FILICES. 71 



Oleaxdra,' C'av. 



A small gpinis distinguislicd by its slender, scaly, seandent rliizomp, jointed 

 stipes, and entile long nairow lanceolate or trap-shaped fronds. Sori round. 

 Indiisia renit'orm ; in a single row close to the rachis (or mid-rib), nearly all along 

 the frond. 



0. Crsii.NGnii, ./. Sw., var. loxgu-ks, JTooh. 



Rhizoruo long, creeping or seandent, of the thickness of a crow-fjuill, emitting 

 long wiry roots from its under surface. Stipites varying in length from 4 to 8-9 

 inches, smooth, rigid, jointed at the setting on, also at about lA to 3 inches from 

 the base. Fronds varying from 5-6 inches to 18 or more in length, with a breadth 

 of 1 to I J inch, tapering below and acuminated at the ajX'X. Karc, as far as my 

 experience goes. Very sparingly on rocks at the top of Tomig-wiue range, ilaulmaiu; 

 also on XIadremacam, Mergui. 



0. XERiiFORMis, Car. 



Fronds similar to the last, but stipes very short, the joint very near to the 

 rhizome, which has a habit of growing in short curves with the fronds single or in 

 tufts at the bent angle between the curves. Hare also; found but once, and very 

 small, on trees on Dauna-toung at 4000 feet. 



PoLvroDiUM,- Z. 



The largest of all the genera, and a very unwieldy one, containing as it does 

 some 400 species, of which I find about 40 in Burma. Pohjpodlum may be .said 

 generally to include all those ferns which have round naked sori — in other words, 

 sori without any covering, indusium or involucre. This is the one great point of 

 similarity, but in all other respects — habit of growth, size, cutting, venation, texture 

 — there is an endless diversity within the limits of the genus. These differences 

 have boon the foundation of several distinct genera with authors, e.g. Phetjoplcris^ 

 Goniopteris,^ Bicti/o/tten's,' y^iphohulus,^' Phi/iiiatodes,'' and others ; these are all, how- 

 ever, included in l^ulijpodium in the '" Synopsis Filicum," but the names are retained 

 as those of sections of the genus, so that, practically, things renuiin much as they 

 ■were ; for, in specifj-ing any one it becomes absolutely necessary to add the name 

 of the section to that of the genus ; and whether any advantage is thus gained, 



1 very much doubt; however, leaving this to the doctors, I will go on to select 

 a few species for particular mention. 



r. (DiCTTOPTERIs) TEXriFEOXS, Hoolccr. 



" llhizome orce]iing, fragile; stipes very slender, 8-12 inches long; frond G-12 

 inches each way, deltoid, the upper part pinnatifid ; below the pinnatitid portion are 



2 or 3 distinct pinna>, the lowest much the largest, deltoid ; the lowest side produced, 

 with deeply pinnatifid lanceolate lobes 2-3 inches long ; texture very thin, Haccid ; 

 areolaj copious, without free veinlets ; sori in rows near the main veins." — From 

 Sgnopsis, in part. 



In the debris of Limestone Rocks, about Maulmain, exactly as Pohjpodium 

 calcareum " grows in the d<'bris of the limestone of Clietldar cliffs in Somersetshire, of 

 which (wanting the rigidity) it has very much the appearance. If I recollect right, 

 one locality is about the entrance, or, rather, the sloping approach to, " the Farm- 

 caves." 



' Oleandra. ? 



- I'olypodium. iroXus, m.nny ; and irovs-w6Sos, many divisions. 

 ^ Phcj^opteris. xpTjyhs, tagus, a tree — oak or bfecii r and mfpis. 

 * GoniDptoris. yuvia, an aiii,'lu, in atlu^<iou to the venation. 

 ' Dii'tyopteris. Si'ktuoi', a net, in ailusion to tile venation. 



" Niphobolus. vi(fi$a\oi, rained upon like .snow, in allusion (I presnnie) to the dispersion of the sori. 

 ' Phymatodes. (fiD/io-oros, lump or swellinjr ; and elSos, appearance. 



' P. li'ibcrtiaiiiim, lloll'in., of S'ninpsis. AVliatever may be the risjht of priority in tills name, I 

 doubt if English bot^iuists will give up the familiar I", calcaniim for it. 



