65 
It occupies the concave surface, forming a sort of lining, of a 
half-cup shaped receptacle attached to the leaf by a distinct 
stalk. 
In two of the African species the likeness of the leaves to 
antlers must be said to become extremely vague and fanciful, 
and in a third to fail completely. These two are Madagascar’s 
endemic species, A. Ellisii and A. ieee ene and the third 
is A. angolense. A. Ellistt was received first from a missionary 
on the Island, the Rev. Mr. Ellis, and ee his name. It has 
fertile leaves with two rounded lobes at apex, and with the 
spore-bearing area reniform. A. madagascariense has fertile 
leaves with irregular apices showing a tendency to fork, and the 
spore-bearing area irregular in shape, following the outline of 
the leaf. A. angolense and its occurrence in the Congo have 
been well described by Monsieur Emile Laurent in the Revue de 
VHorticulture Belge et Etrangére, in 1902. Writing of the ferns 
of the forest, he says, ‘‘There also are some which twine about 
the stems [of palms] (several Lygodiums), or which install them- 
selves on the large horizontal branches (Polypodium trichoides), 
or which are attached to trunks = trees like gigantic nests of 
birds; these are the Platycertums.’ 
Of A. angolense Monsieur Laurent writ 
“T have never encountered this on nee eae of Stanley Pool 
Nae It is, on the contrary, very aa scattered 
ond there, o me bord ot of the Lulua, of the 
sane of the eRe ane and in the great ue forest, 
of which it is certainly one of the characteristic species. Stanley, 
in his celebrated tour of the dark continent has remarked of it 
and designated it in his book under the name of fern with elephant's 
ears, an appellation perfectly justifiable. The ears are the spore- 
bearing leaves, they are entire, and constitute an exception in 
the genus Pisiicens um; they sometimes reach a length of 80 cm. 
and a width of 60. The sterile leaves constitute a girdle of an 
extreme elegance applied to the trunks and the branches. I 
remember discovering thousands specimens in the month of 
December, 1895, in a woody ravine between the Sankura a the 
Lorami; they formed on the long branches of the trees a con- 
