Flora of New Zealand Series

Urostachys australianus Herter in Engl. Bot. Jb. 43, 1909, 42.

L. selago auct. non  L.

Stems erect from decumbent base, up to 3 dm. tall; branches stout, rigid; lvs crowded, ascending (spreading in shade forms) up to 9 mm. long, lanceolate-subulate, acuminate; bulbils ∞ (few in shade forms). Sporangia solitary in axils of unaltered lvs, largely in upper part of branchlets.

DIST.: N., S., St. From 38º 30' southwards, in montane and sub-alpine bog and moorland, less frequent in N. than in S. Also Australia, Tasmania, Borneo, Sumatra, Celebes.

Nessel (Die Bärlappgewächse, 1939, 49) recognizes U. cockaynei (F. Muell.) Herter, based on a specimen ("Herb. Kew, n. 04") collected by Helms near Greymouth, a form with short branches and appressed lvs.