&1(> Transactions. — tiotaily. 



So far as at present known the flora of the island comprises about 

 380 species of Phasnogams and nearly 70 species of Ferns and allied plants. 

 The lower Acotyledons have not been sufficiently investigated to allow of 

 their number being estimated with any approximation to correctness. It is 

 not my intention to present a complete list of the plants observed by me, 

 but simply to offer a brief account of the most striking characteristics of 

 the flowering plants, with special remarks on the endemic species. 



The traveller who visits Stewart Island in December or January will 

 have his attention arrested by the blaze of crimson presented by the rata 

 (Metrosideros lucida), often flecked with the pale racemes of the kamahi 

 (Weinmannia racemosa), the deep green leaves of the puheretaiko and the 

 tupari (Senecio rotundifolius and Olearia colensoi), and the grass-like leaves of 

 the inaka (Dracophyllum longifolium), all of which form a fringe of greater 

 or less breadth at the water's edge, and (except the puheretaiko) often 

 expand into large masses ascending to the crests of the hills. Of these 

 however the kamahi and rata alone attain the dignity of timber trees, and 

 are excelled in dimensions by the rimu and the totara alone. The rimu 

 (Dacrydium cupressinum) is abundant at the lower levels and attains large 

 dimensions, the specimens comparing favourably with those from the west 

 coast of the South Island, and yielding timber of greater durability. 

 Podocarpus totara comes next in order of frequency, but is much less common 

 than the rimu, although individual specimens attain a larger size. 

 Dacrydium colensoi and D. intermedium are abundant in certain localities and 

 yield the " white pine " of the saw mills : the true white pine (Podocarpus 

 dacrydioides) does not appear to occur on the island. Podocarpus ferruginea 

 and Griselinia littoralis, the miro and the kapuka, are plentiful, but the 

 matai [Podocarpus spicatd) is extremely rare. 



Amongst smaller trees and shrubs the most prominent are the horoeka 

 (Panax crassifolia), and its congeners Panax simplex and P. edgerleyi, both 

 exhibiting such excessive luxuriance as frequently to require an examination 

 of the fruit before their identification can be determined ; the rautawhiri 

 (Pittosporum tenuifolium, var. colensoi), the kotukutuku (Fuchsia excorticata), 

 the mako (Aristotelia racemosa), the mapau (Myrsine australis), the pokako 

 (Elcsocarpus hookerianus), also Carpodetus serratus, Myrsine divaricata, both of 

 which are abundant. The remarkable " weeping tree," Myrsine montana, with 

 its crowded recurvedbranchesandsmallfoliage, affords a picturesque effectof a 

 peculiarly attractive character altogether unique amongst New Zealand plants. 

 On the slopes of the hills Leptospermum scoparium, the manuka, forms a small 

 tree, but in the lower lands it is usually scrubby. It should be observed 

 that the trees and shrubs here mentioned form the greater portion of the 



