Chiloglottis cornuta... was first collected during the Antarctic expedition of Sir J. C. Ross, having been gathered on Campbell Island by Dr. Lyall, one of the naturalists attached to the expedition,
in December, 1840.

The first record of its occurrence in New Zealand proper was published by Mr. T. Kirk in 1870, his specimens having been obtained at Northcote, in the immediate vicinity of the City of Auckland,
a locality where it still exists, although in fast-diminishing numbers.

Almost immediately afterwards it was observed by several botanists in various portions of both
the North and the South Islands, and at the present time it is known to extend through almost the whole length of the Dominion, from the North Cape district southwards to Stewart Island, the Chatham islands, Antipodes Island and the Auckland and Campbell Islands.

In fact, there are few districts in the Dominion where it cannot be obtained, although it is rarely present in considerable numbers. It is usually found amongst humus in moist shaded places,
and ranges from sea-level to quite 3,000 ft.

In Sir J. D. Hooker's original description of the species, published in the "Flora Antarctica" (vol. 1,
p. 69), he makes the remark, "I am inclined to think that the glands on the disc of the labellum will be found to prove a variable character."

This surmise has been fully verified, both as regards specimens from the islands to the south of New Zealand and from New Zealand proper. I find that the number of the glands varies from 6 to 12, and that the glands themselves are very inconstant in size, shape, arid position. Facts like these show that such variable organs are of little value in the discrimination of species, unless they are accompanied by other and more stable differences.

In addition to C. cornuta, the genus Chiloglottis contains six or seven Australian species, one of which (C. formicifera, Fitzgerald) also extends to New Zealand.

The charming little plant figured in this plate under the name of Townsonia deflexa, was discovered in the vicinity of Westport by Mr. W. Townson in the year 1904, and up to the present time has been gathered by no other botanist.

As stated in the Manual, the generic name commemorates the services rendered to botanical science by Mr. Townson, who more than any other person has contributed to the elucidation of the flora of the south-western portion of the Nelson Provincial District. Among the discoveries made by him are the following species illustrated in this work: Aciphylla Townsoni (Plate 62), Dracophyllum Townsoni (Plate 130), Gentiana Townsoni (Plato 139), Veronica divergens
(Plate 148), and the plant now figured.

Mr. Townson informs me that T. deflexa occurs on the spurs of Mount Rochfort, Mount Frederic, and the Paparoa Mountains, which collectively form the coast ranges immediately to the north and south of the mouth of the Buller River. It ranges from 1,500 ft. to 2,000 ft. elevation, and is usually found on the mossy surface of rocks and logs under the shelter of Leptospermum and Olearia Colensoi, its colour harmonizing so closely with that of the moss that it is easily overlooked. It blooms in November and December, and when fully mature the flowers have a purplish tinge. It should be mentioned that the radical leaves are usually produced on special caudicles, and not at the base of the flowering-stem.

In the Manual I regarded Townsonia as a close ally of Adenochilus, relying principally on the structure of the column and the close similarity in habit. Dr R. Schlecter, who has recently published some interesting notes on the genus (Fedde, Repertorium, ix, 249) suggests that it should be placed in the vicinity of Acianthus, with which it agrees in the smooth undivided lip, devoid of any projections or protruberances beyond two or three obscure ridges.

He also points out that the Tasmanian Acianthus viridis Hook. f., is very closely allied to T. deflexa, and must be placed in the same genus. Townsonia is therefore a genus of two species, one confined to the South Island of New Zealand, the other endemic in Tasmania. Dr Schlecter also traces an affinity to the genus Stigmatodactylus, which has three species, found respectively in Japan, India, and Java.

Dr Schlecter considers Townsonia to be an Antarctic type (typisch antarktische). But surely he uses the term in an entirely different sense from that understood by most New Zealand botanists. Genera like Colobanthus, Accena, Azorella, Wertera, Phyllachne, Rostkovia, Oreobolus, &c., which have species in the extreme south of South America, New Zealand, Tasmania, and the circumpolar islands, may well be called Antarctic, and we are entitled to speculate on their probable previous existence on the Antarctic Continent.

But in the case of Townsonia, whose nearest allies are the genera Acianthus, Adenochilus, and Stigmatodactylus, which have a purely Australian, Melanesian, and Malayan distribution, the term seems inappropriate. And especially is it so when we consider that the Orchidacece of New Zealand show absolutely no relationship to the few members of the family found in the extreme south of South America.