FAB COXXL 
ACROSTICHUM VIRENS. 
FILICES.—GvRaATxE. Br. PorvpropiaACER. Kaulf. | Fixiczs vere. Willd. 
GreN. Cuan. ZCROSTICHUM, Linn. 
Sori amorphi, seu Capsule per totam paginam infe- 
riorem frondis (interdum diversa) ad ejus partem sparsz. — Zmvolucrum nullum (nisi squamulze 
vel setze in quibusdam capsulis interstinctz). Jr. 
ACROSTICHUM virens ; frondibus pinnatis (pinnulis subnovem) oblongo-lanceolatis acuminatis mem- 
branaceo-coriaceis glabris parallelo-venosis obscure reticulatis cartilagineo-serratis basi oblique 
cuneatis petiolatis, fertilibus linearibus obtusis, stipite elongato subpaleaceo. 
Acrostichum virens. Jail. Cat. of. Pl. in Mus. of E. I. C. No. 1033. 
Haz. Tovag in India Orientali (Gul. Govaz, M.D.) N.Hallich, M.D. 
Caudex oblique repens, crassus, dense paleaceo-squamosus, radices fibrosas tomentosas emittens. 
Stipes pedalis et ultra, semiteres, erectus, sparse squamosus, superne nudus. 
Frons late ovata, pinnata; pinnis subnovem, alternis, palmaribus et ultra, oblongo-lanceolatis, membranaceo- 
coriaceis, glabris, nitidis, pallide virentibus, costatis, pennatim nervosis cum venis anastomosantibus; venulis 
nonnunquam liberis clavatis; apice attenuatis, marginibus undulatis, paululum incrassatis, remote cartilagineo- 
serratis, serraturis incurvis, basi oblique cuneatis, in petiolum brevem decurrentibus. Zachis glabra, nuda, 
antice sulcata. 
Frons fertilis sterili longior; pinnis brevioribus, linearibus, ad apicem solummodo serratis, obtusis. 
Capsule totam partem inferiorem pinnze tegentes, globosee, annulatee; annulo fere completo; sublongum pedicel- 
latze. 
Semina subgloboso-angulata, obscure reticulata. 
Fig. 1. Portio pinnae sterilis. f. 2. Capsule. f. 3. Semina :—magn. auct. 
Among the described species of "Acrostichum, the one most nearly allied to this is the z4crost. 
scandens of Raddi (4. serratifolium of Mertens in Sprengel's Syst. Ze.); and if we were to con- 
sult only the specific character given of that plant, the two could scarcely be considered distinct. 
But in 44. scandens the plant is smaller, the frond more oblong, the pinnze more numerous, twenty 
or more, the serratures much coarser, more attenuated at the base, less so at the extremity; and. 
there is likewise a considerable difference in the venation: for whereas in one plant the veins are 
copiously reticulated towards the margin and between the principal veins, the lesser ones often 
free with club-shaped extremities,—in 7* scandens all the veins anastomose, except at the margin, 
where they are free, and terminate in clavate extremities: the pinnules, too, of the fertile frond are 
both shorter and broader. 
In Dr. Wallich's collection is a species much more nearly allied to it; this is the 24. costatum 
of the Catalogue, No. 26, but it is twice the size of the present species: the fronds are more 
coriaceous, the margins more thickened, not waved and crisped, and destitute of serratures. "The 
colour is also very different, being of a purple hue. 
