Forest. 145 
and W. of the South-Otago districts. It is absent in the Northern botanical 
province, except in certain parts of the Thames sub-district, and in the North 
Otago and Stewart districts, while in the North-eastern and Eastern districts, it 
is of local distribution. All the species are present in some part or other of 
the range of the formation but the most common by far are N. Solanderi, 
N. Menziesii and N. fusca, the first-named being confined to the lowland-lower- 
mountain belt. 
The species of Nothofagus-forest are virtually the same as those of | the % 
taxad-forest adjacent, but, in pure associations, growing, as such frequently do, 
under dryer edaphic conditions, more xerophytes enter in, young Norhofagus 
is an important constituent of the undergrowth, the percentage of mesophytes 
decreases and many of the most hygrophytic species are absent. For instance 
Mm the N. Solanderi-N. fusca association at Days’ Bay, Wellington, the forest 
is open, Siyphelia acerosa, a xerophytic ericoid-shrub, forms a considerable 
percentage of the undergrowth, S. fasciculata also is common, much of the 
re is re the trees are but little mossed and other plants of the under- 
....growt) , — young Weinmannia racemosa, Nothopanax arboreum, young 
4 Near Geniostoma and Coprosma rhamnoides. 
2. Special details. 
RR a, 
On the W. of Ruapehu at an altitude of ahout "56; m the Grad forest is 
 succeeded by a belt of Nothofagus Solanderi together with abundance of Wein- 
 mannia racemosa as a companion tree, Griselinia littoralis, Nothopanax ar- 
 boreum and Elaeocarpus Hookerianus. _Coprosma tenuifolia together with 
‚young en and ee Meder, rain-forest Sende &c. forms the under: Rn 
growth 
