BY J. H. MAIDEN. 145 



robutita has been cultivated in the Sydney Botanic Gardens for 

 many years and herbarium specimens have been distributed from 

 this establishment under that name, but apparently Mr. Moore 

 never described it. 



It is very distinct from A. australis, and I think it should rank 

 as a species. I would lay stress on the fact that AUophila can 

 only be satisfactorily studied from living specimens. 



A, robicsta grows as strong as Cyathea medullaris which it 

 superficially resembles in the size, swelling and the glaucousness 

 of the stipes and rhachises. A. australis is quite a weak grower 

 in comparison. 



A. audralis, var. ? nigrescens is stated by Bentham to have 

 " stem black and prickly." A. robusta is not prickly, but this 

 would ajDply to Cyathea Macarthurii. The height, "10-12 feet," 

 is understated. I have seen them twice this height, but do not 

 know to what height they may attain. 



The peculiar glaucous appearance of the stipes and rhachises at 

 once attracts attention. The stipes is very turgid near its place 

 of attachment to the stem; the rhachises also are swollen and 

 fleshy. 



The prickles on the rhachis of A. australis are usually larger 

 and much more abundant than on A. robusta, but this is not a 

 reliable character. In A. robusta they are more conspicuous by 

 reason of their dark colour on a glaucous ground. 



In A. robusta the fronds fall off and leave a scar. Not so A. 

 australis as a rule, in which the dead fronds have to be cut off, 

 leaving the bases of the old fronds attached right up the trunk. 



In A. robusta the pinnules are more fleshy and more crowded 

 together than in A. australis. In A. robusta they always over- 

 lap the rhachis. 



The pinnaj are from 3040 in A. robusta and usually 20-30 in 

 A. australis. 



We have no evidence that this fern is found anywhere else 

 than in Lord Howe Island. 



Trichomanes apiifolium, Presl. — Known as "Parsley Fern." 



