74 ON THE PLANTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 



occurs in most of the temperate and cooler regions of the G-lobe. 

 The fifth tribe comprehends the much admired tree ferns, of 

 which one species of Cyathea and three of Alsophila, vary in 

 height from a few feet to 60 or 70. Cyathea is rare, but Alsopliila 

 australis, A. Leiclihardtiana, and A. Cooper i are plentiful in some 

 parts of the Blue Mountains, Illawarra, and further South. It 

 is difficult to distinguish the species in dried specimens, but as 

 they differ very much in the character of the caudex and the 

 scales, they can readily be determined in living plants. A. 

 LeicKhardtiana is a much more slender species than A. australis, 

 and the veins of the fronds are more forked, whilst A. Cooperi is 

 distinguished by the oval scars of the caudex. 



Tho sixth tribe, Polypodieae, is a very large one, and divides 

 itself naturally into those genera which have an indusium and 

 those which have not. Of the first division, DicTcsonia has 3 

 species, Deparia 1, Davallia 2, Vittaria 1, Lindswa 4, Adiantum 

 5, Hypolepis 1, Cheilanthes 1, Fteris 9, Lomaria 4, JBlechnum 3, 

 Doodia 3, Asplenium 13, and Aspidium 12. The species of 

 Dichsonia are remarkable for their size and beauty, two (Z). 

 antarctica and D. Youngice) being Tree-ferns, and one (D. 

 davallioides) attaining sometimes the height of five feet and 

 upwards with delicate and membranous fronds. D. antarctica 

 flourishes on Mount Tomah and some parts of the Kurrajong. 

 A. Cunningham was the first to notice the fact, that the seeds of 

 the beautiful Quintinia Sieheri frequently germinate in the 

 caudices of D. antarctica, and that the curious Fieldia australis 

 is often seen adhering to the same Tree-fern. Deparia prol if era 

 has hitherto been found only at Illawarra, and Vittaria elongata 

 seems limited to the Northern parts of the Colony, but the species 

 of the other genera are widely distributed. Lindsxa triclioman- 

 oides occurs sparingly on the Blue Mountains and is not specifi- 

 cally distinct from the New Zealand plant ; whilst L. incisa, 

 which approaches L. onicrophylla, has recently been collected at 

 the Clarence B/iver. Of the species of Adiantum, A, cethiopicum 



