51 



scarcely a foot long, others rcseinhling tlie normal slate. — I have been guided by 

 an atuiientic specimen of this Fern from Dr. Blumc, and refer hither the above 

 synonyms and localities. The peculiar features of this species arc its rather nu- 

 merous pinnae, of which the lower ones are very often again pinnated, and their 

 deep segments more or less acuminated, and the nature of the venation together 

 with the position of the sori. Next the costa (and, in the more compound pinna; 

 the costule) the veins anastomose, forming large arcoles and small ones next to 

 them ; in these areoles are very rarely any sterile veinlets, often fertile ones ter- 

 minated by a sorus (the sori being rarely compital) ; in the segments of the 

 piniuc the veins unite, and form areoles only near the base, one or more, rarely 

 two, on each side the costule; above them the veins are somewhat pinnated, or 

 once or twice forked and quite free, the sori here being solitary on a basal superior 

 veinlet. The venation is indeed intermediate between Sagenia and Pleocnernia, 

 a|)proaching the latter in the paucity of anastomosing veinlets : and it is not a 

 little remarkal)le that another Kern of Ceylon (where J. giganteum is far from 

 unfrequent) bears so close a resemblance to this, that, but for its having all free 

 veins, it might well pass for it: this I believe to be i\\c A spid. (§ Lastrea) Gard- 

 nerianum of Mettenius. 



G.3. A. (Euaspidium) latifolium, Pr. ; " fronds ovato-trian- 

 gular bipinnate, pinnae petiolate oblong-lanceolate acuminate, 

 lowest ones bipinnatifid, superior ones confluent, se2:ments 

 ovato-oblong obtuse rcpando-dentate, sori solitary." — Pr. 

 Reliq. Hceak. i. p. 30 [not J, Sm.). Tent. Pterid. p. 87. t. 2. 

 f. 2^ {segment, with venation). Metten.Aspid. p. \18. Sage- 

 nia, Moore. S. Mexicana, Fee, Gen. Fil. p. 313. — Var. ru- 

 fescens, Metten. Aspid. rufescens, Klfs. Sagenia, Pr. S. lati- 

 folia, /3, Moore. A. dilaceratum, Kze. in Linncea, xxiii. p. 300, 

 in part {Metten.). 



Hab. Mexico, Hcenke, Galeotti, Sartorius ; Guatemala, Fredericks t hal ; and 

 Trinidad, Sieber, Syn. Ftl. n. 187 {Mettenius). — This is quite unknown to me 

 from any authentic source. Presl's figure of the segment, including the venation 

 (of which the areoles have no free veinlets), very much resembles that oi Aspid. 

 cicutarium, Sw. Presl indeed compares it with apiifolium {A. cicutarium, jS, of 

 us), and also with Polypod. latifvlium, Forst. (our A. melanocaulon, Bl.). Met- 

 tenius says of this, " Ditfert ab A. ciculario lamina deltoidea, segmentis acumi- 

 Jiatis, soris minutis, indusiis rotundato-reniformibus, ab A. coadunato (which I 

 have ventured to unite with A. cicutarium) soris dorsalibus." 



64. A. (Euaspidium) variolosum. Wall. ; caudex stout 

 creeping, stipites approximate subcocspitose a span to 1-H 

 foot long sparingly paleaceous at the base, fronds coriaceo- 

 niembranaceous a span to a foot and more long glabrous cor- 

 date or cordato-ovate acuminate trifoliolate or more fre- 

 quently pinnate with two or three jiearly opposite pairs of 

 pinnte and a larger terminal one more or less petiolate, 

 lowest pair large half-ovate bifid or bipartite or bifoliolate, in- 

 termediate pairs lanceolate lobato-pinnatifid, inferior lobes the 

 longest, terminal one sul)rhomboidal below deeply pinnatifid 



