36 FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. [Filices. 



Var. a; frondibus pendnlis bipinnatifidis, pinnis distantibus elongatis angustatis loricatis parum divisis 

 profunde lobato-pinnatifidis, lobis angustis obtusis. 



Var. /3; frondibus pendulis piimatis, pinnis subintegris inciso-dentatisve, lobulis linearibus obtusis, 

 soris lobulis marginalibus. 



Var. 7; frondibus erectis pendulisve pinnatis, pinnis anguste falcato-lanceolatis acuminata pinnati- 

 fido-lobatis, soris dorsalibus v. parte superiore sori secus lobuli marginem productis. 



Var. 8; fronde erecta rigida deltoidea bipinnata, pinnis ovatis v. ovato-lanceolatis apice pinnatifidis 

 basi pinnatis, pinnulis breve et crasse stipitatis obtuse lobato-pinnatifidis. 



This Fern is very common, and perhaps the most variable in New Zealand, but not so much so in Australia 

 and Tasmania ; it is always of a very thick texture, bright shining green colour, and very flaccid. It passes by many 

 states into A. bulbiferum, var. laxum, and other varieties of that plant, and it would take many pages to enumerate 

 half its protean forms. Of these the most conspicuous are,— Var. a, a very common form : fronds numerous, pen- 

 dulous, sparingly divided into distant, narrow, pinnatifid or lobed thongs, many inches long; lobes narrow, blunt, 

 with marginal sori.— Var. /S. Fronds pendulous, flaccid, linear ovate, distantly pinnate; pinna stipitate, very long, 

 quite entire, crenate or incise.— Var. y. Fronds erect or pendulous, pinnate; pinna falcate, long, narrow, stipitate, 

 rigid (when dry) ; margins deeply lobed or pinnatifid ; sori on the pinnae, but partly produced on to the lobules, hence 

 their upper part is marginal.— Var. 8. Fronds erect, rigid, deltoid, bipinnate ; pinna ovate or lanceolate; pinnules 

 close, ovate, shortly stalked, deeply lobed or pinnatifid. -The above states or varieties are connected by innumerable 

 intermediate ones; indeed the most opposite characters are sometimes presented by different parts of the same 

 frond. 



§ Ailaktodia.— Involucre membranous, arched, both margins attached to the vein, hence cylindrical. 

 9. Asplenium (Allantodia) Brownii, J. -Sm. ; fronde ampla membranacea deltoidea flaccida bi-tri-pin- 

 nata, pinnis lineari-oblongis acutis, pinnulis oblongo-lanceolatis obtusis v. acuminatis profunde pinnatifidis, 

 lobis oblongis obtusis integerrimis crenatis inciso-serratisve, rachibus glaberrimis flexuosis, stipitelsevi glabro 

 v. basi subsquamato. Asplenium Brownianum, /. Sm. Gen. Ml. et Bot. Mag. Suppl. v. 72. p. 30. Hook. 

 Ic. Plant, t. 978. Athyrium australe, Presl, Pterid.jp. 98. Fee, Gen. Pil. p. 186. Allantodia australis, 

 Br. Prodr. A. tenera, A. Cunn. Prodr. 



Hab. Northern Island, in damp places in woods. Bay of Islands, A. Cunningham, etc. Auckland, 



Sinclair. 



One of the most delicate and beautiful Ferns in New Zealand; also found in Norfolk Island and in Tasmania, 

 and very similar to, if not identical with, species from the Malay and Society Islands, East Indies, and South 

 America.— Fronds very membranous, flaccid, quite glabrous, 2-3 feet high, broadly deltoid, spreading, bi-tri-pinnate. 

 Primary pinna linear-oblong, acute or acuminate; secondary (or pinnules) 1-2 inches long, oblong-lanceolate, 

 shortly stipitate, pinnatifid or pinnate ; segments linear-oblong, blunt, crenate or inciso-serrate, rarely quite entire. 

 Sori generally numerous, 1-2 lines long, nearer the costa than the margin. Eachis quite glabrous, slender, rather 

 flexuous. Stipes long, smooth, glabrous, or scaly at the base.— Small specimens of this plant, growing in drier 

 situations, have narrower fronds, not so membranous, and nearly entire lobes of the pinnules. 



Gen. XVI. DOODIA, Br. 



Sori lunulati v. lineares, 1-2-seriati, coste parallel!. Involucrum e rarnulo anastomosante venae ortum, 

 planum, intus liberum. 



A small genus of Ferns, natives chiefly of the Tropics and south temperate zone, being found in India, the 

 Malay and Pacific Islands, and in Australia and Tasmania.-**™*, in D. caudata very harsh, coriaceous, erect, 



