56 I. — FiLiCES. [Ilypolepis 



1. H. tenuifolia, BemJiardi. 



Rliizome stout, scaly. Stipes 1-2 ft. high, stout, erect, brown, 

 scabrid, naked, or pubescent. Fronds herbaceous, 2-5 ft. long, 1-2 ft. 

 deltoid, 3- or 4-pinnate ; rachis tomentose ; lower pitinse 12-18 in. 

 long, 6-9 in. broad, ovate-acuminate ; pinnules lanceolate ; secondary- 

 pinnules 1-1 -J- in. long, lanceolate, pinnatifid ; segments linear-oblong, 

 obtuse, toothed ; sori 2-6 on the ultimate segments, placed at the 

 sinuses of the teeth. 



Synonyms. — H. dicksonioides,-ffooA;.; H. pallida, ZToo/c; Cheilanthes 

 ambigua, A. Eich ; C. arborescens, Swartz ; C. pellucida, Colenso ; 

 Lonchitis tenuifolia, Forst. 



Distribution. — Australia, Tasmania, Java, Norfolk Island, and 

 many of the Polynesian Islands. Also in the Chatham Islands. 

 Ranging widely in New Zealand from N. Cape to Foveaux Straits, 

 and on the whole a very common fern. In Otago it is rather local. 

 This fern is chiefly to be found at the edge of the bush, and springs 

 up readily in busid clearings. It is very closely allied to Polypodium 

 rugulosu'in, and some forms are quite undistinguishable from that 

 fern. Hypolepis only differs from Polypodium (which has naked 

 sori) in having the spurious involucre covering its sori, which are 

 placed — not on the veins — but in the sinuses of the margins of the 

 frond. 



2. H. distans, Hooh. (Pi. II. fig. ia.) 



Rhizome woolly, and covered with scaly brown hairs. Stipes 6-12 

 in^Jogg, slender, flexuous, chestnut-brown, slightly rough. Fronds 

 6-12^ in. long, 4-5 in. broad, ovate-lanceolate, 2-pinnate ; pinnas 

 opposite, distant, spreading at right angles with the rachis, lanceolate, 

 2-3 in. long, \ in. broad ; rachis scabrous ; pinnules \ in. long, 

 varying from oblong to deltoid, obtuse, pinnatifid, glabrous and 

 herbaceous. Sori very small, 2-4 to a pinnule, placed in the lower 

 sinuses. 



'^'''^'Distribution. — Confined to the Chatham Islands and New Zealand, 

 ' where, however, it is found throughout all open country at low 

 elevations. It is to be looked for at the edges of the bush and in 

 sheltered localities ; but, like the others of the genus, requires plenty 

 of air and light, and is not found in the forest districts. Though 

 wide-spread, it is very local in its occurrence, passing frequently into 

 Polypodium rugulosum, and not to be distinguished in some of its 

 forms from that species. 



3. H. millefolium, Hook. (Pi. II. fig. 4.) 



Rhizome stout, naked, except at the junction of the stipes, where 

 • there are a few scaly hairs. Stipes 4-6 in. long, erect, pale-coloured, 

 naked, or with a few hairs or scabrous points. Fronds 6-18 in. long, 

 4-8 in. broad, broadly ovate or deltoid, 3-pinnate ; lower pinnse 

 erecto-patent, 4-6 in. long, 1-2 in. broad, ovate or lanceolate ; 



