POL 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



POL 



381 



these seldom exceed an inch and quarter in length, and lie 

 commonly close upon the ground, or on rocks. Native of 

 South Amer-ica, and Jamaica, but rare in that island. 



11. Poly podium Immersum; Immerse-fruited Polypody. 

 Fronds oblong, lanceolate or oblong, very blunt, acute at 

 the base, quite entire, smooth ; fructifications in rows, im- 

 mersed. Native of the East Indies. 



12. Polypodium Heterophyllum ; Various-leaved Polypody. 

 Fronds crenate, smooth, the barren ones roundish, sessile, 

 the fertile ones lanceolate; fructifications solitary. Native 

 of South America. 



13. Polypodium Crassifolium ; Thick-leaved Polypody. 

 Fronds lanceolate, smooth, quite entire ; fructifications in 

 rows. Native of South America. 



14. Polypodium Phyllitidis. Fronds lanceolate, smooth, 

 quite entire ; fructifications scattered. This grows in South 

 America and Jamaica, on the trunks of old trees, like our 

 common Polypody. 



15. Polypodium Comosum ; Many-cleft Polypody. Fronds 

 lanceolate, smooth, quite entire, multifid at the top : fructi- 

 fications scattered. Native of South America. 



16. Polypodium Trifurcatum ; Three-cleft Polypody. 

 Fronds lanceolate, smooth, repand-sinuate, three-lobed at 

 top. Native of South America. This, like the preceding, 

 is suspected to be nearly allied to the fourteenth species. 



17. Polypodium Lineare. Fronds linear-lanceolate, entire, 

 smooth ; fructifications solitary. Native of Japan, flowering 

 there in October. 



18. Polypodium Ensatum ; Sword-leaved Polypody. Frond 

 elliptic, ensiform, smooth, entire; fructifications scattered. 

 Native of Japan. 



** Frond pinnatifid, with the Lobes coadunate. 



19. Polypodium Pica. Frond simple, cordate, three- 

 lobed; lobes lanceolate, subulate, eared at the base, the 

 middle one elongated. Native of Madagascar. 



'20. Polypodium Phymatoides. Fronds simple, bifid, or 

 five-lobed, lanceolate, above the fructifications warted. 

 Native of the East Indies. 



21. Polypodium Pendulum; Pendulous Polypody. Fronds 

 pinnatifid, subsessile, smooth, pendulous; lobes oblong, 

 bluntish. Native of Jamaica. 



22. Polypodium Hastatum ; Hastate-leaved Polypody. 

 Frond trifid, hastate. Native of Japan. 



23. Polypodium Crispatum ; Curl-leaved Polypody. Fronds 

 pinnatifid, smooth; lobes semi-orbicular, crenate. Native 

 of South America. 



24. Polypodium Incisum ; Gash-leaved Polypody. Fronds 

 lanceolate, pinnatifid; lobes rounded, the lower cleft and 

 united. Native of Jamaica. 



25. Polypodium Trichomanoides. Fronds pinnatifid, some- 

 what hairy ; lobes semiovate, obtuse. Native of Jamaica. 



26. Polypodium Myosuroides. Fronds pinnatifid, smooth ; 

 lobes united into a lanceolate top, fructiferous, the lower 

 ones remote. Native of Jamaica. 



27. Polypodium Suspensum. Fronds pinnatifid, smooth; 

 lobes semi-acute. Native of South America. 



28. Polypodium Asplenifolium. Fronds pinnatifid, hairy; 

 lobes semi-acute. Native of South America. 



29. Polypodium Vulgare; Common Polypody. Fronds pin- 

 natifid; pinnas oblong, subserrate, blunt; root scalv. The 

 lower pinnas are frequently barren. The thick roots are 

 clothed with long, chaffy, rusty, or golden scales ; and the 

 fronds are erect, a span high, including their stalks, rather 

 glaucous beneath ; with large golden copious dots of cap- 

 sules. The root was employed as a purgative by the ancients, 

 and being thought useful in expelling bile and pituitous 



humours, was recommended in insanity and melancholy ; 

 though, to act as a cathartic, the root must be given in its 

 recent state, and in a large dose. As a pectoral, it seems 

 to promise more advantage; and, joined with liquorice, has 

 produced good effects in coughs and asthmatic affections. 

 Withering observes, that the root is sweetish to the taste, 

 but by long boiling it becomes bitter. When fresh it is a 

 gentle purgative, and the best way of taking it is in au infu- 

 sion ; six drachms of the root is a sufficient quantity for a 

 pint of boiling water, and that is enough for two doses. 

 Meyrick also asserts, that the root is a safe and gentle pur- 

 gative, and may be taken either in an infusion or decoction, 

 in which forms it generally operates by urine as well as stool. 

 It is serviceable in the jaundice and dropsy, and is likewise 

 an excellent ingredient in diet-drinks for scorbutic disorders. 

 It is very common throughout Europe, in woods and shady 

 lanes, on the old stumps of trees, and on rocks and walls ; 

 in fructification from June to October. There are several 

 varieties : the most remarkable is that which has been long 

 noticed under the name of Welsh Polypody, and which Lin- 

 neus and some others consider as a distinct species. In it 

 the pinnas are pinnatifid, and the lobes serrate; and therefore 

 is certainly, says Lightfbot, only a variety of the common sort, 

 as I have had frequent opportunities of determining by ob- 

 serving its different gradations. In this state it is analogous 

 to a double flower among the more perfect plants ; and there- 

 fore never produced fructifications. This is also observed 

 in a variety of Asplenium Scolopendrum, which see. 



30. Polypodium Virginianum ; Virginian Polypody, Fronds 

 pinnatifid; pinnas oblong, subserrate, blunt; root smooth. 

 Native of Virginia. 



31. Polypodium Otites. Fronds pinnatifid; lobes lance- 

 olate, alternate, blunt, distant. Native of America. 



32. Polypodium Incanum ; Hoary Polypody. Fronds pin- 

 natifid; pinnas lanceolate, blunt, distant, spreading, entire 

 underneath, and on the stipe hoary scaleletted. It rises in 

 tufts, and seldom exceeds ten or twelve inches in length. 

 Native of Jamaica, in low, cool, and shady places. 



33. Polypodium Pustulatuni; Fronds pinnatifid, even ; 

 pinnas oblong, entire, acuminate. Native of Jamaica. 



34. Polypodium Scandens ; Scandent Polypody. Fronds 

 pinnatifid, even; pinnas linear, blunt, waved, distant ; run- 

 ners rooting, scandent. Native of Jamaica. 



35. Polypodium Pectinatum. Fronds pinnatifid, lanceo- 

 late ; lobes approximating, ensiform, parallel, acute, hori- 

 zontal ; root naked. Native of Jamaica and Egypt. 



36. Polypodium Taxifolium; Yew-leaved Polypody, Fronds 

 pinnatifid ; lobes approximating, ensiform, parallel, acute, 

 ascending ; root rough-haired. Native of South America. 



37. Polypodium Struthionis; Ostrich-feathered Polypody. 

 Fronds pinnatifid; lobes approximating, ensiform, repand, 

 horizontal. The whole figure of the frond resembles an 

 ostrich feather, except in bekig more flat together, thougli 

 each segment is wavy. Native of South America. 



38. Polypodium Squamatum; Scaly Polypody. Fronds 

 pinnatifid, rugged; pinnas lanceolate, distant, horizontal, 

 quite entire. Native of South America. 



39. Polypodium Loriceum. Fronds pinnatifid, even ; pin- 

 nas lanceolate, distant, horizontal, repand. Native of South 

 America. 



40. Polypodium Alatum ; Winged Polypody. Fronds pin- 

 natifid, even ; pinnas oblong, distant, toothed. Native of 

 South America. 



41. Polypodium Ellipticum; Elliptic-leaved Polypody. 

 Fronds pinnatifid ; piniuts elliptic, even, entire ; shoot creep- 

 ing. Native of Japan. 



