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ICONES FILICUM S1NICARTJM 



29 



PLATE 15. 



CYRTOMIUM NEPHROLEPIOIDES (Christ) Ching 



POLYPODIACEAE 



CYRTOMIUM NEPHROLEPIOIDES (Christ) Ching, comb. nov. 



Polystichum nephrolepioides Christ in Bull. Geogr. Bot. Mans (1902) 258, c. fig; C. Chr. Ind. 

 Ind. 582 (1906); Matthew in Journ. Linn. Soc. 39: 387 (1911). 



Rhizome short, strong; stipes mostly fasciculate, 3-9 cm. long, curved or erect, 

 densely clothed with reddish-brown, ovate diaphanous scales 3 mm. long, subglabrous 

 upward, terete below, sulcate above; frond nutant, linear-lanceolate, 5-28 cm. long, 3-4 

 cm. broad, simply pinnate under the terminal pinna; pinnae 4-25 on each side, 

 imbricately conferted, the lower ones scarcely reduced, deflexed, subequal, ovate, strong- 

 ly cordate at the base, very obtuse or rounded at the apex, shortly petiolate, entire, 

 opaque, brownish-green, thick coriaceous, glabrous smooth above, corrugated beneath, 

 margin narrowly reflexed; viens hidden, close, anastomosing in a row of large oblique 

 hexagonal areolae each with 1 included soriferous veinlet, free towards margin with 

 thickened apex; sori uniseriate or 2 at the base, 5-6 on each side, medial, i\ mm. broad 

 rounded, inducium small, peltate; deciduous. 



Distribution: Kweichow. 



A rare little fern endemic in the province of Kweichow, and its discovery is 

 indebted to Pere J. Esquirol, 1898. It differs from all its relatives b}' nodding character 

 of its frond with rather small ovate-cordate entire pinnae of a thick coriaceous texture. 

 Its anastomosed veins unmistakably indicate its proper genus; and a correction regard- 

 ing venation in Christ's diagnosis must be made. — R. C. C. 



Plate 15. Fig. 1. Habit sketch (natural size). 2. A pinna, showing venation and sori (x 3). 

 3. A detached sorus with inducium (x 52). 4. Scales from stipe (x 8). 





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