38 



POLYPODIACEAE. 



8. Blechnum. 



8. BLECHNUM, L. 

 (Greek blefchnon, the name of a fern.) 

 Leaves pinnate or pinnatisect, dissimilar ; the barren ones spreading, the fertile ones 

 erect, with much narrower pinnules ; veins forked ; sori in 2 continuous lines parallel to 

 the midrib of the pinnae, the indusium opening from the midrib outwards. 

 A. Segments of barren leaves attached to the rhachis by a 

 broad base. 



Barren segments long B. discolor 1. 



Barren segments short B. lanceolatum 2. 



A. Segments mostly attached to the rhachis by the midrib 



only B. capense 3. 



1. B. discolor (Willd.) Keys. Barren leaves lanceolate in outline, paler below, pin- 

 natisect, the longer segments 5-8 cm. long, narrow-lanceolate, confluent at baae, the 

 lower ones smaller ; fertile segments narrower and rather shorter, with a dark rhachis. — 

 Lomaria discolor, Willd. 



Mount Lofty Ranges. 



2. B. lanceolatum (R. Br.), Sturm. Resembles the preceding, but the segments of the 

 barren leaves are shorter (the longest 2-4 cm. long) and the lowest are very short and 

 broad. — Lomaria lanceolata, Spreng. 



Given for Mount Gambier on the authority of Mueller (Fl. Aust., vii., 736), but T have 

 not seen any specimens from this State. 



3. B. capense (L.), Schlecht. Leaves pinnate in 

 the greater part, pinnatisect near the summit, the 

 majority of the lanceolate pinnae or segments with 

 an obliquely truncate base and attached to the 

 rhachis only by the midrib, a few of the uppermost 

 attached to the rhachis by the lower half of the 

 broad base, the longest 5-15 cm. long, 1^-2 cm. 

 broad, serrulate, all lighter green below ; fertile 



eaves similar, but the pinnae usually much nar- 

 rower, the under-surface sometmes covered entirely 



by the sori, and the rhachis more or less scaly. — & -^ 



Lomaria capensis, Willd. If fPfflNx ^ >^ ™ 



Mount Lofty Range ; Kangaroo Island ; South- // $1 |R V 



East. The adnate character of the upper segments ra&JH 111 'V ""*- 

 brings our specimens very near to B. cartilagineum, 



Swartz, a species of Eastern Australia. 



Fig. 9. — Blechnum capense. 



9. ASPLENIUM, L. 



(Greek asplenon, name of a fern considered to be a cure for diseases of the spleen ; from 



a, without ; splen, spleen.) 

 Sori linear or oblong, on forked veins proceeding obliquely from the midrib ; indusium 

 attached lengthwise to the vein and opening towards the midrib. 

 A. Leaves simply pinnate. 



Pinnae fanshaped ; rhachis mostly green A. flabellifolium I. 



Pinnae ovate ; rhachis black A. Trichomanes 2. 



A. Leaves twice pinnatisect. 

 Ultimate segments lanceolate, 



pinnatifid A. bulbiferum 3. 



Ultimate segments oblong, 



toothed A. praemorsum 4. 



1. A. flabellifolium, Cav. Fan-leaved Spleenwort 

 A small delicate fern ; leaves once pinnate, with fan- 

 shaped pinnae 5-15 mm. broad, crenately toothed ; 

 petiole bl ok and shining, most of the rhachis green : 

 sori confluent when old. 



Common in the Mount Lofty and Flinders Ranges 

 and in the other moist districts. 



Fig. 10. — Asplenium flabellifolium. 



2. A. Trichomanes, L. Common Spleenwort. Also 

 a small, tufted fern ; pinnae ovate or obovate 4-8 mm. 

 long, crenately toothed ; both petiole and rhachis 

 black and shining. 



Mount Gambier district. Widely spread throughout 

 the temperate parts of the world. 



