SCOLOPENDRIUM. 227 



GENUS VIII. 



SCOLOPENDRIUM. Smith. 



Caudex brief, stout, erect, or decumbent, and rarely sub- 

 creeping, an illustration of this rare character being represented 

 in Plate XLIX. 



Fronds thick, herbaceous, and in the normal form simple; 

 but the varieties are so numerous that the departures from 

 the usual form must be mentioned when describing each 

 variety. 



Sori indusiate, linear, frequently elongated, situated close 

 together in parallel pairs. 



Indusium membranaceous, twin, the twin sorus opening 

 along the centre. 



Veins forked from a central costa, and terminating within 

 the margin in club-shaped apices. 



Scolopendriam is confined to one species in Great Britain, 

 namely, Scolopendrium vulyare, and is a small genus in any 

 country. The late Sir W. J. Hooker, in his "Species Filicum," 

 gives the following: — 



1. — Vulgare, Smith. Europe. 



2. — Hemionitis, Sicartz. South of France. 



3. — Pinnatum, /. Smith. Luzon. 



4. — Brasiliense, Kimze. Brazil. 



5. — Douglasii, Hooker. Brazil. 



6. — Nigripcs, Hooker. Mexico. 



7. — Rhizophyllum, Hooker. United States of America. 



8. — Sibirica, Hooker. Siberia. 



