THE FERNS OF NORTH-WESTERN INDIA. 533 



ba called serrate, much less " spiuoso-sen-ated " (Syn. Fil.), oi" " spluoscly- 

 seiTated or crenate-serrate " (Bedd.). Clarke says — '' Margin crenate-sen'ate, 

 scarcely spiuulose." I should say cerfcaiiily uot spiuulose. The piimse of 

 neither plant are auiiculate, as those of most Polystichimis are. The distinguLsh- 

 ing features of A. Duthiei are — the short and stiff stipes and stout rhacbis ; the 

 dense covering of disproportionately large, very pale, scales ; and the white 

 setce. on the upper surface, and the coriaceous textm'e. Judging from the 

 few plants which have been gt^thered, some with few fronds left on them, but 

 with numerous stumps of tliick stipes, this species produces larger fronds than 

 have yet been seen. 



Genus23-NEPHRODIUM, i?/c^. 

 Subgenus — Lastrea, PrcsL 



4. Nephrodium Gamblei, n. sp. — Plants isolated ; caud. erect or 

 suberect ; st. stout, 9 — 24 m. l, densely clothed throughout with long dull-brown 

 scales up to 1^ in. 1. by y\ m. br., which diminish in size rapidly and get 

 darker in colour above two or tln-ee mches from the rhizome ; r/i. similarly 

 clothed throughout with dark brown or black hair-like scales which extend a 

 short way along the sec. rli. ; fr. simply pinnate, H — 3 ft. 1. by 9 — 13 m. 

 br. ; pinn. up to 30 — 35 pairs, very shortly stalked, cordate with bases some- 

 times overlapping the prim, rh., narrow, generally broadest at base owing to 

 enlargement of lowest pair of segments, above that ^ — | m. br., hardly nar- 

 rowed below middle of length, and above that gradually to a not very acuminate 

 point, cut down J — Jth towards sec. rh. uato numerous segments, one for each 

 main vein with margins rounded upwards from the sinus, the lo^^■er afterwards 

 runiaing ]jarailel with the sec. rh. to an ogival mucronate point, margin some- 

 times undulate and slightly toothed ; tcsture coriaceous, brittle when di'ied ; ven. 

 pinnate in the segments, lowest pair of veinlets taking off at or near costa of 

 pinna and curvmg upwards to near the sinus, but sometunes stoppiiag much short 

 of it and then often not soriferous, others rumiing into the lobes, and all stopping 

 short of the margin and having thickened ends ; sori small, 2— S to a segment, 

 on lowest pair of veiialets and next veinlet above, appearing grouped in triplets — 

 two sori belonging to one segment and the third to the next superior segment ^ 

 invol. sh.rivelling on top of ripe sori, but often persistent. (Plate YII — di'awn 

 from a DarjeeUng specimen.) 



Punjab : Simla Beg.—^^ Above Simla, Col. Bates," fide Hooker in Herb. Hort. 

 Kew. « Lastrea atrata ?? V^all." N.-W. P. : " Garhwal "—P. W. Mackiunon 1881 ; 

 Kumaun—S. and W. 1848, No. 3. 



DiSTRiB. — Asia : N. Irni. (Him,) Sikkim— Darjeeling 6-700O', Gamble 1879, Nos. 

 6968 and 7075, Lev. 1899, 7000' ; Bhotan— Dhiimsong 6000', Gamble 1676, No. 264 ; 

 Assam— Shillong, Clarke 4-)635, 1886. 



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