er LE OO ———————— KS EO —— 
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26 | FILICES. | Lemitelia. 
costae clothed with strigiilose hairs above, paleaceous or glabrous beneath ; 
secondary pinnae 14-24in. long, pinnatifid above, pimnate at the base. 
Segments linear-oblong, acute, slightly falcate, coarsely serrate. Sori 
copious, on the fork of the veins. Indusium hemispherical, on the costal 
side of the sorus, variable in size, sometimes almost wrapping round the 
sorusjat the base—Thoms. N.Z. Ferns (1882) 29; Field N.Z. Ferns (1896) 
46,t.\0. 1.5; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 951. Cyathea Smithii Hook. 
f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii (1893) 8, t. 72; Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 350. C. stellulata 
Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii (1886) 222. | | uf 
Var. microphylla,Cheesem.—Fronds fewer in number, soft, delicately membranous, 
~~pale grass-green; rhachis densely strigillose above, paleaceous beneath. Primary 
“pinnae rather narrower and more acuminate. Segments smaller, entire or bluntly 
crenulate towards the tip.—H. microphylla Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvii (1895) 399. 
NortH AND SoutH IsLanps, Stewart Istanp: Abundant in damp hilly forests 
from Kaitaia (Mongonui County) southwards. Sea-level to 2000ft. © AucKLAND 
Istanps: Norman Inlet, rare, W. Joss ex Cockayne ! 
A very beautiful species, with the most tender fronds of any New Zealand tree- 
fern. The trunk is not uncommonly forked or branched above; and Mr. Buchanan 
(Trans. N.Z. Inst. xix (1887) 217) describes and figures a remarkable specimen which had 
no less than 16 well-developed branches. H. Smithii and Dicksonia squarrosa are plentiful 
through the whole of the lowland districts of Stewart Island, in S. lat. 47° 20’, and the 
former species has recently been found in the Auckland Islands (S. lat. 50° 40’), the 
extreme southern limit of arborescent ferns. 
er: aap |ié E- ww Te cama 
7. ALSOPHILA R. Br. 
Usually tree-ferns, but in some species the trunk is short or absent. 
Fronds large, 2-3-pinnate, very similar to those of Cyathea or Hemitelia. 
Veins of the segments forked or pinnately divided. Sori dorsal, globose, 
situated upon a vein or at the fork of a vein; receptacle more or less 
elevated, pilose. Indusium altogether wanting. Sporangia numerous, 
sessile or nearly so, often mixed with hairs, bursting transversely; ring 
somewhat oblique, complete. 
Species about 175, mostly tropical, nearly half of them from America, the 
remainder scattered through tropical Asia, Malaya, and the Pacific islands, with a 
few in Africa, The single New Zealand species is endemic. 
!. A. Colensoi Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii, 8, t. 73.—Caudex long, prostrate 
and rooting, seldom more than 6-8in. in circumference, rarely erect or 
ascending at the tip and attaining a height of 3-5 ft. Fronds 2-5 ft. long, 
¢-2 ft. broad, 2-3-pinnate, broadly ovate-lanceolate, acute, membranous, 
yellowish-green or reddish-brown. Stipes short, densely covered at the 
base with pale subulate scales lin. long, upper portion, together with the 
thachis and costae, more or less thickly clothed with fulvous or reddish- 
brown hairs intermixed (especially on the under-surface) with pale tumid 
scales. Primary pinnae 9-15in. long, 2-34 in. broad, oblong-lanceolate, — 
acuminate ; secondary 14-2in. long, about 4in. broad, pinnatifid above, 
pinnate at the base. Segments oblong, obtuse, obtusely serrate; veins 
simple. Sori copious, situated on the middle of the veins—Handb. N.Z. 
Fl. (1864) 350: Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. (1873) 40; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns 
(1882) 30; Feld N.Z. Ferns (1890) 48, t. 8, f£.4; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 
(1906) 952. : 
Nort IstAnD: Mountains of the interior, from Hikurangi and Mount Egmont 
southwards. SourH Istanp: Not uncommon in hilly and subalpine forests throughout. 
Stewart Isnanp: Mount Anglem, 7. Kirk / base of Table Hill and Thomson Range, 
: + . 
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