. M Jk altered by nearly a century of 

 ! nirlm,: bv b.^> dOVW hoofs and 

 vhuc clover is widespread Ihrough It. 

 J . other introductions noted 

 ,hI.I plRfltS ol Si. lohns Won 

 ,1 kvo ancient herbs ol the Rose 

 J"L | ,kK s Mantle and ihc Wood 

 ,11 three of which feature in 



Ifwito 1,1 ,tlL ' old worM :Mld ;,rc 



pnibahly SlUl in use by pharmacists 

 Ind herbalists. 



ff#m • v,:intlc likcs 



.,, ir.ul down over ihc water. JtS 

 icm-pjlmatc pleated leaves often 



■uigitUI tinted and the small greenish- 

 flfBM) (lowers borne in packed 



^..r.scciues. The alchemists of old 



m saiu to hase carefully ttlteeted 



jfe dew from its leaves as this was 

 8K of the ingredients of Ibe elixir 

 bcMowed perpetual youth, dcitm 

 vbawm, the Wood Avcns or Hern 

 Btrtnet, grows In the shelter of tbc 

 snow glMJS. At a glance the seed- 

 ntads resemble those of the native 

 Btflgcc-widgyc Butt Inn the plant is 

 much MtUcf, I"ach ,,chcuc is equipped 

 wiui a long booked awn just like an 

 ,.ld -i .isluoiied buttonhook, a most 

 .tTixtisc shekfast lor m;in and beast. 

 \iBBg 'A uli miihuis other useful pro- 

 perties il was supposed to possess the 

 power of warding off evil spirits. 



In spue of the rain and fog 

 pl.isiii wrappcd figures roamed the 

 ...'•■iiivsale. delighted to find it well 

 tumivhed with many of the alpine 

 mill plants in flower and berry 

 P&fet of manv kinds were legion. 



s descent down Ihc mountain tbc 



lltlb c.cek below .be hut. a head- 

 water of the Caledonia River, had 

 .-jived for itself a spectacular gorge 

 with remarkable deep and rugged 

 c| '• C irrUgSJkd in something like 

 nrgao pipe fnrmation. Where it 

 MtdkS the gorge truct the creek In 

 tlncncd sharply round the point ot 

 It IMttrOK spur, a place of Mack 

 lumhlcd rocks uud foaming cas- 



cades, terminating in a long vertical 

 tall The damp rocks are spotted 

 with eruMaeeous lichens in big pale 

 patches and Mother Shield-fern trails 

 ions grCCll plumes down the dill's. 

 Hftra Mr. Morrison had located the 

 hnv Hiiger-lern. (Grttmmiii\ mm- 

 snnnyjh. but although most of us 

 knew ol us existence no one rccog- 

 nised n then, it was so unexpectedly 

 minute and wi fernlikc. U grows in 

 pads ol moss and root fibre wilh 

 little hold on Ihc rock and its most 

 robust lionds were barely an inch 

 in length. In the same area the 

 dainty Brittle Bladder fern (C .vvro- 

 pt,ri\ Iruuilis) is not uncommon 

 in crevices, often with the hetter 

 known Necklace Fern (AipUninm 

 llulicllilalttim), Alpine Water-fern 

 IhUilmturt p< •nw-ituimui). and the 

 Shield Fern ( I'nhsikhum pmhii rion ) 

 ate widespread throughout !he snow 

 fields. 



The Moonwort iBouk'lvum hm- 

 unu) . was icported from a Toeky 

 point across the creek but few of the 

 party were lucky enough to see it. 

 On (fee opposite s,,.k or Won nan - 

 gatia fall Of the plains Brittle Bladder- 

 fcui was found growing prolilicilh 

 in company with the Common 

 Spleen wort [A spit-mum irkhomtinns) ■ 

 A forest road gave access to die foot 

 of a cliiT facing the morning sun 

 and these ferns were a truly lovely 

 sighi trailing down through Cf&cks 

 and shallow cavities in the basalt, 

 with m occasional water drop splash- 

 ing down from above Here again 

 we have, in the Moonwort and (he 

 Spteenwort. planLs credited hy the 

 earliest wriicrs with fabled powers of 

 healing 



Except for a few nondescript toad- 

 stools en* win? on manures, fungi 

 w..s disappointingly scarce The 

 small woollv bud's nest tyre, Cnwi- 

 hulum YltfgtVe, was hrought in on ■ 

 J.v cowpat and a soft crimson polv- 



Augun. 1971 



