Adiantmn.] filices. 447 



articulate on a petiole of 1 to 4 lines, obliquely oblong-falcate, usually near 1 

 in. long and 3 to 4 lines broad, rounded on the outer edge, and nearly entire, 

 with almost continuous sori, thin and glabrous. Veins dichotomous, proceed- 

 ing from the base or lower edge. Rhachis in the Chinese specimens usually 

 terminating in a segment rather longer than the lateral ones, in others it is 

 often leafless and rooting at the extremity. 



Hongkong, Harland. Extends over the tropical regions both of the New and the Old 

 World. 



2. A. caudatum, Hook. Spec. Ml. ii. 13; Exot. Fl. t. 104. Fronds 

 tufted, 1 to \\ ft. long, simply pinnate, usually leafless and rooting at the ex- 

 tremity. Segments numerous, small, sessile or nearly so, obliquely oblong- 

 falcate, cuneate at- the base ; the upper side more or less deeply divided into 

 naiTow-cuneate lobes, each bearing at its extremity a short sorus. Veins 

 forked, primary ones prominent and fan-like. Both surfaces as well as the 

 rhachis more or less hairy ; the larger segments 5 to 8 lines long, gradually 

 decreasing towards the top of the frond. 



In moist situations about Little Hongkong, Wilford, Urquhart ; also Wright. Through- 

 out India, from Ceylon and the Peninsula to the Archipelago, and northward to the Hima- 

 laya, S. China, and Japan. 



3. A. flabellulatum, Linn. ; Hook. Spec. Fil. ii. 30. Fronds tufted 

 f to 1^ ft. high ; the stipes forked and pedate or dichotomous, or rarely with 

 3 or 4 pinnate branches, each pinna 3 to 6 in. long and pinnate. Segments 

 numerous, obliquely fan-shaped or almost trapezoid, 4 to 8 lines long, articu- 

 late on a short petiolule, thin and glabrous. Veins dichotomous, starting 

 from the base. Sori interrupted, oblong or linear, either occupying the whole 

 outer edge, or a portion of it barren and denticulate. 



Common in the island, Lorrain, Urquhart, Wilford. In Ceylon, northern India, the 

 Malayan Peninsula, and the Archipelago, and common in S. China, extending northward to 

 Poochowfoo and Chusan. 



12. PTERIS, Linn. 



Sori linear, continuous along the margin of the frond-segments, with a 

 continuous indusium proceeding from the margin and opening along the inner 

 edge. Spore-cases inserted on the frond itself, under the indusium. — Fronds 

 usually large and compound, from a tufted stock or creeping rhizome, rarely 

 small or nearly simple. Veins simple, forked or reticulate, with or without a 

 midrib. 



A large genus distributed over the greater part of the globe. 



Pronds simply pinnate with entire pinnae, not decurrent 1. P. longifolia. 



Pronds very unequally bipiunate or pinnate with the lower pinna) di- 

 vided, the uppermost confluent or decurrent. 



Lower primary pinna) divided on one side only 2. P. semipinnata. 



Lower primary pinna? divided on both sides or 2-lobed. 



Primary pinna) all distinct except the terminal one 3. P. crenata. 



Primary pinna) mostly decurrent and confluent ...... 4. P. semdata. 



Pronds pinnate, or with the lower pinna) divided. Pinna) numerous, 



regularly pinnatifid, with numerous segments 5. P. nemoralis. 



Pronds thrice pinnate, with numerous pinna) and segments .... 6. P. aquilina. 



1. P. longifolia, Linn. ; HooJc. Spec Fill 51. Rhizome short, knotty. 



