RANUNCULUS LYALLII.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 2, 3 January 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)

RANUNCULUS LYALLII.

Ranunculus Lyallii is not new to British, gardens, for specimens were exhibited by Messrs. Qnric of a. meeting of the Royal Horn Xtf a«S * 2 e Kew known as the mountem i lily in New Zealand, and was first collected y • Lyall when on a surveying voyage n H.M.S. Acheron' (1847-0). In a wild state it is confined to the the Middle Island, being found ctaefly in Canterbury and Otago al elevations ranging from 1000 ft to 4000 ft. Some find° a "considerable difficulty in growing the plant, and apparently it is best suited for the moraine, as Mr. Arnv strong, writing in "Gardeners Chronicle, March 21, 1885, p. 370, states that it "-rows on mountain elopes below tne snow fields, where the ground is usually moist during summer from the tricking downwards of the melting snow. Lam writer also states that "the drainage of the elopes is rendered perfect by tne masses of rock debris which have been worn away by the frosts of ages, and these are generally nearly or quite covered up with peat, formed by tne decay of the countless plants which have grown upon them." It is on this natural rockery that the mountain lily flourishes best, though it is sometimes found in sand or even in shingle, witn scarcely any peat. It is also usually found in situations shaded from tho midday sun—such, for instance, as tne southern face of a defile or gorge. On mountains facing the south in New Zealand the plant covers the ground for hundreds of acres with one huge sheet of white, but more usually it grows in patches of a score or thirty plants, nestling amongst straggling plants of olearias, veronica*!, or other shrubs. A peaty soil, with a fair proportion ot sand, is best as a rooting medium; a constant supply of moisture,, both m the soil and atmosphere, and perfect drainage are also necessary. The flowers are usually white, but they are sometimes tinged with pink.