GYMNOCAEPIUM DRYOPTEEIS. 61 



display the triple character of the frond. The fronds soon ar- 

 rive at maturity ; I have found them loaded with ripe seed as 

 early as June : before winter they have entirely disappeared. 

 The stipes is very slender, dark purple, and shining, and is 

 frequently twice as long as the frond ; it has a few scattered 

 scales towards the base. The frond is triple, or composed of 

 three distinct triangular portions, each of which has a short 

 but distinct naked rachis, and these three unite with the stipes 

 at an obtuse angle, as represented in the figure at page 57. 

 Each division of the frond is pinnate, and the pinnae are oppo- 

 site, pinnate at the base, pinnatifid towards the centre, and ter- 

 minating in a somewhat acute apex : the basal pinnules are 

 sessile, and of nearly equal size, so that the four occurring at 

 each union of the pinnse with the rachis, form a cross. The 

 midvein of each pinnule or ultimate division is sinuous, and 

 the lateral veins are alternate and mostly simple ; each termi- 

 nates at the margin, and generally bears a circular cluster of 

 dark brown capsules near its extremity : in some specimens 

 these clusters are so densely crowded as to form a marginal 

 line, in others they are scattered and very distant. The fronds 

 are of a most vivid and beautiful green, in this respect surpass- 

 ing every other species with which I am acquainted : when of 

 full growth and mature, they are always fertile. In many spe- 

 cimens, the frond is much more divided than the one which I 

 have selected for my figure and description ; and in such in- 

 stances the veins and clusters of capsules partake of the subdi- 

 vision. It should also be observed that the two lateral divisions 

 of the fronds may, without impropriety, be termed the first pair 

 of pinnse, in which case their divisions would be pinnules, and 

 not pinnae, as I have liere denominated them, from a desire to 

 avoid a confusion of terms. 



In the cut at page 57, figure a represents a portion of the 

 creeping rhizome with three unexpanded fronds : figure b an 

 expanded frond in a mature and abundantly fruited state (when 

 sparingly fruited the divisions are broader and shorter) ; figure 

 c a pinnule showing the veins and the points of attachment of 

 the capsules ; and figure d another pinnule, with the clusters 

 of capsules in situ. 



