Flora of New Zealand Series

Rhizome short, rather stout, clad in dark brown linear-attenuate paleae up to 5 mm. long; stipites tufted, rather few. Stipes green, very slender, reclining, 1-10 cm. long, with dense tuft of paleae at base and scattered paleae elsewhere when young. Rhachis very slender to filiform, decumbent to prostrate, often produced into long naked tips that root and produce offset plants; pinnae rather distant. Lamina 10-40 cm. long, linear, membr., flaccid, pale green, pinnate. Lateral pinnae 10-36; lower larger, subopp., upper gradually decreasing in size to apex of frond; flabellate-cuneate, very shortly stalked, coarsely crenate-dentate; veinlets flabellate. Two forms are met with: (a) larger pinnae 15-20 × 15-20 mm., sori up to 6 mm. long; (b) larger pinnae 3-10 × 3-10 mm., sori up to 4 mm. long. Sori oblique, narrow-oblong, us. cop., sts confluent; indusium delicate.

DIST.: N., S. Coastal to montane in open rocky ground from lat. 35º southwards. Also Australia, Tasmania.

Colenso (T.N.Z.I. 20, 1888, 228) described his var. ramosum from specimens collected in "Woods near the town of Waipawa; 1882: Mr. A. Hamilton." He emphasizes: (1) branching of rhachis, branches "4-7 in. long"; (2) pinnae of "various shapes and sizes"; (3) sori not confluent; (4) veins pinnate. I have not located Colenso's specimens