WORLD'S FINEST

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 131, 1 December 1930, Page 10

WORLD'S FINEST

CONQUERING KAURI

NATIONAL PRIDE IN PLANTS

FLORAL SYMBOLS

What is tlio finest plant in the world 1 ..... The finest, says Mr.~B. C, Aston, is the ■ - kauri.' He finds in New Zcalundcrs' pride ■:■'. in their forests and birds the sure sign ■■■■': of "steady growth of national feeling." That pride does "credit to both the head and theheart of ,a New Zealand- . er _to his heart, because" he ought to feel like that; and to his head, because our plants really are wonderful. Still,' • ~ the head factor is the subordinate one. - ; "It is'not (writes Mr. Aston) that cur plants are any bettor than those of any other land, though this may • riehtly be claimed. It is like the love -of a mother for her child. One does not seek for reasons to account tor love; and so, when distinguished botanists say that New Zealand contains the .' finest, most beautiful, most vivid and sweetest scented plants in the world, 'we may agree, but it is not because of this that we love them, but because ' they are our. very own." That these ' 'superlatives, are. justified, certain fpcts may be, stated. ' . MATHEMATICS FAIL. •' "As the finest plant in the world the kauri may boldly be advanced. The : yield of timber in a tree is stated to be greater than that of the 'Big Tree' of California. The kauri is a tree so great that figures and pictures are unconvincing compared with a visit to one of these trees. There is something stupendous in the immensity of this '"'■ tree when one remembers that it is a mere vegetable. One experiences the same feeling in the New Zealand fiords ■■ when standing on a vessel's deck under Mitre Peak. No picture can be shown of a kauri that will convey a, proper . idqa of the relative size of • this inon- . . ■ ster of the woods towering above the neighbouring forest." Mr. Aston's article appears ill the "Junior Bed Cross Journal." He ■ -writes:—-"Patriotism, like religion, ' uses symbols to stimulate fervour aud fix attention in the minds of the de--voted.. Most countries have adopted some floral emblem as a symbol of nation. Thus, within the Empire, England has the rose, Scotland the thistle, Ireland the shamrock, Canada the ' maple' leaf, Australia the waratah. It "•■■ is'to be hoped that New Zealand will '' some day .officially afiopt the fern leaf as the national emblem, for it is distinctly a land of ferns, and New Zea- ■ r landers have left its' shores wearing • this symbol to struggle for supremacy ■in sport, or to fight to the death on the field of battle. There may be other , emblems suggested, but the fern leaf is . already in our hearts. The distinctive ~. part of a land which fosters-the love of country is the vegetation or, as it might more generally be called, the wild life. . . "Beauty in plants may relate to .'. cither form, colour, >or scent. The most beautiful New Zealand plant in form is probably the so-called Mouat Cook Lily, which is really a buttercup (Ranunculus Lyalli). This is the- type .. •of beauty which is most easy to depict by art. The waxy 'pure whito flowers with their yellow centres and the perfect shape of the shield-like leaves may he seen at Dr. Cockayne's Open Air Plant Museum, Wilton's Bush, in early summer. There are other plants -of this family which may be thought to compete for the title, notably the large flowered clematis and some of the other giant alpine buttercups (R. Godleyanus, E. Buchanani, R. insignis, etc.) MISTLETOE, QUEEN OF COLOUR. "The supremacy in colour beauty • may be bestowed on the largest red : mistletoe (Elythranthe Colensoi), a Nature graft on the beech trees of1 a -: plant which is somewhat unkindly call- ': ;•■ ed a parasite. It seems as though Na- -:. ture has endeavoured to atone for the absence of colour in the^beeeh forest' ~ by the gift of this most vivid scarlet foster child to the beech. A tree covered with this flower is something ■which transcends all other colour effects from New; Zealand plants. Other competitors are, of course, the ratas, but 310 common flower is so brilliant, al- . , though in the Far North a small climb- ; ing species of rata is most vivid with ".. pink flowers. - "In blue flowers there are few, and those never massed together. Some ' fine blue flowered koromikos and v .. beautiful forget-me-not, unfortunately ."..' rare, and difficult to grow, may_ be . given as instances. In less striking . . tones of colour we have other plants ■~. vh'ieli-rank high as garden shrubs, not- .. ably the kaka beak (Clianthiis), the kowhai (Edwardsia), and the species ~ of Notospartium sometimes called the New Zealand leafless broom from the Marlborough. Province, the home of so many fine plants. This plant gives a splendid massed effect of pinkish or bluish' flowers, lasting for some weeks, and even when not in flower, the whole plant has 3 graceful weeping habit. . Sotospartium is easily raised from cuttings or seed and will eventually take .b, high place as a garden plant. ' "When the exact cultural requirements are known Alseuosmia will be -.; a great favourite. As the name 'scent .of the woods' implies, the outstanding characteristic of this plant is fragrance, but it has the additional merits of handsome leaves and long dark-red . flowers. There are several species, all are sweetly scented, but do not possess the three gifts iv so marked a degree as the first one. "In colour and form, the New Zealand blue-bells (Wahlenbergia) possess Boveral beautiful herbs which die down in winter and start into growth from the hidden roots in tho warmth of the spring. These specius are mainly suitable for a nioraino garden, and arc charming to a degree. The excellent . plant Colensoa, named in honour of a great pioneer, has glorious azure/blue fruits and flowers as-well as handsome . . foliage, and may bo d'asily "grown in .. shady, moist, and frost-free situations. "Possessing sweetly-scented and waxy white flowers, which, in the mass, are ... highly attractive, the climber Parsonsia is very striking in spring scrambling on other shrubs. The pink and -,:. , white convolvulus (C. Soldanclla) paints the sandhills with beauty in form .and colour. Here, also, tho delightful Pimelia arenaria suggests the making of a sand garden for plants that will not grow elsewhere, but yet on sand may be established. EXEMPLARS OF FORM. : "The great majority of Now Zealand • plants have whito or pale coloured flowers, and these appeal to one from a sense of J.he beauty of form rather than that of colour. The buttercups and daisies of our mountain sides are indeed among the glories of the floral world, and that they accomplish this without tho aid of colour is proof of their excellence in one department— ' form. "The third ground on which plants . make their appeal to us is one which . gratifies .-mother sense —that of smell. Comparatively few of the herbaceous ■ plants aro scented, but of the daisy family, whether herbs or fires, fill are ■ scented in some degree, and all givo off a very sweet smoke* when burnt. Indeed Celtnisia leaves have been called '.; the 'Shepherds' tobacco,' while in the bush when picnicking, one can always ,/lotcct tho use of daisy tree wood under the billy by the flagrant smoke, though

all wood smoke is delightful and re- J calls happy times. The plant outstanding for its fragrance of flower is rather an exceptional member of tho beautiful daisy tree family, for it has no conspicuous flowers and drops the leaves entirely in winter in marked contrast to tho evergreen shrubs and trees of the country. This bareness in winter is compensated for by the delightful green silky foliage in spring, of such a soft, dolicato texture that the leaves alone arc charming, but the scent of tho minute flowers, in early summer is exquisite. "There are some scented plants which arc over-powering and cannot be endured long in a room Joy a sensitive person. Such, for instance, is that of lilies, and, in our own flora, that of the night-scented pittosporum shrubs so common in all gardens. But the scent of OJ,earia fragrantissima when in flower is something that one can never have enough of. It has been likened to that of ripo peaches, which conveys a very crude idea' of the beauty of scent. Falling short in excellence of these three truly regal members of the flora, there are hosts of .other plan-ts. which, although they do not exabt homage, easily command our love. "It will bo noticed that many plants which make a particular appeal to our affections have a combination of the three—form, colour, and scent. The peerless clematis, secure in the distinction of its dazzling white flowers, has humbler sister species having smaller flowers of yellowish or greenish colour, but with an attractive scent. Several daisy trees which flourish on the most windy and sea-sprayed situations of rocky coasts show the three gifts in a high degree, leaves and flowers aro finely formed and coloured and have, in addition, a/charming fragrance. 'Tete-a-weka' is tho Maori name of one of tho best of this group, known as the large-headed ('macroceplialus') , Olearias. The very large number of species of this great family of composites give off scent from the leaves in warm, moist weather, and one alpine shrub is known as tho 'Musk plant.' " .