FILICES. 75 



tion of the one will answer for the other, llliizomo extensively creeping;, of the 

 thickness of twine, sculy, with fronds an inch distance ; barren fronds round or 

 oval, i to 1 inch long, shortly stalked ; fertile fronds about 3 inches long by i inch 

 broad and rounded at the cTids ; sori in a broad continuous line all round the frond 

 just within its margin, the thec;c mixed with peltate scales. Freijuent. Abundant 

 ou trees in Tuvoy. 



Hemioxitis' cordata, Roxh. 



Caudex short ; roots numerous, fibrous, very fine ; fronds tufted ; barren fronds 

 on short stipites 1-2 inches, themselves 2-4 inches long, broad and blunt at the 

 apex, cordate, or heart-shaped, at the base; fertile fronds triangular, like an arrow- 

 head, about 3 inches each way, elevated on stijiites or stalks 8-10 inches long. 

 Veins anastomosing ; sori covering the whole back of the frond and following the 

 conrse of the veins, lly specimens are marked ' Tonng-ngoo,' but I think tbis is 

 a mistake ; it may be found there, but the likelier localitj" is the Limestone rotks 

 in the neighbourhood of ilaulmain. 



AcEosiicniiM,- Linn. 



" Sori spread over the whole surface of the frond or upper pinnae, or occasionally 

 (apparently) over both surfaces. A large genus, almost entirely tropical, including 

 groups with a wide range in venation and cutting " — Si/nopsis. 



A. souBiFOLitTM, Linn. 



" Rhizome thick " (about the size of the little finger), "woody, often 30 or -tO 

 feet long, clasping trees like a cable, sometimes prickly; frond 12-18 inches long, 

 6-12 inches broad, simply pinnate; barren pinnae 4-8 inches long, f-2 inches broad, 

 10-20 on each side the rachis, articulated with it at the base, the edge entire or 

 toothed;" fertile pinnte smaller and narrower, but not otherwise ditfercnt. This is 

 the description of the fern in its fully developed condition. 



About the year 1860 I discovered in the extreme South of the Tenasserim 

 Provinces a most singular and elegant form of a fcru wholly new to mo, of which 

 the following may serve as a description. Roots (in the ground at the foot of a tree) 

 numerous, wiry, of the thickness of pack-thread. Caudex or proper stem none, but 

 from tlui roots was formed a slender branched rhizome no thicker than a knitting- 

 needle ; this, after having a very short lateral spread, turned and crept up the tree 

 in the form of several slender stipites, which clung to the baik by innumerable 

 minute rootlets. On these stipites, commencing almost from the ground, alternatctl 

 a series of closely set elegant pinnir aliout 2 Inches long, on either side of the rachis 

 of which were set 15 or 16 pairs of pinnules about -J- inch long, which were tlu'ui- 

 selves farther subdivided into 8 or 10 minute wedge-shaped segments, the whole 

 of a fragile, semi-transparent texture, so as to give the plant almost the appearance 

 of fine lace-woi'k. No trace of sori was to be found on any part of the plant. IScing 

 much puzzled in determining its affinity, 1 forwarded a specimen to the late Sir 

 AVilliam Hooker soon afterwards, with other ferns. He replied, inclosing nic 

 fiagnieuts of a fern found in Borneo, of a somewhat similar character, begging 

 me to "hunt for more." Accordingly, I sent my man down expressly to Packchan, 

 on our extreme South border, with directions to search till he found more of tlie 

 same, instructing him also how to press and convey the specimens safely. 1 think he 

 was gone si.x weeks, but he was successful. Among several small specimens like my 

 original one, he brotight back one some 15 or 16 feet long, carefully cut into e(|ual 

 lengtlis, and well prcs.sed. This specimen is now before me, laid out on about 

 10 large sheets of paper, all numbered, so that by putting them end to end I can 

 reproduce the whole plant in exix'llent condition. The lower part of this remarkable 

 specimen corresponds to the description just given, and the upper part to that of 

 Airoitichum sorhijolium previously given. Little by little the slender, delicate, finely 



' Ileniionitis. ^/ni<(i/os, n mule. The Greek name for some plant. 

 ^ Acrostichum. oxpiis, the summit or end ; and (rrixn, spike or rank. 



