. Plants of New Zealand. sweep oer the hill sides steep And the tussocks toss in the icy air SUver and gold in the changing light, Gold and silver far up on the heights Of the mountain wild and bare. DAvro McKee Wright. Throughout New Zealand, from Southland to the North Cape,there are numerous open plains of greater or lesser England such spaces would be meadow lands, carpeted with 4 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND a grassy sward, which would in spring and sininner be spangledwith flowers. In New Zealand, they are covered with avegetation of a very different type. As far north as LakeTaupo, i
. Plants of New Zealand. sweep oer the hill sides steep And the tussocks toss in the icy air SUver and gold in the changing light, Gold and silver far up on the heights Of the mountain wild and bare. DAvro McKee Wright. Throughout New Zealand, from Southland to the North Cape,there are numerous open plains of greater or lesser England such spaces would be meadow lands, carpeted with 4 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND a grassy sward, which would in spring and sininner be spangledwith flowers. In New Zealand, they are covered with avegetation of a very different type. As far north as LakeTaupo, it consists chiefly of tussock grass, toi-toi, and cabbagetree (palm-lily). This plant formation is most highly developedin Canterbury, where wide open tussock-clad plains cover anarea of two and a half million acres. The Englishman, on hisarrival here, is puzzled by the appearance of detached hillocksof grass, in place of the continuous turf of the green fields towhich he is accustomed. He cannot understand that this dry. Fig. 1—Tussock Conni r hard wiry straw can replace, to a large extent, the pasturelands of England. This plant association not ()nl\- coversmuch of the flat country, but is found in many placesthroughout the South Island upon the hills, especially on theeastern slopes of the ranges. The chief species of grassesfound in it are Poa caespitom and Festuca diiriusciila, l)utsome Danthonias are also to be met with in such situations. The tussock country is dearly loved by every New is full of associations for him. The stock-rider, the shepherd,the swaggei, and even the sun-downer know every aspect of GENERAL INTRODUCTION 5 it. They have seen it in early morning, when everytawny thread had its string of clammy mist drops. Theyhave seen it again at midday, a parched and thirsty land,that seemed to be covered with broken yellow wavelets,flying before the fierce squalls of the nor-wester. Theyhave stumbled through the entangled tufts at night, too tiredto
Size: 2381px × 1049px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectplants, bookyear1906
