FLORA CLUB'S OUTING

Chronicle (Levin), 15 March 1947, Page 4

FLORA CLUB'S OUTING

variety of plant life seen at poroutawhao A recent fine day found 2f4 mem^ bers and friends • of the Na'tive Flora Club enj&ying an outing at Poroutawhao. A variety .of isoil conditions provided Similar variaiion'in plant associations. Sandy ridges had tall scrub suchas manuka, m'atipo, myrtles aiid small-leaved coprosmas, with taller trees such as kaikomako, lancewood, matai and mahoe, while pn -the ground among the ferns were many plants of the dainty little lily, Arfhropbdium eandium, _ a small relative of the Mab'el Islahd lily. The peat bog provided a diffefent series of plants — sphagnum moss and various rushes and small creeping herbs, one of the latter being a native violet. \

The swamp forest was the most interesting of all, where there were very tall trees such as tawa, pukatea, • hinau, rewarewa and maire-tawhake, thickly festooned with' the scramblers kiekie ("giggy") and' Supplejack, and carrying huge clumps of the per ching lily,®- Collosperum hastatum, "and other epiphytes on the forks. and limbs of their high branches. Tree trunks and fern trunks not obscured with kiekie were clothed with many small ferns ahd mosses. For the m'ost part, the trees of this swamp forest were standing in mud, solid to waik on at this season but probably "liquid for most of the year. As this is likely tb "drown" the trees, some of them, notably the pukatea and the maire-tawhake, have developed breathing roots, which extend well above the surfaceof the forest floor and absorb air. Some ; of these breathing roots, appar'ehtly those of the maije-ta whake, Were specially noticed. The mairetawhake was coming into flower, the blooms resembling a very featherv form of rata flower, but pure white. Some swampy flats, bare of trees, very chiefly covered with a low sward of small rushes, and drainage optrations showed that throughout suCh flats there are large lumps of ironstone about two feet below the surface. Foftunately, theSe are not in a continubus 'piece and so allow some of- th'e surface water tb drain away between the lumps. Drains excavated by mechanical means showed where the ironstone occurred, and

some large pieces which had b£en unCarthed were examined with , interest. " y- .