Georgina Burne Hetley

“ We looked down on the beautiful scenery, the trees red with Tetoki berries, passed the place where a train, engines and all, was blown down the hill by the wind, and then went through the tunnel and down the other side to the Hutt Valley. After going by sea to Nelson, through Queen Charlotte's Sound and the French Pass, we went by coach to a station called Lake Station, belonging to Mr. John Kerr, whose family were most kind in helping me. The roads in New Zealand are very narrow, with only just room for the coach, and no wall or anything to prevent one going over the precipice. ”

“ It rained of course, most of the time; it always does at Hokitika. But one clear lovely morning we had a splended view of Mount Cook, and the Southern Alps covered with snow in the far distance, standing out hard and clear against the sky, touched with pink and yellow by the rising sun. ”

“ We descended into a valley and then mounted up to Arthur's Pass. I was very sorry to find most of the flowers were over, but I could see how many more I could get if I came earlier in the season on another occasion. I was delighted to find a small piece of New Zealand Edelweiss (Gnaphalium grandiceps) (plate 31) , the beautiful Celmisia Monroi (plate 5) , the plants of which were in such profusion that the whole Pass must have been studded earlier in the year with its large starry white flowers. ”

“ The whole plant can be scaled off, when it forms a lovely object to hang up in a fernery, with its numerous heads of pale yellow flowers, hanging on their slender stalks, amidst the long, narrow, grass-like leaves. ”

“ Some evil disposed men had wantonly set fire to the forest all along the road, burning whole sides of mountains and destroying some of the most magnificent scenery, we were several days in going through, it was still smoking and occasionally blazing up, and there was the risk of burnt trees falling on us. After leaving the coach we were driven by buggy twelve miles to the station, and had to pass over a burnt wooden bridge, which it was hoped would not give way. ”

“ In the woods, festooned from tree to tree, there is the bramble or Bush Lawyer (Rubus Australis) , with long sprays of white flowers, and with it the bunches of scarlet berries of the Supple Jack (Rhipogonum scandens) , which forms such a thick twisted mass in the uncut "bush," that you can only get through it with difficulty, and may often be tripped up or half hanged by it. Then all around on the stems of the trees, and hanging from the branches, and on the ground, are lovely ferns of all shapes and sizes. ”

“ This pretty little shrub must be familiar to most people in New Zealand, especially in Auckland, where it grows in great abundance; the long sprays of masses of little flowers make it look like large white feathers, but the colour soon changes to a light brown. ”

“ FORSTERA BIDWILLII, Hook. fil.
The Genus Forstera belongs to a large and very interesting natural order (Stylidiacae) , which has its headquarters in Australia. Forstera itself embraces but four species, of which one is confined to the alps of Tasmania, and the others, which are possibly only varieties of one, to New Zealand. F. Bidwillii is a native of the Northern Island; it is found on the ranges of Mount Egmont, on Tongariro, and the summit of the Ruahine range, in shady places. ”

“ Buchanan, who, when he was the Government botanist, drew for the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute all the newly discovered plants, but he has now retired, a martyr to rheumatism, the usual result of exposure to our climate. He was much pleased that the flowers should be painted and made known before they were lost by burnings and the cultivation of the ground. ”

“ This large, beautiful tree grows in the north of the Northern Island, on the coast from Auckland to the North Cape. It may often be seen with its roots spreading in different directions against the cliff, and it is marvellous how such a large tree can retain its position during heavy gales of wind. ”

“ An abundant sub-alpine and alpine plant throughout the whole of the mountain districts of New Zealand, attaining its greatest luxuriance in open grassy flats at elevations of about 3,000 ft. The large white flowers are decidedly handsome, but cannot compare in beauty with the more brilliantly coloured blossoms of some of the European and American species. ”

“ The Eyebrights are found in temperate regions of both hemispheres, about five being represented in the flora of New Zealand, and these are distinct enough from those which occur in Arctic Europe, &c. The generic name is derived from the Greek euphraino to delight, the plants being supposed to possess the power of curing blindness. In rustic practice in Britain E. officinalis is still used as an eye medicine. ”

“ The whole plant is silvery with white wool and shining oppressed tomentum on the foliage, the bright green on the upper part of which make it very lovely. Abundant in Alpine districts in Northern and Middle Islands. ”

“ In some of the valleys in the central portion of the Canterbury Alps it is exceedingly plentiful, and during the flowering season the slopes of the mountains are often whitened from the abundance of its blossoms. ”

“ Considering the beauty of the plant, it is singular that it is seldom cultivated; but this is perhaps explained by the fact that it is so generally distributed as to be easily obtained in a wild state. ”

“ The young infloresence is eaten and has an agreeable nut like flavour. It has simple ringed trunks, flowers very numerous and crowded, males and females mixed. It grows abundantly in the North Island and part of the Middle Island. ”

“ This delicate little plant, with its pure white flowers and pale green leaves, grows principally about Christchurch and the Canterbury province. It is the most beautiful of its tribe and is easy of cultivation. ”

“ The numerous stiff, pointed, furrowed and wrinkled leaves, and the large Aster-like flowers, which are placed on stalks covered with shaggy white wool, give the plant a very singular and remarkable appearance. It is a native of the mountains of Canterbury and Marlborough, usually growing at altitudes of from 2500 to 4000 ft. ”

“ This fine genus abounds in parts of South America, but has hitherto been found in no other country except New Zealand, which is one of the most remarkable features in the distribution of the genus on the one hand, and of the New Zealand flora on the other. One kind forms a large bush or tree (F. excorticata) and the other a small prostrate plant. ”

“ Cultivated specimens of O. semidentata have the flowers of a deeper purple than in the wild state, in which it is not uncommon to see the ray-florets almost white, tipped with pale purple at the extremities. It is a plant well worthy of general cultivation in gardens. ”

“ The magnificent floral display of this species and others, such as S. glastifolius, with similar white rayed flowers, can only be seen to advantage in their natural humid habitats. It also grows between the river Mangles and the Tuangahua, and inland from Collinwood. (Buch) . It flowers in January. These two Senecios were drawn and kindly contributed by Mr. John Buchanan, Geological Survey of New Zealand, by whom they have been already figured in Trans. New Zealand Institute. ”

“ This is found throughout the Islands in forests, and has a most brilliant appearance when in blossom; it clothes the lower part of the tree, and becomes a tree itself, killing the one which assisted it to climb. ”

“ The inner leaves and spike are of a thick, white, juicy substance, which is said to make a good preserve; the young Colonists are fond of eating it, a taste shared by the rats, so much so, that it is difficult to obtain a perfect specimen. ”

“ This is a most beautiful plant, growing principally in the forests near Nelson in Spring, when it blossoms. The Beech or Fagus woods are red with it; it hangs in large bunches from the trees and covers the ground with the flowers which have dropt. ”

“ All the flowers I have described and many others, I have seen in blossom at the same time at Wai-wera in Spring. These are common ones, and may be found at Whangarei, Waikomiti, Thames, and other places near Auckland. ”

“ They are often from one to two feet in diameter, and are concave on the upper surface, so as to somewhat resemble large soup-plates. The stem is often over four feet in height, and is usually much branched. The flowers are very numerous, pure white, and from two to three inches in diameter. It is confined to the South Island, and is purely an Alpine plant, being most abundant at an altitude of three thousand feet. ”

“ It is curious that it is not seen before, but as soon as light and air are let in, it covers the ground. It is found in great quantities throughout the Islands, but especially at the side of the coach roads in the South. ”

“ The specimen represented came from the Hen and Chickens (small islands at the entrance to Whungarei Harbour) , which, I believe, is its only habitat. It has been transplanted to Auckland, where it grows freely in some gardens. ”

“ It is usually from 6 to 12 ft. in height, and has a singularly neat and graceful habit of growth. The flowers are white, or white tinged with pink, and are arranged in many-flowered corymbs terminating the branches. ”

“ It is not closely allied to any of the other species native to the country, and can be easily recognized by its small oblong waved and crenate leaves, nearly smooth habit, and rather small flower heads. ”