BOTANY. 
435 
cauliflower, which is succeeded by a bunch of red berries. 
The pinnate leaf is of large size, and is used in lining the 
inside of the roof; the natives plait it very neatly ; the 
tender shoot is eaten; it tastes somewhat like a nut. The 
stem is of a dark clear green color, and at every four inches 
there is a ring, which marks its age. It is only found in the 
dense forest. 
The nearly allied asphodelacese, have more species, and give 
a character to the plain. The ti, (cordeline Australis , or dra- 
cena Australis,) is found throughout the island in great 
abundance, excepting on the interior plains, where it is 
seldom, if ever seen. Though so common, it has a very 
foreign look, and until it begins to flower, which it does when 
about eight years old, there are no branches ; afterwards every 
year adds to them, and the older it becomes, the more they are 
increased; it eventually becomes a very large tree of several 
feet in diameter, but of no use, as the trunk is composed of a 
mass of loose fibres; the leaf is that of a flag ; the flower 
forms a large droop, and is very fragrant. The root of the 
young tree is eaten ; when cooked it contains much saccharine 
matter; it is then called mauku. The tender shoot also is 
edible, though rather bitter. The missionaries brewed good 
beer from the baked root. 
The turuki ( cordyline stricta ) is a tree only differing from 
the ti in having a narrower leaf; it grows in forests, and is 
also called ti nyahere : it has a strong fibre. 
Toi (dracena indivisa). The fibre of this tree is remark¬ 
ably strong and durable ; the natives use it in the manufacture 
of rough mats. It is peculiarly adapted for rope, as it does 
not contract in water like the phormium tenax. The root is 
eaten; when cooked it is called kauru, and is very full of 
saccharine matter. The leaf is remarkably long and broad, 
and the flower is extremely fragrant. 
Harakeke (phormium tenax). This plant is well known, but 
not yet so much as it deserves, for although it has gained much 
celebrity from the fine mats made of it by the natives, and 
also for the strength of its fibre in the manufacture of rope, 
it will, 1 am persuaded, soon be better known as a substitute 
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