374 
New Zealand Ferns 
XXIX. MARATTIA 
MARATTIA (to honour J. M. Maratti, of Tus- 
cany, who wrote on ferns). A genus of 8 or io species, 
with i in New Zealand. One of the largest ferns that 
grows without a trunk. Seeds in little oval, hoat-shaped 
vessels cleft down the middle, in a single row close to the 
margins of the leaflets. 
(153) M.fraxinea (like an ash leaf). “Para,” “King 
Fern,” “Horseshoe Fern.” The largest herbaceous fern 
in New Zealand; plentiful in the early days, now becom- 
ing scarce. The broad, glossy, dark-green fronds, and 
the' little boat-shaped seed vessels are unmistakable. 
Description . — Root a large, irregularly-shaped tuberous mass. 
Stalks stout, 1 to 2 feet long or more, brownish-green, jointed at 
the base. Fronds large, 6 to 12 feet long by 2 to 5 feet broad, 
dark-green, firm and stiff in texture. Seeds oblong, brownish, in 
a single row on the veins just within the margins of the leaflets. 
North Island: Lowland forests from Mangonui southwards to 
Cape Egmont and Waitotara, not common; usually in rich damp 
soils. Sea-level to 1,000 feet. 
The large starchy root was formerly eaten by the 
Maoris, who occasionally cultivated the plant near their 
