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Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
17. Doodia, R. Br
17. Doodia, R. Br.
Rhizome short, tufted, suberect. Fronds numerous at the top of the rhizome, erect, harsh and rigid or membranous, pinnate or pinnatifid, sometimes dimorphic. Veins forked, connected by short cross veinlets on which the sori are placed. Sori oblong or slightly curved, in one or more rows parallel to the midrib, and between it and the margin of the pinnæ. Indusium the same shape as the sorus, attached to the cross veinlet, membranous, opening towards the midrib. Sporangia stalked, surrounded by an incomplete vertical ring, bursting transversely.
A small genus of 5 species, found in New Zealand, Australia and Polynesia, and Ceylon.
Fronds 1–2 ft., harsh, coriaceous, erect; the sterile not obviously differing from the fertile 1. D. media. Frond3 ½-l ft., submembranous; the sterile shorter and less erect, with broader obtuse pinnæ. Fertile pinnæ narrow-linear, with conspicuous auricled bases 2. D. caudata.
| 1. | D. media, R. Br. Prodr. 151.—Rhizome short, stout, suberect, clothed with the bases of the old stipites. Stipes 3–8 in. long, more or less clothed with subulate scales towards the base, smooth or scabrous, blackish-brown. Fronds 12–18 in. long, 1 ½–4 in. broad, lanceolate, acuminate, coriaceous, dark - green, pinnate in the lower half or two-thirds, pinnatifid above; rhachis often pubescent. Pinnæ numerous, spreading; lateral 1–2 in. long, ⅕–⅓ in. broad, linear or linear - lanceolate, acute or obtuse, spinulosedentate, the upper ones dilated and confluent at the base, those below the middle free but often dilated or almost auricled at the base, the lower ones gradually reduced in size; terminal pinna often elongated. Sori short, oblong, usually in one series on each side of the midrib, but sometimes portions of a second row are irregularly developed.—Hook. Sp. Fil. iii. 74; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 370; Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 190; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 70; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 112, t. 20, f. 1. D. aspera, A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 76; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 195; Raoul, Choix, 38 (not of R. Br.). D. Kunthiana, Gaud, in Freyc. Voy. Bot. 401, t. 14; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 197; Raoul, Choix, 38.
Var. Milnei, Bak. Syn. Fil. (edit. 2) 482.—Larger; fronds 1–2 ft. long or more, 6–12 in. broad. Pinnæ closely placed, 4–6 in, long, ¼–½ in. broad, narrowed into long acuminate points, sharply dentate-serrate. Sori copious, in 2 rows on each side of the midrib.—D. Milnei, Carr. in Seem. Fl. Viti. 352. D. connexa, Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 369 (not of Kunze). page 986North Island: Abundant from the North. Cape to the East Cape, from thence rare and local to Cook Strait. South Island: Nelson—Port Hills, Kirk! Var. Milnei.—Kermadec Islands: Abundant, MacGillivray, T. F. C. Sea-level to 1000 ft. Also in Australia, Norfolk Island, and the Pacific islands as far north as Hawaii. A very variable plant. |
| 2. | D. caudata, B. Br. Prodr. 151.—Rhizome short, suberect, emitting numerous black wiry rootlets. Stipes 2–4 in. long, slender, black, smooth or nearly so. Fronds numerous, densely tufted, 3–12 in. long, rarely more, ¾–2 in. broad, lanceolate, acuminate or caudate, usually membranous, pale-green, pinnate almost to the top, more or less dimorphic; sterile usually shorter than the fertile and less erect, often decumbent, sometimes almost flaccid; pinnæ oblong or linear-oblong, obtuse, sharply serrate. Fertile fronds longer, usually harsher and more rigid, erect; pinnæ ½–1 ½ in. long, ⅛–⅕ in. broad, narrow-linear, often attenuate, the lower ones usually conspicuously auricled at the base, the uppermost decurrent and confluent, terminal pinna usually very long, caudate. Sori in a single series on each side of the midrib.— A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 76; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 196; Raoul, Choix, 38; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 37 (excl. syn.); Hook, and Bak. Syn. Fil. 190; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 114, t. 20, f. 4, 4A. D. squarrosa, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Insi. xiii. (1881) 382.
North Island: From Kaitaia southwards to Cook Strait, but local and often absent from large areas. Sea-level to 2500 ft. Apparently a common Australian plant, ranging from Cape York to Tasmania. Some of the New Zealand forms approach very close to the preceding species; but usually it can be distinguished by the smaller size, by the sterile fronds being of a different shape and more flaccid than the fertile, and by the narrow fertile pinnæ with conspicuously auricled bases. A small variety found on the Rimutaka Range, "Wellington, is said to have scented fronds, and to have been formerly collected by the Maoris for the purpose of mixing with oil to anoint the person; but I have never been able to perceive any fragrance. Perhaps Polypodium pustulatum has been mistaken for it. I have seen no authentic specimens of Colenso's D. squarrosa, and have followed Mr. Baker (Ann. Bot. v. (1891) 221) in referring it to D. caudata. |