iu es . CHARACTERS OF TRIBES AND GENERA. 
.. Oss.—Presl, in his “ Supplementum Tentaminis Pteri- 
 dographis," enumerates twenty-eight species of this genus, 
three of which he characterises under three distinct 
genera, but which I consider of sectional value only. In 
. the “Synopsis Filicum” the species are reduced to one 
. half of the above number. 
Fronds ovate elliptical or linear, 2 to 10 inches in length, 
bearing the fertile simple spikes; epigeous. (Ophio- 
glosswm vera.) 
Sp. O. lusitanicum, Linn. (v ei: O. pedunculosum, 
Desv, (v v.); O. nudicaule, Linn.; O. vulgatum, Linn. 
(v v.); L. reticulatum, Linn. (v v.). 
** Fronds pendulous ; the sterile segments long, ribbon-like, 
usually dichotomously branched, 2 to 10 or more fe 5 
in length. —.Epiphytal. (Ophioderma, Pr.) 
O. pendulum, Linn. (v v.) ; O. furcatum, J. Sm. (v v.)- 
297 Fronds palmate, pendulous, 6 to 10 inches long, : 
fertile spikes numerous, epiphytal. (Cheiroglossa, Pr.) : > : ; 
O. palmatum, Linn. (v v.). 
SPP Fertile spike, rising direct from the Corm. 
(Rhizoglossum, Presl.) 
SEL Bergianum, Schlecht. oe 
Oss.—This is a curious and rare little plant, a native u^ 
E : the Cape of Good Hope, having the sterile and fertile 2 
. fronds distinct, not more than half an inch in length, its 
nearest ally being O. lusitanicum, a native of the South of 
_ Europe, of recent years found in Guernsey. ` ec 
