52 



L. COCKAYNE 



while the chloroplasts are confined to the peripheral cells. Leptop- 

 teris hymenophylloides with its flat leaf looks even more hygro- 

 phytic than L. superba, which has the segments of its ultimate 

 pinnae incurved with the basal ones almost at a right angle to the 

 rachis, giving the frond that appearance and feel to the touch 

 which have earned the plant the name of " crape fern." But the 

 former grows in much dryer forests than L. superba can tolerate, 



Fig. 1 Plant of Todaea barbata, 1.52 m. tall, growing in full sunshine near Man- 

 gonui, north of North Island of New Zealand. Photograph by L. Cockayne. 



for this latter is altogether restricted to localities where the rain- 

 fall exceeds 150 cm. yearly, and where the air is always more or 

 less saturated with moisture. Certainly the arrangement of the 

 ultimate segments enables the frond for a time to hold more than 

 its own weight of water, but the fineness and great number of 

 these divisions lead to rapid drying, and the fronds of L. hymeno- 

 phylloides remain if anything wet the longer of the two. Both 



