206 Urtuglehole & Lc*rmouth, The. fiynduft Cava [ V vl\.*V 



and Sickle Fern (Pfliiwa ivlcatti) axe also grAwiug outside, and 

 the pretty IHtJfi Blanket Fein (Fleurasorttx riiJijoiinj) hangs to the 

 ledges and cracks together with Necklace Fern f Aspleniiim f.ahel- 

 Idfoli-ttm). Annual Fern {Anoyramnw IcplaphyUa) was thriving nn 

 the occasion of our first visit hut it died away as Mimmer c^me over 

 the rock harriers. 



Also on our first visit we had seen one plant 01 the rare Shredded 

 Spleen wort {Aspk-mtuu adutnl&tdt'y), growing on a cave wall. 

 and we reached it with difficulty over a deep chasm. Bui once 

 inside the Church Cave we saw masses 01* this Fern -on the walls and 

 root", both damp with soakage- front the top. Readers may remember 

 that the only known locality for this splccmvorl in Victoria had 

 been at Tvrcmlarra (reported by us in Vict Mot. 66: 129. Nuveitt- 

 her 1949, ami fee 67* 224. March 1951) Now wc had found a far 

 greater quantity at Byacluk. This find and our next in the same 

 cave. Austral Filmy-fern {Meanihtw attstrale) show that no 

 botanist had been in there before, as this nltuy-ferns westernmost 

 record was previously thcOtway Ranges. 



Many ferns hang from the inaccessible roof, among them Mother 

 .Spleen wort (Asplotinm bttfbifcr*tm\ and Kangaroo Fern (Fhyma- 

 todvs diver sifoiiitw ) . a very beautiful effect, especially as much of 

 the. sple.e.mvort has a. proliferous growth of yonug plant* on the 

 tips of the drooping fronds. Shiny Shield-fern (Lastreopsts shep- 

 herdn) is very prolific, growing on roof, walls and door. Outside 

 among the Austral Broken, Mother Shield-fern (Pofysticlmm proli- 

 jrrrum) grows Go a great sue. and two young plants of Soft Tree- 

 fern (Oirkiotiia antorclim) are just heyrmd direct sunlight. Ihcy 

 are all that remain in this cave of these stately ferns— decaying 

 trunks up to 1 B feet long, to show a heauty that has gone - cut down 

 many years ago for decorating purposes. These trunks are now a 

 mass oi tnosse* and young ferns, among the latter another species 

 for this prolific cave, Bat's-wing Fern (Ilisfioptcns weisv). Far 

 hack in the limits of light where the walls are wet and dripping 

 grows the last rem to he recorded from the Church Cave* — Veined 

 Bristletern (Potyphlebutm wnosum), making a total of fifteen 

 specie* from the one cave 



In and around these caves we recorded a total of twenty fern 

 species. OthCfS were Common Maidenhair (Adianfnm aetkwpicmn) 

 in many sheltered corners under heaps of houlders and stone walls, 

 Tender Brake (r*tp.ns trnnula) in several caves, and Lance Water- 

 fern {Biechtiam lanvaalattmi) which is confined to one cave — the 

 Flower Pol. Ruddy Ground-fern (Hyp&lepis rugosttfa) in Fern 

 Cave and Au.strat Adders-tongue (Ophiotjfosstun coriovettm) on 

 tin 4 dry rocky flats, complete our total. 



The Flower Pot cave is a dense and very beautiful fern garden, 

 as well as nnc Other example of man's destruction, in the shape of 



