115 



Below is a description of the two varieties 

 given by Beddome in his Handbook. 



Var. pectinata Wall ? Very finely cut, tri- 

 pinnate, four-pinnatifid, bright-green ; rachis 

 slender, but scarcely succumbent or grooved 

 when dry ; involucre sub-quadrate, or short 

 oblong, little horseshoe-shaped, sub-persistent. 



Distribution : Bombay Presidency Maha- 

 bleshwar; Sind. 



Himalayas, Sikkim to Gurwhal, 2,000-5,000 

 feet ; Parasnath, 4,000-5,000 feet ; mountains 

 of the Godavari and Central India ; Mount 

 Abu. 



Var. fldbelhilata Clarke. Two-pinnate; rachis 

 firm, round when dry, fronds red, 1-3 feet ; 

 secondary pinnae deeply pinnatifid ; segments 

 laciniate, i.e. deeply cut, involucre small, 

 fugaceous ; sori scattered, round. 



Distribution : Bombay Presidency Maha- 

 bleshwai. Sikkim, 13,000 feet, Yakla ; Jongri. 



5. Athyrium gymnogrammoides Bedd. 



Fronds large, 5-6 feet long, 2-3 pinnate ; 

 pinnae 12-16 inches long, secondary pinnae up 

 to 4j inches long, i J-inch broad ; either deeply 

 cut almost to the winged rachis, or pinnate, the 

 wing being absent. Ultimate segments oblong, 



