376 i. filices. [ Aspidium . 
Var. /3. Frond pinnate; pinnules ascending, pinnatifid at the base only. — A. Richardi, 
Hook. Sp. Fil. iv. 23, t. 122. 
Abundant in woods, ete., throughout the Northern and Middle Islands. Var. 0 at the 
Bay of Islands only, /. D. H. This differs from A. aristatum in the rhizome not creeping, 
and much smaller, less pinnate fronds ; from A. oculatum in the small scales, and wanting 
the large black disk to the involucre ; and from A . aculeatum in the rigid habit, much 
smaller, broad, more coriaceous fronds, of an ovate form, not tapering to the base, and the 
free, less numerous primary pinnae, and especially in wanting the large membranous scales 
of that plant. It seems to be confined to New Zealaud and the Fiji Islands. 
3. A. oculatum, Hook. Sp. Fil. iv. 24. t. 22S. Rhizome absent. 
Fronds 10-20 in. long, coriaceous, ovate-oblong, acuminate, 3-pinnate, pale 
and clothed with woolly hairs below ; stipes stout, straw-coloured, covered 
with rigid, large, subulate, brown scales margined with white ; rachis with 
fewer, softer scales, and lax woolly hairs ; primary divisions of the frond 2-4 
in. long, narrow ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, stalked, not close together ; se- 
condary also lax, f— 1 in. long, sessile or stalked ; pinnules alternate, sessile, 
decurrent, } in. long, obtuse or mucronate, obtusely toothed or subpinnatifid. 
Sori abundant over the whole under surface, 2-4 on each segment ; invo- 
lucre orbicular, shortly stalked, with a large black disk and narrow reddish 
margin. 
Northern Island : Wairarapa valley, Colenso. Middle Island: Akaroa, Raoul. 
4. A. cystostegia, Hook. Sp. Fil. ii. 30. 1. 127. Rhizome short, small. 
Fronds tufted, soft, rather flaccid, 4-10 in. high, pale green, narrow oblong- 
lanceolate, pinnate or 2-pinnate ; stipes and rachis stout but brittle, clothed 
with copious, very large, convex, membranous, ovate, pale scales, ^— | in. 
long, with subulate tips ; rachis similarly clothed ; primary divisions distant 
below, crowded above, i-l-g- in. long, spreading, pinnatifid or pinnate with a 
flat or winged rachis, segments or pinnules \ in. long, ovate-lanceolate, 
obtuse or acute, entire or toothed, with a few long hairs below. Sori nume- 
rous and large ; involucres bladdery, very membranous, with the edge turned 
down all round, forming a sort of globe. 
Northern Island: Tongariro, Dieffenbach ; Mount EgmoDt {Mrs. Jones). Middle 
Island : Discovery Peaks, alt. 5800 ft., Travers ; Wairau gorge, alt. 4400 ft., Sinclair ; be- 
tween Lake Tennyson and the west coast, Mating ; Canterbury on tbe Southern Alps, alt. 
5-6000 ft., Haast ; Otago, Mount Ida, Dr. Buchanan-, lake district, alpine, Hector. 
5. A. aristatum, Swartz ; not Folysticlium aristatum, FI. N. Z. Rhi- 
zome long, stout, creeping, clothed with narrow, subulate, rusty scales. 
Fronds alternate, 1-2| ft. high, deltoid-ovate, acuminate. 3- or 4-pinuate, 
coriaceous, glossy ; stipes stout and rachis crinite with subulate scales ; 
primary divisions stipitate, lanceolate, finely- acuminate, lowest with the lower 
secondary pinnae much elongated and 2- or 3-pinnate ; pinnules obliquely 
ovate or rhomboid-lanceolate, subfalcate, mucronate, serrate. Sori generally 
small, and often in two rows on each pinnule ; involucres small, flat, orbi- 
cular or slightly reniform.— Hook. Sp. Fil. iv. t. 27 ; Schkuhr, Fil. t. 42. 
Kermadec Islands, Macgillivray. A very common Pacific Island and Indian plant, not 
found in Africa or America. 
6. A. coriaceum, Swartz. — Folysticlium coriaceum, FI. N. Z. iv. 32. 
Rhizome stout, creeping, very long, clothed with tawny silky scales. Fronds 
