206 ASPLENIUM, § EUASPLENIUM. 



;;. 77- t. 82. C. N. Zelandife, Spr. Schk.Fil. t. 82. Darea 

 flaccida, Sm. Mem. Acad. Turin, v. p. 409. IVilld. Sp. PL v. 

 ;;. 296. 



Hab. New Zealand, all the islands, Forster, and all travellers. S. E. Australia, 

 Fraser (entrance to Port Dalrymple). Blue Mountains, Bynoe, Allan Cuimingham. 

 Tasmania, Fraser (Mount Wellington), Gunn, n. 1533. Raoul Island, Kerraadee 

 group?, M'Gillivray, n. 951 : small, a span high, with very large copious scales 

 on the caudcx, and few pinna 2 inches long and f of an inch broad, lircaking up 

 into broad obovate pinnules (rarely dareoid), and n. 948 (approaching some of 

 the common and simple forms, pinnae lanceolate pinnatifid, with one auricle or 

 pinnule at the superior base, all the segments free and dareoid). — Thunberg's lo- 

 cality of the Cape of Good Hope is prol)ably an error. Schkidir's figure represents 

 very accurately two of the more common forms of this variable sjjecies, of which 

 Dr. Hooker, who has collected it in its native countries, says : " It would take 

 many ])ages to enumerate half its protean forms." He himself enumerates five of 

 the more conspicuous varieties, and Mettenius three ; but, continues the former 

 author, " they are connected by innumerable intermediate ones ; indeed, the 

 most opposite characters are sometimes i)resented by different parts of the same 

 frond." He further remarks that in Australia and Tasmania the species does not 

 vary so much as in New Zealand. It then becomes of some interest to ascertain, 

 if possible, whether in other, and especially moister climates, still other forms of 

 this species may not present themselves, not yet clearly recorded, which, as far as 

 we now know of it, rarely departs from the true dareoid character. But we have 

 already shown that Aspl. lineatiun, of the Salicifolimn-^roxn^, breaks up, if I may 

 so say, into a perfect Darea in the D. bifida, Klfs., and D. ino'quaUs, Willd. ; and 

 Aspl. bulbiferum, in our Dareastrum-%eci\on, does the same in New Zealand: but 

 if I am correct in showing that the East Indian Aspl. buUatum of Wallich and the 

 same plant I have noted from South America, are identical with it, we do not find 

 that they pass into the dareoid form. Indeed, Dr. Hooker says of A. flaccidum, 

 " It jiasses by many states into A. bulbiferum,^' and under A. bulbiferum (Fl. N. 

 Zeal.), he says, " Pendulous specimens aj)pear to pass into A. flaccidum." Nor 

 must the observation of a very acute botanist be overlooked, which I have re- 

 corded at p. 97, viz. : " that Aspl. oblusatum, Forst., under certain circumstances, 

 in Norfolk Island becomes A. flaccidum." It requires diligent study of those 

 plants in their native localities to come to a right decision on such points. From 

 what we do know, however, of those supposed species, the most distinct, botani- 

 cally speaking, in their extreme states, we see how impossible it is to speak con- 

 fidently of the limits of this or that kind. 



198. A. (Euasplenium) rutafolhim, Kze; caude.K stout as- 

 cending in age as thick as a man's thumb paleaceous above 

 with subulate long flexuose black-brown scales, stipites 

 tufted 3-G inches long compressed pale, fronds broad-lanceo- 

 late more or less acuminate tapering below subcoriaceous 

 pale green a span to a foot and more long tripinnate (or sul)- 

 tripinnatifid) deciduously subsetaceo-paleaceous, primary 

 pinnae patent (never horizontal) petiolate ovato-lanceolate 

 more or less acuminate nearly equally pinnated on both sides, 

 superior secondary pinnte entire, inferior ones once or twice 

 forked lowest ones again pinnate, pinnules or segments 

 sometimes forked all linear or subspathulate obtuse 1-3 lines 



