2 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



variety of conditions they offer, and partly, no doubt, to the 

 nature of the floras from which their own has been derived ; 

 but also to unknown factors that have not, as yet, come 

 within the ken of the investigator. 



Not only does the flora contain a unique assemblage of 

 local species, it also shows an unusually varied assortment of 

 plant families and associations. Nor is this to be wondered 

 at, if we consider the changes of climatic, geographical, and 

 geological conditions to be met with every few miles. We 

 would certainly expect to find many very different kinds of 

 vegetation between the warm sub-tropical ravines of the 

 volcanic Kermadecs, and the wind-swept heights of the sub- 

 Antarctic Auckland Islands ; and we are not disappointed in 

 our search. Hooker, and other early botanists, declared that 

 the plant covering was constant over wide areas ; but this 

 generalization was largely due to an imperfect acquaintance 

 with the distribution of the species, and with the rarer forms 

 of the flora. It has not been borne out by the work of more 

 recent investigators. Many New Zealand plants are very 

 restricted in their distribution. 



The altitudinal changes of climate are as well marked as 

 those of latitude. There is often not more than twenty or 

 thirty miles distance between the line of sea-level and that of 

 perpetual snow. Thus, within a comparatively small area, all 

 types of plants may be found, from those of the sea-shore, to 

 those of alpine heights. Great variations in rainfall are also 

 to be met with in places not far apart. This, of course, is 

 largely due to the presence of high mountain chains, such as the 

 Southern Alps, the Kaikouras, and Buahines. The smallest 

 average rainfall yet recorded is that of Clyde, with 15 inches, 

 and the highest, 228 inches, at Puysegur Point. The former 

 place is in Central, the latter in South- Western Otago ; and 

 the distance between them is only 150 miles. Indeed, there 

 are few districts of equal extent that can show so many 

 changes of climate, elevation, and surface in such a small 



