ICONES FILICUM SINICARUM 



55 



PLATE 28. 



BLECHNUM EBURNEUM Christ 





raven s 



r 



BLECHNUM EBURNEUM Christ in Bull. Geogr. Bot. Mans (1902) 233, c. fig.; C. Chr. Ind. 



153 (1906); Matthew in Journ. Linn. Soc. 39: 351 (1911). 



Rhizome rather long, 4 mm. thick, oblique, clothed with dark brown, lanceolate 

 subulate scales 1 cm. long, entirely glabrous in other parts; stipes fasciculate, those of 

 the sterile fronds 48 cm. long, those of the fertile somewhat longer, rigid, thick as 



quill, reddish straminous; the sterile frond 20-30 cm. long, 2.5-4 cm. broad, 

 elongate lanceolate, acuminate, gradually attenuate towards the base, pinnate; rachis 

 quite distinctly sulcate above, terete underneath; pinnae 30-58 on each side, the lower 

 ones strongly reduced into auricles, the upper ones closely pectinato-patent with very 

 narrow acute sinuses, linear-lanceolate, falcate, broadly adnate but not decurrent and 

 dilated on the upper side at the base, 1.8-2.5 cm. long, 4 mm. broad, very entire and 

 acute, texture toughly coriaceous, whitish below and pale green above, margin strongly 

 reflexed, provided at the point of insertion with the rachis with a dark brown deciduous 

 linear scale; veins hidden completely; fertile frond as long as or slightly longer than the 

 sterile, strongly attenuate towards the base, pinnate, pinnae numerous, remote, the 

 lower ones about i cm. apart and much closer upward, adnate but contracted above 

 the base with round broad sinuses, linear, pod-like, apiculate, 



* 



broad, plane above, inflated below; inducium persistent, shining green, convex, 

 ring the entire sorus. 



Distribution: Szechwan, Hupeh, Kweichow. 



1 



To characterize this very distinct species, it deems fit to quote Christ's states 

 ment, "Espece tres particuliere par son tissu durement coriace, sa couleur claire, se- 

 pinnae fertiles enflees par des sores cylindrique a indusie persistent". This unique 

 fern was first collected by Pere J. Bodinier, Nov. 4. 1897, in the vicinity of Kweiyang, 

 Kweichow, on rocks by the stream, and about simultaneously by Rev. E. Faber in Omei 

 Shan, W. Szechwan, the latter specimen was identified by Baker at Kew as B. spicant 

 (L.) Wither. It is most likely as Dr. Christensen remarked that all B. spicant reported 

 from W. China by earlier collectors is B. eburneum Christ.. , 



Plate28. Fig. 1. Habit sketch (natural size). 2. A fertile pinna (x 6). 3. The same, a cross 



section, showing inducium and attachment of sporangia (x 16). 4. Two sporangia with spores (x 

 75). 5- Scales from rhizonte (x 30). 





ij cm. long, 2\ mm. 



cover- 



