100 The leading Physiognomic Plants and their Growth-forms. 
is quite common therefor to be one or more holes extending right through 
the rata’s trunk or there may be an archway through the broad base. 
M. robusta is confined to the lowland and montane belts of the Northern 
and Central botanical provinces except for a brief western extension into the 
Southern province. M. /ucida is montane only in the Northern province nor 
does it extend to the N. of Whangarei and the Little Barrier. In the S 
occurs from sea-level to the subalpine belt but chiefly where the rainfall is a 
d. The two species of Weinmannia. 
The tropical genus Weinmannia (Cunoniac.) is represented in New Zealand 
by the closely-related endemic species, W. sylvicola (Tawhero) and W. racemosa 
(Towai, Kamahi), the former being almost confined to the Northern and the 
latter occurring chiefly in the Central and Southern botanical provinces, though 
extending into the Northern to the S. of the Auckland Isthmus. 
Both trees are much alike. Their trunks are frequently irregular in form, 
especially those of W. racemosa. These, near the base, are not infrequently 
composed of roots grown together through the young trees having in the 
first instance grown upon stems of tree-ferns or fallen tree-trunks (Plate XVII, 
Fig. 22). The branches form a compact, moderately-spreading crown. The 
bark is even, pale-coloured, thin and full of tannin.‘ The adult leaves are 
. somewhat thick, coriaceous, dull- or yellowish-green. The juvenile are compound 
in both species, those of W. sylvicola being pinnate but those of W. racemosa 
either pinnate or ternate, whereas in the adult the leaves of the former are usually 
trifoliate though sometimes pinnate, but thöse of the latter are invariably simple.‘) 
'he flowers are small, white or pinkish-white and arranged in terminal 
racemes about 8cm long which are produced in such profusion that a tree 
in full bloom of either species is a charming spectacle. 
e. The two species of Beilschmiedia (Laurac.) : 
- 1. B. tawa (A. Cunn.) Benth. and Hook f. (Tawa). ° : 
The tawa is an evergreen forest-tree, 12—24 m high, which gives a mark | 
to the forests of the Northern and Central botanical provinces, especially, when 
as a young tree, it forms a considerable portion of the undergrowth. Its trunk, 
30 cm—ı.2 m in diam. is covered with a smooth, blackish bark. The branches 
are slender and finally bear willow-like, thin leaves 7—8 cm long, yellowish- 
green in colour on the upper surface and beneath glaucous with a waxy 
covering. The flowers are hermaphrodite, minute, greenish-yellow and arranged 
in slender panicles 5—7 cm long. The fruit resembles a small damson plum 
it is is dark-purple and about 2.5 cm long. 
1) When the slight differences between the two species, both in leaf and flower, are com 
sidered it is probable that W. sylvicola, though now “fixed” is really a flowering juvenile form 
0. 0f W. racemosa, and this view is Ban by Aa ante that, it frequently blooms when « 
ne shrub, waie, the adult W. racemosa frequentl shoots bea earing compound leaves. 
