vr rg ee se ren, 
Forest. 143 
Coprosma tenuicaulis and C. rotundifolia. As ground plants, tall Blechnum ca- 
pense, Astelia nervosa and Microlaena avenacea are everywhere and Nertera 
dichondraefolia and N. depressa are common. The slender trunks of the smaller 
trees and shrubs are thickly clad with liverworts. Dicksonia squarrosa is the 
dominant tree-fern and there is some Hemitelia Smithii. 
Western botanical district. 
Very large areas of kahikatea forest occur throughout. All the plants 
mentioned for the North-western forest will be present, indeed the combination 
is virtually the same. In some localities the Blechnum capense is 1.5 m in depth. 
Freycinetia is present as a liane. 
Eastern botanical district. 
At the time of settlement by the European there were several areas of 
kahikatea forest at no great distance inland, but all except a small piece near 
Christchurch‘) were cut down years ago. At an earlier date, the extensive 
swamps, now farm-land, were occupied by forest for they contained abundant 
remains of trees. The above tree-association, the last of its special kind 
in the world, is still quite vigorous and, although it has been drained, seed- 
ling Podocarpus dacrydioides are produced by thousands. The species num- 
ber 68 (pteridophytes 7, spermophytes 60) consisting of trees and shrubs 35, 
lianes ı2, parasites 2, ferns 7 and herbs including grass-like plants ı2. Besides 
the dominant P. dacrydioides there is abundance of Elaeocarpus Hookerianus 
‚and some Z. dentatus. P. spicatus and P. totara are also present. Paratrophis 
microphylla is very plentiful. Judging from the present composition of the 
forest it could not have been typical kahikatea association. 
The kahikatea forest of the South Otago district, now almost gone, needs 
no description since it was quite typical. 
8. Silver-pine (Dacrydium EN association. 
Further on, when treating of moor, it is shown that.in the Western district 
that association is the forerunner of a forest-association of extremely wet ground. 
The dominant tree is frequently ZLepfospermum scoparium which may be 
no more than a tall shrub but this serves as shelter for the silver pine which 
eventually may become either dominant or very plentiful. The shrub Podo- 
carpus nivalis and the low tree Phyllocladus alpinus, both usually subalpine, 
are important members of the association and with them may be ?. acutfolius, 
elosely allied to the first-named. The substratum is wet peat and more or 
less Sphagnum is generally present. 
y. Vellow-pine (Dacrydium intermedium). association, 
This association extends from the Freshwater valley in Stewart Island to 
the extreme S. of the island and occurs either on very wet soil or in positions 
m 
1) This was preserved by the late Mr. TON DEANs on whose land the ‚forest stood and it 
= stil religiously protected by his descendants who at the time of writing Apr ‚most SL Di 
Med Ba the whole to the City of ee u en 
