132 
New Zealand Ferns 
(50) A. hispidulum (bristly). This differs from the 
other maidenhairs in the stiff, harsh texture of the 
fronds, their broad fan-shaped outline, the bright red 
colour of the young leaves, and its habit of growing in 
the open. 
Description . — Root short, stout, creeping. Stalks 6 to 15 
inches long, stout, erect, rough to the touch, dark-brown or al- 
most black. Fronds broad, 6 to 12 inches or more across, widely 
fan-shaped, green to olive-green, often bright-red or reddish- 
brown when young; midribs rough and hairy. Seeds numerous, 
placed in the notches of the upper and outer margins. 
North Island : Abundant as far south as East Cape and Rag- 
lan, from thence southwards rare and local to Cook Strait. South 
Island : Nelson — Bishopdale. 
The fronds, usually with ten points in two groups of 
five like a pair of hands, when young are a bright pink, 
and make a very beautiful object when spangled with 
dew, the light scintillating through the drops as from 
burnished copper. At certain seasons a bank will be 
rosy-red with the opening crooks, for this hardy species 
braves the fiercest sunlight. I experienced no difficulty 
in growing it in my fernery. I have seen it badly cut at 
Whangarei by an unusually sharp frost. It is a widely- 
spread species. 
