THE FERNS OF NORTH-WESTERN INDIA. 101 



9-10,000', Mackinnons, Duthie ; Bambu Vy. G000', Gamble; B. Garh. Mrs. Fisher; 

 Kwmaun— near KMti 7200'— 7800' (both forms) S. & W. ; near Naini Tal 45-6000', 

 Hope, Konoor 7000', Davidson ; near Bugeswar 3500'; Dhankuri 9000', Trotter ; Sarju- 

 ganga Vy. and elsewhere, 2-6000', MacLeod. 

 Nepal, Wallick, Centr. Nepal, Scully. 



Distrib. — Asia : N. lad, (Him.)E. Nepal J. D. Hooker ; Sikkim and Bhotan ; 

 Assam — Khasia Dist. 1-5000', common. Burma — Tenasserim. Ceylon— 5-6000'. 

 Malay Penins. and Isles. Tonkin, Phillipines. China— Shensi, Giraldi ; Nau-T. 

 Henry ; Yunnan, Delaray, Hancock ; Shing-King Prov., between Mukden and 

 Kirin, James. Japan. Polynesia. Afr. : E. & W. Tropical ; Kamerun Mts., Fer- 

 nando Po, St. Thomas . Madagascar. 



Beddome describes two forms — pinnate and bipinnate ; but plants of a form 

 between these two are frequent, i.e., with perhaps only one pair of pinnae 

 pinnate, and that irregularly so ; and there is also a tripinnate fern, as Blanford 

 pointed out. The simpler forms generally grow at low levels, and bave large' 

 broad, pinnte and the compound forms always at high altitudes, with small 

 narrow pinnules. The number of pinnae varies greatly. 



Looking to the contrast wbich the low-level form — with stout stipes and rha- 

 chis, and large, simple pinnae, or with only the lowest pair pinnate or partly so 

 — presents with the high level form, bi- or tri-pinnate, with slender stipes and 

 rhaohis, and with small, narrow pinnules, and also to the differences of margin 

 I am not surprised that several species have been made out of this plant ; but 

 I do not think this is necessary. Blanford says : — " Below 6000' it is bipinnate 

 only as regards the lowest pair of pinnae and the pinnules are broad and large. 

 Specimens from higher elevations have several pairs -of pinnae ao-ain 

 pinnate, and the pinnules are smaller and narrower. It is often 3-pinnate." 

 This is well expressed ; but the purely simply pinnate form is not mentioned. 

 The venation varies : in some fronds the veinlets stop short of the margin and 

 are thickened (clubbed) at the ends, the marginal teeth in that case being quite 

 disconnected from the veins : in most cases the veinlets run into the teeth and 

 quite to the margin. The anastomosis of veinlets of contiguous groups is as 

 Beddome says, rare, and I have detected it in only 3 out of 25 fronds. The 

 re-uniting or looping of forked veinlets within the same group is commoner. 

 The veinlets get so close towards the margin that I wonder how in the 

 simpler broad segment form, tbey keep separate. 



6. G„ leptophylla, Desv. ; Syn. Fil. 383 ; Bedd. H. B. 382, and 

 Suppt. 100. 



N.-W. P. : D. D. Dist. Mussooree, Dr. Bacon : in Herb. Sort. Kew ; Kvmaun— 

 Colonel Davidson 1877, in Herb. Hort. Saharanpur : also in Herb. Hort. Kew. 



DiSTRts.— Amer. : Andes of Mexico and Ecuador ; Paraguay. Eur. : Jersey 

 France ; Switzerland ; Spain and Portugal, Italy and Sicily, Corsica and other Medi- 

 terranean Islands, Greece, Turkey. Asia : Persia. S. Ind.— W. Ghats, Ootacamund, 



