Loxsomaj I. — filices. 33 



1. L. cunninghamii, £r. 



Rhizome covered with long, curved, red-brown hairs. Fronds 

 1-2 ft. high, broadly triangular, bright-green above, usually white or 

 glaucous below ; stipes (long) and rachis glabrous, polished ; pinnse 

 ascending, lower opposite ; pinnules lanceolate, again pinnate or 

 pimaatifid ; segments linear-oblong, subacute, notched. ^^-^ ■ 



"A remarkable fern, with the habit of a coriaceous Dichsonia ; 

 the fructification rather of Trichommies, but with a very short and ' 

 oblique ring to the capsule." — (" Syn. Fil.," p. 56.) This beautiful'' 

 and interesting species is the only one of the genvis, and is not only 

 confined to New Zealand, but is very local and restricted in its 

 distribution, occurring in woods in the N. Island only, as far south 

 as the Thames. It is to be found at various localities near Auck- 

 land, also at Coromandel, Wangarei, Bay of Islands and Great 

 Barrier Island where it ascends to 1,000 ft. 



There are two very slightly differing varieties, one having the 

 under surface of the frond glaucous or silver y, and the other with 

 both surfaces of an uniform olivaceous green colour. 



Genus VII.— HYMENOPHYLLUM,* L. (Filmy-ferns.) 

 (PI. I. fig. 7.) 



Ferns usually furnished with a slender, wiry, creeping rhizome, 

 growing on the trunks of trees and damp rocks. Fronds mostly of a 

 delicate membranous texture, more or less pellucid ; pinnate or 2- or 

 3-pinnatifid. Sori axillary or terminal, m.ore or less sunk in the 

 frond or exserted, terminating a costa or vein. Involucre more or 

 less deeply 2-valved, membranous ; lips toothed or entire, opening 

 outwards. Receptacle elongated, exserted or included. Capsules 

 mostly orbicular, depressed, girt by a complete, broad transverse 

 ring, opening irregularly at the apex. 



The beautiful and delicate ferns belonging to this genus owe their 

 filmy appearance to the fact that the tissue of their fronds is com- 

 posed (as in mosses) of a single layer of cells. In cultivating them, 

 therefore, it is necessary to protect them from the wind as well as 

 the sun, and also from the dry air of most rooms. They are usually 

 grown under bell-glasses or in cases specially constructed for them, 

 as the atmosphere they thrive i best in is too moist for most other 

 ferns, and they should be placed in a shady spot. In their native 

 habitats they grow frequently in a continual drip, and indoors they 

 like something as near that as possible — a sort of perpetual steam- 

 bath — but in this respect there is considerable variability, some 

 species being much hardier than others. A loose, fibrous, somewhat 

 sandy soil with good drainage suits them best. 



The accompanying artificial hey to aid in the identification of the 

 species is essentially the same as tliat in Hooker's " Handbook to the 

 N.Z. Flora," p. 352. 



* Gr. Hymen, a membrane, and pJiyllon, a leaf. 



