ON THE ARBORESCENT FERNS OF NEW ZEALAND. 168 
the first carpel (organ 19) stood opposite stamen No.11; the 
second carpel (organ 20) opposite stamen No. 12; and the third 
opposite No.18 (fig. 5). This advance of the stamens, driving 
forward the carpels, is still more clearly seen when only one 
carpel exists, since this then stands, according to cireumstances, 
in an anterior, lateral, or posterior place. These conditions seem 
exactly comparable with the advance of the stamens in an entire 
whorl, and the production of a new whorl of carpels, such as I 
have described in the double Balsam. 
On the Arborescent Ferns of No& Zealand. By Tuomas SHEAR- 
MAN BALPH, Esq., A.L.S. 
[Read Dec. 2, 1858.] 
THINKING that some observations on the Arborescent Ferns of 
New Zealand may interest the members of the Society, I have 
thrown them into the form of a paper; and I have also forwarded 
specimens to illustrate the various points which I think are either 
unnoticed or are most worthy of remark. 
Of the four species of Cyathea described in Dr. J. D. Hooker's 
‘Flora of New Zealand,’ the most prominent one is the C. dealbata, 
or Silver Fern, known by its straight upright stem and white 
fronds. It is by far the commonest species, and grows in all 
situations, from the stream in the bottom of the gully to the very 
tops of the highest hills (in the south part of the north island), 
where perhaps it is more inclined to form groups. 
C. medullaris, or Black Fern, can be recognized in the early 
stage, before it has made much stem, by the very long fronds 
mounted on long black stipes, rising almost perpendicularly up- 
wards, while its greater height and more solid appearance of stem 
mark it out at an older stage. 
C. Cunninghami is scarce, and likely to be often passed over as 
C. Smithii in the dark recesses of the gullies in which it chiefly 
delights to shelter itself; but it may, after some acquaintance, be 
picked out of the crowd at a little distance. When very young, 
its stem is entirely covered with the remains of the black bases of 
the stipites, from which the dead fronds dangle all the way up, 
giving it a very untidy and ragged appearance. The darker hue 
of its fronds, which in the older state of the plant are as many 4s 
thirty or forty in a head, and form a funnel-shaped crown, serves 
also to distinguish this species from— 3 
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