POLYPODIACEAE 57 



4. P. biaurlta L. 



Roots clothed with soft brown hairs. Caudex stout, erect, somewhat 

 woody, paleaceous at the tip. Stipes clustered, green, somewhat paleaceous 

 near the base, otherwise glabrous, 20 to 60 cm high. Fronds oblong, 30 

 to 60 cm long, simply pinnate above, the basal pinnae usually once forked, 

 the terminal pinna usually longer than, the lateral ones; pinnae 6 to 12 

 pairs, lanceolate, 9 to 20 cm long, 2.5 to 4 cm wide, acuminate, cut nearly 

 -to the costa into numerous, oblong, obtuse, entire, somewhat falcate, spread- 

 ing lobes, the sinuses often as wide as, or wider than the lobes; veins 

 anastomosing along the costa forming a single row of narrow areolae, those 

 in the lobes free, usually, once forked. Sorus continuous along the margin 

 or interrupted at the sinuses and apices of the lobes. 



In dry thickets Masambong, Guadalupe, etc.; widely distributed in the 

 Philippines. All tropical countries. 



5. P. tripartita Sw. 



A coarse tufted fern from a stout, short, erect caudex. Stipes 80 to 

 100 cm high, stout, erect, smooth, green. Frond glabrous, tripartite, spread- 

 ing from the apex of the stipe, the central part simply pinnate, up to 60 

 cm long, the pinnae numerous, 15 to 25 cm long, 2 to 3 cm broad, oblong- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, cut half-way or more to the costa into oblong, falcate, 

 obtuse lobes, the sterile ones slightly toothed; lateral divisions usually 

 branched, similar to the middle one but shorter; lateral veins fine,, distinctly 

 anastomosing. Spri usually coYitinuous around the sinus but not reaching 

 to the ends of the lobes. 



Not uncommon in gardens, brought in from the provinces; widely dis- 

 tributed in the Philippines. Tropical Africa and Asia to Polynesia and 

 Australia. 



13. POLYPOPIUM Linnaeus 



Rootstocks creeping or erect, the stipes scattered, jointed to the root- 

 stock. Fronds simple and entire, pinnatifid, or pinnate, rarely more com- 

 pound, glabrous, scaly, or hairy, the veins free or anastomosing. Sori 

 round, oblong, or linear, superficial or sunk in cavities, usually very num- 

 erous, dorsal. Indusium none. (Greek "many" and "feet.") 



A very large, polymorphous genus, with over 800 species, in both 

 hemispheres, mostly tropical, few in temperate regions, about 116 in the 

 Philippines, a single one in our area, aside from casual species like P. 

 punctatum which are occasionally brought in from the provinces. 



1. P. phymatodes L. 



A rather coarse fern, usually fragrant in drying. Rootstock widely 

 creeping, stout, often glaucous, bearing few, scattered, deciduous, fibrillose 

 scales, becoming nearly glabrous. Stipes 5 to 30 cm high, erect, glabrous. 

 Stipes 5 to SO cm high, erect, glabrous, shining. Frond exceedingly variable, 

 coriaceous, glabrous, sometimes simple, entire, and lanceolate to oblong, 

 obtuse to acuminate, 5 to 20 cm long, or more often pinnatifid into segments 

 similar in shape and size to the simple fronds above described, reaching a 

 length of BO cm, the sinuses rounded, extending nearly to the midrib, some- 

 times only 3-lobed; veins indistinct. Sori large and prominent, in two 

 rows on each lobe, or scattered, brown, round to elliptic, 4 to 5 mm in 

 diameter. 



