106 
New Zealand Ferns 
(39) D. lanata (woolly). A semi-erect tree-fern; 
easily distinguished from the other Dicksonias by its 
short trunk, or absence of a trunk, and the broader, 
iaxer fronds. 
Description . — Trunk usually long, prostrate and rooting — as 
thick as the wrist — more rarely stout, erect, attaining a height of 
from 3 to 6 feet. Stalks from half as long to quite as long as the 
frond, pale, smooth, clothed at the base with brown scales ; when 
young the upper part, together with the midrib, covered with soft 
woolly hairs. Fronds few, 3 to 6 feet long by 1 to 3 feet broad, 
thick, but hardly rigid, green to yellowish-green above, paler be- 
neath. Seeds copious. 
North Island: Hilly forests from Mangonui to Cook Strait, 
somewhat scarce and local. South Island: Nelson — Massacre 
Bay, Pakawa ; Westland — Okarito ; Canterbury — Banks Penin- 
sula. Sea-level to 2.000 feet. 
At Whangarei and further north this species usually 
possesses a short trunk, but to the south it is invariably 
stemless. It is an easy plant to cultivate. Four years ago 
I brought a seedling from Whangarei and planted it in 
Auckland. It will he interesting to see if it produces a 
stem similar to the parent plant. So far it has not, al- 
though it has put forth several seeded fronds, a sign 
of maturity. 
