20 THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



O. melanolepis — mel-an-or-ep-is (having black scales), Decaisne. 



A greenhouse species, of small dimensions, native of Persia, Arabia, and 

 Abyssinia. Its egg-shaped fronds, 3in, to 4in. long, 2in. broad, and borne on 

 slender, naked, straw-coloured stalks 4in. to 6in. long, are quadripinnatifid 

 (four times divided half-way to the midrib). The lower leaflets are lin. to 

 IJin. long, deltoid (in shape of the Greek delta, A), and furnished with pinnules 

 (leafits) of similar shape and somewhat distantly placed. The whole frond is 

 of a thin, papery texture and smooth on both surfaces ; and the sori (spore 

 masses), of a light brown colour, are covered with a pale involucre of 

 parchment-like texture. — Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 124 ; Icones 

 Plantarum, t. 902. 



O. strictum — stric'-tum (upright), Kunze. 



This stove species, native of Cuba, bears on slender, tufted, naked, straw- 

 coloured stalks 6in. to 12in. long and of a polished nature, fronds 6in. to 9in. 

 long, Sin. to 4in. broad, and quadripinnatifid (four times divided half-way to 

 the midrib). The leaflets are deltoid (in shape of the Greek delta, A), with 

 a few distant segments, which are very narrow and sharp-pointed, either entire 

 or once or twice cleft at the apex or again slightly branched. The ultimate 

 divisions are also sharp-pointed and very narrow. The texture is soft and 

 papery, the stalks and both surfaces are naked, and the fertile segments are 

 larger than the others. The involucre which covers the sori (spore masses) is 

 often considerably shorter than the segments on which they are placed ; it 

 is of a pale colour and of a parchment-like texture. — Hooher, Species Filicum, 

 ii., p. 123 ; Second Century of Ferns, t. 32. 



OPHIODERMA— Oph-i-od-er'-ma. See Ophioglossum. 



