DavalUa.] CLVI. FILICB8. 1951 



Fronds membranous. Indusium attached only by its broad base, short and 



broad under the aorus. 

 Secondary pinnfe lanceolate, 2 to 4in. long. Lower pinnules J to fin. 



long, broad and pinnatifid, upper ones confluent 6. K. speluncce. 



Secondary pinnae oblong, J to lin. long. Pinnules 2 to 4 Unes long, 



with 2 to 4 obovate obtuse lobes ... ... . . . ID. tripinnata. 



1. D. SOlida (solid), Sirartz ; Hook. Spec. Bilic. i. 163, t. 42, Syn. Filic. 95 ; 

 Benth. Bl. Austr. vii. 715. Ehizome rather thick, densely clothed with setose 

 appressed scales. Fronds from under 1ft. to near 2ft. long, rather broad, twice 

 or thrice pinnate or pinnatifid. Pinnules coriaceous, ^ to l^in. long, the lower 

 larger ones distinct and deeply pinnatifid, the upper ones confluent and obtusely 

 lobed. Sori at the base of the crenatures or lobes. Indusium narrow-oblong, 

 I line long, the margins adnate, forming with the frond a complete cup or tube. 

 — Bedd. Ferns Brit. Ind. t. 104 ; Bail. Litho. Ferns Ql. 43. 



Hab.: Humraooky Islands, Thozet. 



Also in the Malayan Archipelago and South Pacific Islands. 



2. D. elegans (elegant), Swartz ; Hook. Spec. Filic. i. 164, t. 48, Syn. Filic. 

 95 ; Benth. Fl. Austr. vii. 715. Rhizome thick scaly and woolly. Fronds rather 

 large, 3 or 4 times pinnate, the pinnse often tapering into long points. Pinnules 

 lanceolate, deeply pinnatifid, coriaceous, smooth shining and elegantly marked 

 with raised striae distinct from the veins. Sori on small truncate or bidentate 

 lobes or teeth. Indusium ovate, about \ line 'long and broad, the margins adnate 

 and forming with the tube a complete cup, the number of these little shining 

 indusia elegantly contrasting with the darker frond. — E. Br. Prod. 157 ; Bail. 

 Litho. Ferns Ql. 42. 



Hab.: Endeavour River, Banfts amiJ SoZomdec, A. Cunningham; York Peninsula, N. Taylor; 

 Eockingham and Cleveland Bays, W. Hill, Dallachy, Bmoman ; Pitzroy Islands, Walter; 

 Eockhampton, O'Shanesy ; commonly found rambling over rocks. 



Widely spread over tropical Asia and Africa. 



3. D. pyxidata (indusium box-like), Cav.; Hook. Spec. Filic. i. 169, t. 55 ; 

 Syn. Bilic. 96 ; Benth. Fl. Austr. vii. 716. Hare'd-foot fern. Epiphyte- 

 Bhizome thick, densely covered with soft scales. Fronds usually under 1ft. long 

 and nearly as broad, on a stipes half as long, twice or thrice pinnafe. Pinnules 

 coriaceous smooth and shining, the lobes and segments shorter and broader than 

 in D. elegans, without the raised stris of that species, the veins slightly depressed. 

 Sori on the lobes or teeth. Indusium ovate, sometimes as broad as in D. elegans, 

 but more frequently rather narrower, the margins adnate, when young almost 

 immersed in the frond. — E. Br. Prod. 157 ; Bail. Litho. Ferns Ql. 45. 



Hab.: Brisbane Eiver, Moretou Bay, F. v. Mueller and other ; Eockhampton and neighbouring 

 districts, Dallachy, Thozet, O'Shanesy ; Eockingham Bay, Dallachy ; a very common fern. 



Also in Norfolk Island, and New Caledonia, and scarcely to be distinguished from the well- 

 known D. canariensis of the West Mediterranean region. — Benth. 



4. D. pedata (divisions of frond supposed to resemble a bird's foot), Sm.; 

 Hook. Spec. Filic. i. 154, t, 45, Gard. Ferns, t. 7, Syn. Filic. 89 ; Benth. Fl. Austr. 

 vii. 716. Ehizome scaly, often very long. Fronds ovate-triangular, IJ to 3in. 

 long, on a stipes usually as long or longer, coriaceous, deeply pinnatifid, the 

 lowest pair of segments usually again pinnatifid and deeply so on the outer side, 

 the others gradually smaller and entire or scarcely erenate, obtuse or truncate. 

 Sori at the base of the crenatures at the end or upper half of the segments. 

 Indusium nearly orbicular, rather above J line diameter, closely appressed and 

 covering the sorus but attached only by the broad base. — Bail. Litho. Ferns Ql. 

 46; Humata pedata, J. Sm.; Bedd. Ferns S. Ind. t. 12. 



Hab.: Cape York Peninsula, N. Taylor; Eockingham Bay, W . Hill, Dallachy ; Bowen, Woolls. 

 Common on rocks in tropical localities. 

 , Also in tropical Asia and the Mascareiie Islands. 



