187 
sterile. Sterile fronds 3-4 inches long, 14-2 
inches broad, nearly prostrate, more or less 
oak-leaf-shaped, consisting of a terminal pinna 
‘with blunt rounded lobes and a pair of lateral 
pinne which are ovate-blunt, unequal-sided, the 
inferior portion being longer than the superior. 
Surfaces hairy. Texture herbaceous. Venation 
reticulated with free included veinlets in the 
meshes ; main veins distinct to the edge, some- 
times scarcely distinguishable from the others. 
_ Fertile fronds much contracted, also consisting 
of a terminal pinna 1-2 inches long, $-inch 
broad, and smaller lateral pinne. 
Cultivated. 
Distribution: Peninsular India, Tinnevelly 
and Travancore Hills up to 2,000 teet, Anamal- 
lays; Ceylon, about Colombo.—South China; 
Cochin China. 
3. Gymnopteris flagellifera 
Rhizome creeping, scaly. Stipes often scaly. 
Fronds simple, 3-foliate or pinnate with 5-11 
pinne, the terminal pinna often much prolonged 
and proliferous at the apex. Pinnz entire or 
with shallow lobes or distinctly lobed, 4—5 inches 
long, 2 inches broad. Texture herbaceous. 
Venation reticulate with or without free 
