Plate 237.— DAVALLIA TASMANI. 



Familv FILICES.] ^(j,,^^ DAVALLIA, Smith. 



Davallia Tasmani, Cheesem. in Trans. N.Z. Inst, xxiii (1891), 41G ; Ckeese>n. Man. N.Z. Fl. 955. 



Davallm Tasmani has a very restricted geographical range, being confined to 



f'catrMtSf va "nt' ' '""VTP "'"^'^'^ abou? thirty-thfe; milef to the ^orth 

 ot tape Maru van Diemen. In August, 1887, I gathered it on the Great Kins 



n'l889 /otl />'-^""P' '"'^"^^ '' '^""^^ '^^^^^^'^^ ■' '-d - - --'^d "1 male 

 M ^f \\o^«^-^*^d It in even greater quantity on the seldoni visited Western King 

 No doubt It also exists on the Eastern King, the summit <,f which is covered wUi 



ft h^^b ""'fT ^^"'^li^"' ^"\^^' ^^^^ ^^'^""^^^<i by any botanist; but so a 

 luZ^r 1'7^ "^P«««^ble to scale the cliffs which every wliere surround the island. 

 Its apparent absence from any part oi the North Cape Penhisula is somewhat curious • 

 but it must be borne m mind that there are at least five other species which are 

 endemic m the group-P*«c„por^.m Fairchildi, Alectryon grandis, Coprosma macrocarpa, 

 Veromcamsulans,j,ixd Paratrophis Smithii. Their existence, together with othe^ 

 peculiarities of the flora give rise to the belief, which is supported by evidence drawn 

 trom the geological and physical structure of the islands, that the group has been 

 isolated from New Zealand proper for a considerable period of time ; long enough 

 m tact, to allow of the gradual development of endemic forms ' 



Davalha Tasmani is usually found in the shade of tlie Leptospermum or other 

 scrub which covers the greater part of the islands, and is often mixed with 

 Asplemum lucidum, Hypolepis tenuifolia, and Pteris comans, together with Poa ancevs 

 Ophsmenus, and other grasses and sedges. In habit and general appearance it is 

 widely different from any New Zealand fern ; but its stiff leathery fronds and stout 

 chaffy rhizome are not unlike those of the Pol>Tiesian D. solida. According to 

 Mr Eaker, its nearest relative is the Canary Island and Madeiran D. canariensis. 

 Hut It IS much stouter than that plant, and much more finelv cut ; and must be 

 regarded as a distinct species, with no very close allies. 



Plate 237. Davallia Tasmani, drawn from specimens gathered on the Three Kings Islands 

 J^ig. 1, scale from the rhizome ; 2, tip of barren pinnule ; 3, tip of fertOe pinnule ; 4, tip of segment 

 showmg a sorus and its mdusium ; 5, longitudinal section of the same ; 6, a single sporangium with 

 nairs. (Ail enlarged.) o x- o 



