54 
New Zealand Ferns 
(15) Var. Armstrongii. Precisely similar in size and 
habit to the foregoing, but firmer in texture and the 
margins thickened. Originally called Trichomancs 
Armstrongii. 
(16) H. minimum (very small). A minute fern, 
forming matted patches on the trunks of trees and on 
rocks; even rarer than the last. 
Description .— Roots creeping, thread-like, smooth, f,in. to 
4in. long. Fronds very small, fin. to -fin. long, firm, pale-green. 
Seeds never more than one in a frond. 
A littoral plant. South Island: Tasman Bay; Westland — coast 
near Okarito ; Otago — Resolution Island ; East Coast. Stewart 
Island, not uncommon. Auckland Islands. 
A very small species, never found far from the sea- 
coast. Easily confounded with H. tunbridgense, from 
which it differs by the uniformly solitary and terminal 
seeds. It is confined to New Zealand. 
(17) H. tunbridgense (from near Tunbridge). A 
small fern, with distinctly serrated margins, growing 
in thick masses on rocks and tree trunks where the shade 
is densest. May be mistaken for moss by the unobser- 
vant. 
Description . — Root long, wiry, creeping. Stalks fin. to If 
inches long, slender, wiry, naked. Fronds variable in size, fin. 
to 3 inches long by fin. to 1 inch broad, pale-green, membranous. 
Seeds usually near the midrib. Forming matted patches on rocks 
or the trunks of trees. 
Abundant throughout the Dominion. Sea-level to 3,000 feet. 
