a Study in Taxonomic Distribution. 
3i 
Asplenium ohtusatum 
lucidum 
bulbiferum 
flaccidum 
Polystichum + aculeatum 
capense 
Dryopteris f hispida 
Polypodium f punctatum 
Billardieri 
ABC ABC 
X 
X 
X 
Polypodium f grammitidis 
XXX 
X 
X 
X 
Cyclophorus serpens 
X 
X 
Gleichenia f circinata 
X, 
X 
X 
dicarpa 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Cunninghamii 
X 
Schizaea Jisiulosa 
XXX 
X 
Todea hymenophylloides 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
superba 
X 
A glance at the table will show that the species predicted form 
a very representative well-distributed assortment. There are 70 out of 200 
Dicotyledons, or 35 per cent., 53 out of 1 1 1 Monocotyledons, or 47 per cent, 
and 43 out of 57 ferns, or 75 per cent. We may draw attention to 
Onagraceae, and especially Epilobiuni (all 6 species predicted), Coprosma 
(6 of 9), Orchidaceae, Juncaceae, and the ferns, including Pteris (all 3 species), 
L omaria (7 out of g), and Asplenium (all 5). 
There remain unpredicted 188 Angiosperms and 14 ferns. Ten of the 
former are local endemics which are dealt with below, and it might be 
possible to maintain that there is still room for relicts among the remaining 
178. It is therefore of interest to trace their distribution in New Zealand. 
None have discontinuous areas, which is a feature that one might expect 
sometimes to show among relicts. Classifying them according to their 
range (two do not occur in New Zealand proper) we get : 
Table II. 
No. of Species. Including 
Class 1. 1 
,001-1,080 m. 
75 
2. 
881-1,000 
16 
3 - 
761-880 
26 
4. 
641-760 
14 
5 * 
521-640 
15 
6. 
401-520 
14 
7 - 
281-400 
4 
8. 
161-280 
7 
9 * 
41-160 
5 
10. 
1-40 
— 
Mean rarity 
Mean rarity for New Zealand 
176 
3*o 
5*5 
33 wides 42 endemics 1 
3 13 
146 10 16 
3 11 
1 14 
2 12 
— 4 
30 — 7 
— 5 
52 124 
i- 8 3-4 
3*7 6 *i 
It is fairly evident that one can hardly consider as relicts the 146 
species of classes x to 5, which also reach the North Island, and that include 
50 wides, some of which, like Spergularia media , , are almost world-ranging. 
Thus there remain at most only 30 to choose from, or less than 10 per cent, 
of the flora of Stewart. It would be stretching too far an unproved 
hypothesis (that of the supposition that most species of very limited range 
are dying out) to include the 14 in class 6, which are mostly held up at 
1 Endemic to New Zealand or New Zealand and islands. 
