436 
BOTANY. 
for rags in the manufacture of paper, for which purpose it is 
admirably adapted. The flax, when immersed in a solution of 
alum, is readily converted into a pulp, and for this purpose, 
the simple leaves being cut and dried in their raw state, would 
be all that is required, and the material might thus be obtained 
at a nominal price, since it grows spontaneously over the 
country. 
The flower stalk is called korari ; the flowers are filled with 
honey, and in such quantities, that the natives collect it in 
calabashes. Between the leaves there is a gelatinous substance, 
which, when dried, is insoluble in water, and might, perhaps, 
be used as a cement for china, and rendering cloth water proof; 
the natives use it as a substitute for sealing wax. The juice 
of the root is also used medicinally. There are many varieties 
of this valuable plant. 
The Rengarenga, maroivarakihi, (arthropodium cirrhatum ,) 
commonly called a lily; it is a pretty flowering plant; the root 
formerly was eaten. 
Rengarenga iti (arthropodium candidum ), is a diminutive 
variety of the former. 
The Kareao. Fam. Similacece (ripogonum parviflorum), is a 
supple-jack which climbs to the top of the highest trees, and 
so mats them together, that it renders the forest impassable, 
except where a path has been cut; the plant is used for binding 
fences, and in building houses; it has a fragrant flower, and 
bears bunches of red berries, upon which the pigeon feeds. 
Fam. Iridcce. The genus libertia has three species— grandi 
flora, ixioides, and micrantha. 
The Rurutu is a red flag-leafed plant growing on grassy 
plains, and bearing a white three-leafed flower. 
Yc\m. Orchidece. Of the terrestrial orcliidece are—( thelymitra 
Forsteri, orthocerus strictum, microtis banksii, acianthus rivu- 
laris, pterostylis banksii, gastrodia sesamoides). The maikaika 
is the common name for all these. A fine green and white one 
abounds in woods and swampy plains ; a small red one also in the 
marshy spots of the interior. The perei, a large kind, is found 
in the woods, it produces tubers of considerable size, which are 
eaten. A beautiful one, with a heart-shaped leaf, is also found 
