Carse. — Ferns and Fern Allien of Mangonui County. 7 7 



of " potholes" from which gum has been dug on the moorlands. " A veiv 

 remarkable locality, as the species is almost invariably a denizen of the 

 deep forest. "* 



Cyatheaceae. 



3. Loxsoma R. Br. 



One species, not uncommon in district. 



4. Cyathea Smith. 

 Four. species, of which two occur. 



5. Hemitelia R, Br. 

 One species, which occurs plentifully. 



7: Dicksonia L'Herit. 



Three species, two of which are common. 



Loxsoma Cunninghamii R. Br., a unique species, occurs freely in this 

 county in some parts, though it is absent from large areas. 



According to Professor Goebel, of Munich, to whom specimens were sent, 

 " Loxsoma is closely related to Cyatheaceae, and has nothing to do with 

 the filmy ferns Gleichenia and Polyiwdiaceae." For a full description of 

 the prothallus, showing its resemblance to that of cyatheaceous ferns, refer- 

 ence should be made to " Archegoniatenstudien ; xiv, Loxsoma und das 

 System der Fame," by Dr. Goebel, in " Abdruck aus Flora oder Allgemeine 

 Botanische Zeitung," heft i, published by Gustav Fischer, Jena. 



Cyathea dealbata Swartz and C. medullaris Swartz are both plentiful, 

 and it is quite possible that C. Cunninghamii Hook. f. also occurs, though 

 I have not yet come on it. 



Hemitelia Smithii Hook, is plentiful in damp forests. 



Dicksonia squarrosa Swartz is a characteristic of low-lying forest, in mam- 

 places covering considerable areas, almost to the exclusion of other vegeta- 

 tion. D. Janata Col. always affects a drier habitat, occurring freely on slopes 

 in the forest. In the "north it usually develops a caudex, prostrate and rooting 

 for some distance, then rising to a height of 3-6 ft. 



POLYPODIACEAE. 



This suborder includes seventeen out of the thirty-one genera. 



[8. Davallia Smith. 



Three species, of which one only occurs here, D. novae-zealandiae, and is 

 apparently very rare. 



10. Lindsaya Dryander. 



Three species, two of which (L. ouneata C. Chr. and L. linearis Swartz) 

 are not uncommon. 



L. linearis is distinctly a moorland plant, occurring freely on clay slopes. 

 The sterile fronds are always much shorter and broader than the fertile 

 ones, and frequently grow in a rosulate manner. 



L. cuneata belongs to the forests, usually growing on the upper slopes. 

 This is a very variable fern. One form has the frond distinctly tripinnate 

 with the ultimate segments deeply pinnatfid, another is bipinnate, and a 

 third is simply pinnate. This last is var. Lessonii Hook. f. Not infre- 

 quently the two latter forms are found on the one plant. 



* Cheeseman, Trans. N.Z. Inst,, vol. 43, p. 185, 1911. 



