Forest. 131 
istic: — Dicksoma squarrosa (tree-fern), Dryopteris pennigera (here with a 
trunk), Asplenium bulbiferum, mats of Hymenophyllum demissum, Rhipogonum, 
Elatostema rugosum (the succulent stems with their bronzy leaves\raised ı m 
above the ground and occupying many square metres), creeping juvenile 
Rubus schmidelioides and the shrub Schefflera digitata. On shaded banks 
of streams is Trichomanes rıgidum, its dark fronds covered with small epi- 
phytic mosses. 
Kaurı sub-association. 
This plant-community is well-marked and uniform in composition. Besides 
Agathis australis the following are generally present: — Cyathea dealbata, 
Dicksonia lanata (often extremely common), Blechnum Fraseri, Gahnia xantho- 
carpa, Astelia trinervia, Freycinetia Banksi, Fusanus salicifolia, Weinmannia 
sylvcola (juvenile), Phedalium nudum, Dokszyhüm spectabile (juvenile), Metro- 
sideros florida, M. .albiflora, Nothopanax arboreum, Dracophyllum latifolium, 
Styphelia fasciculata, Geniostoma ligustrifolium, ESSEER grandifolia, Alseuos- 
mia macrophylla and Senecio Kirkü. 
The sub-association owes its very characteristic physiognomy Da to the 
dense tussock-thickets of Gahnia-Astelia and partly to the form of the kauri 
itself. Where it extends over a wide area, the undergrowth is not thick. The 
kauri-trunks, usually shining-grey, but sometimes reddish, rise up on all sides, as 
far as the eye can pierce, as massive columns ı—3 m in diam., unbranched 
‚for 2om or more (Plate XXVI, Fig. 33). Round the base of Beh tree m 3 
mound of humus, formed from the shed bark, occupied by small tussocks of 
Astelia trinervia, sprawling Metrosideros florida and Senecio Kirkü. Rising up . | 
between the giant trunks may be multitudes of the straight stems of B. darairi, Be 
s E p SE a the‘ or 
