Adiantum. | FILICES. (al 
** Sori in shallow excavations at the tips of the lobules of the pinnae, not in the 
notches between the lobules. 
Fronds very large and compound, 3-5 ft. high with the stipes. 
Rhachis pubescent above. Pinnules small, 1-4in. Sori trans- 
versely oblong .. ses a ee rae he 
_ Fronds 1-2 ft. with the stipes. Rhachis smooth, polished. Pin- 
nules 3-1 in., not falcate, glaucous beneath ¥. Ti gi 
Fronds 1-2 ft. with the stipes. Rhachis and costae clothed with 
fulyous hairs. Pinnules 4-3? in., subfalcate, frequently setulose, 
not glaucous beneath .. = a i .. 6. A. fulvum. 
4. A. formosum. 
A. affine. 
=) 
1. A. aethiopicum Linn. Sp. Plant. (1759) 1329.—Rhizome creeping, 
stoloniferous. Stipes 4-10in. long, very slender, dark chestnut-brown, 
shining, quite glabrous. Fronds 6-12 in. long, rarely more, 3-6 in. broad, 
oblong to oblong-ovate or oblong-deltoid, erect or drooping, pale-green, 
very thin and membranous, flaccid, quite glabrous, 3—-4-pinnate ; rhachis 
very slender, almost capillary, flexuous, polished. Lower pinnae 2-4 in. 
Jong, ovate-deltoid. Pinnules on rather long and slender petioles, not 
dimidiate, -4 in. long, often broader than long, variable in shape, usually 
suborbicular with a more or less cuneate base, upper margin broadly and 
shallowly lobed. Pinnules of barren fronds often larger, entire. or obscurely 
lobed. Sori 2-6 to a pinnule, placed in the notches or sinuses between 
the lobes. Indusium rather large, reniform or transversely oblong, pale.— 
Hook. Sp. Fil. i (1858) 37, t. 774; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii (1855) 21; 
Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 360; Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. (1873) 123; 
Benth. Pl. Austral. vii (1878) 724; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns (1882) 54; Freld 
N.4. Ferns (1890) 83, t. 17, f. 1; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 960. 
A. assimile Swartz Syn. Fil. (1806) 125; Raoul Choix (1846) 38. 
A. trigonum Labill. Pl. Nov. Holl. ii (1806) 99, t. 248; Raoul Chore 
(1846) 38. 
Nortr Is~tanpd: Plentiful in lowland districts from the North Cape to the Thames 
and Waikato Rivers, from thence rare and local to Hawke’s Bay (Colenso/) and 
Taranaki (H. C. Field/). Soura Istanp: Has been reported from Nelson and 
Canterbury, but I have seen no specimens. Westland—Buller River, near Westport, 
Townson | 
An abundant fern in most tropical and subtropical countries. 
2. A. diaphanum Blue Hnum. (1828) 215.—Rhizome very short, 
tufted ; rootlets long, fibrous, densely tomentose, bearing numerous 
small oblong tubers. Stipes 2-6in. long, very slender, almost capillary, 
wiry, glabrous or slightly scaly towards the base, dark purplish-brown or 
almost black. Fronds 3-6in. long, rarely more, simply pinnate, or with 
1-2 branches at the base which are sometimes almost as long as the central 
portion but usually much shorter, thin and membranous, flaccid, dark- 
green; branches 4-lin. diam. Pinnules numerous, shortly petiolate, 
4-4 in. long, about tin. deep, dimidiate-oblong; lower margin straight or 
more or less decurved, entire; upper margin about parallel, and together 
with the rounded apex deeply crenate-toothed ; surfaces sparingly setulose 
with minute stiff black hairs. Sori 4-8 to a pinnule, rarely more, placed 
in the notches of the upper and outer margins. Indusium reniform, pale, 
minutely setulose.—Hook, Sp. Mil. ii (1858) 10, t. 800; Hook. and Bak. 
Syn. Fil. (1873) 117; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns (1882) 538; Field N.Z. Ferns 
(1890) 80, t. 138, f.5; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. #1. (1906) 961. A. affine Hook. 
