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II.—BOTANY.
Art. XXIV.—Notes on the Botany of Certain Places in the Waikato District, April and May, 1870. By T. Kirk.
[Read before the Auckland Institute, June 13, 1870.]
The extensive sand hills at the North Head of the Waikato River, are dotted over with a sparse vegetation of Carex pumila, Spinifex, Desmochœnus, and other common arenarean plants, with patches of Cassinia retorta, and tussocks of Arundo conspicua; in moist places Euphorbia glauca maybe found, and about the margins of the shallow sand lakes and pools, Limosella aquatica, Azolla rubra, and the common European water-cress. At the South Head the sand hills occupy but a comparatively small space, and being for the most part but low, have become covered with a dense growth of manuka and other shrubs, mixed with various sedges and rushes; in the moister places, Leptocarpus filiformis attains the height of seven feet. On the sand hills near the Port, the European Iris Germanica is abundantly naturalized, while Malva crispa and many other introduced plants are plentiful amongst the deserted houses and by the road sides. A form of Potentilla anserina, scarcely different from the European plant, is most abundant at the foot of the hills; and in plashy places, Callitriche Muellerii, F. Sond, Crantzia lineata, and Myriophyllum variæfolium are common. The sea cliffs are garnished with Arthropodium cirrhatum, and in sheltered places, Olearia albida, Myoporum lætum, and a few other common shrubs are found, but the number of species is remarkably limited.
On the hills about Port Waikato, Sporobolus elongatus forms the chief herbage, in many places to the exclusion of all other grasses. Notwithstanding its extreme toughness, it is as closely cropped by cattle as if regularly mown, and from its hardiness and quick growth, forms a remarkably dense and elastic sward. The settlers call it "Chilian grass," and think highly of its value; it is however a true native of the colony, and is found from the North Cape to the Upper Waikato, where it is increasing from the depasturing of cattle and the steady spread of agricultural operations.
From Port Waikato southward to Waikawa the country is much broken, the crests of the low hills being chiefly covered with fern and the usual ericetal plants, and the valleys filled with luxuriant forest, differing from that in the north in the entire absence of kauri and tarairi; viewed from the crests of the
