ASH ISLAND. 191 



than rocks. I have compared this fern with some specimens of 

 Niphobolus screens from Norfolk Island, and I believe that the 

 two are mere varieties of one species, the principal difference 

 arising from the quantity of stellate scales or tomentum on the 

 under surface of the frond. I find that Smith in his Grenera of 

 Ferns proposes to place P. rupestre in the genus Niphobolus. 

 According to his definition the rhizome of the genus is creeping 

 or csespitose, and the fronds are covered with stellated, sessile, or 

 pedicellate scales or tomentum, rarely smooth. The veins when 

 evident are parallel, combined by transverse parallel venules, 

 and the sori are irregular, and usually confluent. The Ash 

 Island species is smooth, but under a lens the stellate scales may 

 be distinctly seen, and, therefore, I think it must be referred 

 to Niphobolus. 



Few mosses were to be seen, as the heat of the season had 

 killed most of them ; but, judging from the elegant drawings of 

 Miss Scott, it appears that the same species of Hypnum, Dicranum, 

 and Jungermawnia, prevail in Ash Island as in other parts of the 

 colony. Of lichens, the common forms of Usnea, Parmelia, &c., 

 occur ; and of fungi, several species of Polyporus. Miss Scott 

 has also discovered a Sphceria, which appears new and interesting. 

 The species is certainly distinct from the New Zealand Sphceria, 

 or that found near Mount Tomah by Miss Atkinson. It is to be 

 hoped that not merely drawings, but specimens also, preserved in 

 alcohol, may be forwarded to the great master of cryptogamous 

 botany, the E/ev M. J, Berkeley, that the SpJtceria may be com- 

 pared with those from other parts of the world. 



In concluding this sketch of the Botany of Ash Island, I feel 

 that it is in some respects deficient, as it would require several 

 visits at different seasons of the year to give a proper list of the 

 plants. It is highly probable that some of the species which for- 

 merly flourished in the island, have been destroyed in the process 

 of clearing, and others (especially some composite plants not 

 mentioned in this communication) have been introduced. How- 

 ever, it is interesting to notice, even from the imperfect investi- 

 gation made during a short visit, that in the same spot there are 

 plants growing together, which have a very wide, and in some 

 instances, a different geographical range. Thus, whilst some of 

 the plants connect the vegetation of the island, with the subtro- 



