8 



usually coastal. No less than 15 families and 93 genera are 

 confined to this lowland-lower mountain belt. 



The following are the families confined to the area under 

 consideration : Amaryllidaceae, Elatinaceae, Gesneriaceae, 

 Icacinaceae, Oleaceae, Lauraceae, Lemnaceae, Meliaceae, Moni- 

 miaceae, Palmae, Pandanaceo.e, Passifloraceae, Rutaceae, 

 Salviniaceae, and Sparganiaceae. Nine of these families have 

 only one species each, and none have more than four species. 

 Much more important than any of the above in the lowland 

 flora are the following: Filices (85 species), Cyperaceae (46 

 species), Orchidaceae (45 species), Compositae (41 species), 

 Rubiaceae (19 species), Gramineae and Scrophulariaceae (16 

 species), and Myrtaceae (13 species). 



Coming next to the plant-formations, the most important 

 are forest and grassland. Their distribution receives some 

 attention under another head. Shrubland, swamp and bog are 

 also important ecological groups. At the present time there is 

 abundant Pteridium (bracken-fern) heath, but how much of it 

 is primitive no one can say, for it is readily induced by burning 

 forest and certain classes of scrub. 



(3) THE HIGH-MOUNTAIN FLORA. 



The high-mountain flora differs to an astonishing degree 

 from that of the lowlands. It contains in all some 950 species. 

 If about 100 species which occur in the lowlands only under 

 special conditions be added to the purely high-mountain plants, 

 this element of the New Zealand flora will number about 600 

 species.. The following 15 genera (7 endemic) are essentially 

 high-mountain: Corallospartium (end.) Exocarpus, Forstera, 

 Haastia (end.), Hectorella (end.) Logania 9 Leucogenes (end.), 

 Marsippospermum, Mitrasacme, Notothlaspi (end.) Pachycladon 

 (end.) Pernettya, Phyllachne, Swainsona and Traversia (end.). 

 In addition to the above, 32 genera, most characteristic of the 

 high mountains, possess far more high-mountain than lowland 

 species. The most important of such genera from the physiog- 

 nomic standpoint are the following: Acaena, Aciphylla, 

 Anisotome, Celmisia, Danthonia, Dracophyllum, Epilobium, 

 Gentiana, Helichrysum, Olearia, Ourisia, Raoulia, Ranunculus 

 and Veronica. 



The headquarters of the high-mountain flora is in the South 

 Island, to which more than 70 per cent, of the species are con- 

 fined. This is probably due in part to the fact that the 

 mountain-area of the South Island is far more extensive than 

 that of the North Island, owing partly to the far fewer and 

 lower mountains of the latter and partly to the forest ascending 

 higher. Thus Mount Egmont with its small area for plants 

 above the forest-line has at most 100 species as compared with 

 the 150 species of the more extensive high-mountain area of the 



9- Through a slip in my book, " New Zealand Plants and their Story," the 

 family Loganiaceae is stated to be purely high-mountain, but it includes the 

 strictly lowland genus Geuiostoma. 



