17(3 



PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND 



The tawa seed provides the Maori with tw(j proverbs 



Ka niiihi te ta.wa who ki to riri ! 



W'ell done tawa kernel fighting away ! 



He ta\\a para ! He whati kaii taana. 

 A tawa pulp ! He only runs away ! 



Fig. 51. l-ieilsc'hmiedia 'I'arniri (H nut. size). 



The hard date-like st(jne of tlie tawa fruit synibohzes the 

 hero, wiiilst the fiesliy pulp is tlie eniljlem (jf tlie coward. 



Ctciiiis ('(issjiflid. 



Herliaceous plants, leatless, parasitical upon shrnlis, to which they attiich 

 themselves hy suckers. Stems very sleiifler. Flowers in heads, spikes or 

 panicles. Perianth of G segments. Stamens 12, 8 of which arc iinperfect. 

 Anthers 2-celled. Fruit enclosed in the rieshy perianth. A large genus, chiefly 

 Australian. (Name from the Orcck, signifying the dodder, in allusion to the 

 resemblance between the two plants). 1 sp. 



