Flora of New Zealand Series

Leptopteris superba (Col.) Presl in Abh. böhm. Ges. Wiss. 5, 1848, 326.

Heruheru, Prince of Wales Feather.

Type locality: "In dells in shaded forest, on the mountain range near Waikare Lake". Type: Colenso, Dec. 1841. W. Endemic.

Stock stout, up to 1 m. tall, us. less. Fronds crowded, spreading, up to 12 dm. long; stipites dark brown, densely to sparsely clad in woolly brownish hairs, or almost nude, up to 15 cm. long and 5 mm. or more diam. Rhachides us. densely clad in woolly hairs. Lamina tripinnate, about lanceolate in outline, acuminate. Primary pinnae close-set, uppermost under 3 cm. long, mid up to 15 cm., lowest 3 cm. or less. Pinnules pinnatisect, overlapping, pellucid, up to 2 cm. long. Sporangia along vein of pinnule, mainly in lower half of pinnae.

DIST.: N., S., St. Dense lowland to montane forest from lat. 37° 30' southwards, mainly west of divide in S. Rarely occurs in subalpine scrub in dwarfed state, up to 1350 m.