696 
BOTANY. 
varieties of the truffle and rnorell are also found. New Zea- 
land is rich in its Algce, some' of them are edible ; one kind, 
rimu, similar to the chondus crispus, or carrigeen moss, is 
boiled with the juice of the tupakihi; rimuroa a large tubular 
variety, is roasted and eaten. 
Such is the brief sketch of the New Zealand flora, por- 
tions of it may be found in the islands to the north; in 
corroboration of this idea, three New Zealand plants have 
been discovered on the lofty mountain of Kini-balu, in Borneo, 
under the equator, and these, too, of the most peculiar ant- 
arctic New Zealand and Tasmanian genera, viz., Drapetes , 
Phyllocladus, Drimys* and it remains to be proved whether 
even the kauri itself, or a variety of it, may not be found on 
the south-western coast of New Zealand. f 
Thus, the wonderful way in which the various flora of our 
earth blend with each other, clearly establish the harmonious 
unity of the whole ; in Australia, everything blooms in winter ; 
in fact, the seasons are reversed : the trees which retain their 
foliage in winter, shed it in summer, and the wintry winds, 
whose dismal howl tells us that summer is past, are there 
represented by the hot winds of summer, which make the 
same mournful noise, and have the same parching, withering 
effect on vegetation as our wintry ones ; this is not the case 
in New Zealand ; there the trees, indeed, shed their old 
leaves in summer, but the forest is ever green, and little 
difference is perceptible to mark the roll of seasons : an 
equable climate produces an equable vegetation. 
Pact o te Reinga . — This singular plant is a parasite, which, 
unlike others found on branches, attaches itself to the roots 
of trees and blooms underground, though a few of the flowers 
occasionally appear above the surface ; the natives say it is 
allied to the Freicenetia, kie-kie , it certainly bears some 
resemblance in form to the Tawera, the flower of the Ide-kie , 
which may account for its being likened to it ; but in every 
other respect it is quite different, having no leaves, but the 
stalk is covered with brown scales, the petals of the flower 
* See Dr. Hooker’s Introductory Essay, page 36. 
f See Brenner's Journal , who states that he there met with the kauri. 
