518 
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
[Vol. io, 
like an olive leaf, while the tree, except when young, hardly suggests a 
conifer. At first it has a symmetrical conical growth like a pine or fir; 
but after a time, the lateral branches fall off, leaving a smooth cylindrical 
bole with very little taper. This columnar trunk may reach a height of 
60-80 feet, or possibly more, and then divides into several great diverging 
branches which form an immense spreading crown of foliage, giving the 
tree a most characteristic appearance. 
Text Fig. i. Base of Kauri (Agathis Australis). North Auckland district. Photo¬ 
graphed by Dr. L. Cockayne. 
The interior of the Kauri forest is most impressive. At intervals the 
huge gray columns rise—sometimes 8 or 10 feet or even more in diameter, 
and between them are the slender stems of smaller trees. The ground is 
covered with a carpet of vegetation—ferns, sedges, liverworts, and mosses, 
among which grow young trees and shrubs of various species. The largest 
tree I saw measured 36 feet, 6 inches in circumference at about six feet 
above the great heap of humus at its base. It is said that trunks upwards 
of 20 feet in diameter have been measured, but it is doubtful if any trees of 
these dimensions have survived the onslaughts of the lumbermen. In any 
case, the Kauri must be classed with the giants of the Vegetable Kingdom. 
The commonest tree associated with the Kauri is Beilschmiedia taraire 
(Lauraceae), a slender tree about 50 feet high. Another common and con¬ 
spicuous tree is the “rata” (Metrosideros robusta ), very showy when covered 
with its crimson flowers, much like those of the Hawaiian M. polymorpha. 
