186 General Remarks on the High Mountain Vegetation. 
! 
dagger-like leaves, in circular mats trailing over the ground or in dense cushions. 
Their aromatic fragrance fills the air; from early till late summer some of 
their white heads of blossom may be seen, while, in due season, gregarious 
species clothe both wet herb-field and dry, stony slopes with Sehe of white. 
The following characters, with but few exceptions, are common to all the 
species. They are Stkedkicogk rather than herbaceous, since the stems are 
more or less woody, and the leaves persist throughout the winter. The leaves 
are stiff coriaceous and crowded, rosette-fashion, at the extremities of the stems 
to which they are attached by aa sheaths, the outer enclosing the inner 
and the whole forming a terete, stem-like mass; or they are arranged spirally - 
along the branches their sheaths tightly ern oins- the under-surface is densely 
clothed with .tomentum which varies much in rad in different species, 
being silky, woolly, cobwebby, kidglove- like &c.; the upper surface is often 
The roots are stout, long and cord-like. | S 
There are three distinet varieties of the Plone — ı. The leaves 
are long, the innermost upright and the outer often more or less recurved above 
making a large semi-erect rosette; the branches of the stem are short so ie 
the rosettes stand ‚elosely together and form a circular mass’). 
‚3. When the stem branches so frequently as to bring the rosettes into 
very close proximity a cushion may result, especially when abundant Ber 
‚formed within the plant‘ from its dead parts?). | 
... Celmisia ramulosa is a true shrub some ı5 cm high with erect or semi- 
Sr Bee branches which ‚are leafy from base to apex. The leaves are very numerous, 
close-set, patent, slightly recurved and broadly linear and the Be are 
much recurved as. almost to conceal the under-surface. : 
B Aeiphylla Colensoi Hook: FF and its allies (Umbell. e Goal: Jar 
ER Aciphylla Colensoi is extremely common on the mountains of the South 
er Island. on a ‚and el, In the North Island it oecurs “ the 
