Native Flora Club's Recent Activities

Chronicle (Levin), 2 November 1949, Page 4

Native Flora Club's Recent Activities

Among recent activities of .the Native Flora Ciub wss a particularly " interesting latern lecture delivered by Mr, • Paterson, of Wellington, who showed and described scenes of the Milford Track. Firsvly-, an exceLent detailed map clearly indicated the- rou.e followed- The whole area was carved out of soli'd graniie during the Ice Age. " Scenes of cany j'lis a mile deep and generahy. threequarters to a mile in widfh were r striking examples of the erosive powers of ice. To all who hadl not undertaken the finest walk in the world, the day by day pictures and incidents provided an emertaining means of travelling by r proxy. The scenes varied from the placid waters of Lake Ada to the cascading Sutherland Falls. Bush and fern by the wayside contrasted with i.ce-worn granite tool sheer to . support vegetation. Towering peaks were seen, rising sheer to 6000 feei, while others were capped with extensive snowfields, the birthplace of avalanches. Last,. but by no means: least, were scenes of Milford Sound, where the water is tool deep to afford any anchorage, and j Mitre Peak, the Lioh and . the Elephant rise majestic and lofty against the sky. From some practical inquiries made of Mr. Paterson at the conclusion of his address, it was obvious that he ha'd inspired some of his audience to experiece Milford's feast of heautv for themselves.

At a sUbsequent meeting of the club, Mr. J. F. Bryce showed an interesting collection of lantern j slides of recent tours to New Plymouth and Egmont, Waikare moana iand Cape Kidnappers, and I also na'tive olant pictures _ and some shots taken at club outings. At the last meeting, members were shown Mrs. R. W. Evans' collection of hand-made baskets About a dozen were made from native olant materisls and others from the cast leaves of Norfolk Island pine and other exotics. Mrs Evans recently displaye'd these at a horticultural show at Hutt City and was awarded a bronze medal. a fitling tribute to their originality and effective workmanship. Outdoor Excursion. I Recently an excursion was made along the banks of the Makorokic Stream, just within the foothills at Muhunoa East. Tho.ugh no extensive area of bush was reached,

vestiges clothing the flats and de- I hles of that par,t of the stream's course proved to be charming of aspect and interesting to explore. J One hundred and thirteen 'differ- J ent species of native plants (including ferns) were listed. The I frequent appearance of banks clothed with Elatostema rugosum J was noticeable. This is a northern I plapt which does not occur more j than a f ew miles south of this J region. Though a near relative of the nettles, Elatostema rugosum has no stinging hairs, and its hand- 1 some bronze wrinkled leaves remind one of a begonia. Anothet plant noticed in quantity was Lagenophora pumila, this being found on the ground or on pros-| trate fern-trunks in semi-shade. This is a low-growing daisy-herb, which in' season has white flowers, each borne on a comparatively long stem and having numerous very narrow rays.