers to De Candolle’s * Prodromus, the great work alluded to above as 
designed to describe all known plants. M. Raoul’s ‘Choix des Plantes’ is a beautifully 
illustrated book on the new plants brought by himself from the Bay of Islands and Banks’ 
Peninsula, in 1848. These, and the ‘Flora Antarctica,’ which comprises all the plants of 
Lord Auckland’s Group and Campbell’s Island (collected during Sir James Ross's Antarctic 
Voyage in 1839-43), are the principal works referred to. I have, as far as possible, avoided 
quoting pages, etc., except where there is some object for doing so; as in cases of doubt 
with regard to the identity of the plant described with the name quoted, or when the work 
in question contains a good figure, or matter worth consulting relative to the species. It is 
impossible to define what works should or should not be quoted, under the various species ; 
but quotations in detail are often a waste of time and space, when appended to what ought 
to be a sufficient description. 
Habitats follow the Latin character, and these, too, I have curtailed as much as possible. 
We are very far from having even a tolerable knowledge of the distribution of species in 
New Zealand; and of about six to seven hundred flowering plants, fully two-thirds have 
been gathered by five or six collectors, and one-half by twenty or thirty; for the number of 
small collections that have been formed at a few places is very great. Of plants which are 
evidently common throughout the islands, I mention the discoverers only: these are gene- 
rally Banks and Solander, or Forster. I name the more recent collectors only when they 
are discoverers, or detectors of rare plants in new or remarkable localities. Amongst these, 
Mr. Bidwill, and the Rev. William Colenso, stand prominently forward ; as do Drs. Sinclair, 
Dieffenbach, and Lyall; but it must not be supposed that because their names appear com- 
paratively seldom, they made small collections ; they have, on the contrary, contributed most 
of the common plants, as well as many new and rare ones. One very important con- 
sideration, namely, elevation above the sea, is never alluded to in these habitats; and it is 
a serious desideratum I would recommend the plan of carefully determining elevations 
by the temperature of boiling water, as amply sufficient for all botanical purposes*. This is 
an entirely new and most interesting field for investigation with reference to the New Zealand 
Flora, and will amply repay investigation. Of Alpine plants I have very few indeed, and 
the lofty mountains of the Northern Island appear to be comparatively poor in species; for - 
the collectors who have visited Tongariro, Mount Egmont, etc., all bring the same plants, 
which are also, in many cases, natives of the level of the sea much further south, as at 
Dusky Bay. It must be borne in mind, that though New Zealand is luxuriantly clothed 
with vegetation, it possesses remarkably few kinds of plants; the little island of Tasmania 
has nearly twice as many flowering plants, though fewer flowerless ones. These questions, 
* These should be calculated from the mean height of the barometer at the level of the sea, for the month : it 
is seldom sufficient to assume that element, or to take the mean annual height for it. 
