NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB

Evening Star, Issue 21751, 20 June 1934, Page 14

NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB

SATURDAY’S EXCURSION The excursion on Saturday was held at Tomahawk, when Miss G. 13. Stevenson led the club in the study of coastal vegetation. The different plant associations seen were the coastal cliff association, coastal moor, sand dune, and estuary associations. These, are specialised plant groups, adapted to the special conditions of their environment. The coastal moor and the estuary associations live in a markedly saline soil where the conditions, although almost boggy in many places, are equivalent to drought because the water is too salt to bo absorbed readily i).v the plants. Thus there are many similarities to be observed between such coastal plants and desez’t plants, lor example, succulence is found to occur in many plants. • On the coastal moor at Tomahawk succulent plants include Tcttragonia trigyna and species of Chenopodium, Cotula, Selliera, and Samolus.

The sand dune association docs not have a salt soil, because the rain keeps the sand well leached out. It is, however, a fairly difficult environment foi the plants, because the sand is moving so quickly that, unless the plants are very rapidly . growing, they arc smothered, and also because of tho lack of humus in the soil, resulting in a very low available food supply for the plants. Introduced lupins flourish on the sandhills owing to their having root nodules with bacteria in them, and these lix atmospheric nitrogen and so provide the plants with a substitute for humus. The main native plants to be semi on the sandhills at Tomahawk are Scirpus frondosus, a prostrate shrub, with silky leaves (Pimelea arcnaria), Calystcgia soldanella, and Coprosma arenana, a prostrate shrub which is never found anywhere else but on sand dunes. The rarest New Zealand buttercup, Ranunculus reccus. was found at tho top of the cliffs fust where the coastal moor abuts on to the sandhills. This species, which grows in small rosettes, is found at Sandymount also, but in neither place is it very abundant. INDOOR MEETING. The indoor meeting was held at the. Otago University Museum, where Mr H. D. Skinner explained the plan on which exhibits in the Maori gallery wore arranged, pointing out that the cases along the north side of the gallery contained material from the districts from South Canterbury to Stewart Island, while the cases on the south side of the gallery displayed material from other parts of New Zealand. He then described the war canoe in some detail, indicating bow tho carved pattern along the top strakes had been elaborated from carvings found in the swamps at Waitara North Taranaki. .Tho bow and the stern carvings were old and had decorated one of the war canoes of Ilauparaha’s warriors who conquered the southern shores of Cook’s Strait. Next in order came the Maori house, of which the history was first given and then a description and explanation of the more important parts. Mr Skinner said that the last instalment of tukn tnku panels for the interior should roach Dunedin in the next few months When these were in place the Maori house would he vfery nearly complete. The party then moved out of the Maori house and inspected a number of out standing exhibits, the most notable being the two newly-installed carvings from a pa in the Bay of Plenty district. One of these two pieces was a large wooden head, with eyes and month perforated so that the light of the sky would pass through them from behind. This work, though carved with steel tools, exemplified the Maori artist at his highest, the rendering of the face being full of power. Tho second piece was a life-size figure from the top of a palisade post beside the gateway of the pa. This was, perhaps, the work of tho man who carved the face. It has been mounted on a post of ’ approximately the original height, and is one of the most notable pieces in the museum. The feather box, full of hula feathers, was next examined and described in some detail. An adjournment was made to the upper gallery, where the Old World material