Flora of New Zealand Series

Mecodium montanum (Kirk) Cop. in Philipp. J. Sci. 67, 1938, 22.

Kirk's description is: "Rhizome slender, wiry, creeping; fronds few, 2-3 inches long, glabrous, linear oblong or oblong lanceolate, bipinnatifid; stipes about 1 inch long, winged nearly to the base; rhachis flexuous, winged, pinnae in from 5-8 pairs, mostly alternate, spreading, about one-third of an inch long, cut nearly to the rhachis into 2-4 spreading, linear, forked or bilobate segments. Involucres terminating the segments, small, oval, 2-lipped nearly to the base; lips deeply toothed or jagged; receptacle included."

His material was from "Mountains at the head of Lake Wakatipu", collected by "Mrs Mason of Wakatipu". He adds: "In addition to the larger and more highly divided frond, H. javanicum is distinguished from the present species by its rounded involucres and crisped wings and segments. H. montanum is distinguished from other New Zealand species by its narrow involucres with deeply toothed or jagged tips; it is of membranous texture and of a dull green hue."

Cheeseman (Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 7) places Kirk's species as a synonym of H. atrovirens Col., differing only in the jagged indusia. Miss Crookes (New Zealand Ferns, 1951, 74) under H. montanum says: "Copeland . . . reinstated it as an independent species in 1937. He states that the receptacle is like that of M. rarum, rather than M. australe, and that it is characteristic that the internal walls are thickened and obscurely pitted." On p. 75 is a reproduction of Copeland's figure. based on "probable co-type" material in U.S. Nat. Herb.

Miss Crookes (loc. cit. p. 70) accepts Mecodium australe (Willd.) Cop. (Philipp. J. Sci. 67, 1938, 24) as being "not uncommon in damp woods throughout". The group needs further study; the conventional means of separation are:

(1) flexuosum. Lamina pale green when young; wing strongly crisped; indusial valves us. entire.

(2) australe. Lamina pale green when young; wing plane; indusial valves entire.

(3) atrovirens. Lamina dark green; wing plane; indusial valves entire.

(4) montanum. Lamina dull green; wing plane; indusial valves jagged.