164 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



P. L. Heteractis — He-ter-ac'-tis (Heteractis), Mettenius. 



This is a Himalayan form, and differs from the typical Japanese Lingua 



principally by its broader oblong-spear-shaped fronds (Fig. 48), which are 



also of a more fleshy texture ; further, 

 their under- side is covered with a much 

 thicker coating of creamy-coloured down, 

 which gives them a more mealy appear- 

 ance. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 512. 

 Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iii., 

 p. 190. 



Fig, 48. Polypodium Lingua. Heteractis 



(i nat. size). 



P. (Drynaria) Linnaei— Dryn-a'-ri-a ; 



Lin-nas'-i (Linnaeus'), Bory. 

 A stove species, much in the way of 

 the better-known P. quercifolium, and a 

 native of Ceylon, Queensland, and the 

 Solomon and Fiji Islands. Its barren 

 and fertile fronds, produced from a stout 



rhizome, are totally different ; the former being stalkless, brown, rigid, and 



bluntly lobed, while the fertile ones, which are 



long-stalked and usually measure 2ft. to 3ft. in 



length and 6in. to 12in. in breadth, are cut down 



nearly to the rachis into entire, spear-shaped lobes 



of a rigid texture and naked on both sides. The 



small and abundant sori (spore masses) are scat- 

 tered over the whole of their under-side. — Hooker, 



Synojjsis Filicum, p. 368. Beddome, Ferns of 



British India, t. 315. 



P. (Dipteris) Lobbianum — Dip'-ter-is ; 

 Lob-bi-a'-num (Lobb's), Hooker. 

 This stove species, also known under the 

 name of P. hifurcatum, is a native of Mount 

 Ophir, Malaysia, Sarawak, and Borneo. Its fronds, 1ft. long and Ift. broad, 

 have their main lobes, which reach down to the base, three or four times 



f/g. 49, Polypodium Lobbianum 



(J nat. size). 



