BRAKES. In Scotland, BRACKEN. 



PTERIS AQUILINA of Authors. 

 Pteris femina. Gray. 



LOCALITIES. 



ENGLAND. 



. 



IRELAND. J 



Universally distributed. 



BY a reference to Presl's " Tentamen Pteridographiae," it 

 will be seen that the Linnean genus Pteris has undergone much 

 subdivision, 'and that our British species, Pteris Aquilina, is by 

 that author referred to the genus Allosorus of Bernhardi ; but, 

 unfortunately, in this genus he has included species which 

 scarcely possess a single character in common ; and moreover 

 the Allosori Aquilini, to which our species belongs, constitute 

 the third and not the typical subdivision of the genus. It is 

 therefore needful either to institute a new genus for the recep- 

 tion of the Allosori Aquilini of Presl, or to restore to them their 

 ancient generic name. Not feeling competent to the former, I 

 adopt the latter course, hoping that some professed botanist 

 will ere long undertake to classify the heterogeneous species at 

 present included in this extensive genus. The species of Pteris 

 are distributed over every region of the earth, but by far the 

 greater number are intertropical. 



Pteris Aquilina, the common Brakes, is the most abundant of 



