(I) 



258 43. ASPIDIUM, EUASPIDIUM. 



rachis naked, substramineous ; veinlets slightly hairy, about 10 on a side, the 

 lowest pairs uniting ; sori nearer the edge than the midrib ; invol. orbicular, 

 membranous, reddish in the centre, scariose in the outer half. A. nephrodioides, 

 Hk. Sp. 4. p. 42. t. 235. (non Klotzsch}. 



Hab. Malay Archipelago, Seemann. This has entirely the habit and texture of an 

 ordinary Eunephrodium, but the involucre is aspidioid. 



Euaspidium. Veins anastomosing copiously. Sp. 49-55. A large number 

 of species placed here in Sp. Fil. which have the involucres of Nephrodium are 

 transferred to that genus. Aspidium, Schott. 



49. A. plantagineum, Griseb. ; st. subtufted, 3-12 in. 1., often scaly throughout; 

 fr. 6-12 in. 1., 2-4 in. br., oblong, narrowed rather suddenly at both ends, entire 

 or slightly sinuated ; texture papyraceo-herbaceous ; both sides naked ; midrib 

 below sometimes rather scaly ; primary veins distinct nearly to the edge, con- 

 nected by irregular fine areolse with free included veinlets ; sori in two rows 

 between each primary vein ; invol. often abortive. Hk. Sp. 4. p. 43. Poly- 

 podium, Jacq. Siv. A. sinuatum, Moore. 



Hab. West Indies, southward to Brazil and Peru. This belongs to the genus Bath- 

 ionium of F^e, who makes three species, and Dryomenis and Melanopteris of J. Smith. 

 Till lately it has always been placed in Polypodies. 



60. A. platanifolium, Mett. ; st. 6-12 in. 1., naked, glossy, ebeneous ; fr. 6-9 

 in. each way, never compound, cordate, palmately 3- or 5-lobed, terminal division 

 subdeltoid, acuminate, lateral ones similar but smaller, basal ones sometimes 

 blunt ; texture papyraceo-herbaceous ; midrib glossy like the stem ; principal 

 veins distinct to the edge, connected by copious small areolse with free included 

 veinlets ; sori small, scattered, very abundant ; invol. often absent. A. angu- 

 latum, Hk. Sp. 4. p. 44. (not J. Sm.) 



Hab. Malayan Islands. 



61. A. angulatum, J. Sm. (not Hk.) ; st. 1-2 ft. 1., glossy, ebeneous, scaly 

 below ; fr. 1-2 ft. L, sometimes simple, usually with a large cordate-oblong 

 entire terminal pinna and 1-2 lateral ones on each side, the lowest 6-12 in. L, 

 2-4 in. br., often forked at the base ; texture papyraceo-herbaceous ; midrib 

 glossy, ebeneous ; primary veins distinct to the edge ; arcolce fine, copious, with 

 free included veinlets ; sori small, scattered, very abundant ; invol. minute, 

 fugacious. Polypodium, Willd. 



Hab. Malayan Islands. 



52. A. trifoliatum, Swz. ; st. tufted, 1 ft. or more 1., brownish, scaly only at 

 the base ; fr. 12-18 in. L, 6-12 in. br., with a large ovate-acuminate terminal 

 pinna narrowed or forked at the base, and 1 or 2 lateral ones on each side, the 

 lowest mostly forked ; texture papyraceo-herbaceous ; primary veins distinct to 

 the edge ; areolce fine, copious, with free included veinlets ; sori in rows near 

 the main veins ; invol. 1 lin. br., orbicular, peltate. Hk. Sp. 4. p. 45. 



Hab. Tropical America, from Cuba and Mexico to Brazil and Peru. A variable 

 plant. A. heracleifolium, Willd., is a form with pinnae pinnatifid on both sides at the' 

 base, and A . fanbriatum, Willd. (A. Plumieri, Presl), a large form, with more copious 

 and more scattered sori, and a less distinctly peltate involucre. 



53. A. rcpandum, Willd. ; st. 1-2 ft. 1., naked, greyish-brown \fr. 2 ft. or more 

 1., 12-18 in. br., the apex deeply pinnatifid, with linear-oblong, slightly sinuated 

 lobes ; below this 4-8 pinnce on each side, 6-8 in. 1., lj-1^ in. br., acuminate at 

 the point, narrowed below, the edge bluntly sinuated, the lowest stalked and 

 forked j texture subcoriaceous ; main veins distinct to the edge ; areolce copious, 



