Armstrong. — On the Flora of the Province of Canterbury. 325 



In the Obaupo locality, S2)oraclanthus is seldom found near the margin of 

 the swamp ; but toward the centre, where there is a great depth of peat 

 which affords ample room for its creeping rhizomes and long stringy roots, 

 it occurs in immense abundance, often covering hundreds of acres to the 

 exclusion of almost all other vegetation. Mr. J. Stewart, C.E., informs me 

 that the workmen engaged in constructing the railway di'eaded to encounter 

 it, as its thick matted roots not only made it difficult to open out the drains, 

 but were also a sure sign of a bad part in the swamp. In habit it is quite 

 peculiar, and very distinct from any other New Zealand plant. Single 

 clumps, with the stiff, erect stems bare at the base, but branched above, 

 the branches all terminated with brown j)anicles, and gently drooping out- 

 ward at the tips, are by no means devoid of elegance ; but when seen 

 covering large areas its general appearance is dreary and monotonous. 



The discovery of Sporadanthus in New Zealand proper, taken in connec- 

 tion with the fact that Myosotidiimi (or the Chatham Island Lily, as it is 

 absurdly called by our gardeners) is known to occur on the Snares, has de- 

 prived the Chatham Island Florula of any claim to an endemic genus ; and 

 brings into still greater prominence the relationship existing between its 

 vegetation and that of New Zealand ; a relationship so close that hardly a 

 dozen species out of the 200 known to inhabit the group are specifically 

 distinct from New Zealand plants. 



Art. XLIX. — A short Sketch of the Flora of the Province of Canterbury , with 

 Catalogue of Species. — By J. B. Armstrong. 

 [Read before the Philosophical InstiUite of Ganterbw-y, 2nd October, 1879.] 

 Tms short essay is intended as an introduction to the botany of that por- 

 tion of New Zealand included within the boundaries of the Provincial 

 District of Canterbury. 



For the purposes of botanical demonstration, the Province may be con- 

 veniently divided into four districts, each differing considerably in its floral 

 features fi'om the others. These are — 



1. The Littoral District. 



2. The Banks' Peninsula District. 



3. The Lowland, or Middle District. 



4. The Alpine District. 



The Littoral District extends along the coast, and inland about a mile 

 and a half, usually ceasing when the land attains an altitude of twenty or 

 twenty-five feet above the sea level. This district is composed of sand-hills 



