156 
New Zealand Ferns 
XIV. PELLAEA 
14. — PELLAEA (pellos, dark coloured, referring to 
the frond). A genus of about 60 species, with 2 in New 
Zealand. Fronds long and narrow; seeds forming a 
wide band round the margins of the leaves. 
P. FALCATA 
(59 ) Pellaea falcata (scythe-shaped). A handsome, 
dark-green species, fond of dry stony ground; usually 
growing in the same locality as P. rotundifolia, though 
a very much rarer plant. When comparing the two spe- 
cies the barren fronds differ from each other far more 
than do the fertile ones. 
Description . — Root stout, scaly, creeping. Stalks 3 to 6 inches 
long, strong, erect, dark red-brown or almost black, more or less 
bristly. Fronds 12 to 18 inches long or more by l^ to 3 inches 
broad, dark-green, texture firm and smooth, shining, lighter be- 
low. Seeds forming a broad band round the margins of the leaf- 
lets, except the tips. 
North Island: Mangonui County to Waikato River, rare and 
local. South Island : Dunn Mount Graham River. 
For many years I looked upon this species as merely 
a robust form of P. rotundifolia. The leaves in typical 
specimens of the latter that I had planted in my fernery 
became longer and more falcate — scythe-shaped — this I 
attributed to the richer soil. Now that I have studied 
