lo HISTORICAL RECORD 



weeds, while others are found throughout the temperate zone in both 

 hemispheres. The endemic species, which do not range outside of 

 New Zealand, number no less than 1069, or 76-6 per cent, of the whole 

 (viz. 860 dicotyledons and 2Q9 monocotyledons). This brings out 

 the affinities of the remaining, elements more strongly than ever, for 

 it shows that of 327 species which are common to New Zealand and 

 other countries, no less than 80 per cent, are also found in Australia. 

 The remaining elements — ^Antarctic and Polynesian — are few as com- 

 pared with the Australian. 



It would appear from the above analysis that immigration of 

 flowering plants from Australia into New Zealand has been going 

 on steadily, and an examination of many of the individual species 

 leads to the conclusion that much of it is quite recent. Thus of 

 pappus-bearing composites, ten species are confined to New Zealand 

 and Australia^; six more are found in New Zealand and Australia, 

 but have a wider range outside^. 



No plant of South American, Polynesian or Antarctic affinity is 

 furnished with a pappus. The list of Australian plants includes four 

 species of Epilobium, furnished with pappus-like hairs on the seed ; 

 and 14 species of Orchids (out of a total of 53 species, the remainder 

 being endemic) furnished with very minute light seeds which are 

 easily carried by wind. These facts tend to show that species 

 whose seeds can be distributed by wind are fairly abundant among 

 those plants which are common to New Zealand and Australia, and 

 the probability is that many were thus introduced into these 

 islands*. 



I regret that I cannot give the date for the following interesting 

 occurrence (I think it was about 1877), but it was so striking a 

 phenomenon that it fixed itself in my memory at the time. It 

 occurred in Dunedin in the autumn (February or March). One 

 bright forenoon the sky became strangely overcast from the west, 

 and the sun at midday assumed a coppery appearance. Some 

 persons attributed the phenomenon to bush fires in the western 

 districts, but no such fires were recorded anywhere in New Zealand. 

 Others more accurately thought it was due to a smoke-cloud from 

 Australia. This proved to be the case. Vessels voyaging between 



^ Celmisia longifolia, Vittadinia australis, Gnaphalium traversii, G, colUnum, 

 Craspedia umflora, Erechtites prenanthoides, E. arguta, E. quadridentata, Senecia 

 lautus and Microseris forsteri. 



" Gnaphalium japonicum, G. luteo-album, Picris hieracioides, Taraxacum officinale, 

 Sonchus asper and S. oleraceus. 



' Linnean Soc. 30th Nov. igi6 (London). Using a wind-dispersal apparatus 

 Mr Jas. Small, M.Sc, found that in a light air the fruit of Senecio vulgaris travelled 

 at the rate of i-6 miles per hour through the air, and of Taraxacum officinale 1-5 

 miles per hour. 



