116 NEPIIRODIUM, § LASTREA. 



Fil. Jav. p. 148. Aspidium atratum, Wall. Cat. n. 380. 

 Kze. in Li?incsa, xx'iv. p. 378. Metten. Aspid. p. 53. 



Ilab. India, very abnndjjnt : Nepal, TJ'allich ; Eastern Bengal to Himalaya, 

 Griffith, Hooker fil. and Thomson ; Nilgliiri, Wight, M'lvor, Schmidt, Beddome. 

 Ceylon, J]'alker, Thwaites, Gardner. J&va., liliime, in Herb.nostr. Monlraein, 

 Parish. — Quite distinct from any other of this section, readily recognized by the 

 very peculiar intensely black scales on the caudex, stipes, and rachis, giving them 

 a shaggy appearance. 



**** Bi-tripinnate or decompound. Sp. 99-152. 

 {Filix-ynas-groHp, Sp. 99-115.) 



99. N. (Lastrea) Filix-mas, Rich.; caudex short stout 

 erect densely paleaceous with hroad-lanceolate scales varying' 

 much in colour, stipites tufted short (a span or more long) 

 copiously scaly below with the same large scales as the cau- 

 dex, higher up the scales become narrower and at length on 

 the rachis subulate very abundant dark-brown to rich golden- 

 tawny, fronds firm-membranaceous or coriaceous a span to 

 2-3 feet or more long broadly oblong-lanceolate acuminate 

 pinnate, pinnse 3-5 inches long ^-| of an inch wide approxi- 

 mate sessile from a broad base oblong acuminate usually 

 deeply nearly to the rachis pinnatifid, segments oblong ob- 

 tuse sometimes truncated at the apex and thus forming a 

 parallelogram more or less toothed or serrated, or bipinnate 

 or even tripinnate with the ultimate pinnules in shape re- 

 sembling the segments but sometimes elongated and inciso- 

 serrate, veinlets simple or forked, sori dorsal arranged in two 

 series nearer the costce than the margin, involucres generally 

 large very convex orbiculari-reniform with a deep sinus gla- 

 brous. — Ridi. in Desv. Mem. Soc. Linn. \\. p. 260. Hook. 

 Brit. Ferns, t. 15. Hook. Fil. Exot. t. 98 [a large form 

 that has been called paleaceum). Aspidium, Siv. Syn. Fil. 

 p. 55. Schk. Fil. p. 45. t. 44. Willd. Sp. PI. v. p. 259. 

 Enc/l. Bot. t. 1458, and t. 1949 ("Aspid. cristat."). Engl. 

 Fl. iv. ;j. 275. Hook, et Am. Brit. Fl. ed. 8. p. 584. Lastrea, 

 Pr. Polypodium, Linn. Polystichum, Roth. (The follow- 

 ing are the varieties which I deem worthy of notice, the nor- 

 mal form, (or a) being considered that which is represented 

 at tab. 15 of our ' British Ferns,^ with the pinnse pinnatifid 

 rarely again pinnate, the segments oblong ol)tuse rounded at 

 the point, not truncated.) 



Var. ^, paralh'logrammuni ; pinnate or rarely subbipinnate 

 their segments oblong-parallelogram very close and compact. 

 Aspid. parallelogrammum, Kze. in Linnxsa, x'm. ]}. 140. 



