THE AGE OF NEW ZEALAND. 
439 
from one up to nine, the diminutive daisy, the harebell, wil- 
low plant, speedwell, persecaria, the scentless violet, St. 
John’s wort, and many other familiar flowers which are 
at once recognised as the original types of their more perfect 
descendants on the other side of the world. 
So likewise with the fruits of New Zealand, if there are no 
stone pears, or plums, as in Australia, in their place appear 
the outward forms, covered with a purple bloom as of a 
luscious fruit of most inviting appearance, but in reality 
being only a painted stone or bitter kernel. 
In the New Zealand swamps may be seen a cyperaceous 
plant, which the natives call Pureirei , it is often found with 
a stem of nearly five feet, composed of a number of grassy 
stalks, cemented together in one mass, apparently by a 
resinous exudation, thus giving it a tree-like character ; this 
may be regarded as the simplest form of a rudimentary tree 
which seems to precede the Xanthorea hastilis, or Australian 
grass tree, which also belongs to the same natural order as 
the other, but differs from it by having the mass of stalks or 
fibres which compose the stem covered with a kind of bark, 
defended by a coating of gum, thus approaching one step 
nearer to the perfect tree, still it is branchless, but this 
deficiency also applies to all the members of the palm family ; 
whilst the Ti dracena and cordyline stricta advance still fur- 
ther and are branched, and attain the size of timber trees, 
though still retaining the rudimentary character of the 
former. Indeed, some plants of this order have attained 
a size and age which have rendered them conspicuous 
amongst all the productions of the vegetable kingdom; of 
such was the Dragon tree of Orotawa. 
These are all to be regarded as indications of an Ancient 
and primitive flora, to this effect, Dr. Hooker, speaking of 
the Australian flora, says : — “ That its origin is referable 
to another period of the world’s history, from that which 
contemporaneously peopled the rest of the globe with its 
existing vegetation.” 
It has been a general idea that Australia and New Zea- 
land are of very recent formation, that, in fact, the same 
