Kirk.— 0// tlw Butamj of the Bluff Hill. 401 



on the exposed portion are occupied by patches of swamp, but much of the 

 surface vegetation has been destroyed by repeated burnings, so that at first 

 sight it appears about as unfavourable a locahty for rare plants as could 

 well be imagined. 



Its southern face is covered with forest, bearing a general resemblance 

 to the Seaward forest ; but differing in the reduced proportion of matai and 

 iron- wood, and in the diminished luxuriance caused by exposure, elevation, 

 and soil. 



The chief timber trees are the kamai fWeinmannia raceinosaj, rimu 

 (Dacryclium cupressinum), miro (Poclocarpus ferruginea), and iron-wood 

 (Metrosideros lucidaj ; of these the kamai is the most abundant ; many 

 specimens rival in size and luxuriance the finest to be seen in the Seaward 

 forest, although in most cases they are of less dimensions. 



A dense growth of Olearia nitida, Veronica elliptica, Aristotelia fruticosa 

 and other shrubs is found at the sea margin, and gives shelter to a number 

 of ferns and herbaceous plants, the most noteworthy of the former being 

 Lomaria dura, which, like its near ally L. hanksii, never grows far out of 

 reach of the sea spray. On the outskirts of the forest the trees are much 

 shorn and stunted by the wind : the largest trees occur in the hollows and 

 sheltered places, still serviceable timber is found near the summit. 

 Although the yield of timber per acre is very small when compared with 

 the best parts of the sheltered forest on the downs, it would be more 

 durable in quality. 



A few cattle have access to the forest, but no great amount of injury has 

 resulted from this cause at present. In all directions young trees were 

 plentiful, from seedlings upwards, showing that" a continuous process of 

 renewal is taking place. 



The underwood and the herbaceous vegetation exhibited the greatest 

 luxuriance of growth ; some of the leaves of the tataramoa (Ruhus australisj 

 were the largest I ever saw. Chiloglottis cornuta, an orchidaceous plant 

 growing in several localities from Omaha to the Chatham and Auckland 

 Islands, but remarkably local, exhibited a stout, robust habit quite new 

 to me. Juncus nova-zelandica attains an extraordinary size, and exhibits 

 a marked contrast to the ordinary sx^ecimens found on the open side of 

 the hill. In sheltered places near the summit Cyathodes acerosa assumes 

 a free growing luxuriant habit not frequent even in the north, and, with its 

 profuse display of -yhite and red fruit, presents a most attractive appearance. 

 This remarkably luxuriant growth of the shrubby and herbaceous vegetation 

 was evident wherever shelter could be obtained from the direct action of the 

 wind, and must be chiefly attributed to the great amount of moisture con- 

 stantly present in the atmosphere, and which is prevented from becoming 

 injurious by the frequent high winds, zl 



