28 IIEMITELIA. 



manner, the base above ol'ten remaining a shallow cup. Rich. 

 FL Nov. Zc'l.j). 77, t. 10. 



Hal). New Zealand. Novlhern and middle islands, Forster and others. 

 Poghna of the natives. — This, so lav as I know, is wholly confined to New 

 Zealand, and is a very beautiful fern, rising with a caudex or trunk 10 — 

 15 feet high, crowned with a noble tuft of fronds white with glaucous fari- 

 na beneath. Mr. Edgerley remarks that this fern is also eaten liy the na- 

 tives, and prohably in the same way as the C. medullaris. 



Dubious species of the East Indies. 



40. C. Riiniphii, Desv. Polypodium arboreum, Lour. Fl. 

 Cochin, excl. st/n. Liitn. Eiintph. Ainb. v. ii. p. 04, /. 27, 

 Desv. 



2. Hemitelia, Br. {excl. H. Capensis). 

 Cneniidaria, Pr. Cyathea3 sp. of Auth. 



Sori solitary, globose, situated below the apex of a lateral 

 vein or veinlet, generally near the margin. Receptacle ele- 

 vated, globose or columnar. Involucres small, semicircular, 

 concave, occupying the lower side of the sorus, at first applied 

 to it, and at length reflexed and persistent, rarely forming a 

 shallow cup under the sorus, and then small, indistinct, never 

 at any period covering the whole sorus. Veins pinnated, simple 

 or branched, generally forked, all free, or the lowest ones anas- 

 tomosing. — Natives of tJte tropics. Arborescent. Fronds large 

 pinnate or decompound. Pinnides most It/ larger and broader 

 than in true Cyathea3. Hook. Gen. Fil. tab. 4, (veining 

 imperfect, correctly represented in the accompanying figures). 



Obs. If we take the Hemitelia horrida of Br. as our guide for the essen- 

 tial character of this genus, we shall have in it and H. speciosa and obtusa, 

 and (/randifolia, or even in petiolata and Hostinanni, not only a sufficiently 

 natural, hut well defined genus, characterized by the small dimidiate involu- 

 cre closely pressed to the early formed sorus and distinctly visible : but there 

 are other Ibrms of inferior involucre, quite distinct from that of Cyathea 

 and yet not harmonizing with Hemitelia, which. I have still thought it bet- 

 ter to bring hither than to unite with C>/athea, or, even less with Alsophila. 

 These are //. altcrnans, H. Guianensis, and II. Parkeri, doubtfully re- 

 ferred by me to this genus. 



* Fronds pinnate. 



1. H. speciosa, Kaulf. ; unarmed, fronds pinnate, pinn£e 

 very long cnsiform acuminate on a short petiole, obtuse at the 

 base, the margin crenato-lobate, sori nearly marginal occupy- 

 ing the whole length of the pinna;, veinlets all free. (Tab. 

 Xlll. B.) — Cyathea speciosa, H.B.K. Nov. Gen. Am. v. i. p. 

 20, and IVilld. Pr. [not Cnemidaria speciosa, Pr.) 



Hab. Caripe, Humboldt. Caracas, Linden, n. 79. Para, Brazil, Mar- 

 tins. — This is a truly l)eautiful species; aiul assuredly if there be any mean- 



