

Aspidium.] - filices. 455 



6. A. ciliatam, Wall. Catal.n. 351. Stems short, ascending. Fronds 

 simply pinnate, ^ to 1 ft. high, with a few short brown scales on the stipes, 

 and more or less hispid or downy especially on the rhachis and principal veins. 

 Pinnae numerous, sessile, linear-lanceolate, acuminate or obtuse, regularly 

 pinnatifid, the longer ones 1 to 2 in. long, passing into a pinnatifid apex, and 

 the lowest 1 or 2 pair much shorter ; the lobes ovate-falcate, reaching about 

 halfway to the midrib. Veins pinnate, those of adjoining lobes free, Sori 

 few to each lobe, usually near the midrib. Indusium reniform or sometimes 

 peltate, ciliate. — Lastrea ciliata, Hook, in Kew Journ. Bot. ix. 338. 



Common in ravines, Bowman ; in a ravine near the top of Mount Gongh, Wilford. In 

 the Indian Peninsula and in Khasia. Nearly allied to and perhaps a variety of the Javanese 

 A. calcaratum, Blume, but that appears always to have much longer, narrower, and more 

 acute lobes to the pinnse. 



7. A. Thelypteris, Sw.; Willd. Spec. v. 249. Rhizome creeping. Fronds 

 | to 2 ft. high, slender, glabrous or slightly pubescent, simply pinnate, with- 

 out scales to the stipes. Pinnse numerous, sessile, lanceolate or linear-oblong, 

 deeply pinnatifid, the longest If in. to 2 § long, passing into the pinnatifid apex, 

 the lowest pair smaller. Lobes numerous, usually oblong and obtuse. Veins 

 pinnate, those of adjoining lobes free. Sori in 2 rows not far from the margin 

 of the lobes, often covering the whole surface when old. Indusium usually 

 reniform but soon disappearing. — Lastrea gracilescens, Hook, in Kew Journ. 

 Bot. ix. 338. 



Hongkong, Harland ; on the hanks of a ditch at Pockfoolan, Wilford. Widely distributed 

 over Europe, temperate Asia, and N. America ; also in northern India and in Java and New 

 Zealand, if the A. gracilescens, Blume, and A. squamulosum, Kaulf., be really specifically 

 identical, as they appear to be. 



8. A. falcilobum, Hook. Very near the last, but taller and firmer, the 

 rhachis much more pubescent and often the pinnae also ; the pinnae falcate, 

 more acuminate, attaining 4 in. in length, and their lobes lanceolate-falcate 

 and acute. — Lastrea falciloba, Hook, in Kew Journ. Bot. ix. 338. 



Hongkong, Harland. Also in Eastern Bengal. 



9. A. molle, Sw. ; Willd. Spec. v. 246. Rhizome horizontal or shortly 

 creeping. Fronds 1 to 2 or sometimes 3 feet high, simply pinnate, more or 

 less pubescent, and rather slender, usually of a light green. Pinnae lanceo- 

 late, acuminate, the longest 2 to 4 in. long, pinnatifid, truncate at the base ; 

 lobes ovate or oblong, obtuse, sometimes very short, sometimes reaching half- 

 way to the midrib, the lowest inner one often longer. Veins pinnate, the 

 lowest of adjoining lobes anastomosing. Sori distinct, only near the midrib 

 or in 2 rows, but not close to the margin. Indusium reniform, usually ciliate 

 and soon disappearing. — Nephrodium molle, Schott ; Hook, in Kew Journ. 

 Bot. ix. 340. 



Common in ravines, Hinds and others. Abundant in most tropical countries in the New 

 and the Old World, and everywhere variable in size, pubescence, and arrangement of the sori. 



Var. latipinna. Seldom above 1 ft. high and often much smaller, the pubescence usually 

 minute. Pinnse few, thin, of a light green, 1 to 2 in. long, broader and less deeply lobed 

 than in the common varieties, the apex of the frond long-lanceolate, broad and deeply pinna- 

 tifid. , . 



Hongkong, Champion, Harland, Hance ; among rocks, in damp situations, at Little Hong- 

 kong, Wilford. 



