Page 7 Advertisements Column 3

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7198, 22 April 1930, Page 7

MAORI MATURE MOTES

'fs (Specially written for the “Manawatu Daily Times”) [Copyright J.H.S.] SBSPAUNGATUA (beyond the mountain) familiar to British observers as the Sundew family, and in America as the highly specialised flplwvHl y eITUS > Flytrap. As the Maori took little note of plants not actually of use to him, he can tell us nothing about this except the name, which probably comes from a locality in which it was found. There are several species in this Dominion where it may be- seen on very dry situations or even in swampy lands. The flower is small and white, growing singly on thin tall stems; but interest is centred on the leaf covered with bright red hairs, from each of which is emitted a sticky clear drop of dew. Touche'd lightly by a particle of dust or an insect, the leaf culls round it and digests it, much in the same way as the saliva of an animal acts upon its food. Seen through a magnifying glass, this uncanny plant is an object of great beauty. By amateurs at least, it is regarded as a near approach to a cross between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. What a chance to cultivate a unique collection of these insect eaters!