129 181 



of the rhizome ; they are narrow-linear, thin, glossy castaneous, ciliated and hairy 

 on the surfaces. A single scale is generally sufficient for determination. Compared 

 with D. patens the leaf of D. normalis show some peculiarities, which are however 

 not very constant. The lamina is rarely over 4—5 dem long, gradually narrowed 

 into the pinnatifid apex, pinnæ 10 — 12 cm long by VI-2—2 cm broad, firmly her- 

 baceous or membranous. Segments acute or rather obtuse, a little oblique but not 

 falcate, the basal onles generally enlarged, especially the upper one, which is pa- 

 rallel to rachis but rarely lobed; the lower one as a rule not very enlarged and 

 forming an angle of 45° with rachis. Upperside glabrous or sparsely pubescent, 

 the costæ softly hairy, underside rather densely and softly pubescent on costæ and 

 veins, and generally glsindulose by shining glands, which are most numerous on 

 the veins. 



Veins 8 — 10-jugate, not prominent, the lowest pair meeting at the sinus, where 

 they are not separated by a hyaline membrane. Sori as a rule supramedial; indu- 

 sium shortly pubescent. 



Although D. normalis by most authors is believed to be a near relative of D. 

 patens I am inclined to believe that it is more closely related to D. mollis, which 

 it resembles in the structure of the scales and also in venation; it is, namely, not 

 rare to find truly anastomosing veins as in D. mollis, but the lower pinnæ of D. 

 normalis are not gradually reduced as in D. mollis. To the other side D. normalis 

 is through D. augescens by intermediate forms connected with D. serra and through 

 D. Feei with D. oliyophylla. 



Jenman (W. Ind. & Guiana Ferns 240) says that D. normalis is distributed 

 from Florida and Texas to Brazil and in the West-Indies from Bermuda and Ba- 

 hamas to Trinidad and Dominica. I have examined hundreds of specimens but I 

 have seen none from the Lesser Antilles or South America. As far as I have lear- 

 ned the species is distributed from Porto Rico to Mexico and Guatemala, Texas 

 and Alabama. It is rather variable and below I describe a couple of varieties. 

 Here I enumerate the more important collector-numbers of specimens, which I 

 refer to the type. 



Porto Rico: Mr. and Mrs. Heller nr. 82 (W); G. P. Goll nr. 120, 896, 897 (W). 



Jamaica: Maxon nr. 713, 1005, 1503, 1703, 1782, 2100, 2366, 2536 (W); Underwood nr. 128.. 2568, 

 2761 (W); Fredholm nr. 3346 (W); Clute nr. 100 (W); Levison nr 2 iRg) ; Day (B). 



San Domingo: L. A. Prenleloup nr. 724 (Cl; M. Fuertes nr. 780 (B). 



Cuba: Prov. Habana, Baker and Wilson nr. 309 (W); H. Leon nr. 142 (W); Abarca and O'Donovan 

 nr. 4095, 5395 (W); van Hermann nr. 3304 (W); A. H. Curtiss nr 696 (W); Baker and 

 O'Donovan nr. 4107 (W) — Prov. Santiago, Pollard and Palmer nr. 96 and 315 (W) — 

 Prov. Pinar del Rio, Palmer and Riley nr. 106, 294, 624 (W| ; Caldwell and Baker 

 nr. 7107 (W). 



Florida: .S. M. Tracy nr. 6630, 7632, 9142 (W); F. Rugel nr. 254 (W); Geo. V. Nash nr. 840, 861 

 IB, W;; Underwood nr. 181 (W); A. H. Curtiss nr. 3743 (B, W), 4810 IWI. 



Georgia: R. M. Harper nr. 1062 (W,), 1192 (B, W , 1924 iW). 



Alabama: Harper nr. 131 (W). ^53;^ - - y 



Mississippi: S. M. Tracy nr. 8634 (Wi; J. Donn. Smith nr. 672 (W). /S^^^'o''^^ ''Ô ^ 



D. K. U. Vidensk. Selsk. Ski-., 7. Række, nutuividensk. oii matheni. Aid. X. 2. 24 ^^ '^ <«' 



a ■ ' ' ' 

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