COMPOSITE 435 



the trees and shrubs, festooning them densely to a great height. 

 (Fl., June to Oct.) 



It is a favourite food plant of the larva of Nyctemera annulata, the 

 New Zealand magpie moth. 



Erechtites valerian&folia, DC. 



Recorded by Carse in 1915 as occurring at Otukai in Mongonui 

 County; not common. 



Erechtites Atkinsoniee, F. v. Muell. 



Recorded by Carse in 1915 as a troublesome weed, spreading in 

 Mongonui County. 



Cryptostemma calendulacea, R. Br. Cape-w.eed 



First recorded in 1869 by Kirk from the Auckland district and 

 in 1877 from Wanganui. In 1900 the Agricultural Department stated 

 that it was plentiful in Auckland, and becoming common in Taranaki 

 and Hawke's Bay. Cheeseman records it in the Manual (1906) as 

 abundant in pastures and waste places in the North Island. (Fl., Nov. 

 to March.) 



This plant was declared a noxious weed in the Third (optional) 

 Section of the Act, by Special Gazette Notice of i6th June, 1910. 



Calendula officinalis, Linn. Marigold 



First recorded by Cheeseman in 1882 as a garden escape in the 

 Auckland district. It is only as such that it occurs now in many 

 parts of New Zealand. (FL, Feb. to April.) 



Osteospermum moniliferum, Linn. 



First recorded in 1869 by Kirk from the Auckland district, from 

 Titirangi to the East Cape. Cheeseman in the Manual (1906) speaks 

 of it as "an occasional garden escape in the vicinity of Auckland, 

 rare." (Fl., Oct. to Feb.) 



Lapsana communis, Linn. Nipplewort 



Probably introduced at an early date, but recorded for the first 

 time by Hooker in 1864, as Lapsana pusilla, Willd. (Arnoseris pusilla, 

 Gsrtn.) Kirk next recorded it from the Great Barrier Island in 1867, 

 and later from Wellington in 1877. Then in 1882 Cheeseman reported 

 it as a common weed in all cultivated districts. It is now found abun- 

 dantly by roadsides and in waste places throughout New Zealand. 

 (Fl., Jan. to April.) 



282 



