BOTANY. 
149 
tor several hundred feet, and is covered with mosses and lichens, 
and is then at once succeeded by an Alpine vegetation. In the 
mountains of the Grey, on the other hand, the birch forest main¬ 
tains its growth in full vigour to a height of 3,000 feet, and is 
then at once succeeded by a sub-Alpine vegetation of a remarkable 
character and dense growth. Amongst'it a Dracophyllum takes 
the first place; whilst Metrosideros lucida, Eurybia nitida, a 
oenecio, and a new species of Eurybia, nearly resembling Eurybia 
Ounnmghamii, and a new species' of W einmannia, are very frequent, 
n sheltered places the Dracophyllum latifolium grows to the size 
of a small tree, its graceful form contrasting agreeably with the 
dwarf ramose plants around. At a height of 4,200 to 4,300 feet, 
these sub-alpine shrubs cease to grow, and are succeeded by dif¬ 
ferent kinds of snow grasses, so called by the settlers because they 
indicate the line at which, during the winter, the snow remains 
longest. These grasses belong to the genera Danthonia, Deyenxia, 
&c., and are generally intermixed with flowers of the same order 
as observed on Mounts llobert and Murchison. 
On Black-hill I found several umbelliferous plants, amongst 
which I discovered a new and beautiful species of Gingidium, to 
which my distinguished friend, Dr. Ferdinand Muller, of Mel¬ 
bourne, has given my name. 
The plains on the western side of the central chain contain many 
open spots covered with grasses, amongst which several species of 
Lycopodium were growing. In the more stony places I found a 
Gaultheria, which appears to me to be quite distinct from any 
hitherto described. In the other boggy ground, formerly occupied 
by forest trees, of which the prostrated trunks are only half buried, 
a new vegetation has sprung up, consisting principally of stunted 
manuka (Leptospermum scoparium), Arundo Australis, the wiry, 
rigid Calorophus minus, and the stunted looking fern, Gleichenia 
dicarpa, which is largely distributed under the same circumstances 
over both islands. I also collected a very large Polytrichum, 
which I think will prove to be a new variety. Besides these 
plants and the common Pteris esculenta, I occasionally found 
other ferns, as, for instance, the Pteris scaberula, the Nephrodium 
decompositum, the Hypholepis millefolium, as well as several 
species of the genus Lomaria. 
In the forest of the Grey plains the larger trees consist often 
exclusively of totara, kahikatea, and rimu, whilst the ground is 
covered with ferns not previously met with, amongst which I par¬ 
ticularly noticed the beautiful Leptopteris superba, the Pteris ves- 
pertilionis, the Gleichenia Cunninghamii, and several species of the 
genera Lindsea and Adiantum. 
On the coast a striking change occurs in the character of the 
vegetation. Here for the first time we found the nikau palm 
(Areca sapida), sometimes in such masses as to form perfect groves, 
and in others covering with its graceful form the summits of the 
