TIIYRSOPTKUTS. — DICKSONIA. G5 



or fhi/rsoj(Ial raceme or jyanicle^ and the sari are /{talked. 

 Main racliis stoutj woolly (the wool deciduous), with a deep 

 furrow on one side ; it and the stipes unarmed. Hook. Gen. 

 FiL. TAJi. 44, A. 



1. T. eleyans, Kzc. in Linnwa, ix. 506 ; and in Schk. Fil. 

 Suppl. p. 3, tab. 1. " Panicularia Bcrteri, A. Colla, iMemor. 

 Act. Torin. v. xxxix. p. 33, /. 64." 



Hal). In moist woorly, sliaily, and inonnUiinous places, .Juan Fernandez > 

 liertero, ls;K), (». ir>;>7). — Of this beautiful Fern, fine specimens were sent 

 me by its lamented discoverer, marked "Cyathea ? an potius Aneinii;c sp. ?" 

 and indeed the nature ol the fronds and the thyrsoid character of the fruc- 

 tilications would.induce one at first sic;litto suppose it would naturally rank 

 near the latter j;eniis: but the fructiheation is totally at variance with thai, 

 and may be considered identical with (.'i/athea, so far as ihe structure of the 

 involucres and capsules and receptacles is concerned; nor am T yet sure 

 that its proper place is not among Cyaihcous plants. The terminal sori, 

 however, upon the veins, and the general appearance of the fronds, lead 

 to the conclusion that its natural position is near the true Dichsonia;. 

 Kunze remarks that " this Fern is said to liave a caudex as thick as a walk- 

 ing-stick ; whence it lias been supposed to be aiboresceut." Bertero is silent 

 in regard to the trunk, in his notes accompanying my specimens, and Prcsl 

 does not allude to il. Cut the latter author says " An huic gcneri adnu- 

 mcranda est ('honla ATolinaj, qiire arbor, trunco atronitente a Chilcnsis ad 

 baculos praidilcctos usitato, foliis multidivisis, divisiouibus teuuibus, baccis 

 racemosis quae hucusque ad Pahnas relata fuit." 



7. DiCKSONi.A, LHerit. 



Balantium, Kaulf. Culcita, Pr. Le])topleuria, Pr. Cys- 

 todium, J. Sm. Patania, Pr. Sitolobiuin, Desv. 



Sori situated at the margin of the frond, and always from 

 tlie apex of a vein. Involucres subglobose or rcniform, cori- 

 aceous or membranaceous, formed, in part, of a more or less 

 changed lobule of the frond and of the proper involucre more 

 or less united, generally recurved, 2-valved t)r entire, fre- 

 quently (in the subgenus Patania) cup-.s]iapcd or cam))anu- 

 late. Receptacle more or less elevated. Capsules sessile or 

 stipitate, with an incomplete ring. — Tropical Ferns, or inha- 

 biting temperate climates, chiejbj in the southern hemisphere, 

 one in N. America ; sometimes arborescent. Fronds gene- 

 rally ample, various in composition, frequently mucJi divid- 

 ed into small, coriaceous or membranaceous pinnules. \'cins 

 pinnated, simple or forked. — Hook. Gen. Fil. tam. '20. (Ua- 

 lantium, Kaulf. ; but the original Dicksonia, L'llerit.). 'J\\i!. 



60, A. (Culcita, Pr.). Tab. 60, B. (Leptopleuria, Pr.). Tah. 

 96. (Cystodium, ./. Sm.). 'J'ah. (H, A. (Dicksonia, Pr.). Tai$. 



61, B. (Patania, Pr.) 



Ons. It is not without the most careful consideratidu that I am induced 



F 



