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GENUS XLVII. ACROSTICHUM L. 



(Deriv. Gr. Akros, highest ; stichos, order 

 fructification at the top of the frond.) 



Veins uniform, reticulate, meshes without 

 free included veinlets, no main veins present ; 

 fronds pinnate, the upper pinnae smaller and 

 wholly covered with sporangia on the under- 

 surface. Stipes adherent to caudex. 



Acrostichum aurcum L. 



Caudex erect. Stipes tufted, naked, glossy, 

 1-2 feet long. Fronds 2-6 feet long, 1-2 feet 

 broad, pinnate, the pinnse lanceolate oblong ; 

 apex acute or blunt, sometimes retuse and 

 mucronate ; base wedge-shaped ; margin en- 

 tire ; the upper pinnae which, as a rule, are 

 fertile are sessile with the inferior base adnate 

 and decurrent on the rachis ; the lower pinnae 

 sterile and stalked. Rachis and surfaces naked. 

 Texture leathery. 



Distribution : Bombay Presidency North 

 Kanara, on the banks of salt-water creeks and 

 in marshy places near the coast. 



Tidal backwaters throughout the Indian 

 region. Throughout the world in warm places 

 near the sea. 



