216 The Plant Formations of the High Mountains. 
outskirts of the lower subalpine forest; on torrent-fans just where they issue 
from a gorge, or in the mouth of the latter; on ancient river-bed and on coarse 
debris at the foot of some disintegrating chf The soil that the association 
affects ranges from stones mixed with fine clay and sand to deep clayey loam. 
The wind-factor may be extremely powerful on river-bed, but much modified 
on river-terrace. The soil-water must vary considerably, but even on a steep 
terrace-face may be fairly abundant. Winter snow is usually a factor of little moment. 
The species number about 530 which belong to 16 families and 2 23 genera. 
Low trees number 2 species, shrubs 34, lianes ı0 and ferns 4. 
The shrubs are erect. Their principal growth-forms are the ball-like and 
the divaricating. Of less importance are the Dracophyllum and shrub-com- 
posite forms. The lianes are slender; most not only climb, but form bushes 
approximating to the divaricating-form. Leaving the ferns out of consideration, 
2 of the species are mesophytic and several, at most, subxerophytic. Eight 5 
have tomentose leaves. 
4 
The association varies from a close, bright-green growth of species of 
Veronica to a dense, dark-coloured ER about 1.8 m high, of divaricating 
shrubs ') bound together by the various lianes”) and relieved in places by the 
green of Veronica’) or the whitish hue of Olearia avicenniaefolia; Discaria 
toumatou is frequently present. Beneath the shrubs the ground may be bare 
„or occupied more or less closely by some of the ferns*). On many river-beds, 
if the rain-fall is high, or near streams flowing through steppe or fell-field or 
where water oozes out of the ground are thickets of the glossy-leaved V. u | 
Folia var. odora round as a cricket-ball. The cupressoid V. salicornioides some- 
times grows in the North-eastern district in soil saturated with ice-cold water. 
Coarse rocky debris in the North-eastern and Eastern districts, larger in size 
than that of “Shingle-slip”, is occupied in the first instance by Veronzca-scrub 
and not tussock-steppe. Rubus cissoides var. pauperatus or R. subpauperatus 
#- 
dentata var. alpina are often De 
and the rigid, open, dark-coloured almost leafless cushions of Hymenanthera 
# Subalpine- serub. 
BE 
The term a, is here abe to that assemblage of stunted 
; trees, — 'trees no aagen and shrubs of various growth-forms, which, on BA 
a Aristorcha fruticosa, Ben 8 RR Coprosma rugosa, & ren, c. progingus 
and Corokia Cotoneaster, Okaria virgata, O. odorata. 
2) Rubus australis, R. schmidelioides var. coloratus, R, subpauperatus, Parsonsia capsularis, 
‚ Muchlenbeckia complexa, M. australis and Helichrysum dimorphum (Eastern ner Iiuiiied 18 
Er : 3) The species differ in the botanical distriets as follows: Volcanic. Plekean,. v. Taeois 
ee, and Sounds portion of Ruahine-Cook, V. Menziesii; North-eastern and Eas 
versü, V. Re: and V. ae Nort-weten, Western and ze a 
