Evans: HepaTicaAE oF Purrto RIco 39 
On living leaves. First collected by Schwanecke. El Yunque, 
Evans (40, 41, 117). Type-locality, ‘in ins. Caraib. ad Filices.” 
Now known from several of the West Indian islands, from Costa 
Rica and from various localities in South America. 
D. inchoata may be at once distinguished from all the other 
Puerto Rico species of Drepanolejeunca by its large size and by its 
broad and coarsely dentate leaves, abruptly dilated from a narrow 
base. The description as given above is drawn mainly from 
robust specimens where the leaves attain their best development. 
On slender axes the leaves are smaller and narrower and their 
lobules are often inflated throughout; sometimes the lobules are 
rudimentary, These small-leaved branches must be distinguished 
from the flagelliform branches which bear the propagula. The 
latter are similar to those of D. énfundibulata but their leaves are 
a little better developed. In his description of ZL. planiuscula 
Spruce calls attention briefly to these flagelliform branches but 
gives no hint as to their real significance. He also mentions “a 
form beset with a thick coating of adventitious ramuli, arising 
either from the leaves or (rarely) from the branches.” They are 
said to ‘‘ bear leaves reduced almost entirely to the basal sac, be- 
yond which the lobe projects as a small triangular dentiform 
limb.”” These ramuli, which are apparently homologous with the 
propagula of Plagiochila, have not been observed in any of the 
Puerto Rico specimens. 
So far as known the Closest ally of D. ixchoata is the paleo- 
tropic D. setistipa Steph., of Java, a species which was long con- 
fused with the American plant. The two species resemble each 
other very closely in their leaf-characters and differ mainly in their 
underleaves and perianths. The differences are well brought out 
by Stephani’s description* and by the somewhat earlier figures of 
Schiffner.t In D. setistipa the divisions of the underleaves are 
very divaricate, sometimes spreading at an angle of more than 
180° ; according to Schiffner’s figures they measure six or seven 
cells in length and are two cells wide in the lower part. The 
basal portion of the underleaf is bounded by considerably more 
eos aa cebiies spi ae 
* Hedwigia, 35: 83. 1896. 
¢ Nova Acta Acad. Caes.-Leop. 60: 7” & / 5 8. 189}. 
