POLY PODIACEAE 57 
4. P. biaurita L. 
Roots clothed with soft brown hairs. Caudex stout, erect, somewhat 
woody, paleaceous at the tip. Stipes clustered, green, somewhat paleaceous 
near the base, otherwise glabrous, 20 to 60 cm high. Fronds oblong, 30 
to 60 cm long, simply pinnate above, the basal pinnae usually once forked, 
the terminal pinna usually longer than the lateral ones; pinnae 6 to 12 
pairs, lanceolate, 9 to 20 em long, 2.5 to 4 cm wide, acuminate, cut nearly 
to the costa into numerous, oblong, obtuse, entire, somewhat falcate, spread- 
ing lobes, the sinuses often as wide as, or wider than the lobes; veins 
anastomosing along the costa forming a single row of narrow areolae, those 
in the lobes free, usually once forked. Sorus continuous along the margin 
or interrupted at the sinuses and apices of the lobes. 
In dry thickets Masambong, Guadalupe, etc.; widely distributed in the 
Philippines. All tropical countries. 
d. P. tripartita Sw. . 
A coarse tufted fern from a stout, short, erect caudex. Stipes 30 to 
100 cm high, stout, erect, smooth, green. Frond glabrous, tripartite, spread- 
ing from the apex of the stipe, the central part simply pinnate, up to 60 
em long, the pinnae numerous, 15 to 25 cm long, 2 to 3 em broad, oblong- 
lanceolate, acuminate, cut half-way or more to the costa into oblong, falcate, 
obtuse lobes, the sterile ones slightly toothed; lateral divisions usually 
branched, similar to the middle one but shorter; lateral veins fine, distinctly 
anastomosing. Sori usually continuous around the sinus but not reaching 
to the ends of the lobes. 
Not uncommon in gardens, brought in from the provinces; widely dis- 
tributed in the Philippines. Tropical Africa and Asia to Polynesia and 
Australia. 
13. POLYPODIUM Linnaeus 
Rootstocks creeping or erect, the stipes scattered, jointed to the root- 
stock. Fronds simple and entire, pinnatifid, or pinnate, rarely more com- 
pound, glabrous, scaly, or hairy, the veins free or anastomosing. Sori 
round, oblong, or linear, superficial or sunk in cavities, usually very num- 
erous, dorsal. Indusium none. (Greek ‘‘many” and “feet.”) 
A very large, polymorphous genus, with over 800 species, in both 
hemispheres, mostly tropical, few in temperate regions, about 115 in the 
Philippines, a single one in our area, aside from casual species like P. 
punctatum which are occasionally brought in from the provinces. 
1. P. phymatodes L. 
A rather coarse fern, usually fragrant in drying. Rootstock widely 
creeping, stout, often glaucous, bearing few, scattered, deciduous, fibrillose 
scales, becoming nearly glabrous. — Stipes 5 to 30 em high, erect, glabrous. 
Stipes 5 to 30 em high, erect, glabrous, shining. Frond exceedingly variable, 
coriaceous, glabrous, sometimes simple, entire, and lanceolate to oblong, 
obtuse to acuminate, 5 to 20 cm long, or more often pinnatifid into segments 
similar in shape and size to the simple fronds above described, reaching a 
length of 50 cm, the sinuses rounded, extending nearly to the midrib, some- 
times only 3-lobed; veins indistinct. Sori large and prominent, in two 
rows on each lobe, or scattered, brown, round to elliptic, 4 to 5 mm in 
diameter. 
