250 
New Zealand Ferns 
(98) A. bulbiferum (producing bulbs). Any person 
at all familiar with the New Zealand bush cannot fail 
to have noticed a very beautiful and typical fern leaf 
bearing on its surface a number of seedlings. With one 
somewhat rare exception this is the only native species 
possessing this mode of reproduction, consequently there 
can be no difficulty in fixing its identity. It is the most 
plentiful of the Aspleniums in New Zealand. 
Description . — Root short, stout, erect or oblique, crowned 
with brown scales. Stalks 4 to 12 inches long or more, dark- 
brown below, green or greyish-green above, densely scaly at the 
base. Fronds 1 to 4 feet long or more by 6 to 12 inches broad, 
bright-green, firm, almost succulent, upright or drooping. Seeds 
short, oblique, often marginal. 
Abundant throughout the Dominion, especially in damp woods. 
Sea-level to 3,000 feet. 
A handsome, graceful species, a very giant in com- 
parison with the English spleenworts. In damp shel- 
tered gullies near Auckland I have seen the tender green 
fronds rising from the ground in graceful curves to a 
height of 6 feet — a sight not easily forgotten. 
