PELL^A. 57 



P. decomposita — de-com-pos'-it-a (mucli divided). An old name for 

 P. angustifolia. 



P. (Cheiloplecton) deltoidea — Cheil-op-lec'-ton ; del-toid'-e-a (in shape 

 of the Greek delta, A), Baker. 

 A greenhouse species, native of Cape Colony, and of little decorative 

 value. It is only interesting inasmuch as it is probably the smallest-growing 

 of the whole genus ; its bipinnate, deltoid fronds seldom exceeding 2in. each 

 way, and being borne on wiry, dark chestnut stalks about l^in. long. — 

 Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 107. 



P. (AUosorus) densa — AU-os-o'-rus ; den'-sa (dense). Hooker. 



This pretty, greenhouse species, called in America the " Oregon Cliff 

 Brake," is, according to Eaton, found growing in clefts of rocks in Oregon ; on 

 the banks of the Rogue River ; near Fort Otford ; in the Sierra of California, 

 where it occurs at elevations varying between 6000ft. and 8000ft. ; from the 

 Castle Mountains to the Yosemite ; and it has been collected at Jackson's 

 Lake in "Wyoming Territory. Its finely-divided fronds, produced from a 

 somewhat slender rootstock that is chaffy with very dark, narrow scales, are 

 borne on densely-tufted, slender but wiry stalks 4in. to 6in. long, of a dark 

 chestnut-brown colour, dull or moderately polished ; they are 2in. to Sin. 

 long, lin. to IJin. broad, broadly oblong, and three times divided to the 

 midrib. The leaflets and leafits, generally spear-shaped, are crowded, and 

 are again divided into numerous stalkless, narrow segments, of a leathery 

 texture and smooth on both surfaces, with inrolled edges, and terminating in 

 a sharp point. The sori (spore masses) are*covered by a broad, rigid involucre, 

 rolled permanently over them. — Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 150, t. 125. 

 Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iii., p. 66. Eaton, Ferns of North 

 America, i., t. 11. 



P. (Platyloma) Doniana— Plat-yl-o'-ma ; Don-i-a'-na (Don's), Hooker. 



A stove species, native of the Seychelles, Angola, and Zambesi Land. It 

 much resembles P. paradoxa in size and habit, and is distinguishable from 

 that species mostly on account of the lower part of the midrib of its fronds 

 being black and polished, as well as the rachis (stalk of the leafy portion). — 

 Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 137, t. 125. 



