316 
New Zealand Ferns 
(129) P. tenellum (tender). A very elegant fern, 
usually growing on trees or stony ground; easily recog- 
nised from the illustration ; the slightly scalloped mar- 
gins of the seeded fronds give it a very attractive ap- 
pearance. 
Description . — Root very long, slender, rigid, wiry, climbing 
up the trunks of trees or over rocks, clothed with chestnut-brown 
scales. Stalks short, 1 to 3 inches long, jointed near the root. 
Fronds scattered, erect or pendulous, 1 to 2 feet long by 2 to 5 
inches broad, dark-green, thin but firm in texture, leaflets jointed 
to the stalk. Seeds round, two rows on each leaflet close to the 
margin. 
North Island: In woods from Three Kings Islands and North 
Cape to Cook Strait; but often local. South Island: Vicinity of 
Nelson, Banks Peninsula. 
Mr. Field describes this as easy of cultivation; per- 
sonally I have found it difficult to transplant, though I 
tried to carry out Mr. Field’s instructions to the letter 
— “any bit of the terrestrial rhizomes (surface root) 
will grow if pegged down among leaf-mould and dead 
leaves.” See page 325 . 
Also in Norfolk Island, Australia and New Caledonia. 
