Buchanan. — Campbell Island and its Flora. 399 



Hook, f., with its beautiful purple-tinted flowers, and Pleurophyllum 

 speciosum, Hook, f., with its brilliant racemes of purple flowers, may be 

 considered the gems of the southern flora. The numerous tall spikes of 

 Pleurophyllum criniferum, Hook, f., and P. hookeri, n. sp., mihi, give a 

 peculiar character to both the Campbell and Auckland Islands' flora. No 

 doubt much of this floral luxuriance is due to the richness of the moist 

 vegetable soil and to the fog-shaded atmosphere, the climate during summer 

 being not unlike a moist forcing house ; hence it is doubtful if in the absence 

 of these moist conditions much success will attend the cultivation in New 

 Zealand of plants removed there. The large showy plants of Campbell 

 Island are probably confined within an altitudinal range of 500 feet above 

 sea level, but the shrubby or small trees such as species of Coprosma, 

 Dracophyllum, Veronica, and Myrsine range from sea-level where they are 

 most abundant to the highest altitudes (1,500 feet), although they are all 

 sparsely distributed everywhere. A very prominent and showy plant 

 Chrysobactron rossi, Hook, f., with its bright yellow racemes of flowers may 

 be seen everywhere ; the raceme in this plant is often found globe 

 shaped. 



The smaller grasses are rare, but several large and noble grasses are 

 abundant, the most conspicuous being Poa foliosa, Hook, f., Danthonia antarc- 

 tica, Hook, f., Hierochloe brunonis, Hook, f., and Hierochloe redolens, Br., but the 

 chief feature of the flora is the abundance of Cyperaceous plants and species 

 of Juncacese, most prominent being Rostkovia gracilis ; this plant also charac- 

 terises the subalpine flora of New Zealand up to 6,000 feet. 



An alpine flora may also be recognized in Campbell Island, as a few 

 plants are only found at tbe highest altitude, such as Gentiana concinna, 

 Hook, f., and that curious little inconspicuous plant Trineuron spathulatum, 

 Hook, f., collected in fine flower at an altitude of 1,500 feet. 



The only plants collected on this occasion not previously known on 

 Campbell Island were Pleurophyllum hookeri, n. s., mihi, Gotula australis, 

 Hook, f., Nertera depressa, Banks and Sol., Chenopodium sp., and Lageno- 

 phora sp. 



It would be an error to assume that the botany of Campbell Island has 

 been exhausted because a few collectors have visited the Island and spent 

 some days there ; but when it is considered how often the weather is 

 unfavourable, and how short a period is devoted to collecting, it is remark- 

 able that so much has been done. 



On the present occasion, one day and two half days only were available 

 for collecting, and, out of this, one entire clay was devoted to digging up living 

 plants, a very excellent collection of the latter being made, but through 

 some inadvertence they went astray during the return voyage. A large 



