308 
New Zealand Ferns 
Abundant throughout the Dominion. Sea-level to 2,500 feet. 
The fundamental difference between this species and 
Hypolepis tcnui folia lies in the seeds, the former being 
devoid of any covering, the latter protected by a slight 
fold of the leaf, but, as this fold is sometimes absent, 
one must look for a more persistent divergence, perhaps 
the stickiness of P. punctatmn is the surest guide; the 
stalks and midribs are provided with viscid glandular 
hairs. I have often seen thistle-down caught and held by 
these ferns. In the young state they are most dissimilar 
and can hardly be confused. Hypolepis is of a pale 
bright green, both stalks and leaves, covered with scat- 
tered white hairs. Poly podium is of a dull darkish green, 
the stalks and midribs reddish-brown, which gives to the 
frond a dusky aspect. A wide-spread species in the tro- 
pics and the south temperate zone. 
(123) P. pennigerum (bearing wings). One of the 
most abundant ferns in New Zealand, forming hand- 
some crowns of radiating leaves, often growing with a 
short stem; seeds small and round. 
Description .- — Root short, erect, sometimes lengthened into a 
stem 1 to 2 feet high. Stalks 6 to 12 inches long, stout, rather 
succulent, more or less clothed with brown scales near the base, 
smooth above. Fronds 2 to 5 feet long by 9 to 18 inches broad, 
thin and membranous, lightish-green. Seeds small, numerous, in 
two rows on the leaflets, much nearer the midrib than the margin. 
