is glossy. Tlie substance is softly membranous, and the plant partly ad- 

 heres to paper in drying. 



The plant here figured appears to be obviously referable to 

 Greville's C. asplenioides, though the growth be more luxuriant 

 and the pinnules proportionably longer. Dr. Greville, in the 

 Annals of Nat. Hist., has correctly figured iypical specimens of 

 the plants, which he regards as distinct species, under the names 

 " taxifolia " and " asplenioides" and formerly 1 coincided with 

 him in upholding both these forms as species. But having my- 

 self collected the var. "asplenioides'' in abundance at Ceylon, 

 and in different localities at the Friendly Islands, and received 

 both it and the var. " iaxifolia " from various correspondents, I 

 find so much variation in both, and so many puzzlingly interme- 

 diate forms, that I am forced to unite all under one name. There 

 is fully as much difference among my T'riendly Island specimens, 

 between those collected in the quiet waters of the lagoon and 

 those from the outer reef, as I find in those from opposite hemi- 

 spheres. Again, on some of my West Indian specimens (from 

 Miss Dix) of " C. taxifoUa,'' some of the ramuli taper gradu- 

 ally to the point, and others are obtuse and mucronulate : a 

 similar variation occurs in Mr. Wright's specimen of " C. asple- 

 nioides," from Hongkong. Kiitzing's " C. falcata" from west- 

 ern Africa, is quite like ordinary forms of C. taxifoUa ; so also is 

 the figure of " C. pennata" Lamx., as above quoted. I am not 

 acquainted with Greville's " C. pinnata." 



Fig, 1. Cahleepa taxifolia, — the natural size. 2. One of the pinnae, — mag- 

 nified. 



