12 



growth. AT". Colensoi is similar to the above, but hardier. 

 N. simplex has simple leaves when adult, but when juvenile 

 they are 3 5-foliate and the leaflets deeply cut. N. Edgerleyi 

 is similar to the last-named ; both are hardy, but they 

 demand more shade and moisture than the other species cited 

 above. 



(21.) The Species of Olearia. 



These are the tree-asters ; some are both trees and shrubs, 

 others shrubs alone. The genus in New Zealand contains at 

 least forty species. Many are subalpine or alpine plants, 

 whose hardiness is undoubted. All are well worthy of culti- 

 vation. The leaves are usually leathery and covered with 

 a dense mat of hairs on the under-surface. In most of the 

 species the flower-heads are small, deliciously scented, and the 

 florets white, much after the manner -of Aster ericoides, and 

 they are produced in such profusion as to be extremely showy. 

 0. semidentata, a shrub, has florets of the most brilliant 

 purple imaginable, and is a truly magnificent species ; un- 

 fortunately, it is difficult to cultivate under ordinary garden 

 conditions. The most important of the tree-olearias for horti- 

 culture are the following : 



0. Traversii, an excellent shelter-plant and invaluable for 

 sand-dune reclamation ; 0. furfuracea ; 0. arbor escens (syn. 

 0. nitida) ; 0. macrodonta ; 0. Hid folia, the New Zealand 

 holly ; 0. Cunninghamii, a forest-plant, only half-hardy ; 

 0. excorticata ; 0. suavis ; 0. lacunosa, a remarkable species 

 with stiff narrow-linear leaves 4-7 in. long, which beneath, 

 through the raised midrib and numerous lateral veins, have 

 the surface divided into sunken interspaces ; 0. avicenniae folia ; 

 0. albida, half-hardy; 0. Forsteri ; 0. fragrantissima* and 

 0. Hectori* 



Some of the above make most excellent hedges especially 

 0. Forsteri, 0. ilicifolia, 0. macrodonta, and 0. Traversii. 



(22.) Pennantia corymbosa (Kaikomako). 



A handsome flowering-tree, some 20-30 ft. high, with oblong 

 or obovate leaves 1-4 in. long, and abundant fragrant small 



* These are deciduous, but it is convenient to mention them here. 



