SENECIO ROTUNDIFOLIUS, Hook. f. 
THE PUHERITAIKO. 
OrpEr—_COMPOSIT A. 
(Plate CXVI.) 
Tuer puheritaiko was originally discovered by Forster in Dusky Sound, and was 
described by him under the name of Cineraria rotundifolius, but was removed to 
Senecio by Sir Joseph Hooker on the publication of the “ Flora Nove-Zelandiz.”’ 
I am indebted to Mr. Charles Traill, of Stewart Island, for the Native name, 
‘ nuheritaiko.”’ 
It forms a very handsome and striking plant; its stiff, coriaceous, bright- 
ereen leaves, with white under-surfaces, are most attractive, although, from the 
absence of rays, the inflorescence is not showy. It usually grows in the most 
exposed situations, and frequently in places where it 1s washed by the sea-spray : 
when growing in woods it develops fewer branches. 
Senecio rotundifolius is a shrub or small tree, sometimes 30ft. high, with a 
trunk 2ft. in diameter, clothed with extremely thin smooth bark. The branches 
are very stout, and, with the leaf-stalks, under-surfaces of the leaves, and 
panicles, are clothed with a coating of rather loose white or buff hairs. The 
leaves are alternate, and are carried on leaf-stalks from Iin. to 3in. long, the 
blades being more or less rounded and from 2in, to 4in. broad, of very thick 
leathery texture, bright glossy green above, white beneath, and furnished with a 
stout marginal nerve. 
The flowers are produced in much-branched panicles at the tips of the 
branches; the heads are numerous, about 3in. in diameter, with stout involucral 
scales clothed with white hairs. The florets are tubular and bell-shaped at the 
mouth ; they may be all perfect, or a few of the outer series may be female but 
destitute of rays. The flowers are produced during the months of November 
and December. 
PROPERTIES AND USES. 
The wood of the puheritaiko is of a pale-brown colour, with a bright satiny 
lustre and pretty silver grain: it is rarely figured, but 1s suitable for many kinds 
of ornamental work, for inlaying, and for general turnery purposes. The power 
of sustaining the force of the fiercest gales and the dashing of the spray exhibited 
by this tree is marvellous; I have never seen a leaf torn or injured by the 
action of either: this is partly due to the thick texture of the leaf, but more 
especially to the stout marginal nerve with which it is furnished. It is of great 
value for planting as shelter in exposed situations. On such places as Dog 
Island it would enable the lighthouse-keepers to form a garden with but little 
trouble: thousands of seedlings could be readily obtained from Stewart Island 
or the sounds of the south-west coast. 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE GENUS. 
Senecio is a large genus, comprising fully nine hundred species, found in 
nearly all parts of the world, from the arctic to the antarctic regions. 
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