Aemstrong. — On the Flora of the Province of Canterbury, 331 



1. The zone of Beeches. 



2. The zone of shrubby Compositce and Scrophularinea. 



3. The zone of Herbaceous plants. 



4. The zone of perpetual Snow. 



The lowest of these zones — that of beeches — is principally covered with 

 grasses of a useful character, and patches of Fagus solandri and F. clifforti- 

 oides, which are almost the only trees of this zone. Both are valuable 

 timber trees, and only require to be better known to be more appreciated. 

 A number of shrubby species are common in this zone, such as species of 

 Korokia, Coj^rosma, Discaria, Dracophyllum, Poclocarpus, Panax, and Pimelea. 



In a few breaks in the great Alpine chain, such as Arthur's Pass, a 

 number of shrubs occur which do not properly belong to the Canterbury 

 flora, but are escapes from the upland region of Westland, which contains 

 very many plants different in character from those of Canterbury. Among 

 these "Westland plants may be mentioned the beautiful scarlet rata, Metro- 

 sideros lucida, the hini, Dracophyllum traversii, and the musk-tree, Olearia 

 colensoi, aU of which are found on Arthur's Pass, and are most magnificent 

 plants. Some curious plants of the natural order Umbelliferce, form a peculiar 

 feature in the lower part of this zone. I refer to the species of Aciphylla, or 

 spear-grass, which totally differ in aspect from any other known geniTS. This 

 zone usually rises to about 3,800 feet, at which height the beeches generally 

 cease suddenly, and are succeeded by dense masses of shrubby Veronicas, 

 Olearias, and Senecios, which appear to me to form a well-defined zone. The 

 great beauty of these shrubs has induced their cultivation in the gardens of 

 the colony. The Veronicas number no less than forty distinct species, some 

 of them of very extraordinary habit, and all, without exception, of great 

 beauty. 



Olearia has seven or eight fine species, and Senecio six ; all of which, 

 together with the Veronicas, are confined to the colony, and not a few of 

 them to the province of Canterbury. This zone rises to 4500 feet. 



The zone of herbaceous plants ascends to 6000 feet, and occasionally to 

 7000 feet in the northern part of the province. It possesses an immense 

 number of hardy species of beautiful appearance and most remarkable 

 character. Prominent among them are the numerous species of Celmisia, 

 the mountain forget-me-nots [Exarrhena), the well-known mountain lily 

 {Ranunculus lyallii), and many other species of the same genus equally 

 beautiful but not so well known, such as Ranunculus godleyanus — which is 

 the finest of all known Ranunculi — R. haastii, R. chordorhizos, and R. 

 traversii. The pretty white-flowered Ourisias. are common, and also many 

 others of equal beauty. The flowering plants which reach the highest 

 elevations are Forstera sedifolia and Ahrotanella inconspicua, both of which I 

 have gathered at 7000 feet, 



