THREE NEW LASTREAS FROM ASSAM. 



the lowest pair of pinna?, seldom on the lower 8-6 pairs, and 

 are sometimes confined to the upper part of the frond. I have had 

 difficulty in naming this plant, owing to the absence of any very 

 striking features, and to there being already a Nephrodium (Lastrea) 

 i latifrons Hook, and/ a Nephrodium (Sagen.) latifolium Baker. 



Nephrodium (Lastrea) coriaeeum, n. sp. — Comdex erect ; 

 stipes closely tufted, stout, 5-12 in. long, thickly clothed with long 

 linear hair-pointed dark chestnut scales at and near the base, and 

 above, together with main rachis, closely covered with minute 

 \f raised dark-coloured points, the scars of scales which quickly fall 

 off; raclrises rather densely furnished with dirty-brown hair-like 

 scales with adpressed ovate bases ; frond lanceolate-deltoid, acumi- 

 nate, 9-15 in. long by 6-10 in. broad, subbipinnate, with 8 or 9 

 pairs of quite free pinna?, and 20-25 pairs of small sessile falcate 

 pinna? rapidly diminishing to mere lobes in the pinnatifid apex ; 

 lowest pinn;e the longest, and at the base widened on the inferior 

 side by the prolongation of one or more pairs of pinnules ; pinna 

 diminishing in width regularly to apex, but lowest pair of pinnules 

 much longer than next above, and inferior pinnule of that pair 

 longer and broader than the superior, and more out of proportion 

 on each successive pinna towards the base of the frond ; secondary 

 pinna catadromous, except on lowest pair of pinna?, where they 

 become anadromous owing to the omission (for want of room) of 

 lowest inferior pinnules ; pinna more and more deeply cut into 

 segments downwards from confluent apex to base until pair next 

 main rachis become quite free, cordate and stalked pinnules ; in 

 large fronds two pairs of pinnules on two lowest pairs of pinna? free, 

 and these disproportionately long, inferior ones being 2^—3^ in., 

 and becoming compound at base ; segments of pinna broadly falcate, 

 rounded to a sharp point, and in upper parts of frond and pinnae 

 usually entire to near the point, where they are slightly serrated, 

 in large fronds pinnules or segments of pinna? crenate on sides, 

 lowest enlarged ones becoming pinnatifid, like the smaller pinna? ; 

 texture very thick, coriaceous, and tough, with lamina sometimes 

 opaque ; colour pale greyish green, upper surface glabrous, costa? 

 and veins below squamiferous ; veins obscurely traceable above, 

 slightly raised below, more or less visible against light, forked to 

 pinnate ; sori on inner veinlet of each group of veins, but not 

 extending to apices of segments, submarginal, and in the enlarged 

 pinnules of compound fronds appearing to be at sinus between the 

 lobes, with rarely one more on upper edge of lobes ; involucres, 

 when not shrivelled, apparently orbicular. 



Collected by Mr. Gustav Mann, Conservator of Forests, Assam, 

 at Kopili Hot Springs, North Cachar Hills, Assam, at 1000 ft. 

 elevation, February, 1890. Three pairs of mature fronds received, 

 two of which have one barren and one fertile frond each, the stipes 

 of the barren fronds being only half to three-quarters as long as 

 those of the fertile, and the barren fronds being less compound. 

 The ears, or enlarged pinnules, are parallel to the other pinnules, 

 not deflexed. The plant seems quite unique in its genus, so far as 

 Indian ferns go, the texture and cutting reminding one of small 



