NOTES ON INDIAN FERNS. 339 



and others to var. retusa (Clarke). I now think that they all run very much 

 one into the other and there are connecting links with var. dentigera. 



Indian pteridologists would be doing good service if they would study and 

 make notes on this genus ; the species are the most difficult to name of all Indian 

 ferns, the leason of this is that there is no good treatise of the Indian species 

 yet published. It is about the varieties of Filix-femina and nigripes that the 

 chief difficulty lies. I have previously pointed out that Alhyr Atkinsoni var- 

 Amersoni (Clarke) is Athyr Jimbr latum. I now think that Atkinsoni of my 

 hand-book is only a more simple form or variety of that species, I would ask 

 Indian botanists to give attention to this question. Various localities for 

 Atkinsoni are given in my supplement. 



Athyrium Mueklnnonl, Hope. This is the least cut form of the Indiau 

 deltoid nigripes. My description at page 166 of the hand-book includes this and 

 also the mure cut variety incisum, Wall Cat. 231 (which is almost the same as 

 Blume's nigripes from Java), a form so abundant about Darjeeling and Surail. 

 Hope's Mackinnoui is also the high level form of nigripes of Mr. Blanford's list, 

 the other form bbing tenuifron?. Mr. Clarke also collected it at Cherra 

 Coalhill [No. 42788], if his specimens are compared with the more cut form 

 (var. incisum) it will at once b.e seen that they are the same species, with only a 

 slight difference in cutting ; I have also many specimens from high levels near 

 Simla collected by Blanford, Dr. Jukes and others. Another variety is dissectum 

 [Moore] collected by Mr. Mann at Serareen, Khasi Hills ; this is slightly more 

 cut than incisum and is scarcely deltoid in form but the difference is very 

 slight. The nigripes group may stand as follows : — 



Athyrium nigripies, Bl., (Syn. Mackinnoni, Hope). Simla region 

 8,000'— 10,000' Chamba 8000'. Khasi 5000'. 



Var. incisum, Wall. Cat. 231. Sikkim, Darjeeling, etc. 

 Var. dissectum, Moore. Khasi Hill. 



Var. tenuifrons, Wall. Cat. 206. Northern India, Simla, etc. 

 Var. solenopteris, Kze, and var. pusilla. Ceylon, Southern India, 

 Northern India, Assam, etc. 



(Syn : aspidioides in part, Hook, Syn. Fil. page 228, 

 tenellum, Hope). 

 Var. clarkei, Bedd. Hand-book, 166. Sikkim. 

 Var. stramineum, Moore, Index. Fil. 188. Assam. 

 A very fine Athyrium, apparently a new species, has been lately collected by 

 Dr. Jukes, C.M.S., at high elevation on Huttu, Simla region, as it wants both 

 stipe and rhizome I do not like to describe it as new, but there is nothing like it 

 in the Kew Herbarium or in my very large series of specimens of the genus. 

 The frond without stipe is 26 inches long by 20 inches broad, not deltoid in 

 shape, as the 2 lower pairs of pinna? are reduced in size, the lowest pair being only 

 half the length of the next pair ; the cutting of the ultimate segments is sharp 

 like that in schimperi but the pinnae are much broader and more compound. It 

 is important to ascertain if the rhizome is creeping or erect. 

 15 



