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Sporangia more or less round, sessile in 
stalked whorls which are terminated by a crest= 
like appendage, forming a clustered simple 
spike, opening vertically by a slit on the 
exterior side. Fronds divided into fertile and. 
sterile segments, the latter palmately pinnate. 
Veins forked free. 
Helminthostachys zeylanica Hook. 
Rhizome fleshy, creeping. Stipe 1 foot long. 
Frond divided into two portions ; barren portion 
leafy, palmately pinnate, often in three princi- 
pal divisions which are stalked and again forked 
or pinnate; ultimate segments linear, oblong, 
3-4 inches long, 3-1 inch broad. Texture 
herbaceous or leathery. Fertile spike 3-4 
inches long, 4 inch broad on a stalk about 
as long as the spike. 
Distribution: Bombay Presidency—Southern 
Konkan in swampy places. 
South India, western forests up to 3,000 
feet; Ceylon; North India; Bengal plains to. 
Assam and Cachar; Malay Peninsula—Matlay 
Islands ; Philippines ; Tropical Australia; New 
Caledonia. : . 
Genus LIV.—Bortrycuium Sw. 
(Deriv. Botrys, a bunch; in allusion to the 
fructification which is like a bunch of grapes.) 
