1026 FILICES. [Lodea. 
Probably the most beautiful fern in New Zealand. It is closely allied to 
he preceding, and is connected with it by intermediate forms. Usually, how- 
ever, it is readily distinguished by the larger and narrower frond, which tapers 
very gradually to the base, and by the closer and denser pinnules, which overlap 
considerably, the segments often turning up towards the upper side of the frond. 
29. MARATTIA, Smith. 
Rhizome large, thick and swollen. Fronds numerous, large, 
2-3-pinnate; stipes stout, articulated at the base, and furnished 
with two adnate auricles. Veins all free. Sori oblong, placed at or 
near the tip of the veins, close to the margin of the pinnules, each 
sorus consisting of two parallel rows containing 4-12 sporangia, 
the sporangia of each row completely united into a boat-shaped 
mass called a synangium. Synangia coriaceous, the outer face 
smooth and convex, the inner flat and pierced by the narrow trans- 
verse slits of the dehiscent sporangia. Spores globose-tetrahedral. 
A small genus of 8-10 species, widely scattered through the tropical regions 
of both hemispheres and the warmer part of the south temperate zone. The 
single New Zealand species is found in Australia and Polynesia, South Africa, 
Malaya, Philippines, and India. 
1. M. fraxinea, Smith, Ic. Ined. t. 48.—Rhizome a large irre- 
gularly shaped tuberous mass. Stipes stout, 1-2 ft. long or more, 
brownish-green, jointed at the base and furnished with large clasp- 
ing auricles which are persistent on the rhizome. Fronds large, 
in fully grown specimens 6-12 ft. long, 2-5 ft. broad, ovate-deltoid, 
dark-green and glossy, coriaceous, 2-pinnate or rarely 3-pinnate. 
Primary pinne Qin. to 3ft. long, often more than 1 ft. broad ; 
pinnules shortly stalked, 3-6in. long, 4-lin. broad, lanceolate or 
oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, obliquely cuneate or rounded at the 
base; margins minutely serrulate; costa slightly scaly. Veins 
rather close, parallel, simple or sparingly forked. Sori oblong, 
brownish, ;4,-4in. long, on the veins just within the margin of 
the pinnules ; sporangia 8-12 to each synangium.—Hook. and Bak. 
Syn. Fil. 440; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 695; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 97 ; 
Field, N.Z. Ferns, 153, t. 25, f. 5. M. salicina, Smith in Rees 
Cyclop. 89; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 49; Handb. N.Z, Fl. 386. 
Nortx Is~tanp: Lowland forests from Mongonui southwards to Cape 
Hgmont and Waitotara, not common, usually in rich damp soils. Para; 
Parareka. Sea-level to 1000 ft. 
The large starchy rhizome was formerly eaten by the Maoris, and hence the 
plant was occasionally cultivated near their villages. It is now fast becoming 
rare. 
30. OPHIOGLOSSUM, Linn. 
Rhizome usually short and _ suberect, sometimes slightly 
tuberous or nodose; roots thick and fleshy, simple, sometimes 
giving rise to adventitious buds. Fronds solitary or 2-3 at the 
top of the rhizome, not circinate, stipitate, fleshy, composed of 
