46 
The Queensland Naturalist May, 1943 
forests in such localities as the Daintree River, Russell 
River, Rockingham Bay and the Bellenden-Ker Range. 
The trunk attains 2-3 feet in height and feet 
or more in diameter. The fronds are on long, thick, fleshy 
stalks with swollen bases, each one arising from between 
two dark brown leathery scales 3-4in. long. Fronds 2-4 
times pinnate, very large and spreading, up to about 24ft. 
long and eight feet or more broad, the main axis branch- 
ing after about six feet. Pinnae 1 3-5 feet long and about 
one foot wide. Leaflets 4-8 inches long and 2/3 to one 
inch wide, smooth and rather fleshy, very shortly stalked 
on a fleshy flattened axis; the margins of the leaflets are 
usually minutely toothed and the apex is acuminate or 
even drawn out into a tail up to an inch long. The. sorus 
is oblong, consisting of 4-7 pairs of very small spore cases 
placed along the lateral veins, not covered by an indusium ; 
the sori collectively form a narrow dark band around the 
leaflet near the margin. 
TODEA. 
T . barbara, King Fern. 
This species is also sometimes called Swamp Tree 
Fern, a name not particularly appropriate since the plant 
is not confined to swamps. It is quite at home on steep 
mountain slopes in rain forest or “scrub” as well as on the 
swampy “wallunr ’ typical of the islands of Moreton Bay. 
It is widely spread over the whole eastern coast. 
The King Fern sometimes develops a trunk several 
feet high, but frequently the trunk is so short as to be un- 
noticeable. The fronds, are large, 2-8 feet long, twice pin- 
nate, dark glossy green on the upper surface, paler under- 
neath, thick and rather coarse. The primary pinnae are 
a foot or less long and two inches wide, and are divided 
into numerous secondary leaflets about 1-1 1 inches long 
and 2/5 inch wide. The margins of the leaflets are finely 
toothed. The spore cases are tiny, but extremely numerous, 
more or less irregularly scattered over the lower part of the 
under surface of the secondary leaflets, and eventually 
thickly covering almost the whole surface. These brown 
or bright brick-coloured masses of spore cases greatly add 
to the beauty of the fern and serve to distinguish it 
readily from all other tree-ferns. 
