160 



3. Nephrolepis acuta Presl. 



Rhizome erect, stoloniferous. Stipes tufted, 

 naked, or scaly. Fronds up to eight feet or 

 more long, drooping ; pinnae up to eight inches 

 long, if inches broad, acuminate, margin cre- 

 nate or the crenatures again crenate, upper base 

 rarely shortly auricled, lower base rounded. 

 Surfaces and rachis hairy when young but 

 naked in age. Texture almost leathery. Sori 

 near the margin. Indusium kidney-shaped or 

 almost round. 



Distribution : Bombay Presidency. North 

 Kanara, Supa, pendent from dripping rocks. 



South India, on the North Arcot Hill at no 

 great elevation ; Ceylon ; North India ; Chit- 

 tagong Hills up to 1,000 feet. Tropical 

 Africa. 



Also cultivated in gardens. 



Var. fur cans having the pinnae once or more 

 forked is common in gardens. It is wrongly 

 advertised and known as N. davallioides 

 var. furcans not noticed by us in Bombay. 



4. Nephrolepis exaltata Schott. 

 Rhizome almost erect, giving off numerous 

 wiry creeping stolons. Stipes tufted, scaly. 

 Fronds 1-3 feet long, 3-6 inches broad, pinnate; 



