DESCRIPTIONS OF N.Z. FERNS. 73 



are once loosened from the material in which they are growing they seem to have great 

 difficulty in taking a fresh hold of new soil. It is quite necessary, therefore, to cut off 

 all the fronds and leave the plant to put out new ones as the roots get established. 



TRICHOMANES RIGIDUM VAR. ELONGATUM. (Tri-kom-an-ees rid-gid-um, 



var. e-lon-ga-tum.) 

 PLATE XVI., No. 2. 



This was the " Trichomanes elongatum " of Dr. Hooker, and in its growth 

 resembles the last, but occurs more plentifully and in different situations. It has a 

 stout ereft rhizome, from which a few fronds (seldom more than six) arise. Roots very 

 long and wiry. The stipes is stout, ere6l, wiry, smooth and often narrowly winged 

 above, and slightly hairy at the base. The rachis usually winged. The frond varies 

 from three to six inches in length, is broadly triangular, lanceolate or ovate, and tri or 

 quadri-pinnate or pinnatifid. The pinnae are numerous, often overlapping each other, 

 stalked, and vary from triangular to oval. The pinnules are cut into short, broad 

 lobes with entire or slightly-toothed edges. The colour is dark olive green, and the 

 texture sub-coriaceous. The surfaces are slightly rough and hairy, and are very 

 generally overgrown with moss, which spoils the appearance of the plant. I know no 

 other fern which moss attacks in the same way. The sori are very numerous, and 

 situated in the axils of the pinnae and pinnules. The involucres urn-shaped, with the 

 hairlike receptacles often protruding considerably. 



This fern is found in heavy bush, but usually in dry, sandy soil, under overhanging 

 ledges. I have got it from various localities, up to 3000 feet above sea-level, but 

 always on steep faces in dry soil and a moist atmosphere. It is not easy to move, as 

 the sandy soil breaks away from the roots, which do not readily become re-established. 

 It is a very beautiful fern when clean, and greatly resembles the much prized 

 " Killarney fern " "(T. radicans)" in appearance, except that the latter has a creeping 

 rhizome ; but it requires constant attention to keep it free from moss, and wherever 

 the latter has grown, even for a few days, it leaves a dry brownish patch on the frond. 

 It is, therefore, best grown under a bell glass. It is found in the tropics of both 

 hemispheres, and from China and Japan in the north, through Polynesia, to New 

 Zealand, but seems only to extend as far south as the middle of the Middle Island. 

 It is by no means rare in the North Island. 



TRIBE DAVALLI^. (Da-val-le-se.) 

 It is represented in New Zealand by two genera, viz : — Davallia and Cystopteris. 

 Its characteristics are, sori marginal or sub-marginal, roundish, covered by reniform 

 or sub-orbicular scale-like involucres, which are open at the apex, fastened broadly 

 at the base, and open or free at the sides. 



