84 
Anshi, Yan, Castle Rock; Konkan, below 
Mahableshwar, Bassein; Bombay Island, 
Mahim, Malabar Hill; Goa territory, Old 
Goa, Panjim, Mapuca, Marmagoa and along 
the. M.&S.M. Railway in damp _ places; 
abundant in the neighbourhood of Dood Sagor. 
Madras Presidency; Bengal, in the plains - 
and up to 5,000 feet; Ceylon; Burma. 
Widely distributed over the whole world. 
This fern is commonly grown in gardens. 
It has run wild at Mahim, where it is very 
common on the damp walls of wells, likewise 
on Malabar Hill, where it grows in hedges 
near the Hanging Gardens. The capacity 
of the spores to vegetate abundantly upon 
all moist surfaces and in the crevices of 
walls probably explains its frequent occurrence 
outside the limits of cultivation. 
Var. martes (Hort.)—This is a garden variety 
with shorter fronds and narrower pinne. It 
keeps closer to the pot. 
2. Pteris cretica L. 
Rhizome creeping. Stipe erect, naked, 
straw-coloured. Frond 6-12 inches long, 4-8 
inches broad, pinnate; pinne linear, lance- 
shaped, up to nearly an inch broad, the upper 
