New Zealand Ferns 
9 
was appalling. In his “British Ferns,” Thos. Moore de- 
scribes 44 species and no less than 462 varieties! Since 
the publication of his book in 1875 the pendulum has 
swung the other way — botanists have become more con- 
servative. 
No doubt a man of world-wide experience like Dr. 
Hooker; who had access to the great British herbarium 
at Ivew numbering 50,000 specimens, would be inclined 
to lump together a number of examples from different 
countries; whereas the local collector, from his narrower 
outlook, would separate them. 
I am inclined to think some of the New Zealand bot- 
anists err on the conservative side. Bearing in mind 
Darwin's conclusion that the term species is arbitrarily 
given for the sake of convenience, not because all fulfil 
the character implied by the name, a genus of ferns has 
been given the name of Poly podium, though a large 
number of them are not many-footed. 
Some argue that if two species are connected by a 
series of intermediates they should be classed as one and 
the same species. That is to say, they should be differ- 
ently treated from two other species where the interme- 
diates have disappeared. This seems to be harking back 
to the original creation theory. What we require is a 
convenient division of the genus into certain easily 
recognised groups. 
Ptcris macilenta, Var. pendula, and P. comans have 
a strong family likeness to one another, but are suffi- 
ciently distinct to be easily recognised ; to class them as 
one species would lead only to confusion. Indeed, a fur- 
ther division of P. macilenta might be of advantage to 
collectors. The two specimens illustrated on pages 173 
and 175 have well-marked and very constant features, 
which they maintain even when growing side by side 
under cultivation. In the same way, I believe, as the 
numbers of observers increase and ferns are more care- 
fully studied, the time will come when some of the step- 
ping stones between the species of Asplenium will be 
classed as distinct varieties, if not species. 
