CO. ACROSTICirjM. 411 



Gl. A. tomcntosum, Bory ; rhizome \voo<-ly, the scales dense, black, fibrillose ; 

 St. 8-.5 in. 1., rigid, erect, densely clothed with linear short-ciliated scales, of 

 which tlie upper ones are quite white, the lower ones l)lack in the middle ; 

 barren fr. 1 ft. or more 1., 1-1|^ in. br., the point bluntish, the lower part 

 narrowed very gradually ; texture thick but flaccid ; both sides matted with 

 scales like those of the stem and small adjiressed white furfuraceous ones ; veins 

 distant ; fertile fr. narrower than the other, on a stem 1 ft. or more 1. — A. 

 heterolepis, Fee. Hk, Sp, 5. p. 234. 



Hab. Bourbon. — Not uulike A. Sichcri in texture and general habit, but densely scaly, 

 and the scales peculiar. 



62. A. cjtspidatiim, Willd. ; rhizome thick, woody, the scales dense, linear- 

 subulate, black, or nearly soj; st. 0-15 in. 1., firm, eiect, clothed with deciduous 

 adpressed dark-coloured scales; barren fr. 1-2 ft. 1., 3-4 in. br., the point 

 cuspidate, the base not narrowed very gradually ; texture coriaceous ; upper 

 surface nearly naked, lower densely matted with small furfuraceous ciliated 

 brown scales ; veins fine and close ; fertile fr. rather smaller than the other, the 

 stem about the same. — Ilk. Sj). 5. p. 235. A. Lindigii, Karst. t. 3. 



Hab. West Indies to Peru. — The representative of A. lalifolium in this group. The 

 scales, though dense, are altogether adpressed and peltate, as in obductum. A. lamina- 

 rioides, Bory, seems to be closely allied. 



G3. A. perclegans. Fee ; rhizome woody, the scales linear, dark-brown ; st. 6-8 

 in. L, firm but slender, slightly scaly; barren fr. 8-12 in. 1., \\-\\ in. br., the 

 point subacute, the base narrowed rather suddenly ; texture subcoriaceous ; 

 lower surface matted all over with small bright-brown scales, which are scattered 

 over the upper surface; veins conspicuous, usually simple; fertile fr. linear.^ 

 Hk. Sp. 5. p. 232. 



Hab. Dominica, Iraray, 101, and reported also from Brazil and Peru. — Most like the 

 last, but not so coriaceous. The scales beneath are not matted so densely, and though 

 all small, as compared with those oi squamosuni and musco&um, are some of them lanceolate 

 and ciliated. 



64. A. Sprucei, Baker ; rhizome woody, short-creeping, the scales dense, 

 fibrillose, bright reddish-brown ; st. 1 ft. or more 1., rather slender, thickly 

 clothed throughout with decurved pale-brown linear scales, some \ in. 1. ; 

 barren fr. 2 ft. 1., 3 in. br., narrowed to both ends ; texture herbaceous ; veins 

 distinct, usually simple, ^ in. apart ; upper surface thinly clothed with scales 

 like those of the stem but smaller, the lower more thickly with pale scales, which 

 are cordate, broad and distinctly ciliated in the lower half, then narrowed 

 suddenly to a linear point ; fertile fr. unknown. 



Hab. Foot of Mount Chimborazo, Spruce. — The peculiar scales of the lower surface 

 are enough scattered to be each seen as a distinct oliject. 



65. A. squamosum, Sw. ; rhizome woody, the scales dense, rigid, linear, nearly 

 black ; st. 2-4 in. 1., densely clothed with unequal lanceolate ciliated pale or 

 dark-brown scales, the lower ones often nearly black ; barren fr. 6-12 in. 1., 

 |-1 in. br., the point acute, the base narrowed gradually ; texture thick but 

 flaccid ; both sides matted and the edge densely ciliated with bright reddish- 

 brown ciliated linear or lanceolate scales ; veins hidden ; fertile fr. as long as the 

 other but much narrower, the stems much longer. — Hk. Sp. 5. p. 240. A. 

 vestitum (paleaceura on the plate), Hk. db Gr. t. 235. 



Hab. Mexico and West Indies to Ecuador and the Amazon Valley ; Sandwich Isles, 

 Sumatra, Ceylon, Neilgherries, Mascaren Isles, Guinea Coast, Madeira, Azores — Dis- 

 tinguished by its soft texture and copious long-ciliated scales. A. phimosiim, Fee, and 

 probably A. Wageneri, Kze., may be placed here with confidence. 



