Flora of New Zealand Series

Stegania minor R. Br. Prodr. 1810, 153.

Lomaria minor (R. Br.) Spreng. Syst. Veg. 4, 1827, 65.

Lomaria procera var. minor Hook. f. Fl. N.Z. 2, 1855, 27, t. 75.

Blechnum capense var. minor (R. Br.) Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 1925, 59.

Rhizome stout, shortly creeping; densely clad in pale brown ovate- to subulate-attenuate paleae c. 1 cm. long; stipites crowded. Stipes 5-15 cm. long, slender to rather stout, paleate at base or throughout. Rhachis slender to rather stout, ± paleate, grooved; bearing 3-5 pairs of subopp. lateral pinnae. Sterile lamina 12-15 × 6-8 cm., coriac., dull green above, paler below. Lowest pinnae not much shorter than remainder, up to 3 × 1·5 cm. Larger pinnae 3·5-5 × 1·5-2 cm., oblong, obtuse to subacute, serrate; base truncate to subcordate, attached by costa; costa paleate to nude. Terminal pinna lanceolate, acuminate, up to 10 × 2 cm. Fertile lamina up to 12 × 8 cm.; pinnae distant, up to 6 cm. long, linear.

DIST.: N., S., St., A., C. Lowland to subalpine forest margins, boggy and open ground to fellfield, throughout, but often local.

The change of status is us. attributed to Cockayne, but I have not found any place where he does so formally. Whether our plant is really conspecific with Stegania minor is not quite certain.