48 
New Zealand Ferns 
(12 ) H . subtilissimum (very delicate). A medium- 
sized filmy fern, usually pendulous from the stems of 
tree-ferns or tree trunks ; most readily distinguished by 
the curious colour — a dull green tinged with brown, 
given to the leaf by a dense clothing of silky hairs; if 
examined through a magnifying glass the surfaces have 
a rough, almost furry appearance. 
Description . — Forming dense mats on the stems of tree-ferns, 
tree trunks, or the perpendicular faces of shaded rocks. Root 
long, slender, creeping, covered with red-brown hairs. Stalks 
narrow, not winged. Fronds 2 to 10 inches long by fin. to 2 
inches broad, thin and membranous, dark-green to reddish-green, 
sometimes tawny, usually pendulous. Seeds numerous, small, 
terminal. 
Not uncommon in damp forests from Mangonui southwards; 
rare and local on the East Coast of the South Island. Sea-level 
to 2,500 feet. 
This graceful fern, which looks something like a small 
copy of H. scabntm, is also found on the island of Juan 
Fernandez and in Chili. 
