S81 



This fern is found in so great a variety of situations that it 

 does not appear to be at all choice as to soil; it will grow in 

 fairly open places and under shade, developing best, however, 

 in those that are moist, warm and sheltered. 



-Ke/— " The Structure of the Leaves of the Bracken {Pteris 

 aqiiilina) in relation to Environment," Boodle, in Journ. Idnn. 



Soc. XXXV. 1901-04, pp. 659-669. " On the Use of Fern-root 



{Pteris aquilina) in German Pig-feeding Experiments," Hausen 

 & Mez, in Bull. Bur. Agric. Int. Rome, vii. May 1916, pp. 715- 



716. " The Use of Bracken Roots and Fronds," in Journ. 



Bd. Agric. March 1917, pp. 1252-1255. " The Composition of 



the Rhizomes of Bracken and Its Variations," Hendrick, Kew 

 Bull. 1921, pp. 157-166. 



Other ferns found are Ophioglossum vulgatum, Linn, the 

 common " Adder's Tongue " of Europe, observed on Calabar 

 Hill, when clearing thick bush under which it seemed to thrive. 

 Dalziel (Hausa Bot. Voc. p. 75) gives the Hausa name as " Mashin 

 Zomo " and Platycerium aetkiopicum . " Elk's Horn Fern,'* 

 Hausa name, " Dafaddu " (I.e.) is found on the trunks of the 

 Oil Palm " {Elaeis guineensis) and other trees — are here 

 mentioned only because the first is one of the few rare 



cc 



specimens typical of home and the other is grown 



possesses some decorative value. " Agugu '' is the rhizome of a 

 fern, a native drug used for tapeworm, brought chiefly from 

 Adamawa; it is not indigenous and is said to be probably 



{N ephrodhiyyi 



(Dalziel, I.e. p. 6). 



FUNGI. 



Of this extensive order there are a few that appear to b& 

 common all over the world such as Fames hicidus, Fries, 

 Polystictus versicolor y Fries, etc. of no economic value. Daldiniot 

 concentrica, Cesati, is also found in Europe, United States,, 

 Australia, Tasmania, etc., on dead trunks; used by the Natives 

 of West Africa as a purgative medicine, being mashed up and 

 mixed with Hme-juice, the quantity of Daldinia for a dose forming 

 when mashed, a small ball about half an inch through with the 

 juice of half a Ume. Volvaria esculenta, Massee (Kew Bull. 1908, 

 p. 216), Old Calabar (Holland No. 24, Herb. Kew), grows 

 abundantly on heaps of coffee pnlp ; has been eaten by Natives 

 and Europeans. Determinations (by E. M. Wakefield) of Fungi, 

 collected in Nigeria, have been published in the Bulletin, 1912, 

 pp. 141-144 (Macfie): 1914, pp. 253-261 (Farquharson) : 1917, 

 pp. 105-111 (Farquharson), and a list (by G. Massee) of West 

 African Fungi, including a collection from Old Calabar (Holland), 

 was published in the Bulletin for 1901, p. 161. 



