■^'2i PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



berries. No other observer seems to have noted the occur- 

 rence of tliis cnri(jus phenomenon. It certainly- is very rare, if 

 existent. Its httle white bell-hke corollas make Gaultheria 

 tlie prettiest of our common heaths. 



Mr. G, M. Thomson lias tried to prove the existence of 

 a correlation, l^etween tlie pungent tips of the leaves, in 

 certain species of this order, and the presence of herbivorous 

 animals. Lcitcojiofjoii Fm.ieri, which has sharp-pointed leaves, 

 is found, not only in New Zealand, but also in Australia. 

 L. fdsciculatiis, which he erroneously states to be without 

 pungent leaf-tips, is endemic. Of five species of Archeria 

 two found in New Zealand, and one in Tasmania, have rounded 

 apices to the leaves, whereas the two Australian species have 

 sliarp-pomted tips. It is possible, that the acute apices 

 of the Australian plants, may l)e a protection against grazing 

 animals, but it is just as likely, that they may be an adaptation 

 to the drier conditions of the Australian climate. The fact 

 that many of the endemic species of the genus Dracojjhylliim 

 have leaves with pungent tips, seems in favour of the latter 

 hypothesis. 



This genus has its headquarters in New Zealand, with 

 a few outlying representatives in Australia and New 

 Caledonia. Plants belonging to it are generally known to 

 colonists as grass-trees, though tliis term is also applied in 

 Otago to the lance- wood (Pseiidopanax) . The name is. 

 doubtless due to the long grass-like leaves of most of the 

 species. The broad-leaved species, D. Trnversli. of the South 

 Island, and D. latifolium, found chiefly in the kauri forests 

 of the Auckland province, are known as nei-nei, and might, 

 almost be taken for a kind of cabbage-tree. D. latifoUum 

 produces a great spike of handsome red flowers. D. subulatiim 

 and D. Urvilleaniim are components of the heaths, the former 

 being found only in the North Island. D. longifolium is a 

 common sub-alpine tree in the South Island, reaching sea-level 

 in Southern Otago and Stewart Island. The leaves of D. 



