190 Essays. 



pasture on fhe flats and terraces, but superior in the little valleys falling 

 from tte mountains. 



In the lake district the pasture is superior, consisting of the finest 

 grasses in the province ; and as the mountain region is fairly entered by any 

 of the snow valleys that pour their waters into the lakes, a profusion of 

 botanical beauty appears, unknown in the lower parts of the province. The 

 shrubs in the river flats and sub-alpine slopes attain their maximum of 

 growth and variety of species. On a few acres of the Matukituki Eiver 

 valley may be collected eight species of Olearia, six species of Goprosma, 

 Discaria toumatou, with a stem eight inches diameter, Senecio cassinioides, 

 eight species of Veronica, Aristotelia fruticosa, &c. 



In ascending Mount Alta, 7,000 feet altitude, the first 2,000 feet above 

 the lake is covered with beech {Wagus fusca, Fagus menziesii, andi^. solandri). 

 The undergrowth of this beech bush is composed chiefly of Coprosma lucida, 

 JBlagiantlms lyallii, Carpodetus serratus, Senecio elcBagnif alius, Drimys colorata, 

 and numerous young beech plants. Although the bush is composed prin- 

 cipally of beech, occasional patches of Dacrydium, Podocarpus, Phylloclades, 

 and other large trees are also present. Where the forest terminates on the 

 mountains, which it always does inOtago under 4,000 feet altitude, numerous 

 shrubs are still found higher, in the shelter of the gullies. Up to 5,000 

 feet may be classed as the sub-alpine zone, characterized by a belt of coarse 

 tussock grasses, Gehnisia, Veronica, and 'Ranunculus. It is in this zone, at 

 the lakes, that Ranunculus lyallii attains its greatest growth. 



At the altitude of 6,000 and 7,000 feet, great slopes of dry debris pre- 

 vail, and the true alpine zone is reached. The plants here are small, although 

 many are fine flowerers. The species found are JBacliycladonnovce-zealandice, 

 Mitrasacme novce-zealandice, Logania tetragona, Ranunculus sinclairi, R. 

 iucJianani, Galtlia novce-zealandice, GolobantJms acicularis, Glaytonia austral- 

 asica, Hectorella ccespitosa, Goriaria angustissima, Epilohium pv.rpuratum, 

 Pozoa exigua, Acipliylla lyallii, A. monroi, Ligusticum liaastii, L. piliferum, 

 L. imhricatmn, Goprosma pumila, Gehnisia densiflora, G. liaastii, G. incana, G. 

 laricifolia, G. liectori, Rrachycome sinclairi, Ahrotenella inconspicua, Graspe- 

 dia alpina, Raoulia grandijlora, GnapJialiii^m youngii, Haastia sinclairi, Fors- 

 tera sedifolia, lEelopJiylluni clavigerum, H. colensoi, S. rubruon, Wahlenhergia 

 saxicola, Dracopliyllum unijiorum, D. rosmarinifolium, D. muscoides, Gentiana 

 saxosa, Myosotis pulvinaris, M. liectori, Veronica iuclianani, V. liectori, 

 Ourisia ccespitosa, 0. glandulosa, Euphrasia revoluta, Drapetes lyallii, Agrostis 

 canina var. h., Poafoliosa, Plantago lanigera. This list does not exhaust the 

 flora of Mount Alta ; and as many alpines in this district are very local and 

 not included in it, the richness of the alpine flora of Otago is clearly shown. 



The flora of the West Coast is almost entirely forest, consisting of trees 



