520 
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
[Vol. io, 
sive tracts with its clumps of tall, stiff leaves, five or six feet high, and at 
the time of my visit the flowering scapes, almost twice the height of the 
leaves, were opening their racemes of dark-red tubular flowers, attracting 
the honey-eating birds. Associated with the flax is the “ cabbage-tree, ” 
Cordyline Australis , much resembling a tree-Yucca, and often grown in 
California under the name “Yucca-palm. ” It bears great panicles of small 
very fragrant white flowers. These two plants in full flower, together with 
the extensive thickets of Leptospermum covered with myriads of pretty 
white blossoms, made a very attractive floral display. 
In the moist, sheltered gullies, a quite different type of vegetation pre¬ 
vailed. These gullies were quite filled with a dense growth of tree-ferns 
and palms, presenting a quite tropical picture and a great contrast to the 
dry manuka scrub. 
Text Fig. 2. Tussock-grass formation; in background, Cordyline Australis and 
Phormium tenax . Photographed by Mr. W. D. Reid. 
In the vicinity of Auckland are several very perfect small volcanic cones, 
the most interesting being Rangitoto, an island in the harbor a few miles 
from Auckland. This has been set aside as a reservation, and the native 
vegetation has been very little interfered with, and, as it is several miles 
away from the mainland, only a few weeds have obtained a foothold. The 
