Plant Formations.] 



SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS OF NEW ZEALAND. 



489 



requires more shelter than the Dracophyllum. Here the constituents of the scrub 

 were the same as before, only the proportions were different. The Dracophyllum, 

 trees were isolated or in groups, whilst the Coprosmas and Myrsines formed an almost 

 impenetrable thicket. 



The Pleurophyllum Hookeri Formation. 



The most distinct formation, hitherto undescribed, that we saw may be termed 

 the " Pleurophyllum Hookeri formation." In the neighbourhood of Perseverance 

 Harbour, and in the district to the south and west of it, I met with Pleurophyllum 

 Hookeri only in one or two places, chiefly on rocky ledges near the tops of the hills ; 

 but on the uplands on the northern side of Mount Lyall, on the slopes of Mount 

 Faye, Mount Azimuth, and Mount Fizeau, it is almost as plentiful as Bulhinella 

 in the neighbourhood of Perseverance Harbour ; indeed, it largely replaces the 

 lily, for there is comparatively little Bulhinella on this part of the island, and very 

 often large areas are dotted with specimens of P. Hookeri, placed perhaps 2-4 m. 

 apart, with little or no growth between them. Here and there are patches of Rost- 

 kovia, and occasionally specimens of Astelia linearis and A. linearis var. suhulata, 

 Coprosma repens, Celmisia vernicosa, and a few mosses and liverworts ; but seen 

 from a short distance the only things conspicuous are the aloe-like clumps of P. 

 Hookeri, intermingled in many places with the soggy stumps of the large tussock 

 Danthonia bromoides. 



The Subalpine Tussock Meadows. 



This leads us to a short consideration of what Dr. Cockayne has termed the 

 " subalpine tussock meadow." Danthonia bromoides has at one time apparently 

 disputed the ground on the northern uplands of the island with Pleurophyllum 

 Hookeri, and in the neighbourhood of Perseverance Harbour with Bulhinella Rossii ; 

 but this condition of things is fast changing, and the handsome tussock is rapidly 

 disappearing from the island, and will probably soon be extinct except in rocky and 

 inaccessible places. The sheep with which the island is now fully stocked are very 

 fond of it, and eat it down to the stump. Water then accumulates in the stems and 

 between them. These, no longer protected by the hairy ligule, soon rot, and the plant 

 dies, and does not seem to be replaced. Much of the upland on the northern side 

 of Mount Lyall has previously been covered with this magnificent tussock. Now in 

 place of the tussock meadows there are hundreds of acres of barren ground, with the 

 saturated half-peaty stumps of Danthonia bromoides dotted over the countryside at 

 distances of 50-70 cm. apart. In between these stumps there is little growing, except 

 occasional plants of Phyllachne davigera (see fig. 2), Coprosma repens, Luzula crinita, 

 Epilohium confertifolium, and a few mosses, with scattered specimens of Bulhinella 

 Rossii. In the less-elevated portions, however, the Bulhinella soon outdistances all 

 competitors, and covers the ground thickly, almost to the exclusion of everything 

 else. In a few places, where the soil is hard and dry, the Danthonia bromoides is being 

 replaced to a small extent by a turf of the smaller native grasses, which doubtless 

 afford a good pasture for sheep. This is particularly the case near the summit of 

 the western cliffs, where they pass behind the western end of North-east Harbour. 



