34 A NEW ZEALAND NATURALIST'S CALENDAR. 



from two Greek words meaning "midday flower." The 

 triangular leaves, full of a saline sap, are peculiar, and the 

 pink flowers resemble those of a small cactus in the great 

 number of petals which form the corolla. Our species is 

 also found in Australia, where, according to some author- 

 ities, it is stated that the leaves are eaten pickled. But 

 I never came across any person who had tried them. 

 The fact is that in our food, as in so many other things, 

 civilised men tend to become cosmopolitan, and having got 

 accustomed to certain articles of diet we use them into 

 whatever part of the world we go. In earlier days, before 

 the advent of the rapid methods of transit which now pre- 

 vail, people often utilised local sources of food supply 

 which are now discarded and forgotten. The local species 

 of MeseinbryantJiemum is apparently the same as a Cape 

 species, and it is in South Africa that the genus is chiefly 

 developed. One of the Cape species (M. crystaMinum) is 

 often cultivated in gardens under the name of the Ice 

 Plant. 



Allied to Mesembryanthemum is another succulent-leaved 

 plant, with dark green leaves which glisten more or less 

 with small transparent papilla^ and small yellowish flowers, 

 and which has long been cultivated in Europe under the 

 name of New Zealand Spinach. It is technically named 

 Tetragonia e.iyxtnsa, and, like so many seaside plants, is 

 widely spread, ranging to Australia on one side, South 

 America on the other, and as far north as Japan. 



The adaptability of plants to various habitats is well 

 illustrated by the examples cited, but the possibility of 

 flowering plants actually invading the waters of the sea 

 and acquiring a submarine habit seems almost incredible. 

 Yet such is the case with more than one group, and the 

 best local example I can quote is Zostera, the common 

 Sea-wrack. This is the bright green grass-like plant which 

 is so abundant on the banks in our harbour, and which is 

 equally common in many of the lagoons and estuaries 

 which occur along the coast. It is a true-flowering plant, 

 allied to the pond weeds which grow in fresh-water ditches 

 and ponds. If one examines the leaves at this time of year 



