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and unisexual either in structure or in function. Where not wholly 

 green, the dominant colours are white, yellow, and blue, the only 

 local plant having red flowers being the beautiful scarlet mistletoe 

 (Elytranthe Colensoi) ; but the resplendent golden blossoms of the 

 kowhai (Sophora microphylla}, the exquisite pure-white flowers of 

 the bush-clematis (C. indivisa}, or the myriad blooms of the lacebark 

 (Hoheria angustifolia), manuka (Leptospermum), and lawyer (Rubus 

 australis}, lend a charm to the landscape in their respective flowering 

 seasons. 



The visitor with little time at his disposal, and wishing to make 

 a first-hand acquaintance with the native plants, is recommended to 

 visit the Town Belt ; but, as the larger timber-trees and a consider- 

 able portion of the undergrowth have been removed, a much better 

 though slightly more distant locality would be the forest-clad slopes 

 of Flagstaff or Swampy Hill. Indeed, of all the trips available, none 

 is more comprehensive than that which follows the Leith to its 

 source on Swampy Hill. A good road leads right to the Leith Saddle, 

 and from this point the final ascent is both easy and interesting. 

 In a distance of seven miles many distinct ecological formations 

 will be seen, each with its distinctive species, thus affording the 

 visitor an excellent opportunity to make a rapid survey of the local 

 florula. 



FLORA OF LEITH VALLEY. 



The first trees to attract attention after turning into Woodhaugh 

 Valley from George Street are the tree-fuchsia or konini (F. excorticata} 

 and the dark -green, glossy - leaved broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis} 

 growing near the foot of the cliffs on the left, and festooned with the 

 scrambling vine (Muehlenbeckia australis}. On the opposite side of 

 the valley the common panax (Nothopanax Colensoi}, with even darker 

 foliage than the broadleaf, is equally conspicuous. Shortly after 

 passing the paper-mills the well-known kowhai (Sophora microphylla} 

 is a conspicuous plant, especially in the flowering season, as, to a 

 lesser extent, is the narrow-leafed laceba.rk (Hoheria angustifolia}. 

 Beyond the bridge a few minutes' walk leads to a clump of taxads, 

 more commonly designated pines. This clump contains specimens 

 of the rimu (Dacridium cupressinum} , rendered conspicuous by its 

 drooping branch lets ; of the black-pine or matai (Podocarpus spicala), 

 and miro (P. ferruginea}, and of the stringy-barked totara (P. totara}, 

 all useful timber-trees formerly occurring here in such numbers as 

 to suggest the name of Pine-tree Hill, now shortened to Pine HilL 

 By the time the Leith Valley School is reached the valley has 

 narrowed appreciably, and an almost unbroken stretch of native 

 verdure is entered, consisting at this point of the trees already 

 mentioned and a host of smaller trees and shrubs, conspicuous among 

 which are the beautiful crinkly-leaved lemonwood (Pittosporum 

 eugenioides} and the 7-9 -foliate patete (Schefflera digitata}. A few- 

 tree-ferns (mostly Heinitelia}, the wineberry (Aristotelia racemosa], and 

 the brittle-stemmed mahoe (Melicytus} are also noticeable, while the 

 reddish tints of the pepper-tree (Drimys colorata} contrast strongly 

 with all. Nicholl's Creek and then Morrison's Creek are successively 

 passed before a steep ascent leads to a piece of fairly open flat 



