Fl. 371; Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. 196: Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 745; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 73: Field, N.Z. Ferns. 115, t. 28, f. 8. A. melanolepis, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xx. (1888) 227.
North Island: Hawke's Bay—Kaimanawa Mountains, Captain G. Mair! Petane, A. Hamilton! Puketapu, Colenso! Taranaki—Mount Egmont, T. F. C. Wellington—Tararua Range, Buchanan. South Island: Not uncommon in mountainous localities throughout. Sea-level to 4000 ft.
Widely distributed in the temperate regions of both hemispheres and on high mountains in the tropics.
3. A. falcatum, Lam. Encycl. ii. 306.—Rhizome short, stout, creeping, more or less clothed with dark-brown scales. Stipes 6–12 in. long, dark-brown, firm, villous and paleaceous at; the base and sometimes throughout. Fronds erect or pendulous, 1–3 ft. long or more, 3–7 in. broad, linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, acuminate, coriaceous, dark-green or brownish-green above, paler beneath, glabrous or deciduously paleaceous, pinnate; rhachis bristly with linear scales or almost glabrous. Pinnæ 12–25 pairs, spreading, stipitate, 1½–4 in. long, ½–1 in. broad, lanceolate, finely acuminate, obliquely cuneate at the base, the upper edge broad and rounded or sometimes auricled, the lower edge excised, lobed or almost pinnatifid, lobes sharply incised. Veins distinct, close, erecto-patent, forked, the basal ones almost flabellate. Sori numerous, linear, obliquely diverging from the midrib, almost reaching the margin. Indusium narrow, membranous but firm.—A. Rich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 73; A. Cunnn. Precur. n. 187; Raoul, Choix, 37; Hook. Sp. Fil. iii. 160; Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 372; Hook. and Bak. Syn. Fil. 208; Benth. Fl. Austral. vii. 746; Thoms. N.Z. Ferns, 74; Field, N.Z. Ferns, 117, t. 21, f. 5. A. polyodon, Forst. Prodr. n. 428; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 188; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 34. A. Forsterianum, Col. in Tasmanian Journ. Nat. Sci. (1845) 11.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands: From the North Cape southwards, not uncommon in woods, often pendulous from trees. Sea-level to 2000 ft.
Also abundant in many parts of tropical Asia and Africa, the Pacific islands, and Australia. Very variable in the size and shape of the pinnæ, and the extent to which they are lobed and cut.
4. A. caudatum, Forst. Prodr. n. 432.—Rhizome short, creeping, clothed with dark-brown linear scales. Stipes 6–9 in. long, densely clothed with fibrillose scales or almost naked. Frond 1–2 ft. long, 3–8 in. broad, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, coriaceous, dark-green, glabrous or deciduously villous, pinnate; rhachis bristly or almost glabrous. Pinnæ 15–30 pairs, spreading, stipitate, 1½–4 in. long, ½–¾ in. broad, narrow-lanceolate, narrowed into a long acuminate point, obliquely cuneate at the base, the upper edge rounded or auricled, the lower edge excised, deeply lobed or pinnatifid, sometimes more than half-way down to the midrib, lobes
