62 The Vegetation of the Sea-coast. 
in profusion its showy lilac and yellow blossoms, but they are partly hidden. 
by the foliage. Afropis stricta, Calamagrostis Forsteri var. littoralis and 
Scirpus maritimus will also be in bloom. On coastal rocks of Queen Char- 
lotte Sound Arthropodium cirrhatum will be a striking feature; in the N. i 
will have been in flower since November. In the South Otago, Fiord and 
Stewart districts, banks not far from the sea will be draped by Gnaphaliiin 
trinerve with its conspicuous bracteate flower-heads. "The floral feature of the 
coast however for the end of this month are the masses of dark-crimson pro- 
duced by Metrosideros tomentosa in the North and South Auckland and the. 
N. of the Egmont-Wanganui districts. Almost as striking is the flowering of 
Olearia insignis in December and January on coastal cliffs of the North- 
eastern district and of O. angustifolia in Stewart Island; in the Fiord distriet 
the closely related O. operina will flower. By the beginning of January, in 
‚the North Auckland district the embryos of Avswennia are falling from the 
trees, and a little later are anchored in the mud. During January and Fe- 
bruary the various coastal species of Veronica will be in bloom and the 
‚southern coastal moors be gay with the snowy blossoms of Gentiana saxosa. 
Many of the plants already mentioned continue to flower, and from this time 
onwards fruits ripen and seeds are shed. Several aaa species are late 
flowerers and it is not until April that Olearia angulata, O. albida : 
a Forsteri are in full bloom, but generalliy speaking, except for such species 
‚as flower nearly all the. year round (Macropiper excelsum, Pisonia Brunoniana) 
few species blossom after March, though Be be rg at abn 
‚mal tim times. 
4. Epharmonic Variation. 
ssuming quite different growi | 
