400 THE FERNS OF LOBD HOWE ISLAND, 



"he professed" to know it, and called it the "Crimp fern." 

 That King knew it is clear, and he very kindly collected 

 some good specimens for me in a cave on, I believe the 

 south-western side of Mt. Lidgbird. No one else on the 

 Island seemed to know it, and King was probably the only 

 man who had collected it prior to Mr. Maiden's visit. 



Mr. Maiden's note having been overlooked, the fern was 

 again sent to Dr. Christ ; and this time — he himself having 

 apparently forgotten his previous determination — the follow- 

 ing notes were received from him: — 



"I take it to be an elongated form of Moorei" (i.e., Poly 

 Hichuvi Moorei), "characterised by its obtuse pinnules, joined 

 together towards the base, its coriaceous tissue, its dimen- 

 sions, its sori, and its scales. I do not see any noteworthy 

 differences. I believe that it is a good species, having some 

 resemblance to I'. MohrtoicJes Bory." 



Dr. Christ suffered under the disadvantage of not having 

 seen, I presume, a full-sized specimen of F . Moorei, alongside 

 which the fern in question is a dwarf ; and the further dis- 

 advantage of not having seen P. Moorei in its natural habi- 

 tat, which is mostly in the shade, in damp, rocky crevices, 

 though sometimes in the open. It is, also, always marked 

 by the character that has given it its local name of "the 

 heavy fern." Moreover, while my specimens of the rarer 

 fern were found in a cave, Mr. Maiden's were collected prac- 

 tically in the open, in an out-crop of sand-swept rock by the 

 sea-shore. It must be also said that a full-sized root of P 

 Moorei would be a fair w^eight for a man to carry down the 

 mountain-side. 



I have carefully examined the rare fern collected by Mr. 

 King and Mr. Maiden, comparing it at every point with P. 

 arnJeatiim and /'. Moorei, and have no hesitation in pub- 

 lishing it as a new species, and in dedicating it to Mr. E 

 King, who first collected it, and who is, perhaps, with the 

 exception of his son, the only person, who, even to-day, knows 

 where to find it. 



