280 
New Zealand Ferns 
Left-hand Specimen . — Colour of frond bright glistening 
green, as if polished. No darkening of stalk or midribs, the leaf 
being of an even colour throughout. Growth decumbent, fronds 
curved, leaflets crowded, soft to tbe touch. 
Right-hand Specimen . — Colour of frond dark dull-green, 
not shining. Stalk and midribs strongly defined by a dark, nearly 
black, spear-shaped line. Growth upright and straight, leaflets 
spaced at a little distance apart, harsh, almost prickly to the touch. 
Both these varieties have grown spontaneously in my 
garden within a few yards of each other. 
Note . — I have not included A. oculatum. Both Mr. 
Cheeseman and Mr. Baker consider it as only a trivial 
variety of A. Richardi. 
( 109 ) A. cystostegia (bearing coverings of bladders). 
A small, very distinct alpine species, easily recognised 
by the fluffy pale-brown scales on stalks and midribs. 
Description . — Root short, stout, densely scaly, sometimes 
branched above. Stalks 2 to 6 inches high, pale-brown, clothed 
with large, membranous, light-brown scales. Fronds tufted, very 
numerous, 4 to 10 inches long, without the stalk, by lJf to 2 inches 
broad, pale-green, soft, membranous and almost flaccid, both 
surfaces clothed with scales when young. Seeds numerous, 2 to 
4 to a leaflet ; covering of the seeds thin, membranous, pale-col- 
oured, very convex. 
North Island: Mount Egmont, Tongariro, Tararua Moun- 
tains. South Island : Not uncommon in alpine districts through- 
out. Auckland Islands. 3,000 to 5,500 feet. 
A form with a firmer frond and dark-coloured scales 
on the stalks is occasionally met with. According to Mr. 
Thomson it is extremely hardy and easy of cultivation, 
but Mr. Field’s experience was of a negative character. 
It is confined to New Zealand. 
