Flora of New Zealand Series

Polypodium rugosulum Labill. Nov. Holl. Pl. Sp. 2, 1806, 92, t. 241.

Rhizome slender, c. 2 mm. diam., often far-creeping, branched, densely clad in dark red-brown hairs; stipites distributed along rhizome. Stipes up to 15 cm. long, 1-2 mm. diam., densely clad (as are rhachides) in dark red-brown viscid hairs, tuberculate. Lamina ovate-lanceolate, 10-50 × 3-25 cm., subcoriac., ± pubescent, bipinnate or occ. with some secondary pinnae again pinnate; lower rather shorter than mid-pinnae, upper gradually diminishing to terminal seg. Larger primary pinnae rather distant, 5-15 cm. × 15-40 mm., ovate-lanceolate, acuminate; secondary pinnae up to 5 cm. × 15 mm., narrow ovate-oblong, pinnatifid to pinnatisect. Segs up to 4 mm. long, deltoid-triangular to oblong, obtuse to subacute, sts ciliate; teeth several to none. Sori us. cop., in 2 irregular rows, often covering most of surface, us. 1 per seg., not or hardly protected by teeth.

DIST.: N., S., Ch., A., C. Common in open lowland forest and open ground. Also in Australia, South Africa, and Old World tropics to Japan.

Polypodium viscidum Col. in Tasm. J. nat. Sci. 2, 1846, 164, was described from plants collected in "Dry sandy places, on mountains near Waikare Lake; Dec., 1841. Also, neighbourhood of Bay of Islands, in elevated and dry spots, margins of woods; 1838". Type: W, Dec. 1841, W.C. Colenso emphasizes the glutinous nature of the whole plant, and the densely ciliate margins. These cilia are very evident on the type specimen, more plentiful than is usual in the sp. I have not located any specimen named by Colenso as P. rufobarbatum (T.N.Z.I. 16, 1884, 347) from "Skirts of woods, hills between Norsewood and Dannevirke, Waipawa County, 1882; W.C." The pinnules are described as "ciliated all round with stout red hairs extending far beyond margin". It does not appear to be essentially different from his P. viscidum.