The leading Physiognomie Plants. — The coastal Ferns. 55 
'vinces except the Subantarctic. It is not native in Stewart Island although quite 
‚ hardy there in cultivation. 
4. The coastal Ferns. 
The following three coastal ferns require notice, — Asplenium obtusatum 
Forst. f., Blechnum durum (Moore) C. Chr. and B. Banksü (Hook. f.) Mett. The 
first. occurs in its special stations throughout the whole botanical region, 
excepting Macquarie Island, the second is a plant of the Southern, Chatham 
and Subantarctic botanical provinces, and the third extends from the North Cape 
to Stewart Island, but is somewhat local in its distribution. All the plants in 
question grow under identical conditions and are ecologically similar. They 
thrive best in an equable moist climate with low summer temperature and 
cloudy skies, and they rapidly form raw humus out of their dead parts. 
Asplentum obtusatum varies much in size according to its station but is 
generally a rather large fern. There is a thick rhizome sometimes 30 cm 
long and 3.5 cm in diam. The leaves are erect, pinnate with 6-20 pairs of 
close-set sometimes overlapping pinnae, dark-green, linear-oblong, 5—30 cm 
long, and the stalk measures from 5—ı5 cm and is greenish to almost black, 
very stout and channelled above. Large examples have leaves 67 cm long en 
‚by ıg cm broad. : Beyond New Zealand this Asplenium occurs in Australia, 
Tasmania, Polynesia, Tristan da Cunha, the Subantarctic Islands and subant- 
arctic South America. In New Bea it has several very close. allies ofsimilar 
growth-form and occupying like stations, e. g. — = en 28, Selevopri, “ 
A. Lyallii, and a form of A. flaccidum. 
Blechnum durum has a stout rhizome and, in n large examples a ditinet 
