Armstrone.—On the Flora of the Province of Canterbury. 825 
In the Ohaupo locality, Sporadanthus is seldom found near the margin of 
the swamp ; but toward the centre, where there is a great depth of peat 
which affords ample room for its creeping rhizomes and long stringy roots, 
it occurs in immense abundance, often covering hundreds of acres to the 
exclusion of almost all other vegetation. Mr. J. Stewart, C.E., informs me 
that the workmen engaged in constructing the railway dreaded to encounter 
it, as its thick matted roots not only made it difficult to open out the drains, 
but were also a sure sign of a bad part in the swamp. In habit it is quite 
peculiar, and very distinct from any other New Zealand plant. Single 
clumps, with the stiff, erect stems bare at the base, but branched above, 
the branches all terminated with brown panicles, and gently drooping out- 
ward at the tips, are by no means devoid of elegance; but when seen 
covering large areas its general appearance is dreary and monotonous. 
The discovery of Sporadanthus in New Zealand proper, taken in connec- 
tion with the fact that Myosotidiwm (or the Chatham Island Lily, as it is 
absurdly called by our gardeners) is known to occur on the Snares, has de- 
prived the Chatham Island Florula of any claim to an endemic genus; and 
brings into still greater prominence the relationship existing between its 
vegetation and that of New Zealand; a relationship so close that hardly a 
dozen species out of the 200 known to inhabit the group are specifically 
distinct from New Zealand plants. 
Art, XLIX.—A short Sketch of the Flora of the Province of Canterbury, with 
Catalogue of Species.—By J. B. Anmstrone. 
[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 2nd October, 1879.] 
Tus short essay is intended as an introduction to the botany of that por- 
tion of New Zealand included within the boundaries of the Provincial 
District of Canterbury. 
For the purposes of botanical demonstration, the Province may be con- 
veniently divided into four districts, each differing considerably in its floral 
features from the others. These are— 
1. The Littoral District. 
2. The Banks’ Peninsula District. 
8. The Lowland, or Middle District. 
4, The Alpine District. 
The Littoral District extends along the coast, and inland about a mile 
and a half, usually ceasing when the land attains an altitude of twenty or 
twenty-five feet above the sea level. This district is composed of sand-hills 
