Fertile pinnule- -under side. 



MARATTIA LAXA. 



KlJNZE. LlEBMANN. METTENIUS. 



PLATE LXXVII. VOL. VIII. 



Gymnotheca laxa, 



Peesl. De Veiese. Mooee. 



Marattia — Named in honour of J. F. Maratti, a Tuscan botanist. 



Laxa — Large. 



A rather coarse-growing, lax-habited Fern, distinct in ap- 

 pearance from the other Marattiaccous Ferns introduced to 

 cultivation. 



An evergreen stove or ■warm greenhouse species. 



Native of the temperate regions of Mexico. 



Introduced to English gardens about six or eight years since, 

 and a few years earlier to those of continental gardens. 



Stem forming a thick, short, and fleshy trunk or root-stalk, 

 as in the other species; which is invested with the stipule-like 

 scales at the base of the stipites. 



Fronds large, stipitate, the lamina about three feet in length, 



