C—l 4

8

Ihe juvenile plant is distinct from the adult, being pyramidal-shaped, the lateral branches given off at right angles, pendulous, and covered with leaves larger than those of the adult Ihe kahikatea (Podocarpus dacrydnudes) is a lofty forest-tree with a rather slender, mast-like Quite unbranched trunk for about its lower seven-eighths, and having a most scanty ami rather fastigiate-shaped head quite out of proportion to the size of the tree. The leaves are dimorphic h " s '' ?' ""' ;" lull beln ? inserted in a spiral, imbricated and adpressed to the stem, subulatelanceolate and /, in to 4 in. long, while the juvenile are distichous, flat, linear, 1 in. to ±in lomr ami , lull-green, reddish, or at times almost l.ionze-coloured. The juvenile form' is shrubby with long, spreading, slender, more or less horizontal twiggy branches, much exceeding in length the Height of the plant. I'r its mam stem very short shoots tire given off most closely att .,?, i r t * 0, i I f 1, "S", SSe d ge ( Gahnia is a very stout sedge, forming enormous tussocks hit. to 12ft. tall. The leaves are erect or semi-erect, £ in. broad or more, involute, scabrid on their margins, glossy but rather dark green, coriaceous, and moderately stiff. The old leaves rot away and leave many persistent, decaying, and usually wet leaf-bases it* TH^T^u 8 " /.;'.*'''''" trinervia) forms very large tussocks made up of numerous leaves ■> I■to \ ft. long by Jin. broad tapering into a long-drawn-out point, and expanded below into a broad, fleshy, sheathing has,, clothed with long white hairs. They are pale-green, coriaceous, glabrous above covered beneath with a silvery pellicle. The flowers are small and dioecious the berry in. in diameter and bright-red. The towai (Weinmamiia sylvicola) is a moderate-sized evergreen tree of the forest, but merely a shrub of the heath. The trunk, often irregular in form, is from 1 ft. to 3ft in diameter The leaves are djmorphicj the adult are entire, ternate or pinnate, with two or more lateral leaflets rather dark shining green, with at times a yellow tinge, moderately thick, pale on the under-sur-lace Ihe juvenile plant is treated of in the section dealing with the ecology. The flowers are smaJJ, very numerous, white or pale-rose, and in terminal or axillary racemes The parataniwha (Flatostemma rugosum) is a prostrate, stout, herbaceous plant, with very long, branching, somewhat rigid terete, juicy, pale yellowish-green stems, f in. in diameter, which branch abundantly, and give off distant, rather stout, cord-like roots, 10 in. long or less The stems ascend at their apical portion, and give off on their flanks large, thin, pale yellowish-ereen lanceolate serrate leaves, 3 in. to 10 in. long. The flowers are very minute, on fleshy, monoecious receptacles of a pinkish colour, in the axis of the leaf. The silver tree-fern (Cyathea dealbata) has a stout trunk 30 ft. tall at most, strongly thickened by vertically descending, dark chestnut-brown, aerial roots. It is much expanded at the base where it may be 18 in. or more in diameter, clothed to its middle or below with leaf-bases each 3 in' or 4 in. long, and bears at its summit numerous very large, feathery, horizontal leaves, light-green above and covered beneath with a white powder, each 5 ft. to 12 ft. long or more and 2ft or 3ft broad spreading out radially from the trunk and arching a little downwards, and with a distinct umbrella-like appearance. The woolly tree-fern (Dicksonia lanata) is a small tree-fern with a trunk almost unnoticeable or reaching a height of 6 ft. or more, dark-brown in colour near its base, and there covered with ZTLnT t ™c Steele fronds, shining dark-green, are 5 ft. in length, more or less, coriaceous and model ately thick, and spread out senii-honzontally. The fertile fronds, on the contrary, are bright-green with a yellow tinge, and raised conspicuously above the unfertile Besides the above plants, others, such as Polypodtum Dictyopterit; filmy ferns of various species; the epiphyte Astelia Solandri (Photo 5) : Pittosporum tenuifolium; Coprosma grandifo/ia: the kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabUe); the pukatea (Lauretta nova-telandia), play at times an important part in the physiognomy of the forest, but such and other plants of local physiognomic importance are dealt with further on in describing the various associations, or in the part relating to the ecology. y 3. The Kauri-Tarairi Association. (a.) General Remarks. This consists of two sub-associations, the tarairi and the kauri, which, although forming one compact whole are generally distinct from each other, the kauri being in most instances accompanied by certain definite species, and this even when a tree stands isolated and the tarairi is prawn in abundance on all sides. This association occupies all the country to the west of the "ctoehatiko ridge, excepting where the ground is too we,, though in some places other trees than the kauri- e.g Bettschvuedta tain,. Wemmannia sylvicola, Dacrydium cupressinum— enter in and become dominant over small areas. A most excellent view of this part of the reserve may be obtained from the high ground along the Merowharara-Katui Track, the forest lying extended overthe ridges and valleys as a dark and somewhat gloomy mass fading into blue in the distance. Ihe great area of the whole detracts considerably fro,,, the height of the constituent species Dead trees stand out here and there near the outskirts. The kauris rise high (Photo 7) above the other men,hers of the forest, isolated or ,n groups, each tree-crown distinct, or occasionally these are quite Seen from a short distance their colour is dull olive-green or brown but vim' n'te Vnt i" dl . rtln^ lD & h T V I i ;, ,he T- iOUS memberS are loBt - The ad J» cent *>»* lying in the hollow below ~ very beautiful. The roof is quite uneven owing to the different height. is unit' rn'T kauris are in plenty, fringing the margin, and their colour s not uniform. Some are greenj others are of a darker shade with a bluish tinge and these latter are especiaUy handsome. The older kauris, distinguished by their branch,',,., s , diffeent as already pointed out, from that of the juvenile form are very conspicuous. The; rise up above the general mass just as does an ordinary forest from the under -scrub, which in this ease is itself