'-! PIjAXTS of new ZEALAND 



variety of conditions they offer, and partly, no doubt, to the 

 nature of the floras fmni wliicli tlieir own lias Ijeen derived ; 

 but also to unknown factors that have not, as yet, come 

 witlini the ken of tlie nrvestigator. 



Xot onl>- does the flora contain a unique asseml)lage of 

 local species, it also shows an unusually varied assortment of 

 plant families and associations. Nor is this to be wondered 

 at, if we consider the changes of climatic, geographical, and 

 geological conditions to be met with every few miles. We 

 would certainly expect to find man)' very different kinds of 

 vegeta.tion between the warm sub-tropical ravines of the 

 volcanic Kermadecs, and the wind-swept heights of the sub- 

 Antarctic Auckland Islands ; and we are not disappointed iii 

 (jui- search. Hooker, and other earl\' botanists, declared that 

 the plant covering was constant over wide areas ; brit this 

 generalisation was largely due to an imperfect acquaintance 

 with the distribution of the species, and with the rarer forms 

 of the flora. It has not been borne out by the work of more 

 recent investigators. Many New Zealand plants are very 

 restricted in their distribution. 



The altitudmal changes of climate are as well marked as 

 those of latitude. There is often not more than twenty or 

 thii't)' miles distance between the line of sea-level and that of 

 pei'petual snow. Thus, within a comparatively small area, all 

 t\'[)es of plants may be found, from those of the sea-shore, to 

 those of alpine heights. C4reat variations in rainfall are also 

 ti") be met with in places not far apart. This, of course, is 

 largely due to the presence of high mountain chains, such as the 

 Southein Alps, the Kaikouras, and Euahines. The smallest 

 a\'erage rainfall yet recorded is that of Cl>'de, with 15 inches, 

 and the highest, •2'J8 inches, at Puysegur Point. The hirmer 

 place is m Central, the la.tter in South-Western Otago ; and 

 the distance between them is onI\' 150 miles. Indeed, there 

 are few districts of e(pial extent that can show so nian\- 

 changes of climate, elevation, and surface in such a small 



