88 FILICES, [| Schizaea. 
I. §. fistulosa Labill. Pl. Nov. Holl. ii (1806) 103, t. 250.—Rhizome 
short, thick, creeping, clothed with dark chestnut-brown linear scales. 
Fronds numerous towards the end of the rhizome, not distinct from 
the stipes, dark-brown below, greenish-brown above, 4-12 in. long, 5 in. 
broad, filiform, erect or flexuous, rigid, wiry, terete, grooved down the 
face, unbranched. Fertile segment terminating the frond, 4-lin. long, 
erect or suberect, consisting of 10-20 closely placed pinnae on each side ; 
pinnae all pointing in one direction, }-4in. long, linear, incurved at the 
tip; margins denticulate or fringed. Sporangia in 2 closely placed rows, 
covering the whole of the under-surface-—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z, Fl. (1864) 
149; Hook. and Bak, Syn. Fil. (1873) 429; Benth. Fl. Austral vii (1878) 
693; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns (1882) 95; Field N.Z. Ferns (1890) 150, t. 14, 
f.5; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 1021. 8. propinqua A. Cunmn. Precur. 
(1836) n. 168. 
asad, 
Var. austral Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. (1864) 749.—Smaller, 1-3in. high ; 
rhizome stouter in proportion. Fertile segment }-4in. long, of 6-8 pairs of pinnae. 
S. australis Gaud. Fl. Ins. Mal. (1825) 98; Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i (1844) 111; Hook. 
and Bak. Syn. Fil. (1873) 428; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns (1882) 95. 8. palmata Homb. et 
Jacq. Voy. au Pole Sud. ii (1853) Crypt. 82, t. 2. 
NortH AND SoutH IsLanps, Cuaruam Istanps, AUCKLAND IsLANDS: The typical 
form not uncommon in barren clay soils throughout the North Island, apparently rare 
and local to the south of Cook Strait. Var. australis: Cold peaty localities in mountain 
districts from Moehau (Cape Colville) southwards, descending to sea-level in Stewart 
Island and the Auckland Islands. sea-level to 4000 ft. 
Also in Australia and Tasmania, New Caledonia, Madagascar, Chile, and the 
Falkland Islands. S. australis is clearly only a depauperated form, connected with 
the type by transitional stages. 
2. 8. bifida Willd. in Akad. Wiss. Erf, i (1802) 30, t. 3.—Rhizome very 
short, stout, creeping. Fronds close together along the rhizome, not distinct 
from the stipes, 6-12in. high or more, about 4, in. diam., rigid, erect, wiry, 
more or less scabrous, somewhat flattened, with a prominent midrib and 
narrow thick wing on each side, usually forked at or below the middle, rarely 
undivided, the branches sometimes forked a second or even a third time. 
Fertile segments terminating the branches, }-?in. long, erect or slightly 
recurved, rather broader than in S. fistulosa, of 10-20 closely placed pinnae 
on each side. Pinnae all turned to the one side, 4-3 in. long, linear, fringed 
with long cilia. Sporangia in 2 closely placed rows, rather smaller than in 
S, fistulosa.—A. Rach. Fl. Nouv. Zel. (1842) 95; A. Cunn. Precur. (1836) 
n. 169; Raoul Choix (1846) 37; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii (1855) 47; Handb. 
N.Z. Fl. (1864) 385 (in part); Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. (1873) 429; 
Benth. Fl. Austral, vii (1878) 693; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns (1882) 96; Field 
N.4Z. Ferns (1890) 151, t. 12, f. 3; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. (1906) 1022. 
NortH Istanp: On sterile clay or pumiceous soils from the North Cape to Cook 
Strait, but often local. Sourm Istanp: Nelson—Takaka and Paramahoi, Kingsley. 
Sea-level to 2000 ft. 
Also in Australia and Tasmania. Unbranched specimens are best distinguished 
from 8. fistulosa by the scabrous frond and broader fertile segment. 
3. §. dichotoma Smith in Mem. Act. Turin. v (1793) 422, t. 9.—Rhi- 
zome short, stout, creeping. Fronds few or many, close together, 6-14 in. 
long, erect, rigid, wiry; lower portion or stipes angular, channelled in 
front; upper portion repeatedly dichotomous, forming a flabellate or 
