166 PTERIS. 



referred to Pt. crenata, S\v. As M. Fee however remarks that his plant so 

 nunihered is not the Pt. eraiala, Sw., it is probahle that some other Fern has 

 been distributed, having the same nnmber, but with which we are not acquainted. 



15. Pt. (Eupteris) lieterophylla, L. ; a span to a foot high, 

 caudex scarcely any, roots hbrous csespitose, fronds suljniem- 

 branaceous ovate bi-tripinnate, pinnae and pinnules subop- 

 posite, pinnules of the sterile fronds obovato-oblong obtuse 

 deeply and coarsely serrated the obliquely cuneate base ta- 

 pering into a short petiole, veinlcts simple or forked clavate 

 at the apex, fertile pinnules narrow-oblong with a few coarse 

 serratures only at the apex, involucres membranaceous subin- 

 tramarginal sliort not extending to the base or apex, stipites 

 slender glossy stramineous generally longer than the fronds, 

 rachises slightly winged. — Linn. Sp. PL p. 153. Siv. Syn. 

 Fil. p. 101. Willd. Sp. PI. V. p. 394. Aff. Pterid. p. 15. 

 Hook. Bot. Mag. t. 4925. Fee, Gen. Fil. p. 125, 126. Plum. 

 Fil. p. 84. t. 37. Sloane, Jam. i. t. 53./. 2. 



Hab. West Indies : Jamaica, Sloane, M'Fadyen, Purdie, Dr. Alexander ; St. 

 Domingo, Pliimier ; Cuba, Linden, C. Wright, PI. Cub. n. 859. Brazil: Rio, 

 Lady Calcott. — Pinnules from ^ an inch to an inch long. A very distinct spe- 

 cies of Pteris, wholly confined to tropical America, and chiefly to the W. Indian 

 islands. The constant accompaniment of barren fronds from the same caudex 

 or root as the fertile one, and the general form of the pinnules, remind one of 

 Cryptvgramme crispa. 



16. Pt. (Eupteris) laurea, Desv. ; " fronds bipinnate, pinnae 

 triphylloiis, lowest ones subpinnulate, pinnules petiolate lan- 

 ceolate subduplicato-serrate, fertile repand, veins forked, stipes 

 smooth,'^ Ag. — " Desv. Prod7\ Fil. p. 299 {fide specim. in Herb. 

 ThouarSy named by Desvaux himself)." Ag. Pterid. p. 16. 



Hab. Madagascar, Goudot {Herb. Delessert, and Mns. Paris.). — " Frond about 

 3 feet high. Stipes the size of a goose-quill, clothed at tlie base with brown, 

 linear, attenuated scales, with a black costa. Pinna; all triphyllous, the lower- 

 most, in one specimen, penlaphyllous, on a petiole an inch long, 3 inches nearly 

 apart. Pinnules linear-lanceolate; terminal ones long; Lateral ones short-petio- 

 iate; sterile ones at first obsoletely, afterwards more distinctly, duplicato-serrate ; 

 fertile ones slightly repand. Veins forked, sometimes below united and arched," 

 Jg. — Of this species I know nothing, and should probably not have noticed it if I 

 had been only guided by Desvaux's description : but Agardh has given the above 

 character and notes from authentic specimens, though he says nothing of its af- 

 finities. I follow him in placing it near Pt. mutilata, with which however it can 

 have no natural relationship, and the veins are said to be sometimes united and 

 arched. 



17- Pt. (Eupteris) heteromorpha. Fee; 1^-2 feet high erect 

 firm, caudex scarcely any, roots wiry, cocspitose, frond l-H 

 foot high broad lanceolate subcoriaceo-membranaceous re- 

 motely pinnate, pinnae usually opposite 4-6 pairs sessile 



