43. ASI'IDIUM, § POLYSTICHUM. 251 



])ro\vii sciilcs at the base ; //•. 1 ft. or more 1., l|-2 in. hr. ; pinna; numerous, 

 sessile, tlie lower ones distant, tlie central ones |-1 in. 1., ^-| in. l)r., sulxlcltuid, 

 hut the lower side ohliquely truncate, apex mucronate, edge subentire or slightly 

 lohed with hlunt or spinose teeth, one or hoth sides auricled at the I)ase ; texture 

 coriaceous ; rachis slightly scaly ; veins tiabellate ; sori principally in two rows 

 near the edge. — Hk. Sp. i. p. 14. 



Hab. West Indies. — P. ilicifolium, F^e, appears to be a form with elongated fronds 

 rooting at the point. 



13. A. (Polyst.) auricnlatmn, Sw. ; st. tufted, 4-G in. 1., scaly below or 

 throughout ; /r. 12-18 in. 1., 2-4 in. ])r. ; pinnw numerous, subsessile, usually 

 close, 1-H in. 1., §-i in. br., ovate-rhomboidal, falcate, the point acute, the edge 

 spinoso-serrated, not lobed, the upper one with a prominent auricle, the lower 

 one truncate in a horizontal line at the base ; texture subcoriaceous ; rachis 

 stramineous, slightly scaly ; lower veinJets in groups of three ; sori in two rows. 

 — /3, A. marginatum. Wall. ; texture more coriaceous, upper edge of the pinnae 

 slightl}^ lobed, — y, A. lentum, Don ; pinnce cut into oblong mucronate lobes 

 about halfway down to the rachis, the auricle sometimes quite free. — A. ocel- 

 latum, Wall. HL Sp. 4. p. U. 



Hab. Throughout India and Ceylon, ascending in the Himalayas to 9,000 ft., Formosa. 

 — A. oljliquum, Don {ccespitosum, Wn.!].), agrees very nearly with a. The typical plant 

 looks distinc*, but is connected by gradual intermediates with y, which is barely distin- 

 guishable from A. lobatum. 



14. A. (Polyst.) ilicifolium, Don ; St. densely tufted, 2-4 in. l._, slender, 

 clothed with large scales tJiroughout ; fr. 6-9 in. 1., 1-2 in. br. ; pinna' sub- 

 deltoid or lanceolate, ^-1 in. 1., the apex mucronate, cut down below to the 

 rachis into lanceolate or ovate-mucronate lobes ; texture coriaceous ; both 

 surfaces naked ; rachis slender, fibrillose ; vei?is immersed ; sori principally in 

 two rows near the midrib. — A. stimulans, Kze. Hi: Sp. 4. p. 12. t. 2.14. 



Hab. N. India, ascending to 9,000 ft. — Quite doubtfully distinct from some of the 

 forms of auriculatum and acuhatum, 



15. A. (Polyst.) Thomsoni, Hk. ; s^ tufted, 2-4 in. 1., slender, straw-coloured, 

 fibrillose ; //'. 6-8 in. 1., |-1 in. br., lanceolate-acuminate, narrowed gradually 

 below, pinnate throughout ; pinnce \ in. 1., \ in. br., ovate-deltoid, unequal- 

 sided, the lower side the smallest and obliquely truncate at the base, the edge 

 pinnatifid halfway down or more, the lobes with sharp mucronate teeth ; 

 texture subcoriaceous ; rachis naked or fibrillose ; veins pinnate in the lower 

 lobes ; sori mostly one to each lobe. — Hk. Sp. 4. p. 7. '2.nd Cent. t. 25. 



Hab. Himalayas, 7-13,000 ft. 



16. A. (Polyst.) vivijMrum, Fee ; st. tufted, 4-6 in. 1., with large lanceolate 

 scales at the base, the lower ones nearly black in the centre; fr. 12-18 in. 1., 

 4-6 in. br, ; pinnce numerous, nearly lanceolate, the central cms 2 in. 1., ^-| in. 

 br., the point mucronate, sometimes genimiparous, the edge more or less deeply 

 lobed, in the lower part sometimes quite down to the rachis, the upper side 

 auricled, the lower obliquely truncate at the base ; texture very coriaceous ; sori 

 in two or four rows, — Hk. Sp. 4. p. 15. 



Hab. West Indies. — P. helerolepis, Fee, is a form with long narrow pinnae, the pin- 

 nules of the lower half distinct, the lowest slightly stalked. This may be the A. trape- 

 zioides of Swartz, with which Moore joins it. 



17. A. (Polyst.) tridens, Ilk, ; st. tufted, 2-4 in. 1., wiry, clothed with blackish 

 lanceolate scales below ; fr. 6-9 in, 1., 1-1| in. br. ; pinna; numerous, close, 

 ^-| in. L, J-§ in. br., deeply tripartite, all the three lobes linear-lanceolate, 



