﻿Wellington 
  Philosojohical 
  Society. 
  541 
  

  

  This 
  contrast 
  might 
  be 
  carried 
  much 
  farther, 
  but 
  my 
  object 
  is 
  to 
  show 
  

   the 
  relationship 
  between 
  the 
  two 
  floras 
  rather 
  than 
  thek 
  dissimilarity. 
  Before 
  

   proceeding 
  with 
  this 
  subject, 
  however, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  convenient 
  to 
  state 
  two 
  

   facts 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  desirable 
  to 
  keep 
  in 
  mind. 
  The 
  superficial 
  area 
  of 
  New 
  

   Zealand 
  is 
  rather 
  less 
  than 
  100,000 
  square 
  miles 
  ; 
  that 
  of 
  Australia, 
  in- 
  

   cluding 
  Tasmania, 
  is 
  uj)wards 
  of 
  3,000,000 
  square 
  miles. 
  No 
  part 
  of 
  New 
  

   Zealand 
  extends 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  thirty-fourth 
  parallel 
  of 
  latitude, 
  while 
  fully 
  

   two-fifths 
  of 
  Austraha 
  are 
  within 
  the 
  tropic 
  of 
  Capricorn. 
  Further, 
  it 
  

   cannot 
  be 
  doubted 
  that 
  a 
  much 
  larger 
  proportion 
  of 
  new 
  species 
  remains 
  to 
  

   be 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  flora 
  of 
  Australia 
  than 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  

   chiefly 
  among 
  the 
  species 
  yet 
  to 
  be 
  discovered 
  in 
  this 
  colony 
  that 
  we 
  must 
  

   exjject 
  to 
  find 
  further 
  indications 
  of 
  an 
  ancient 
  connection 
  between 
  the 
  two 
  

   floras. 
  

  

  Both 
  assemblages 
  of 
  plants 
  now 
  under 
  consideration 
  have 
  one 
  broad 
  

   feature 
  in 
  common. 
  The 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  species 
  in 
  each 
  is 
  endemic, 
  and 
  

   consists 
  of 
  plants 
  that 
  have 
  originated 
  within 
  the 
  geographical 
  hmits 
  of 
  

   either 
  New 
  Zealand 
  or 
  Australia, 
  as 
  the 
  case 
  may 
  be 
  ; 
  but 
  notwithstanding 
  

   this 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  direct 
  relationship 
  between 
  them. 
  Not 
  only 
  are 
  many 
  plants 
  

   common 
  to 
  both, 
  but 
  others 
  plentiful 
  in 
  one 
  country 
  are 
  represented 
  by 
  

   closely-allied 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  other. 
  

  

  The 
  number 
  of 
  s^Decies 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  common 
  to 
  both 
  countries 
  is 
  — 
  Dico- 
  

   tyledons, 
  143, 
  belonging 
  to 
  92 
  genera; 
  Monocotyledons, 
  95, 
  belonging 
  to 
  60 
  

   genera 
  ; 
  Filicales, 
  87, 
  under 
  30 
  genera. 
  Of 
  these 
  120 
  species 
  are 
  not 
  known 
  

   to 
  occur 
  elsewhere. 
  

  

  If, 
  however, 
  we 
  look 
  at 
  the 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  genera 
  common 
  to 
  both 
  

   countries, 
  we 
  shall 
  see 
  that 
  the 
  relationship 
  is 
  much 
  closer 
  than 
  it 
  appears 
  

   to 
  be 
  from 
  a 
  simple 
  consideration 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  common 
  to 
  both. 
  

   Here 
  we 
  find 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  Dicotyledons. 
  Monocotyledons. 
  Filicales. 
  

  

  Genera 
  .. 
  169 
  .. 
  76 
  .. 
  33 
  

  

  So 
  that 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  181 
  genera 
  containing 
  species 
  common 
  to 
  both 
  

  

  countries, 
  there 
  are 
  96 
  genera 
  re^Dresented 
  in 
  each 
  country 
  by 
  different 
  

  

  species. 
  Leaving 
  the 
  Filicales 
  out 
  of 
  consideration 
  for 
  the 
  present, 
  nearly 
  

  

  five-sixths 
  of 
  the^ 
  Ph^enogamic 
  genera 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand 
  are 
  common 
  to 
  both 
  

  

  countries. 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  at 
  present 
  draw 
  attention 
  to 
  those 
  genera 
  in 
  one 
  

  

  country 
  which 
  take 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  closely-allied 
  genera 
  in 
  the 
  other, 
  but 
  will 
  

  

  simply 
  state 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  natural 
  orders 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  Zealand 
  flora 
  

  

  are 
  also 
  represented 
  in 
  Australia, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  Conariece 
  and 
  

  

  Chloranthacece. 
  

  

  It 
  would, 
  however, 
  as 
  was 
  long 
  since 
  pointed 
  out 
  by 
  Sir 
  Joseph 
  Hooker, 
  

  

  be 
  wrong 
  to 
  infer 
  from 
  this 
  that 
  the 
  flora 
  of 
  this 
  colony 
  is 
  httle 
  more 
  than 
  

  

  an 
  offshoot 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  Australia, 
  since 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  other 
  instance 
  in 
  which 
  

  

  