^^^^''] Pitcher, Remarks on Ferns. ii 



the finest masses of clean and large-fronded examples of this 

 fern that I know of may be seen along the last mile of the 

 Four-Mile Creek, which is quite easy of access from the War- 

 burton railway station. This tree fern, it may be mentioned, 

 is distinctly Australian. 



The last and sixth tribe is Polypodieae, and comprises a large 

 number of ferns of various habits ; stems arborescent or 

 creeping, sori on under side or margin of fronds. The tribe is 

 divided into two sections, one having sori with, the other 

 without, indusium, or covering. The spore-cases are small, 

 having a longitudinal or oblique ring. 



In the first section we find the genus Dicksonia, with two 

 species — D. antavdica, Common or Soft-stemmed Tree Fern, 

 and D. davallioides. Creeping Dicksonia. As implied by their 

 common names, these two ferns are of different habits. The 

 former disputes with Alsophila aiistralis as to Which is our 

 most common tree fern, and is found in numberless quantities, 

 in company with that species, in mountain and forest fern 

 gullies throughout the State. In 1886 I had the selection from 

 Gippsland gulhes of a large number of these tree ferns, of 

 varying heights up to thirty feet, which were forwarded to the 

 Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London. One of the trunks 

 had a girth of 12 feet at six feet from the ground. Out of the 

 trunks of this species ornamental vases and pots were formerly 

 shaped and offered for sale in Melbourne. A chair carved out 

 of the trunk of one was for years owned and valued by the 

 late Baron von Mueller. Some of the finest growths of this 

 tree fern are to be seen in the gullies of the Warburton and 

 Healesville districts. 



The other species, D. davallioides, has a creeping rhizome 

 and deep green-coloured fronds, varying from two to five feet 

 long, with smooth, shining rachis. This fern appears to have 

 only been recorded from Cape Otway district. 



The second genus of the tribe Polypodieae is Davallia, con- 

 taining two species. D. pyxidata, Hare's-foot Fern, is rare, 

 but has been recorded from Gippsland. It is easily recognized 

 by its thick, downy rhizome and falcate fronds, varying from 

 six to twelve inches long, with clear stipes of half their length. 



D. diihia, Rainbow Fern, is well known, and is often found 

 growing in exposed i^tositions in the mountainous districts 

 throughout this and the other States. Its fronds are of a 

 light or yellowish-green colour, and largely used by florists as 

 an addition to bunches of cut flowers. It is well suited for 

 outside growth in sheltered positions. A picturesque group 

 of ferns on the Oak Lawn in the Botanic Gardens is largely 

 composed of this fern, which was brought in big clumps from 

 Healesville. 



