plexa assist in furthering plant-colonization, not by supplying soil, but by catching“ 
« 
ir The Vegetation of the Sea-coast. 2 
low silvery cushions of the Raoulia which, for the most part, present a broken 
face on the windward side through damage by the sand-laden wind. , This); 
plant is also a soil-maker. Pimelea prostrata, orange cushions of Scieranthus, 
patches of Ranunculus acaulis and R. rivularis? and lines of tussocks of Poa 
caespitosa are common. 
2. At several places on the shingly shore of Cook Strait near Wellington 
Raoulia australis and the steppe xerophytic herb, Acıphylla squarrosa are 
companion plants. Here also the usually erect abe Plagianthus divaricatus 
and Coprosma propingua form stiff mats. ; 
3. North of Greymouth, on the shingle beach, Muchlenbeckia axillaris 
clothes the grey stones with its round mats of slender stems and small green 
leaves, and is found even amongst the drift-wood. Wahlenbergia congesta, 
Phormium tenax, Scirpus nodosus, flat wiry mats of Coprosma acerosa, Scleranthus 
biflorus, Calystegia soldanella, Scirpus frondosus (where sand has blown), Carer 
testacea, Euphorbia glauca and much-dwarfed bushes of Dodonaca viscosa are 
all more or less abundant. 
4- On the pebbly beach south of Awarua Harbour, South Otago district, 
on the gravel terrace beyond reach of the waves, mats of Muehlenbeckia com- 
seeds and sheltering the seedlings. On them grow tussocks ir: Poa caespitosa, 
while mats of Acaena novac-zelandiae and Pimelea prostrata are common. 
5. Beaches of fine gravel on Dog, Centre and Ruapuke Islands (Stewaig 
district), and Preservation Inlet (Sounds district) &c. possess the followir 
. characteristic species: — Rumer neglectus‘), Ranunculus acaulis, Lepidium 
tenuicaule?) and Myosotis pygmaca var. Traillii together with Scirpus auckland- 
icus, Carex pumila, Chenopodium glaucum, Atriplex Billardieri, Crassula 
moschata, Tetragonia expansa, Geranium sessiliflorum and. Cotula RER 
Au the above are not usually present on any one beach. 
6. On the shingle-beach of Dog and Centre Island Urtica ERE 
abundant. It has-a stout woody stem, partiy prostrate and buried by the stones, 
but still2ı cm high. The thin, cordate a 9.5 cm Ba form semi-rosettes 
at the ends of the branches. 
cas 
2 rl shore. 
N of u collect i in | the SET The shallow ae are read 
soaked with sea-spray, and conditions are thus provided for halophytes. u n 
3 consequence, salt-meadow species, ee, either miniature salt-meadow, of ) 
a ae en a a ee 
ER a 40) r herb with extrem ly Ik de ply-ı = 
