452 Transactions. — Botany. 



Obs. A fine species, having some slight affinity with our 

 other described indigenous ones (most so, perhaps, with 

 G. coronatiis, Col., " Trans. N.Z. Inst.," vol. xvi., p. 362) ; also 

 with those of Tasmania and Australia ; but it is very distinct 

 from them all. I have received several specimens, and they 

 generally agree in size, form, cuttings, and markings. This 

 is by far the largest indigenous species know^n to me in a 

 perfect state ; but I have found at various times, in travelling, 

 deposited on both river-mouth- and sea-beaches, the detached 

 outer peridium of a much larger and coarser species, but could 

 never meet with a perfect specimen. 



Art. LVIII. — A Description of some Netvly-discovered Indi- 

 genous Gryptogamic Plants. 



By W. CoLENSo, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. 



[Read before the HawJce's Bay Philosophical Institute, 7th October, 18S9.] 



Class III. CRYPTOGAMIA. 



Order I. Filices. 



Genus 18."'- Asplenium, Linn. 



1. A. oriiatwm, sp. nov. 



Plant tufted ; caudex short sub lin. high, very scaly ; 

 scales black, 4-5 lines long, subulate, very acuminate, tips 

 fiexuous, with a few minute scattered weak sub-ciliate-like 

 lateral lobes, cancellate, sub 20 cells wide at base ; cells 

 parallelogi'ammic, irregular, their walls very thick and coarse ; 

 few-fronded (4-6), sub-erect, membranaceous, flaccid, droop- 

 ing, dark-green, llin.-13in. high, thickly scaly throughout on 

 stipe, rhachises, and petioles with blackish veined scales, 

 similar to basal ones but much smaller. Stipe very slender, 

 4in.-5in. long, about xV^^- wide, dryish, striate, deeply sul- 

 cate, pale greyish-green. Frond 6in.-8in. long, oblong-lanceo- 

 late (sometimes broadly ovate), sub-tri-pinnate, glabrous; 

 pinnae alternate, distant on main rhachis lin. apart, 4in. long; 

 pinnules very distant on secondary rhachises sub -|in. apart, 

 with long capillary petiolules 3-4 lines long, usually oblong- 

 lanceolate, 4-5 lines long, with narrow thickened white 

 margins, the upper half sharply toothed sub-laciniate and 

 narrow-lobed, sometimes cut into 3 segments with their tips 

 sharply toothed-laciniate, the middle segment narrow rhombic- 

 cuneate, the two outer ones linear and petiolulate ; veins few, 

 narrow, sub-flabelliform, simple rarely once-forked, thickened 



* The numbers in this paper attached to both orders and genera 

 are those of " The Handbook of the New Zealand Flora." 



