26 FEENS : BRITISH AND FOREIGN. 



three above alluded to, I may mention Kaulfussia Assa- 

 mica, a remarkable Marattiaceous Fern found in Assam, 

 having ample trifoliate somewhat fleshy fronds, from 

 eighteen inches to two feet in height, with the fructi- 

 fication, which consists of hollow circular sporangia, 

 scattered irregularly on the under surface. It is allied 

 to the K. CESculifulia from the Malayan islands, in- 

 cluded in the following enumeration, and which is 

 extremely rare, if indeed it be not altogether lost 

 from our gardens : Lomaria cjlauca, a Fern of Khasaya, 

 with pinnate fronds, fine glacous underneath, two 

 feet high; and, finally, the Alsophila gigantea, a native 

 not only of Silhet, Nepal, and other parts of India, 

 but of Ceylon, Penang, and other Indian islands, a 

 magnificent Tree-fern with a trunk fifty feet high, 

 bearing a crown of large bi- or tr.i-pinnate fronds, the 

 segments of which are very variable. Dr. Thwaites, 

 in his "Flora of Ceylon," enumerates 214 Ferns, of 

 which about one-half are embodied iu. the following 

 pages, but many are yet rare, and several have failed 

 to become established. This is especially the case with 

 Asplenium {Actiniupteris) radlatam, Adinostachys 

 radiata, and the singular Polystichum anomalum, a 

 most remarkable Fern, which bears perfect sori on 

 both sides ; it is found at an elevation of from 5,000 

 to 6,000 feet, and no doubt our want of success in not 

 keeping it, as well as the unhealthy look of other 

 Ceylon Polystichums, is owing to their being placed 

 in the tropical house, — their elevation and their 

 resemblance to the European Polystichum aauleatum 

 indicates that they would be more at home in the 

 temperate house. Several interesting species have yet 

 to be introduced, such as the small pinnatifid Poly- ' 



