———— 
62 FILICES. | Blechnum. 
high, scaly towards the base. Fronds forming a spreading crown at the 
top of the caudex, 9-18 in. long, 3-6in. broad, ovate or ovate-oblong to 
ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, quite glabrous, almost membranous or sub- 
coriaceous, bipinnate ; rhachis with a narrow interrupted wing furnished 
with numerous triangular lobes. Pinnae 2-3in. long, -+-2in. broad, 
lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, acuminate, cut down almost to the rhachis. 
Pinnules numerous, close-set, 4-4 in. long, linear-oblong, somewhat falcate, 
acute or apiculate; entire or serrate. Veins indistinct, simple or forked. 
Fertile fronds similar to the sterile, but rather smaller and with narrower 
vinnules. Sori covering the whole under-surface.— Lomaria Fraseri 
A, Cunn,. Precur. (1836) n. 185; Raoul Choiz (1846) 37; Hook. Ic. Plant. 
t. 185; Sp. Fil. ii (1860) 40; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii (1855) 31; Handb. 
N.Z. Fl. (1864) 369; Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. (1873) 182; Thoms. N.Z. 
Ferns (1882) 70; Field N.Z. Ferns (1890) 111, +. 24, f. 4, 44; Cheesem. 
Man. N.Z Fl. (1906) 984; Ill. N.Z. Fl. ii (1914) t. 242. 
Nort IstanpD: Abundant in dry woods from the North Cape southwards to the 
Upper Waikato and Taranaki. Sourm IsLanp: Nelson—Massacre Bay, Lyall ; West 
Wanganui, Kingsley; extending along the West Coast as far south as Charleston, 
T. Kirk. Sea-level to 2000 ft. 
A very handsome and distinct species, quite unlike any other. It has been found 
in the Philippine Islands, and specimens from thence have been described by Dr. Christ 
as “var. philippensis.”” Examples kindly forwarded to me by Dr. Merrill, of Manila, 
show but little difference from the New Zealand plant, but the caudex is said to attain 
a height of 6 ft. (3 ent: 
20. DOODIA R. Br. 
Rhizome short, tufted, suberect. Fronds numerous at the top of the 
rhizome, erect, harsh and rigid or membranous, pinnate or pinnatifid, 
sometimes dimorphic. -Veins forked, connected by short cross veinlets on 
which the sori are placed. Sori oblong or slightly curved, in one or more 
rows parallel to the midrib, and between it and the margin of the pinnae. 
Indusium the same shape as the sorus, attached to the cross veinlet, mem- 
branous, opening towards the midrib. Sporangia stalked, surrounded by 
an incomplete vertical ring, bursting transversely. 
* 
A small genus of 5 species, found in New Zealand, Australia and Polynesia, 
and Ceylon. 
Fronds 1-2 ft., harsh, coriaceous, erect; the sterile not obviously 
differing from the fertile .. $2 - a .. IL. D. media. 
Fronds 3-1 ft., szbmembranous ; the sterile shorter and less erect, 
with broader obtuse pinnae. Fertile pinnae narrow-linear, with 
conspicuous auricled bases. . a i BE -. 2. D. caudaia. 
1, D. media R. Br. Prodr. (1810) 151.—Rhizome short, stout, suberect, 
clothed with the bases of the old stipites. Stipes 3-8 in. long, more or less 
clothed with subulate scales towards the base, smooth or scabrous, blackish- 
brown. Fronds 12-18in. long, 14-4in. broad, lanceolate, acuminate, 
coriaceous, dark-green, pinnate in the lower half or two-thirds, pinnatifid 
above; rhachis often pubescent. Pinnae numerous, spreading; lateral 
1-2in. long, 4-+in. broad, linear or linear-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, 
spinulose-dentate, the upper ones dilated and confluent at the base, those 
below the middle free but often dilated or almost auricled at the base, the 
lower ones gradually reduced in size; terminal pinna often elongated. 
Sori short, oblong, usually in one series on each side of the midrib, but 
sometimes portions of a second row are irregularly developed.—Hook. Sp. 
