GENERAL NOTES. 29 
favourable conditions than those which marked my visit might 
result in the discovery of other introduced plants ; but, however 
that may be, at present Godley Head appears to be the only 
locality in the Colony in which four naturalised Australian plants 
occur within alimited area. Colatis lappulacea was observed in 
a naturalised condition in the Auckland provincial district as far 
back as 1871, although the habitat has not been recorded. Lageno- 
phora emphysopus was observed in the Wellington district a few 
years back, when I supposed it to be indigenous. Its occur- 
rence on Banks’ Peninsula under the conditions stated above 
proves this view to beerroneous. Plantago varia is found in 
considerable quantity in several localities near Wellington. 
Stipa setacea has been observed by Mr. Petrie in two localities 
in the Otago district. Tt. Kim 
Wellington 24th October, 1883. 
NEw INTRODUCED PLANTS.—In the report of the Canter- 
bury School of Agriculture for 1882-3 Mr. T. Kirk draws atten- 
tion to several foreign plants which have made their apperance. 
The most interesting introduction appears to be Cuscuta has- 
staca, the Lucerne dodder, which made its appearance on the 
Californian Alfalfa in the early part of March, shortly after the 
crops had been mown. All the species of the genus Cuscuta 
are parasites belonging to the Convolvulacee, and all undergo 
a remarkable degeneration in their growth. On germination 
the seed produces a terrestrial root and a leafless twining stem. 
This grows only for a short time till it comes into contact with lu- 
cerne or someother plant suitable as a host, when the slender stem 
speedily twines round it. By means of remarkable suckers de- 
veloped on the stem, the parasite now begins to suck the nourish- 
ment from the host, and it gives off branches in all directions, so 
that the adjacent stems of lucerne appear at first sight to spring 
from a tangled mass of yellow shreds lying on the surface of the 
soil. At the same time the terrestrial root perishes, while the 
parasite extracts the whole of its nourishment from the unfor- 
tunate host, which suffers a process of gradual exhaustion. An 
interesting point in connection with the plant at Lincoln is that 
on the whole it evidently prefers the nutritive juices of the wire- 
weed or knotgrass (Polygonum ariculare) to those of lucerne, 
many plants of this species being killed by it. The sorrel 
(Rumex acetosella) was also sparingly attacked, but the parasite 
could scarcely be said to flourish, as it rarely branched, and 
never developed flowers. Czscuta hassiaca is a native of Central 
and Southern Europe, but is naturalised in California, from 
whence the seed sown at Lincoln was obtained. Very few of 
the seeds on the plants examined were found to be perfect, 
which Mr. Kirk thinks is due to the absence of insects capable 
of fertilising this species, which, further, is protandrous, the 
pollen being ripe before the stigmas of the same flowers were 
fully developed. Cuscuta epithymum var. trifoliz, the clover 
dodder, has been partially naturalised in the Colony for some 
