144 TRICHOMANES. 



In October of the same year Mr. Mackay had the good fortune to find an 

 abundant station, and in fine fructification, in the county of Kerry ; and 

 his sj)cciniens were published in ' English Botany ' in the following year, 

 and distributed among botanists, and to cultivators at home and abroad. 

 In 1K0(>, Mr. Nuttall detected the plant in Hermilage-glen, county of 

 Wicklow, where, as at Powerscourt, and I fear in Mr. Andrews' station, it 

 has been almost exterminated by the rapacity of collectors. Botanists are 

 sometimes taunted with illiberality in concealing the stations of rare plants; 

 but there is often a necessity for it. About eight years ago, Mr. Robt. 

 Ball detected a new station in the county of Waterford. 



Dr. Presl's recent work, entitled ' Hymenophyllaceae,' published at 

 " Prague, 1843,'' in 4lo., with 12 plates, has only reached our hands at the 

 period when our two genera, Hj/menophyUum and Trichomanes, were al- 

 most wholly in type; so that it lias been impossible to refer to it under our 

 species. It is too important a publication to pass over in silence, and I 

 cannot do better than to give here an enumeration of the Genera (19 in 

 number) and Species into which this acute observer has thought proper to 

 divide the group ; premising, however, that 1 cannot agree with the author 

 in thus multiplying genera, which do not appear well marked either with 

 regard to habit, or to characteristic distinctions. The venation is too 

 uniform to afford any good or tangible marks, and the variations of form 

 in the involucre or indusium is more useful as aflfording specific, rather 

 than generic characters. 



Conspectus of the Genera and Species of Presl's 



' HYMENOPHYLLACE^,' 



(including Hymenophylluin. and Trichomanes^ Sm.) 



Trib. I. TrichomanoidejE, Pr. 



(This group corresponds with the genus Trichomanes, Sm. '■'■Involucre 



tubular unth an elongated receptacle capsuliferous at the base "). 



Sect. 1. TrichomanejE, Pr. 



I. Feea, Bory. — F. polypodina, Bory (Trich. spicatum, Hedw.). F. nana, 



Bory. 



II. Hymenostachys, Bory. — H. elegans, Pr. (Trich. elegans, Rudye). 



H. osmundioides, Pr. (H. diversifrons, Bory, according to Presl, and 

 if so, surely not distinct from H. elegans). — The author does not ap- 

 pear to have had specimens of this genus under his view ; for he re- 

 marks, " if the sterile fronds have anastomosing veins, as shown in 

 Hook. Gen. Fil. t. 108, the genus Hymenostachys must be widely se- 

 parated from Feea, and be placed after Trichomanes and near Nemo- 

 phyllum:" — than which nothing can be more at variance with nature. 



III. Lecanium, Pr. Tab. I. — L. membranaceum, Pr. (Trichomanes, L.) 



IV. Cardiomanes, Pr. — C. reniforme, Pr. (Trichomanes, Forst.) 



V. Trichomanes, Pr. Tab. II. A, B. Tab. III. A, B, C. Tab. IV. A.— 



§ I. Achomanes, Pr. T. pellucidum, Kze. T. Kaulfussii, Hook. T. 

 fastigiatum, Sieb. {MS.). T. hetcrophyllum, Willd. T. cristatum, 

 Kaidf. T. Martiusii,' Pr. (T pilosum, Mart. Crypt. Bras. t. G8,fiy. 

 dextra). T. Plumula,^ Pr. (T. pilosum, Mart. I. c. t. 68,Jiy. sitiistra). 



« Trich. crispum, nob. supra. ' T. crispum, nob. supra. 



