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THE FERNS OF LORD HOWE ISLAND. 



By the Rev. W. Walter Watts. 



{(Joraniunicattd by J . II. Maiden.) 



Dui'ing a stay of nearly two months on Lord Howe Island — 

 July to August, 1911 — I endeavoured to collect specimens of 

 all the ferns growing in so rich a botanical field. A few of 

 the species I found to be plentiful in the more accessible parts 

 of the Island, while others, such as those on Mount Gower, 

 could only be secured after some stiff climbing. 



Among the ferns that are fairly common near the residen- 

 tial parts of the Island, are Asplttviiim lucidum Forst., Poly 

 ■podium pustulatwin Forst., Pttris comans Forst., and Hypo- 

 Icpis tenuifolia Bernh. 



On the northern hills, growing in fair profusion, I found 

 Aspleniuin iiidu.s L. In general appearance, it seemed to 

 me to differ from the Australian form. Growing mostly on 

 the ground, or in soil among rocks (never on trees), it looked, 

 at a distance, like a large lily. On the eastern slope, below 

 the "Look-out," the fronds tended towards a crinkled form 

 tUat it was impossible to press evenly. But the variations 

 can probably be nearly all matched in New South Wales. I 

 looked carefully for anything approaching Asphinuni Kohin- 

 sonii (of Norfolk Island), which Mr. E. King claims to have 

 found (and unfortunately lost), on the eastern slopes of Mt. 

 Gower, but without success. 



The northern hills provided also L'cllaa falcata Fee, Cyclo- 

 phorux roiiflueni< (R.Br.) Chr., Asplemum adiautoidcs (L.) 

 Chr., (.1. falcaturn Lam.), Adiantum hispidulum Sw., Poly- 

 podittm fenellum Forst., Plat y cerium alcicorne Desv., J\ othn- 

 ht'ua d'i.<taiis R.Br. One specimen of Asjjlenium adiontoides, 

 collected near the "Look-out," varied from the type in the 

 pinnje being divided almost to the rhachis. 



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