Plate 247.— POLYPODIUM NOV^-ZEALANDI^. 



Family FILICES.] [Genus POLYPODIUM, Linn. 



Polypodiutn novae-zealandiae, Bak. in Hook. Ic. Plant, t. 1074 ; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 1014. 



So far as is at present known, this handbt)me species has the most 

 restricted range of any of the New Zealand Polypodia. It was first collected 

 by myself in January, 1877, on Mount Pirongia, a picturesque extinct volcano 

 densely wooded from base to summit, and situated a little to the west of the 

 Township of Alexandra, in the Up|jer Waipa district. About the same time 

 it was gathered by Mr. H. C. Field in the forest country to the west of 

 Ruapehu. A little later I observed it on Mount Karioi, inmiediately to the 

 south of Raglan Harbour; on Maungatautari Mountain, to the south of Cam- 

 bridge; and also on Te Aroha Mountain, which appears to be its northern 

 limit. Mr. Hamilton has gathered it at Lake Waikare-moana, and of late 

 years it has been collected by myself and others in many localities in the high 

 wooded country lying between the Wanganui River, Taupo, and Ruapehu. 

 So far it has not been found to the east of Ruapehu, but I suspect that 

 it occurs on the flanks of the Kaimanawa and Tararua Mountains. From the 

 above it appears that the species is confined to the high forest country in the 

 interior of the North Island. I have not myself seen it below 2,000 ft., but 

 I believe that it descends to lower altitudes in the district between Ohakune 

 and the Wanganui River. 



P. novcB'ZealandicB is closely allied to the widely spread P. Billardieri, 

 but it can be readily distinguished from all the forms of that variable plant 

 by the stouter rhizome, which is densely clothed with shaggy spreading scales 

 widely different from the closely appressed squamse of P. Billardieri. It is 

 also a much larger plant, the fronds being occasionally 4 ft. in length, and the 

 segments are far more numerous and much longer and narrower. The tex- 

 ture of the fronds is thinner and the sori smaller. In addition to the alx)ve, I 

 have failed to observe any tendency to the polymorphism of the fronds so 

 well marked in both P. Billardieri and P. ■pnstulatum, and I am not aware 

 that simple fronds have ever been seen. 



Plate 247. Polypodinm novce-zealandice, drawn from .specimen.s collected on Te Aroha Mountain, 

 at an altitude of 2,000 ft. Fig. 1, scales from the rhizome (x 3) ; 2, tip of fertile pinna, showing the 

 venation and sori ( x 2) ; 3, portion of pinna from a sterile frond, showing venation ( x 2) : 

 t, a sporangium and some jointed hairs (enlarged). 



