OUR FLOWERING PLANTS.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 4

OUR FLOWERING PLANTS.

By L H. I. It is not possible with the spac9 at my disposal to maintain a rigid distinction between our flowei in $ trees, shrubs, and herbs, as this would entail a considerable amount of repetitioD, seeing that in some of the orders the three classes have representatives. In the suc^eding remarks v ach wiil have the cla c s to which it belongs indicated, bo that no difficulty will present itself to the reader. I have a'eo had a hnt to the effect that the botanic names should be aB clearly interpreted as poss>bta, as well as having the popuUr ov local names attached. This will have my best attention, aud referring in this con-ecMontothe last order; Sensci-* ,it should have b • i said that the proper derivation is from the word senex, signifying "old man," tra- s f ormed into "bald-head" by &me imaginative being, who a'so 6ays groundsel should have beeu gptlt »s it is pion'unced in Scotch— "Grnsl," as big a word without a vo*el as csn be qucted, exceeding its connection " mphoi." Some cf the atiia'ler gena9 of the order push their way up into tbe snowy region, having been found at »lti udes up to 7000fc, the snow line being counted at five. Many of thtm, though saifvll and insignificant to look at, p. s ess a rare beauty with a sweot, delio&te fra^ianoe. To-continue IODg among tbe composites would be wea» isome, so I shall oouDne myself to the enumeration of a few of the rxore coDspicuQi.s of the ordu\ The bmohyoome, meaning sbort hair, is allied to the daisy, and is the only reprt senta* ive it has in New Zealand. ' One of the family, "Sii-cUim," is common in Otago, and varies conciderably among our AljiS. Another, Odor&to, is found in tbe North Island ouly. C let so sajs ih is a favourite p ant smengthe natives of the l'atta dutrii t, named »»y thtm " Rouiu," and is worn round tbe utck for its scent. The cotulu, popularly known as May weed, has several vurittirs the most noted being Pyrethrifolia, named after our common garden Feverfew, as it resembles it in the leaf and emits a s'roi g odour when bmisfd Th- n the GOsphall urn (soft down), sonaaed from the wool with which the leaves are clothed, are a very extensive genus of beautiful and curiou* plants found in every quarter of the hub table glo^O, and iv Britain ate called cudweed or goldy locks or eternal flowers, from the fact of their refining their beauty for years if gatheied in dry wither. In New Zealand we have 15 named vat it- ties, and almost the whole a-ewMe-apieftd, from low-lyii>g swamp to mountain tots. The dis'inguishiiigfextur os between each are Dot very well marked, and it takes an expert his b-st to determine decidedly a specimen when it >s t>ot a very complete one. In fact it is admitted that Borne ot the namfd individuals iun so closely into eaoh othe- as to give rife to the idea that they are eimply pa-sing sports, having do continuity. Some enthusiasts make the search for ou« species, the ed«lwe''ss, the matter ot a love tour and toil amoog the Swiss mountains, "Were they to come to Ota go their eager hunt would lose its charm of intrepid daring, as without incurring very much risk they could get a good hindful of this mountain daisy, »hch, having the high recommendatioa of being an everlasting, would carry over the voyage without detraction from its me'its, and Ihe fair one at home would be more o? erjwed by the fact that her lover had gone very far afield to seek for the treasure which she so eagerly longed for. I have a fine specimen of G. Youngii (Helicbrisum), which I gathered ab the top ot the Haast Pass on my trip to Jackson's Bay six years »go. All of the-e composites are of dwarf hafrt, some annual, oth>rs perennial, all suited for garden culture, and by cartful treatment and management tbeir removal from their elevatedand frosty homes on hgh hills to more sheltered, template, kindly regions might induce them to excel themselves in producing flowers of greater lustre and beauty than they did in their original dwelling place. Of c-urse, they would require a large amount of prudence and watebful care in be'ng dealfc with. Leaving this order without referring to Cassinia and others of a more shrubby character, I shall make a cursory reference to some others which deserve grr at er notice and court experiment. Among the campanula*, of which we have very few, there is the bluebell of Otago, one or two indifferent lobf lias, and no other* worthy of note, the principle feature being that some of the flowers are very sweet-seemed, a recommendation which the cultivated varieties do not possess, and which alone ought to bring our natives into higher repute. The noticeable feature among the ericas is thatreveralof our variet es are fruit-bearers— a quality not to bo expected amoDg the family of heaths ; and on these berries our kakiis and ground parrots depend for a large Bmount of their food. The gaulthoria is our most prominent specimen, the genus deriving its name from Dr Gaulther, a celebrated Canadian botanist. These are very common on the hills around, and are either erect or prostrate, the colours of the flowers and fruit being pink or white. Another step and we a T e among the gentianas, so named after Gentius, a king of Illyria, who flisb experienced the virtue of gentian, a medicine which once tasted will never be forgotten, owing to its intense bitterness, a property which is contained in the roots. To see a patch of gentian growing on our mountain top», and to which the name montana has beoa very properly added, although it has others aleo, is well worthy of the fatigue of a long journey. It has been erroneously called mountain snowdrop, a name which will probably stick to it simply because it is more familiar. There is no alliance whatever between tbe gentian and the snowdrop, which belongs to the order ranunculas Anemone sylvestris, of whioh we have not any in our catalogue of crowfoots. I remember being much struck on coming on a broad patch of gentian in a sheltered spot near the top of the Mineret, the pure white of the flowerets in there dense man shimmer in the sunbeams, a haunt which fairy spirits might well choote to frequent. The forget-me-not, or, as it \a by its high" flowing title, Mjosotia, derived from the very commonplace " Mouse ear," has some illustrious mouthers in the colony, Hooker characterise ing oue as a " most remarkable little plant. The moat illustrious in the order ia. howevea

Myosotidium noble, alias Chatham Island lily — Dot a liiy at all, nor grown within the widi borders of New Zealand, but on the adjacent islands, from wbich it derives it* name. It ii indeed a noble plant, well worthy of it* name, and if it did no^row here Daturaily and originally, it ehonld havednn co, b-ing s> clo-e a neighbour. Thiß very in<ertbt ; »g siecimen js se'dom to b« se n ikjw »n our gardf ns, as it is tbe unfortunate viotiiu of a rapacious fly, apparently native to Otago, and which will not permit this introduced plant to thrive among vs — in facb, it kills it tight oufc. A resoluta effort should be mide against this prohibitive insect, as tho plant can do no harm, and adds materia'ly to the adornment of our pleasure grounds. The convolvulus order mu*t compete my notes this week, and of them we have only four genus. This plant derives its name from its habit, and is familiarly knuwa as bind wood from its tendency to entwine anything witlrn its reach. It is s ! ated th»t the Maoris of old "were wont to eat the roots of this pl»nt as we do a turnip. They have, however, selected the civilised article in preference, whether with good results or not h»s not b<-eu demonstrated, 'ihe convolvulus will be fuund uuder its dferent nanr-s and colors pro-tra'e and purplish on the sand dunes on tbe eeafho<e or c'imbiug up to highest heights on cur trees, adorn .ng them with the'r bright white petals, opening wi h the sunrise, closing with his set, and disappearing for ever, to be followed with new ones to follow the same course. Next week I shall de*l with the orchids, and other more bulbous plants.