Flora of New Zealand Series

Polypodium diversifolium Willd. Sp. Pl. 5, 1810, 166.

P. billardieri R. Br. Prodr. 1810, 147.

Phymatodes billardieri Presl Tent. Pterid. 1836, 196.

Microsorium diversifolium Cop. Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 16, 1929, 114.

Rhizome far-creeping and branching, ± glaucescent, 5-10 mm. diam.; clad in dark brown ovate-lanceolate attenuate paleae up to 1 cm. long; appressed at base, ascending at deciduous tips; stipites us. rather distant, articulated to rhizome, leaving a distinct scar. Stipes 5-20 cm. × 2-3 mm., deeply grooved, glab., with tuft of paleae at base. Lamina trimorphic, us. the different forms on the same plant; dark green and glossy above, paler below; subcoriac. to coriac.; venation us. very distinct; areoles large, with included free veinlets; margin us. very shallowly sinuate, thickened at sinus; sori us. absent or few and small in forms (a) and (b): (a) lamina simple, entire, lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, acute to obtuse; 10-25 × 2-3 cm.; (b) rather irregularly to subregularly lobed, acute to acuminate or sub-acute to obtuse; 20-30 cm. × 10-15 mm.; lobes lanceolate-oblong, up to 10 × 3 cm. or more; (c) regularly and rather closely lobed, us. with cop. sori; 20-40 × 10-20 cm.; lobes of two forms on separate fronds: (1) broadly oblong, subacute to obtuse, up to 10 × 1 cm.; sori rather distant, about midway between margin and vein. (2) narrow- to linear-oblong, acute, up to 15 × 1 cm.; sori close-set, near margin. Sori cop. in form (c) in a single row on each side of main and secondary veins, 2-4 mm. diam., globose to broad-oblong, up to 40 per lobe; slightly sunken, appearing as dark spots on the upper surface, or as bullate protuberances.

DIST.: K., N., S., St., Ch., A., C. Terrestrial, epiphytic or rupestral, in lowland to montane forests throughout, occ. in shrubland and on exposed rocks. Also in Australia, Tasmania, Polynesia.

Rupestral forms of exposed places often show only simple, coriac. laminae, with cop. sori. Pichi-Sermolli (loc. cit. 217) selects as type a specimen in Herb. Univ. Flor. ex Herb. Labillardière.