BOTANIST AT HOKIO

Chronicle (Levin), 29 November 1946, Page 4

BOTANIST AT HOKIO

NATIVE FLORA CLUB'S OUTING One of the recent aetivities of thfe Levin Native Fl'df'd Gllib was an ouring to Hokio Beach, when twenty Mfembers arid fri'ehds spfent an enjoyable day amohgst thfe outer dunes. There are several distinct • piant associatibhs to bfe found . in this region, factors such as salinity, drought, and shifting sand influencing the growth ih such area^; The outer dunes, mostly of a v'ery uhstabie natute, affe tb a certain extent held together by such valuable native sand-binders as Scirpus frondosus (the goldeh sand-sedge) , Spihifex hirsutus (a grass which produces found, spiky seed-heads easily blown along by the wind) aiid Calystegia sepium (the pirik-fiowOred shore-convol-yulus) . Nestling amohgst these dunes are hollows and flats, some Of the latter having a sparse vOgetation of small plants such as Crantzia (a little ereeping reiative of the carrot), Limosella, Samolus (of the primrose family) , the shoreLobelia, sand-Gunneta and several small se'dges. A thiii layef of windborne sarid fre'quently Covers these, and though somO are up to two inches in height, most are flat on the ground. Where there is a iittle more moisture, (frolii underground) one finds more lUxuriant growth, for exampie, the jointed "rush" (Leptocarpus) , some toetoe and Libertia peregrinans, an iris with bronze-gold leaves and pretty cream flowers. This has a distinctly wandering habit, father- disconcerting under cultivation, though its beautiful flowers are a compensating factor. Some of the salt-flats are covered ior part of the year by a few ihches of water, but are firm underneath and grow a variety of small plants, the sand-Gdnnera, Mazus pumilio (related to snapdragons), Triglochin (a marsh plant allied to grasses) and others. The little grass (Zoysia) , the heath (Leucopogon Fraseri) and Potentilla, with its neaf" relative the Biddy-bid, are found on flats further inland, amongst stunted manukas. On the more sheltered island dunes a scrub of considerable variety is partly festooned with 'two species of Clematis and the creamy-flowered Parsonsia (Maori Jasminej , while patches of tiny terrestrial orchids grow in shady nooks. A _considerable easterly drift of sand was noticed, and in several cases shrubs were seen buried "up to -their necks." The variabflity of sand levels in this region was elearly demonstrated by a group of ancient Ngaio trunks, once a forest, then sand-covered, and now laid bare again by the onward sweep of the dune. The hoilow where the cLub members had their lunch was flanked by a great drift of bare sand, where a year ago was only a low line of drift and an extension of the scrub and flat. This recent inundation of sand t was .typical of much of the region ar ound, and the rapidity of such sand-movement gave food for anxious thought. Accompanying the club members on this outing was Miss L. B. Moore, of Wellington, who specialises in seaweed research, and who gave some interestihg information concerning the seaweeds found cast up on the seafront.