Frof. von Ettingshausen — Neiv Zealand Fossil Flora. 363 



VIII. — On the Fossil Floka of New Zealand. 



By Dr. Constantin Baron von Ettingshausen, F.C.G.S., 

 Professor of Botany, University of Graz, Austria. 



IT was my good fortune in 1884 to receive two interesting collec- 

 tions of fossil plants from New Zealand, for which I am indebted 

 to the kindness of Professor (now Sir Julius) von Haast, of Christ- 

 church, and Professor T. J. Parker, of Dunedin. In these collections 

 seventeen localities of fossil plants are represented which belong to 

 three formations : the Tertiary, the Cretaceous, and the Triassic 

 formations. 



The relation of the living flora of New Zealand to its Tertiary 

 one has already formed the subject of a paper submitted by me to 

 the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna, under the title 

 " Genetische Gliederuug der Flora Neuseelands " (Sitzungsberichte 

 vol. 58, part i. p. 953). I have pointed out in it that the endemic 

 New Zealand flora not only contains types which may probably 

 descend from the principal element of its Tertiary Flora, but also 

 such ones probably being derivable from some accessory elements 

 of the latter flora. 



Only a brief time has elapsed since my attention has been again 

 drawn to the subject, and I have been enabled by the examination of 

 the above-mentioned collections to lay a Memoir before the Vienna 

 Academy, entitled : " Contributions to the Fossil Flora of New 

 Zealand" (Denkschriften, vol.53, parti, 1887), of which I now 

 have the pleasure to give a brief account. 



The Tertiary Flora of New Zealand, collected from eight localities, 

 as Shag Point, Dunstan, Landslip Hill, Malvern Hills, Eacacliff 

 Gully, Weka Pass, Amuri and Murderer's Creek, comprises till now 

 as far as investigations could bring to light, 52 species which are 

 distributed into 39 genera and 26 families. Of these species 3 are 

 Cryptogamee, 11 Gymnospermse, 2 Monocotyledons, 22 Apetalae, 3 

 GamopetalcB and 10 Dialypetalse. Regarding the general char^acter 

 of the flora, it by no means essentially deviates from that of the 

 hitherto known Tertiary Flora. We find here the same mixed 

 character as in the Tertiary Flora of Europe, of North America, and 

 of Australia, the analogies of which to the New Zealand Tertiary 

 species may easily be surveyed in a table appended to the above- 

 mentioned Memoir. 



Although the Tertiary Flora of New Zealand is very difi"erent 

 from the living one, yet with regard to several species a close 

 relationship is clearly indicated between them. Thus, Aspidkim 

 tertiario-zelcmdicum and A. Novce-Zelandice, Dammara Oioeni and 

 J), australis, Lamb., Podocarpus Farkeri and F. Totara, Don., Fecry- 

 dium pra-cupressiniim and F. cupressinum, Sol., etc., are closely allied. 

 Besides several genera, for instance, Fagus, Fedycarija, Santalum, 

 Loranthiis, etc., are represented in both, whereas others seem to be 

 in a genetic relation to living ones, and the latter may in some 

 degree be transmuted from the former. Thus, Faphiophyllum or 



