5 i8 ALTERATION IN FLORA SINCE 



etc., and are now rare or almost extinct in localities where they were 

 plentiful twenty or thirty years ago." 



Entelea arbor escens, R. Br., is "greedily eaten by cattle and horses , 

 and consequently is fast becoming rare on the mainland, except in 

 comparatively inaccessible situations. It is still plentiful on most of the 

 small outlying islands on the north-east coast of the Auckland district." 



Pomaderris apetala, Lab. This species was formerly abundant at 

 Kawhia, but is now extinct there, having been completely exterminated 

 apparently by goats according to Kirk. It is now restricted to 

 the South Head of the Mokau River, and to the Chatham Islands. 

 It is clear, however, that it must formerly have had a wider distribu- 

 tion over New Zealand, for it is a common Australian species, and 

 therefore it would seem probable that its extinction in this country 

 was proceeding apace even before goats were introduced. 



Clianthus puniceus, Banks and Sol. This plant, according to 

 Cheeseman, is "exceedingly rare and local in the wild state, and is 

 fast becoming extinct. It was formerly cultivated by the Maoris 

 in many localities on the shores of the North Island." I mention this 

 species here, not as an example of a plant undergoing extermination 

 owing to the direct action of man or of the animals introduced by 

 him, but as one which was evidently dying out when Captain Cook 

 first landed in the country. Why it should have been in this decadent 

 state I cannot suggest, but it must have been widely spread in former 

 times, for it and an Australian species C.-Dampieri, A. Cunn., are 

 the only two species known. It is now common as a cultivated shrub, 

 but does not seem able to re-establish itself naturally. 



There is a popular idea that Clianthus puniceus was introduced by 

 the Maoris. This is expressed by Taylor in Te Ika a Maui as follows : 



A better gift, was, I believe, the Kowai-ngutu-kaka (Clianthus 

 puniceus), which was most probably introduced by his ship. The Taranaki 

 slaves, when released by the Ngapuhi on their embracing Christianity, 

 took the seed with them as a remembrance of the land of their captivity. 



The botanist would naturally ask, from whence did they bring the 

 plant ? There is no trace of a Clianthus in any Melanesian or Poly- 

 nesian island, as far as is known. 



Angelica Gingidium, Hook. f. This plant was formerly extremely 

 common throughout both islands, but "as it is everywhere greedily 

 eaten by stock, it has become scarce in many districts." 



Myostidium nobile, Hook., is now found in many gardens in both 

 islands, especially near the sea, where it thrives. But in its native 

 habitat in the Chatham Islands it is now quite rare as a wild plant, 

 though formerly it was very abundant. Cattle and pigs have eaten it 

 out. This is another species which was on the verge of extinction 



