92 



not constant. Sori continuous along nearly 

 the whole length of the edge. 



This fern was growing in Mr. W. S. Millard's 

 Fernery on Malabar Hill in 1918. How it 

 came to be there Mr. Millard was at a loss to 

 explain. He had certainly not cultivated it. 

 Possibly some spores finding his fernery a 

 congenial place for their development germi- 

 nated there giving rise to a stately plant. The 

 frond sent to the St. Xavier's College Museum 

 for examination had a stipe 5-6 feet long and 

 was 4-5 feet each way. There are several goodly 

 specimens of this fern in the Victoria Gardens. 



Distribution : Abundant on the Himalayas 

 from Chumba to Bhotan, 3,000-8,000 feet ; 

 Khasya -Philippines, Java and Samoa. 



8. Pteris aquilina L. 



Rhizome stout, creeping extensively beneath 

 the surface of the ground. Stipes erect, naked, 

 arising at intervals from the rhizome, dark- 

 coloured at the lower extremity which is cover- 

 ed by the soil. Frond decompound, almost 

 triangular in form, apex pinnate, below it are 

 ovate pinnae which become gradually more and 

 more divided downwards until the lowest ones 

 are pinnate with lanceolate pinnules cut down 



