Pacific Ferns, II— Brownlie 
401 
(Kew), Whitmee 36 (Kew, BM), 43 (Kew), 
Christopherson 129 and 177 (BM), McKee 
2969 (BM). 
Humata botryckioides Brack. 
Humata botryckioides Brack. Explor. Exped. 
16: 231, 1854. 
As pointed out above, this differs from H. 
serrata in the extreme reduction of the lamina 
of the fertile frond, giving it a more delicate ap- 
pearance, and in the consistent absence of the 
horn projecting beyond the sorus. Brackenridge’s 
collection was made in Fiji and the specimens 
seen from those islands match his plate perfectly. 
SPECIMENS EXAMINED: All from Fiji— Milne 
330 in part (Kew), Thurston unnumbered 
(Kew), Graeffe 101 (BM), Smith 453 (BM). 
Humata multiftda (Bak.) Carr, ex Brownlie. 
Humata multifida Carr. In Seem. FI Vit. 335, 
1873 (nomen). 
Davallia multifida Bak. Syn. Fil. 467, 1874. 
Humata botryckioides Brack, var. multifida 
Carr. C. Chr. Ind. Fil. 354, 1906. 
Baker originally distinguished this from H. 
botryckioides by the larger, more compound 
frond, and smaller sori with a horn projecting 
beyond them. These distinctions, especially the 
possession of a definite projecting horn, hold 
good for material from Aneityum. The fertile 
fronds are similar in appearance to those of 
H. botryckioides with extremely reduced lamina, 
but the projecting horn is very obvious, being 
even longer than that seen in H . serrata. How- 
ever, no specimens from islands other than 
Aneityum have this type of frond and it appears 
that the species Is restricted to that island or 
possibly to the New Hebrides group. 
SPECIMENS EXAMINED: All from Aneityum 
— MacGillivray 43 (Kew, BM), Milne 294 
and 367 ( Kew ) , Milne ex herb. J. Smith un- 
numbered ( BM ) , Macleay unnumbered ( Kew ) . 
B. species of the genus Ctenopteris 
The genus Ctenopteris has not previously 
been closely examined for the South Pacific area, 
apart from Christensen’s clarification of names 
for the Samoan species. It was quickly apparent 
that several of the species from different islands, 
described under different names, are in fact 
identical. The following section covers the main 
aspects cleared up in this genus, but further work 
is required on material from the Society Islands. 
Ctenopteris crassifrons (Bak.) Brownlie, comb, 
nov. 
Polypodium crassifrons Bak. Syn. Fil. 325, 
1867. 
Polypodium stenopteron Bak. J. Bot. 24: 183, 
1886. 
Polypodium purpuras cens Nad. Copel. B. P. 
Bishop Mus. Bull. 59: 100, 1929 (exclud- 
ing Society Is.) . 
Copeland wrongly identified Baker’s P. sten- 
opteron from Fiji with P. purpurascens. In his 
monograph on the ferns of the Society Islands, 
however, he states that the latter species has the 
surface densely beset with minute black hairs, 
whereas Baker’s type at Kew has both sur- 
faces of the frond thickly covered with sizeable 
reddish-brown hairs. This Is also the case in the 
type specimen of P. crassifrons, which in addi- 
tion has the soral characters identical with those 
of P. stenopteron. Since P. crassifrons is the 
earliest description, the name for both the 
Fijian and the New Caledonian plants should be 
Ctenopteris crassifrons. 
SPECIMENS EXAMINED: All at Kew; Fiji — 
Thurston unnumbered (Baker’s type), Parkes 
20820, Smith 4986 and 5178, im Thurn F. 26; 
New Caledonia— Deplanche no. 2 (Baker’s 
type), Herb. Macleay unnumbered. 
Ctenopteris seemanni (J. Sm.) Brownlie, comb, 
nov. 
Polypodium contiguum Brack. Explor. Exped. 
16: 6, pi. 2, 1854 (not of others). 
Cryptosorns seemanni J. Sm. Bonplandia 9: 
262,1861. 
Polypodium lepidum Brause Notizbl. Bot. 
Gart. Berl.-Dahlem 8: 139, 1922; C. Chr. 
B. P. Bishop Mus. Bull. 177: 113, 1943. 
Polypodium seemanni (J. Sm.) Copel. B. P. 
Bishop Mus. Bull. 93: 69, 1932. 
Christensen has already pointed out that the 
Fijian P. seemanni and the Samoan P. lepidum 
may not be distinct from one another. In fact, 
the lengthened fertile segments which are char- 
