74 FILICES. [ Adiantum. 
at the base, olive-green or pale-green, not glaucous beneath; rhachis and 
costae more or less densely clothed above with strigose fulvous hairs. 
Pinnae 2-4 pairs with a long terminal one, in small specimens not branched, 
in larger ones the lowest pair and sometimes all again divided, or rarely 
the lowest pair twice branched. Pinnules $-$in. long, about {in. deep, 
petiolate, dimidiate, obliquely oblong, often slightly falcate ; lower margin 
curved or nearly straight, entire; upper margin almost parallel, deeply 
crenate; lower surface often minutely setulose with stiff fulvous hairs ; 
texture firm but not coriaceous. Sori usually numerous in shallow notches 
at the tips of the lobes of the upper and outer margins, not in the sinuses 
between the lobes. Indusium orbicular-cordate, often pale when young.— 
Hook. Sp. Fil. ii (1858) 52, t. 854; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ui (1855) 22; 
Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 361; Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. (1873) 120; Thoms. 
N.Z. Ferns (1882) 54; Field N.Z. Ferns (1890) 81, t. 6, f. 4; Cheesem. 
Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 964. A. viridescens Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvii 
(1895) 400. 
Nortu AND Souru Isnanps: Lowland districts as far south as Banks Peninsula, 
not uncommon. 
Very close indeed to A. affine, with which it certainly seems to me to be con- 
nected by intermediate forms. It is more copiously branched, the rhachis and costae 
are clothed with strigose fulvous hairs, the stipes is minutely muricate, and the 
pinnules are narrower and subfalcate, and often setulose beneath. It is also found 
in Norfolk Island, New South Wales, and Fiji. 
27. PTERIS Linn. 
Rhizome usually creeping. Fronds of very various habit, generally 
much divided, often of large size. Veins free or more or less copiously 
anastomosing. Sori marginal, linear, continuous, placed on a slender re- 
ceptacle running along the edge of the frond, and joining the tips of the 
transverse veinlets. Indusium long, narrow, continuous, always single, 
composed of the more or less modified and membranous reflexed margin 
of the frond. Sporangia stalked, bursting transversely, girt by an in- 
complete vertical ring. Spores tetrahedral. 
Although this genus has been reduced in size by the separation of a number of 
small groups formerly included in it, it still contains at least 125 species. These are 
widely spread in the tropics of both hemispheres, but few extending into the Temperate 
Zones. Of the 3 New Zealand species, 1 is endemic; the remaining 2 are found in 
Australia, Tasmania, and Norfolk Island. 
Veins free. Fronds 1-3 ft., membranous, glabrous. Segments $—1} in. 
long, obtuse ‘ .. L. P. tremula. 
Veins anastomosing. Fronds 2-4ft., dark-green, 2-pinnate or rarely 
3-pinnate. Segments of the pinnules lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 
1-8 in. long, entire or toothed at the tip sg v .. 2. P. comans. 
Veins anastomosing. Fronds 1-3 ft., pale- green, 2 - 4 - pinnate. 
Pinnules remote, stalked, ovate or deltoid, deeply lobed... .. 3. P. macilenta. 
[P. lomarioides Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii (1880) 380, said to have been collected 
near Tapuaeharuru, Taupo, is proved by the type specimen in Mr. Colenso’s herbarium 
to be the widely distributed P. cretica Linn. Although it is just possible that the species 
may exist near some of the hot springs at Taupo, where other tropical ferns, such as 
Gleichenia dichotoma, Nephrodium unitum and N. molle are known to grow, still, as the 
locality has been repeatedly searched without success, the most prudent course is to 
wait for further evidence before introducing the species into the Flora. The same 
course must be followed with respect to P. longifolia Linn., an equally widely spread 
