Dec., 1923] 
CAMPBELL — AUSTRALASIAN BOTANICAL NOTES 
521 
cone is about 300 meters in height, and the ascent is a very easy one. At 
the summit is a perfect crater, at the bottom of which a solitary pine was 
noticed—probably a seedling of the Monterey pine (P. radiata). This 
species is the commonest tree in cultivation in New Zealand, and the seeds 
are readily dispersed by the wind. A few weeds, also obviously migrants 
from the mainland, were noted, and a few plants of the common fox-glove— 
also unmistakably introduced. 
Dr. D. Petrie, of Auckland, a well known student of the New Zealand 
flora, was in our little party, and pointed out the many interesting plants 
comprising the flora of the island. 
The slopes of the volcano are composed of broken masses of scoria, and 
growing on these it was interesting to note a number of species which 
ordinarily are rain-forest epiphytes, such as Peperomia Endlicheri. Per¬ 
haps the most notable of these were Metrosideros robusta and Griselinia 
lucida. Among the most unexpected denizens of these exposed volcanic 
rocks were two or three filmy ferns, one of which, Trichomanes reniforme , is 
a common rain-forest epiphyte. The behavior of these plants recalls the 
similar habit of certain Hawaiian species which invade the recent lava 
flows. In Hawaii, Metrosideros polymorpha, usually, like M. robusta , an 
epiphyte in its juvenile stage, is one of the first trees to invade the bare 
lava. 
Other rain-forest species, e.g., Coprosma lucida , C. robusta , and Genio- 
stoma ligustrifolium manage to grow, but have developed thicker and 
smaller leaves than in their usual habitat. 3 
Among the other trees and shrubs, a second species of Metrosideros, 
M. tomentosa, was conspicuous. This is abundant in the Auckland district, 
and is said to be very beautiful about Christmas time when covered with 
masses of crimson flowers. Both species of Leptospermum were seen, and 
the brilliant green foliage of the Coprosmas and Geniostoma, already 
mentioned, at once caught the eye, as did a handsome Araliad, Panax 
arboreum, a common and beautiful shrub or small tree. My attention was 
also called to a number of less striking and less familiar genera— e.g., Myr- 
sine, Dodonaea, Pomaderris, Myoporum, and others. 
A number of genera which in northern latitudes are usually herbaceous, 
in New Zealand become shrubs, often of considerable size. Of these, 
Veronica is especially notable, and the Compositae, like Senecio and Olearia 
(near Aster), are ordinarily shrubby species. Herbaceous plants are rather 
in the minority, but several familiar-looking buttercups, geraniums, and 
oxalis were noted, and a couple of inconspicuous orchids, one of which, 
Thelymitra sp., was much less beautiful than some of the Australian species. 
A coarse sedge, Mariscus ustulatus , and two species of Astelia, A. 
Banksii and A. Cunninghamii, were abundant, and, on rocks near the 
shore, Salicornia australis. 
3 Cockayne. New Zealand plants and their story, p. 41. Wellington, 1919. 
