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Manual of the New Zealand Flora.

22. Polypodium, Linn

22. Polypodium, Linn.

Rhizome short and suberect, or long and creeping. Stipes jointed on the rhizome or continuous with it. Fronds very various in size, shape, and cutting, simple or pinnate or 2–4-pinnate. Veins free or anastomosing. Sori globose or nearly so, placed on the back of the frond, either at the tip of a vein or on the back of one. Indusium wanting. Sporangia stalked, surrounded by an incomplete vertical ring, bursting transversely.

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As defined above, this is the largest genus of ferns, containing over 500 species, found in all parts of the world. Various attempts to divide it have been made by authors, and a multitude of small genera have been proposed, several of which appear to be well founded, but no complete arrangement of the species has yet been propounded which has met with the general approval of botanists. Of the 10 speoies found in New Zealand, one (P. punctatum) is universal in the tropics and the south temperate zone; another (P. australe) is common to Australia and the extreme south of South America; 6 extend to Australia or the Pacific islands; the remaining 2 are endemic.

Subgenus I. Phegopteris. Stipes not jointed on to the rhizome but continuous with it. Veins all free.

Fronds large, 1–4 ft., 2–4-pinnate, glandular-pubescent 1. P, punctatum.

Subgenus II. Goniopteris. Stipes not jointed on to the rhizome but continuous with it. Veins pinnate in the lobes, the lower veinlets uniting at the tips with those of the adjoining lobes.

Fronds large, 2–5 ft., pinnate, membranous, glabrous or nearly so 2. P. pennigerum.

Subgenus III. Eupolypodium. Stipes jointed on to the rhizome. Veins all free.

Rhizome short. Fronds small, 1–6 in., quite entire. Sori oblong or linear-oblong, oblique to the midrib 3. P. australe.
Rhizome short. Fronds 3–9 in., irregularly pinnatifid or 2-pinnatifid; pinnse linear. Sori oblong or rounded 4. P. grammitidis.
Rhizome very long, creeping. Fronds 1–2 ft., pinnate; pinnse undivided, jointed on the rhachis 5. P. tenellum.

Subgenus IV. Niphobolus. Stipes jointed on to the rhizome. Veins copiously anastomosing. Under-surface of frond densely tomentose.

Rhizome long. Fronds 1–6 in., simple, entire, coriaceous; sterile shorter and broader than the fertile 6. P. serpens.

Subgenus V. Phymatodes. Stipes jointed on to the rhizome. Veins copiously anastomosing. Under-surface of frond glabrous.

Rhizome short. Fronds 4–12 in., tufted, lanceolate, simple and entire 7. P. Cunninghamii
Rhizome long, slender, clothed with squarrose scales. Fronds 6–18 in., simple or pinnatifid, membranous; segments narrow 8. P.pustulatum.
Rhizome long, stout, clothed with appressed scales. Fronds 6–18 in., simple or pinnatifid, coriaceous; seg ments usually broad 9. P. Billardieri.
Rhizome long, stout, clothed with large tawny spreading scales. Fronds 1–4 ft., deeply pinnatifid or pinnate below, thinly coriaceous; segments usually narrow 10. P. novæ - zea-landice.
1.P. punctatum, Thumb. Fl. Jap. 336.—Rhizome long, creeping, villous with rufous spreading hairs. Stipes 6–18 in. long, firm, erect, red-brown, densely glandular-pubescent and viscous, rough with minute raised points. Fronds scattered along the rhizome, very variable in size, from ½–3 ft. long, 3–18 in. broad, ovate-deltoid to lanceolate-deltoid, acuminate, rather membranous, page 1009glandular-pubescent on both surfaces, 3-pinnate; rhachis viscid-pubescent like the stipes. Primary Pinnæ in rather distant pairs, 2–10 in. long or more, 1–6 in. broad, narrow-deltoid to lanceolate, acuminate; secondary oblong or linear-oblong, acute or obtuse, deeply pinnatifid or again pinnate. Pinnules or segments oblong, crenate or angulate - dentate or pinnatifid. Veins free, once or twice forked. Sori rather large, orbicular, in 2 rows in each pinnule, close to the margin, often copious and covering the whole under-surface.—Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. 312; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii 764; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 86; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 136, t. 15, f. 3. P. rugulosum, Lab. Pl. Nov. Roll. ii. 92, t. 241; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 41; Hook. Sp. Fil. iv. 272. P. viscidum, Spreng. Sp. Plant. iv. 61; Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 110. P. viscidum, Col. in Tasmanian Journ. Nat. Sci. (1845) 4. P. rufobarbatum, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvi. (1884) 347.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands, Auckland and Campbell Islands: Abundant throughout. Sea-level to 2500 ft.

With the exception of Africa, this is universally distributed throughout the tropics and the south temperate zone, advancing as far northwards as Japan. It is often confused with Hypolepis tenuifolia, which it much resembles in habit and in the shape of the frond. But the stipes and rhachis are markedly viscid-pubescent, the frond glandular-hairy on both surfaces, and the sori are not so close to the margin, and are not covered by a recurved lobule.

2.P. pennigerum, Forst. Prodr. n. 444. — Rhizome stout, erect, sometimes lengthened into a short caudex 1–2 ft. high, clothed with fibrous rootlets and the bases of the old stipites. Stipes 6–12 in. long, stout, rather succulent, more or less clothed with large ovate-lanceolate brownish scales near the base, smooth and glabrous above. Fronds 2–5 ft. long, 9–18 in. broad, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, thin and membranous, glabrous, pinnate, pinnatifid at the apex; rhachis smooth, glabrous or slightly hairy above. pinnæ numerous, opposite or nearly so, spreading, 3–9 in. long, ⅓–1 ¼ in. broad, the lower ones gradually reduced, narrow linear-oblong or linear-lanceolate, acuminate, truncate or almost auricled at the base, pinnatifid about half-way to the midrib; lobes oblong or ovate-oblong, slightly falcate, obtuse, entire or obscurely sinuate. Veins pinnate in the lobes; veinlets 6–10 on each side, the 2 lowest pairs uniting at the tips with those of the adjoining lobes. Sori one to each veinlet, forming two rows much nearer the midrib than the margin. —Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 381; Hook. Sp. Fil. v. 7; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 317; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 87; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 137, t. 25, f. 3, and t. 26, f. 4. P. subsimile, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx. (1888) 233. Goniopteris pennigera, J. Sm. Gen. Ferns, 18; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 40. Aspidiurn pennigerum, Swartz, Syn. Fil. 49, 250; A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel 67; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 217; Raoul, Choix, 38.s page 1010

Var. Hamilton!, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiv. (1882) 338. — Smaller and more delicate, pale-green. Fronds 1–2 ft. long, 3–5 in. broad; pinnes irregular, crisped, pinnatifid three-quarters of the way to the midrib or more; lobes coarsely arid sharply irregularly dentate. Veinlets confined to the lobes, the lowest pair not meeting those of the adjoining lobes. Sori midway between the midrib and the margin. A very peculiar plant, but possibly only an abnormal state.

North and South Islands, Chatham Islands: From the North Cape to Foveaux Strait, abundant in woods by the side of streams, &c. Sea-level to 2000 ft. Var. Hamiltoni: Kereru (Hawke's Bay), A. Hamilton!

A very distinct species, confined to New Zealand.

3.P. australe, Mett. Polyp. 36.—Rhizome very short, or erect or oblique and lengthened to ½–1 ½ in. long, crowned with copious pale chestnut-brown scales; rootlets long, wiry, densely hairy; often several rhizomes and their rootlets are matted together in the same tuft. Fronds numerous, crowded towards the end of the rhizome, erect, 1–6 in. long, ⅙–⅓ in. broad, linear-lanceolate or narrow-oblanceolate or linear-spathulate, quite entire, obtuse at the tip, very gradually narrowed into a short winged stipes, dark-green, coriaceous, glabrous or sparingly ciliate with short whitish hairs towards the base. Veins obscure, hidden in the substance of the frond. Sori in a single row on each side of the midrib and nearer to it than to the margin, oblique to the midrib, usually numerous, rather large, oblong or linear-oblong, often confluent when old.— Hook. Sp. Fil. iv. 167; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 380; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 322; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 762; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 87; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 138, t. 22, f. 1. Grammitis australis,. R, Br. Prodr. 146; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 172; Raoul, Choix, 37; Homb. and Jacq. Voy. au Pôle Sud, Crypt, t. 2, G; Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 111; Fl. Nov. ZeL ii. 44. G. rigida and G. humilis, Homb. and Jacq. l.c. t. 2, F, H.

Var. Yillosum, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 44.—Stipes, margins, and under-surface of the fronds more or less villous with long spreading rufous or whitish hairs, often partially concealing the sori.—P. paradoxum, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiv. (1882) 336. Grammitis ciliata, Col. in Tasmanian Journ. Nat. Sci. (1845) 6.

Var. pumilum, Cheesem.—Small, very densely matted; rhizomes stout, creeping, sometimes 1–2 in. long. Fronds ⅓–¾ in. long, obovate or spathulate, obtuse, narrowed to the base, very thick and coriaceous, glabrous or obscurely pubescent beneath. Sori usually solitary near the tip of the frond, large, roundish.—P. crassium, Kirk in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvii. (1885) 232. Grammitis pumila, Armstr. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiii, (1879) 314.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Auckland and Campbell Islands, Antipodes Island, Macquarie Island: The typical state and var. villosum not uncommon throughout on rocks or trunks of trees; var. pumilum in mountain districts from the East Cape southwards, ascending to over 5000 ft.

A very variable little plant, also found in Australia and Tasmania, Chili, Fuegia, Tristan d'Acunha, and Marion Island.

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4.P. grammitidis, R. Br. Prodr. 147.—Rhizome short, tufted, crowned with subulate-lanceolate scales; roots long, fibrous. Stipes short, wiry, naked, 1–2 in. long. Fronds tufted at the top of the rhizome, very variable in size and shape, 3–9 in. long, 1–3 in. broad, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or narrow-ovate, acuminate, sometimes caudate, dark-green, coriaceous, quite glabrous, pinnatifid almost to the rhachis. Pinnæ often unequal, linear, decurrent on the rhachis at the base and confluent; in large states 1–3 in. long, ⅙–⅓ in. broad, deeply lobed or pinnatifid; in small forms shorter, entire or sinuate or shortly lobed; rarely the Pinnæ are reduced to short triangular lobes, so that the frond is narrow-linear in outline. Veins obscure, simple or forked. Sori oblong or rounded, usually one at the base of each segment of the pinnæ, more rarely 2–4 to a segment.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 177; Raoul, Choix, 37; Hook. Sp. Fil. iv. 230; Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 1ll; Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 41; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 380; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 327; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 764; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 88; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 139, t. 14, f. 3. Grammitis heterophylla, Lab. Pl. Nov. Roll. ii. 90, t. 239.

North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands, Auckland and Campbell Islands: From the North Cape southwards, abundant in forests on the trunks of trees, more rarely on rocks. Sea-level to 3500 ft.

Also in Tasmania and Victoria.

5.P. tenellum, Forst. Prodr. n. 440.—Rhizome very long, slender, rigid, wiry, climbing up the trunks of trees or over rocks, clothed with chestnut-brown scales with a dark base. Stipes short, 1–3 in. long, jointed near the rhizome, smooth or more or less scaly. Fronds scattered along the rhizome, erect or pendulous, 1–2 ft. long, 2–5 in. broad, linear-oblong or lanceolate, dark-green, thinly coriaceous, quite glabrous, pinnate; rhachis smooth or slightly scaly. Pinnæ distant, alternate, shortly stipitate, articulate on the rhachis, spreading, l ½–3 in. long, ¼–½ in. broad, lanceolate, attenuate at the tip, obliquely cuneate at the base, entire or obscurely undulate-crenate. Veins all free, once or twice forked. Sori globose, in 2 series in each pinnule, almost close to the margin.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 176; Raoul. Choix, 37; Hook. Sp. Fil. iv. 217: Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. FL 380; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 337; Benth. Fl, Austral. vii. 764; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 88; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 139, t. 4, f. 4. Arthropteris tenella, J. Sm. ex Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 43, t. 82. A. filipes, Moore, Ind. Fil. 84.

North Island: In woods from the Three Kings Islands and the North Cape to Cook Strait, but often local. South Island: Vicinity of Nelson, Kirk. Banks Peninsula, Armstrong.

Also in Norfolk Island, Australia, and New Caledonia.

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6.P. serpens, Forst. Prodr. n. 435.—Rhizome long, creeping, branched, climbing up the trunks of trees or over rocks, clothed with lanceolate long-acuminate ferruginous scales. Stipites remote, ½–3 in. long, firm, erect, jointed on the top of a scaly prolongation of the rhizome. Fronds dimorphous, simple, entire or obscurely sinuate, very thick and coriaceous, dark-green or yellow-green, glabrous or nearly so above, beneath densely clothed with whitish or buff-coloured stellate scales; sterile fronds variable in size and shape, 1–3 or even 4 in. long, ½–1 in. broad, obovate-spathulate or elliptical-spathulate to nearly orbicular, obtuse; fertile longer and. narrower, 2–6 in. long, ½–¾ in. broad, linear-oblong or linear-lanceolate, obtuse or subacute, gradually tapering into the stipes. Veins quite hidden in the substance of the frond, copiously anastomosing. Sori very copious, irregularly scattered, large, prominent, often con fined to the upper part of the frond, usually confluent in age.— Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 349; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 767; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 89; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 140, t. 6, f. 9. P. rupestre; R. Br. Prodr. 136; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 381; Hook. Sp. Fil. v. 46. P. stellaturn, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 64. Niphobolus rupestris, Spreng. Syst. Veg. iv. 44; Hook, and Grev. Ic. Fil. t. 93; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 178; Raoul, Choix, 37; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 44. N. bicolor, Kaulf. Enum. Fil. 128; Hook, and Grev. Ic. Fil. t. 44;. A. Cunn. Precur. n. 179. N. serpens, Endl. Prodr. Ins. Norfolk, 8.

Kermadec Islands, North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands: Abundant throughout. Sea-level to 3500 ft.

Plentiful in eastern Australia, also found in Norfolk Island and several of the Pacific islands.

7.P. Cunninghamii, Hook. Sp. Fil. v. 58.—Rhizome small, short, knot-like, densely clothed with brownish lanceolate scales, emitting woolly rootlets, some of which creep and produce new tufts of fronds. Fronds tufted at the top of the rhizome, 4–12 in. long, ⅔–¾ in. broad, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, acuminate, very gradually narrowed to the base or to a short stipes, quite entire, bright-green, rather fleshy but hardly coriaceous, quite glabrous; midrib stout, evident. Veins hidden in the substance of the frond, anastomosing, forming elongated hexagonal areoles without included free veinlets. Sori large, broadly oblong or rounded, prominent, rather far apart, in a single row on each side of the frond, nearer the midrib than the margin.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 381; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fit. 354; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 89; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 141, t. 15, f. 5. P. attenuatum, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 62; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 173; Raoul, Choix, 37; Hook. Ic. Plant, t. 409 (not of R. Br.). Dictymia lanceolata, J. Sm. in Bot. Mag. vol. 72, Suppl. 16; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 43. Dictyopteris lanceolata, J. Sm. Gen. Ferns, 64. page 1013

North Island: In forests from the North Cape to Cook Strait, not uncommon, usually on the trunks of trees or on rocks. South Island: Nelson—Maitai Valley, T. F. C. Marlborough—Buchanan. Canterbury— Akaroa, Raoul. Sea-level to 2500 ft.

Also in the New Hebrides. I have seen no specimens from the south of Nelson.

8.P. pustulatum, Forst. Prodr. n. 436.—Rhizome very long, much branched, climbing up the trunks of trees or over rocks, every where clothed with squarrose linear-subulate dark-brown scales. Stipites scattered along the rhizome, 2–4 in. long, firm, slender, glabrous. Fronds very variable in size and outline, dark-green, thin and membranous, quite glabrous, sometimes 3–9 in. long, ⅓–⅔ in. broad, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, gradually narrowed into the stipes, quite entire; at other times 6–18 in. long, 2–6 in. broad, cut down to a broadly winged rhachis into few or many linear-lanceolate acuminate segments; segments rather distant, 1–3 in. long, ¼–⅓ in. broad, straight or falcate. Veins not very distinct, anastomosing, forming large irregular areoles with included free veinlets. Sori rather small, distant, broadly oblong or rounded, forming a row parallel with the margin and just within it, sunk in a shallowcavity of the frond and thus forming a pustule on the upper sur face.—A. Cunn. Precur, n. 175; Raoul, Choix, 37; Hook. Sp. Fit. v. 80; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 382; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 363; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 89; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 141, t. 17, f. 2. P. scandens, Forst. Prodr. n. 437; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 770. Phymatodes pustulata, Presl, Pterid. 196; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 42. Pleopeltis pustulata, Moore, Ind. Fil.

North and South Islands, Chatham Islands: Abundant in woods from the North Cape to Nelson, Marlborough, and Westland, from thence less common to the south of Otago. Sea-level to 2500 ft.

Found also in eastern Australia, from Queensland to Victoria, and in Norfolk Island. The fronds are fragrant when freshly dried, and were formerly used by the Maoris for scenting oil for applying to the person. Mr. Carruthers (Fl, Vitiensis, 369) considers that this is Forster's P. scandens, and that his P. pustulatum is the same as P. Billardieri.

9.P. Billardieri, R. Br. Prodr. 147. — Rhizome long, stout, creeping, often glaucous, clothed with appressed ovate-lanceolate acuminate scales, which are dark-brown or almost black with, usually a pale scarious margin. Stipes jointed on to the rhizome, 2–8 in. long, stout, firm, erect, smooth and glossy, quite naked. Fronds numerous, scattered along the rhizome, bright-green, coriaceous, quite glabrous, polymorphous; sometimes 3–9 in. long, ½–2 in. broad, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, entire; at other times 6–18 in. long, 3–9 in. broad, deeply pinnatifid. Segments varying in number from 1 to 12 on a side, 1–5 in. long, ⅓–1 ¼ in. broad, oblong-lanceolate or linear, usually acuminate, confluent at the base with the broadly winged rhachis. Veins conspicuous, the page 1014primary ones irregular, enclosing between them several areoles with free included veinlets. Sori numerous, large, orbicular, forming a single row on each side of the midrib, medial or rather nearer the margin than the midrib.—A. Cunn. Precur. n. 174; Raoul, Choix, 37; Hook. Sp. Fil. v. 82; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 364; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 90; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 141, t. 2, f. 4. P. Phyma-todes, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 66 (not of Linn.). P. scandens, Lab. Pl Nov. Holl. ii. 91, t. 240 (not of Forst.). Phymatodes Billardieri, Presl, Pterid. 196; Hook. f. Fl. Antarct. i. 111; Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 42.

Kermadec Islands, North And South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands, Auckland And Campbell Islands: Abundant throughout, usually on trees or rocks, but sometimes on the ground. Sea-level to 3000 ft.

Found also in Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, Australia, and Tasmania, and very closely allied to the tropical P. Phymatodes, Linn.

10.P. novæ-zealandiæ, Bak. in Hook. Ic. Plant. t. 1674.— Rhizome long, stout, woody, as thick as the finger, densely clothed with large tawny ovate-lanceolate scales. Stipes 6–12 in. long, firm, erect, pale-brown, shining, quite naked. Fronds scattered along the rhizome, large, 1–4 ft. long, 6–14 in. broad, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, thinly coriaceous, dark-green, quite glabrous, deeply pinnatifid or almost pinnate at the base; rhachis narrowly winged. Segments (or pinnæ) 8–20 pairs, opposite or nearly so, ascending, 4–8 in. long, about ½ in. broad, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, quite entire or obscurely sinuate, the lower ones sometimes narrowed towards the base. Veins indistinct, copiously anastomosing; areoles rather large with included free veinlets. Sori large, globose, forming a single row on each side of the midrib, rather nearer the margin than the midrib.—Ann. Bot. v. (1891) 479; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 90; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 142, t. 27, f. 3.

North Island: Te Aroha, Pirongia, and Karioi Mountains, T. F. C.; Lake Waikaremoana, A. Hamilton! Waimarino Forest, R. Curtis! forest to the west of Ruapehu, H. C. Field! Usually on logs or climbing up trees, rarely on the ground. 1500–3000 ft.

Apparently confined to the forest country in the central portions of the North Island. Closely allied to P. Billardieri, but; the rhizome is much stouter, and densely clothed with shaggy spreading scales; the fronds are larger, often 4 ft. long, and more deeply pinnatifid; the segments are more numerous, longer and narrower; the venation is not so distinct, and the texture thinner. There is also no tendency to the polymorphism of the fronds so noticeable in both P. Billardieri and P. pustulatum, and simple fronds are apparently unknown.