MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 October 1938, Page 4

MAORI MEMORIES

A KEW GARDEN FOR N.Z. (Recorded by J.H.S. for “Times-Age.”) Alpine plants, unless those having a religious significance, seemed to be overlooked by the Maori people, who seldom visited the snowy regions. One held in esteem for some such mysterious reason is the puakarito (celmisia), found only in New Zealand and Australia. It is one of the most attractive alpinists, the large daisy-like flowers contrasting with the broad leathery leaves an inch wide by two feet long. The upper surface is like wool, the under side clothed in silky silver down. There are deep furrows along the length of the leaf as if to drain the melting snow. The flower is from three to four inches across. It is easily cultivated and develops peculiar variations, not seen in its natural state. The vegetable sheep is a remarkable plant which grows on the mountain slopes at from 2000 to 6000 feet. The branches are so closely packed that a finger cannot pass between them. In exposed positions the whole plant is covered with white hairy wool. Its size and shape are like a resting sheep. The new chum musterer was frequently made the victim of a practical joke and an arduous climb to collect them as stray animals. Botanists consider it to be the most remarkable plant in the whole vegetable kingdom. What a pitiful omission that our successive Governments with their skilled botanists do not establish a complete botanical reserve in which to preserve our unique plants, of which we have more than a thousand distinct varieties. It would outrival Kew Gardens in interest. What an opportunity for Massey College, Cawthron Institute, Feilding Agricultural High School or Lord Nuffield to gain undying fame.