'^)0 PIjANTS of new ZEALAND 



Rhipogonum scandens (TJie Climhiiu) Bhipoijimuin). 



Tliis iw one of tlie most envious plants of the oi'der. No 

 one who saw for tlie first tnne tlie hlack, snalvv liane-like 

 stems of tlie siip/)Jc-j((cl\ would dream of relegating this plant 

 to the lily tube. The flower is green and inconspicuous, and 

 is home in long spikes or racemes, at the end of the shoots. 

 It is only hy noting the number and arrangement of petals 

 and stamens, that one can realize that the Rhipogomun is a 

 lily. This strangling creeper forms one (.)f the chief obstacles 

 in getting through the bush ; and occasionally renders progress 

 mip()ssible. The brown and l)lack ropes hang and twist 

 everywhere, binding one tree to another, and forming loops 

 and nooses aljove and below. The leaves, which are seen 

 in any number only near the ends of the shoots, are opposite, 

 oval, and entire, thick and leathery, with a metallic sheen 

 upon thein. The berries are (jval, pointed at the end, and of 

 a brilliant scarlet. The wiry stems are so strong, that they 

 may he used as cords without fear of breaking. jRope-ladders 

 have Ijeen made from them, for the purpose of climbing the 

 steep cliffs which shut in the Wanganui River. They are 

 used also in basket-work. In the Chatham Islands, we hear 

 of native huts built of fern-posts, lashed together with supple- 

 jacks, and thatched with toi grass ; also of rafts formed of 

 the flower stalks of PJiormiiim Tcnax, spliced with supple- 

 ja.cks. 



The roots of the Ithiporionurn are used by bushmen as a 

 medicine, a,nd the plant is sometimes called " Bush Sarsa- 

 ])arilla." The native name is Kare-ao, which is plausiljly 

 interpreted to mean (t ttriKtiiKj rope. Fl. Dec. -Feb. 



(j-ein/.s Liizar/ai/a. 



Smii.ll, creeping, glalirous herljs, with stems knotted at the joints. Leaves 

 with netted venation, alternate. Fk>wers regular. Perianth of G leaflets. 

 Fruit a lierry. A genus of two spceies, one in South America and one in New 

 Zealand. 



