10. Polystichum. 



POLYPODIACEAE. 



39 



3. A. bulbifemm, Forst. Leaves large, bipinnatisect, often proliferous ; ultimate 

 segments lanceolate, 1-2 cm. long, deeply pinnatifid, with 1 forked vein to each lobe ; 

 sori large, 1 to each lobe, the indusium opening away from the vein towards the midrib 

 of the segment. 



South-East. 



4. A. praemorsum, Swartz. Leaves bipinnatisect, slightly scaly ; ultimate segments 

 coriaceous, coarsely toothed, striate owing to the prominent veins. — A. furcatum, Thunb. 



South-East. 



10. POLYSTICHUM, Roth. 

 (Greek polys, many ; stichos, a row ; alluding to the many rows of sori.) 

 1. P. aculeatum (L.). Schott. Leaves large, bipinnatisect, rhachis very scaly ; primary 

 segments lanceolate, acute ; ultimate segments ovate -lanceolate, prickly-toothed, enlarged 

 on the upper margin into a prominent lobe ; veins forked, free, diverging from the midrib ; 

 sori in 2 rows between the midrib and the margin of the segment ; indusium orbicular, 

 affixed peltately by its centre. — Aspidium aculeatum, Swartz. 

 South-East. Almost cosmopolitan. 



11. DPvYOPTERIS, Adans. 

 (Greek drys, an oak ; pteris, a fern : alluding to the leaves of some species.) 

 Leaves more or less compound ; veins free or the lower ones meeting ; sori orbicular, 

 covered by small heart-shaped or kidney-shaped indusia, which are fixed to the leaf by 

 the centre of the notch ; indusium falling off early or sometimes wanting. 



A. Leaves simply pinnate D. parasitica 1. 



A. Leaves twice or thrice pinnatisect. 



Ultimate segments acutely toothed, thin and flaccid . . D. decomposita 2. 



Ultimate segments crenately toothed, stiff D. punctata 3. 



1. D. parasitica (L.), O. Kuntze. Leaves once 

 pinnate, the rhachis glabrous or pubescent ; pinnae 

 lanceolate, truncate at base, the lower ones 

 gradually smaller ; lobes oblong, obtuse, curved 

 upwards, the lowest veins of adjoining lobes united 

 into one vein which extends to the sinus ; sori in 

 the middle of the veins and extending in 2 rows 

 parallel to the midrib of the lobes. — Aspidium 

 molle, Swartz. 



Below cliffs on River Mu ray at Caurnamont 

 and in Hundred of Younghusband ; rock holes at 

 Nilcurloo, E.P. 



D. gongylodes (Schkuhr), 0. Kuntze (Aspidium 

 unitum, Swartz), was found by Professor Tate in the 

 (Jill Range, near the Finke River, N.T., and may 

 therefore occur in our Far North. It differs from 

 D. parasitica in the lower pinnae as long as the 

 others, the lobes broader, shorter and acute, and in 

 the sori forming 1 row along the margin of the lobes. 



Fig. 11.— Dryopteris parasitica. 



2. D. decomposita (R. Br ), 0. Kuntze. Leaves bipinnatisect or the larger ones tri- 

 pinnatisect, dark green, the rhachis usually pubescent ; pinnae lanceolate, acute, pinnatisect 

 towards base ; segments acutely toothed ; sori 

 about halfway between the midrib and the margin 

 of the segments or lobes of the pinna. — Aspidium 

 decompositum, Spring. 



Yallum Caves (South-East). 



3. D. punctata (Thunb), C. Chr. Leaves twice or 

 thrice pinnatisect, sometimes very large, the rhachis 

 usually glandular-hairy ; lower pinnae often 30 cm. 

 long or more ; secondary segments lobed or deeply 

 pinnatifid, rigid when in fruit, the lobes or ultimate 

 segments toothed, obtuse ; sori in 2 rows on the 

 segments or lobes, about halfway between the midrib 

 and margin. — Polypodium punctatum, Thunb. 



Mount Lofty Range 

 Gambier. 



Glencoe, near Mount 



Fig 12.— Dryopteris punctata. 



