80 I. — FiLicES. [Aspidium 



■whicli are ^f in. long, and are continued (but of smaller size) up the 

 rachis. Fronds tufted, 4-10 in. long, 1 J-2 in. broad, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, pale-green, soft, and placid, almost membranous ; pinnse distant 

 below, crowded above, |-1|- ia. long, ovate-deltoid, pinnatifid or 

 pinnate; lower pinnules oblong-lanceolate, deeply lobed, the teeth 

 blunt. Sori numerous, usually in two rows ; involucres large, very 

 membranous and convex, with the edge turned down all round. 



Bistribution. — Confined to the mountain ranges of New Zealand, 

 occurring on Tongariro and Taranaki, and probably also on other 

 mountain heights in the North Island. In the South Island it is. 

 found along the whole central chain at elevations of from 3,000 to 

 6,000 ft., in a great number of localities. It is extremely hardy, 

 and can be cultivated with the greatest facility. 



A. aristatum, Swartz, 



included among New Zealand ferns in the " Handbook FJ. N.Z.," 

 occurs on the Kermadec Islands, but in no other part of the N.Z. 

 botanical region. It is a tropical fern, having a wide range from 

 Japan in the N. to New South Wales in the S., and from Natal to 

 Samoa. 



5. A. capense, WUld. (Pi. iii. fig. 3.) 



Rhizome stout, creeping, elongated, covered with tawny, silky 

 scales. Stipes 1-2 ft. long, firm, erect, greyish, densely scaly below. 

 Fronds scattered, 1-3 ft. long, 12-18 in. broad, rigidly coriaceous, 

 ovate-deltoid, pinnse obliquely-deltoid, erecto-patent ; pinnules 1-2 in. 

 long, ovate or lanceolate, obtusely lobed or pinnatifid into oblong, 

 obtuse, bluntly toothed or entire segments. Sori in 2 rows, nearly 

 filUng the segments ; involucre large, orbicular, with a deep sinus. 



Synonyms. — A. coriaceum, Swartz; A. cunninghamianum, 

 Colenso ; Polystichum coriaceum, Scliott ; Polypodium adiantiforme, 

 Forst. 



' ^Distribution. — America, from Cuba to Patagonia ; South Africa ; 

 Australia and Polynesia. Also in the Chatham Islands. 



A common fern in most parts of New Zealand, ranging from 

 N. Cape to Stewart Island, usually occurring in woods. 



Genus XXL— NEPHRODIUM,* Br. (PI. III. fig. 4.) 



Fronds pinnate or 2-4-pinnate; veins forked and free, rarely 

 united. Sori sub-globose, dorsal, or terminal on the veinlets. 

 Involucre cordate-renifomi, attached by the sinus to the centre of 

 the sorus, often deciduous. 



I. — Lastrea. Veins all free. 

 Fronds pinnate. 



Rhizome creeping. Fronds 1-2 ft. long, 



lanceolate 1. N. thelypteris. 



* Gr. Nepliros, a kidney, from the shape of the involucre. 



