44 
New Zealand Ferns 
( 10 ) H. flabellatum (fan-like). So named from the 
shape of the leaflets, which, by an effort of the imagina- 
tion, may be likened to fans. A pale-green pendulous 
fern, growing in patches on the trunks of trees. 
Description . — Root long, wiry, creeping, more or less clothed 
with woolly brown hairs. Stalks slender, smooth, except for a 
tuft of silky hairs at the base. Fronds very variable in size and 
shape, usually 3 to 9 inches long, but sometimes reduced to less 
than an inch, at others attaining a length of 12 inches. The 
smaller specimens generally erect, the larger pendulous, pale 
shining-green or yellow-green. Seeds small, terminal. 
Not uncommon throughout the Dominion. Sea-level to 2,500 
feet. 
Usually a small, delicate fern, seldom more than I.V 
inch wide, though sometimes reaching a length of 12 
inches. Like H. ranim, it is somewhat difficult to culti- 
vate. Found also in Tasmania and South-eastern Aus- 
tralia, and reported from Sumatra and the Philippine 
Islands. 
