164 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



Lomaria alpina, Spreng. 



/.. iria alpina, Spreng., Syst. Veg., iv. p. 62 ; Hook, f., Fl. Antarctica, ii. p. 393, t. 150; Hook., Sp. 



Fil., iii. p. 16; Hook., Fil. Exot., t. 32; Hook, and Bak., Synop. Fil., p. 178. 

 /. laria pennamarina, Metfc., ex Kuhn, Fil. Afr., p. 92, et Baker in Mart. Fl. Bras., fasc. xlix. p. 414. 

 Polypodium pennamarina, Poir. in Lam. Encycl., v. p. 520. 

 Blechnum pennamarina, Kuhn, Fil. Afr., p. 92. 

 Lomaria antarctvea, Carmieh. in Trans. Linn. Soc. Loud., xii. p. 513. 

 Acrostichum polytrichoides, Thouars, Esquisse Fl. Trist., p. 32, t. 2 {polypodioides). 



Tristan da Ccnha. — On the most barren parts of the plain — Cannichael ; abundant 

 in pasture land — MacGiUivray and Milne; Moseley. 



The distribution of this fern is very interesting and unusual. It is abundant in 

 Temperate South America, in the Alps of Australia, and in Tasmania ; it is one of the 

 characteristic ferns of New Zealand and the neighbouring islands, and it is found in nearly 

 all the other southern islands and islets, from Juan Fernandez round to the Falklands, 

 including Marion Island, the Crozets, Kerguelen, St Paul, and Amsterdam Islands. In 

 the Tristan da Cuuha group, however, it has only been found in Tristan da Cunha itself. 

 What is more remarkable in its distribution is its absence from South Africa, especially 

 if the records of its occurrence in South Brazil are trustworthy, but of this there is some 

 doubt. In the Kew Herbarium there are specimens — very vigorous ones — with the fertile 

 fronds nearly two feet long, purporting to have been collected in Brazil by Seiko and 

 Glaziou. There are also well-authenticated specimens from Arigue in Valdivia, and in 

 Australia it has been collected as far north as the Macleay river in New South Wales. 



Another fact worthy of consideration is the close relationship existing between Lomaria 

 alpina and Lomaria sjpicant, which has a similar range of distribution in the northern 

 hemisphere, descending to Syria, Madeira, and the Canaries. A comparison of the forms 

 of the two species reveals such an amount of parallelism and close affinity, that one can 

 arrive at no other conclusion than that they are separated races of a common ancestor. 



Lomaria boryana, Willd. 



Lomaria boryana, Willd., Sp. PL, v. p. 292; Hook and Bale, Synop. Fil., p. 180. 



Lomaria magellanica, Desv. in Mag. Nat. Berl., 1811, p. 330, et in Mem. Soc. Linn. Par., vi. p. 289; 



Hook, f., Fl. Antarctica, ii. p. 393 ; Hook, Sp. Fil, iii. p. 26. 

 I'll r!.< palmaformis, Thonars, Esquisse Fl. Trist., p. 30. 

 Lomaria 'palmaformis, I)esv. in Mem. Soc. Linn. Par., vi. p. 290. 

 Lomaria robusta, Carmieh. in Trans. Linn. Soc, xii. p. 512. 

 Blechnum tabulare, Kuhn, Fil. Afr., p. 94. 



Tristan ha Cunha. Thouars; Cannichael; Milne and MacGiUivray ; Moseley. 



This remarkable fern ranges from the West Indies to the Straits of Magellan and the 

 Falkland Islands, and from Angola to the Cape of Good Hope, occurring also in Bourbon, 

 .Mauritius, and Madagascar. The Tristan da Cunha form, which has only been found in 



