Ecological Botany.] SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS OF NEW ZEALAND. 219 



of irregular shape. Nor is the zone of meadow uniform throughout. On Adams 

 Island at first, to be sure, the tussock is dominant, but the meadow is dotted every- 

 where with low shrubs of Cassinia Vauvilliersii, sage-green or whitish-yellow, accord- 

 ing to the variety, and close-stemmed plants of Dracophyllum longifolium, just raised 

 above the level of the grass ; whilst hidden amongst the tussocks is a good deal of 

 prostrate Coprosma foetidissima, and, where there are hollows, rounded, extremely 

 dense, low bushes of Metrosideros lucida. Where between tussocks or shrubs the 

 ground is open, or on old grass trunks, are sheets of the shining-green suffruticose 

 Coprosma repens hugging the peaty soil, and probably covered with the large 

 orange-red drupes. At a higher altitude the tussocks are closer, their leaves mingle, 

 the trunks are almost wanting ; indeed, the formation is virtiially pure, the whole 

 yellow surface, when in flower, waving in the breeze like a field of corn. 



Higher still, at first sight the composition of the meadow is apparently the 

 same, and one might very well think there would be nothing but grass. On the 

 contrary, there is an almost continuous wiry undergrowth of shrubs, though these 

 are quite hidden, consisting of Coprosma cuneata, C. parviflora, and C foetidissima. 



Danthonia meadow is very frequently not nearly so uniform in composition as 

 described above, but varies much in its composition according to the average 

 moisture in the soil, until finally bog conditions prevail, the grass becoming much 

 stunted or almost wanting, and another formation appears. 



The Danthonia meadow from the low scrub-line at the head of the North Arm of 

 Carnley Harbour up to the summit of the western cliffs is similar to that described 

 in the preceding paragraphs. Generally the tussock is dominant, but the individual 

 plants are frequently some distance apart, and on the wet and semi-boggy ground 

 of the intermediate spaces is an abundance of Celmisia vernicosa, the stiff glossy 

 dark-green rosettes forming round mats or semi-cushions 93 cm. in diameter. The 

 principal ground-plant of this wet station is Carpha alpina, its pale-green leaves in 

 low tufts, and mixed with a yellow-coloured moss (? Campylopus introflexus). At 

 the period of our visit — 21st November — the boggy meadow was dotted everywhere 

 with the lovely flowers of the Celmisia, the white rays chiefly giving the colour. 

 The straggling shrub Veronica Benthami, about 37 cm. tall, is very frequent, some- 

 times mingling its branches with the tussock. There are also stunted shrubs of 

 Coprosma cuneata, C. parviflora, and Cassinia Vauvilliersii, 25 cm. tall or thereabouts. 

 Other plants of this formation, and in places abundant, are Helichrysum hellidioides, 

 Acaena Sanguisorbae var. antarctica. Ranunculus pinguis, and Bulbinella Rossii ; in 

 fact, almost all the herbaceous plants of the Aucklands may be present in numbers, 

 including the smaller grasses,* with the exception of the species of Pleurophyllum, 

 the Aciphyllae, Stilbocarpa, and a few plants confined, or nearly so, to the highest 

 zone of vegetation — the Pleurophyllum Hookeri formation. Within the meadow 

 areas actual bog produces another combination of plants; but here, as usual, are 

 transitional stages. 



(vii.) Transition from Meadow to Forest. 



Seen from some distance, in many places the forest has a curious appearance, 



the general uniformity being broken by raised parallel lines of vegetation. A close 



acquaintance shows that such are made by long natural " lanes " of grassy meadow 



cutting into the forest parallel to one another. The trees {Metrosideros lucida) 



* Hierochloe Brunonis, Calatnayrostis aetifolia, Deschampsia Chapmani, Agrostis ma^ellanica, &c. 



