974 FILICES. [Pteris. 
simply pinnate. Secondary pinne lanceolate, deeply pinnatifid, 
sometimes pinnate at the base. Ultimate segments oblong or 
oblong-deltoid, obtuse, those of the barren fronds often sinuate- 
dentate or lobed. Veins sometimes all free, but usually more or 
less anastomosing near the costa of the pinnules. Sori continuous 
or interrupted, seldom reaching either the base or apex of the 
segment.—Hook. Sp. Fil. ii. 230; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 364; 
Hook. and Bak. Syn. Ful. 172; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 732; Thoms. 
N.Z. Ferns, 62; Hield, N.Z. Ferns, 96, t. 8, {.4. P. vespertilionis, 
Lab. Pl. Nov. Holl. ii. 96, t. 245; Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. 1.110; FI. 
Nov. Zel. ii. 26. P. Brunoniana, Hndl. Prodr. Fl. Insl. Norfolk. 
12; A. Cumn. Precur. n. 203; Raoul, Choiz, 38. P. montana, Col. 
in Tasmanian Journ. Nat. Sc. (1845) 12. Litobrochia incisa and 
L. vespertilionis, Presl. Tent. Pteridogr. 149. Histiopteris incisa, 
Aghard Sp. Pteridog. 
Nortu anp SourH IsntaAnps, STEWART IsLAND, CHATHAM ISLANDS, AUCK- 
LAND AND CAMPBELL IsLANDS, ANTIPOoDES IsLAND: Abundant throughout, 
often forming thickets on the skirts of woods, &c. Sea-level to 3000 ft. 
Universally spread through the tropics and the south temperate zone. In 
New Zealand it attains exceptional luxuriance by the margins of hot springs 
jn the Rotorua and Taupo districts, in some localities reaching a height of 
12 ft. 
16. LOMARIA, Willd. 
Rhizome creeping or short and suberect, sometimes lengthened 
into a short caudex, rarely long and climbing. Fronds variable in 
size, usually simply pinnate or pinnatifid, rarely undivided, very 
rarely bipinnate, dimorphic; the outer fronds sterile with large and 
broad flat pinne, the inner fertile with smaller linear pinne. 
Veins free, not anastomosing. Sori linear, in a continuous elon- 
gated line occupying the whole space between the midrib and the 
margin. Indusium linear, membranous, composed of the more or 
less modified edge of the frond, at first revolute over the sorus, 
ultimately spreading. Sporangia stalked, girt by an incomplete 
vertical ring, bursting transversely. 
A large genus of nearly 50 species, most abundant in the south temperate 
zone, but with outlying species in most temperate and tropical countries. It 
only differs from Blechnwm in the sori being close to the margin of the frond, 
and is united with that genus by many pteridologists. Of the 14 species found 
in New Zealand 4 or perhaps 5 are endemic, 2 are widely distributed in the 
south temperate zone, the remainder are found either in Australia or the Pacific 
islands, or in both. 
A. Fronds pinnate or pinnatifid, rarely simple. 
* Sterile fronds pinnatifid (or rarely simple), central and lower pinne con- 
nected by their dilated bases. 
Fronds 1-3 ft. long, often pendulous, broad, coriaceous, 
sometimes simple. Pinne few, large, 4-12in. long, 
1-13 in. broad : oe = 4 A 
Fronds 1-4 ft. high, narrow, erect. Pinne very numerous, 
1-3 in. x }-4in., reddish or dirty-white beneath .. 2. L. discolor. 
1. L. Patersoni. 
