286 



F I L I C E S. 



subcoriaceis glabris bipinnatis ; pinnulis sessilibus oblongo-lanceolatis 

 caudato-acuminatis basi pinnatls apice serratis, segmentis lineari- 

 oblongis falcatis subacutis serratis, sterilibus biserratis; rhachi supra 

 tomentosa; costis subtus bullato-squamosis ; venis prominulis furcatis 

 parce setosis; soris plurimis costal quam margini proximis squamce 

 destitutis; pills articidatis inter sporangia. 



Ahophila lunulata, R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. p. 158 (adnot.)?; Hook. Spec. Fil. 



1, p. 51.? 

 Folt/podium lunulatum, Forst. ex Sw. Syn. Fil. p. 40 & 235. ? 



Hab. Samoan and Feejee Islands: in low, marshy places. Also 

 Bay of Islands, New Zealand. 



Trunk arborescent, from 15 to 20 feet high, very stout and quite 

 straight; the stipes fall off and leave numerous oblong, whitish, 

 smooth cicatrices, the surface between which is covered with a thick 

 coating of long, slender, pale, chaffy scales, mixed with black, wiry 

 roots ; the whole crowned by numerous, large, and spreading, elegant, 

 smooth, somewhat coriaceous, bipinn ate fronds ; the stipes, together with 

 the primary and secondary rhacliis, roughened with numerous, hard, 

 raised points. Pinnules sessile, oblong-lanceolate, with a caudate-acu- 

 minate, serrate point. Segments linear-oblong, falcate, somewhat acute, 

 serrate, in the sterile ones biserrate. Rhacliis tomentose above, while 

 the costa beneath is furnished with pale bullate scales. The veins are 

 prominent, sparsely setose, and once or twice forked. Sori numerous, 

 seated nearer to the costa than the margin, and destitute of a scale at 

 the base. Sporangia mixed with jointed hairs. 



Independent of the cicatrized trunk, the narrow and setaceous 

 points of the pinnules distinguish this species from all others of 

 the Pacific Islands, with which we are acquainted. Perhaps that 

 to which it approaches the nearest is the A. caudata of J. Smith, who 

 surmised that his plant might not be different from the A. lunulata of 

 R. Brown, concerning which very little appears to be known. We 

 therefore venture to give a figure of what we have doubtfully assumed 

 to be Mr. Brown's plant, and the Poly podium lunulatum of Forster. 



Plate 39.— Fig. 1. Portion of a frond, of the natural size. 1 a. 



