MANY YEARS AGO

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 192, 29 July 1932, Page 10

MANY YEARS AGO

From Water to Land: There is little doubt that life, both animal and vegetable, first made its appearance in water, and that many years passed before some adventurous forms invaded the land and adapted themselves to a terrestrial existence. Algae and seaweeds may be regarded as direct descendants of the original aquatic types, but what are generally designated water plants to-day, such as water-lily, water-hyacinth and water-violet, are the offsprings of typical land plants which have taken to the water late in life.

From Land to Water: A careful search of the growth on the banks of a pond or lake shows every clearly how the transition from land to water has been brought about. The upper ground will be covered with vegetation common to the land of the district, but as the soil becomes wetter these give place to such forms as rushes and iris. These in turn are replaced as the water’s edge is approached by reeds, arrowhead and mangoes. Then come water lilies, pond weeds and many others, some of which are rooted in the mud at the bottom, while others float suspended at the surface. Thus we find graduation from ordinary land plants to marsh and bog species to true aquatics.