CHAPTER XIX. 



TRICHOMANES, Smith. 



(Trich-om'-an-es.) 



Bristle Ferns. 



HE name Trichomanes is the old Greek one used by Theophrastus, 



and derived from thrix, trichos, a hair, and manos, soft, 



in allusion either to the delicate nature of the fronds, or more 



probably to the peculiar soft, hairy nature of the rhizomes 



with which the majority of the species are provided. In 



Hooker and Baker's " Synopsis Filicum," Trichomanes forms an important 



part of the tribe Hymenophylleoe as Genus 17. It was formerly divided into 



Cephalomanes, Crepidomanes, Didymoglossum, Feea, Hemiphlebium, Hymeno- 



siachys, Involueraria, Lacostea, Lecanium, Microgonium, Phlebiophyllum, &c. 



Most of the foregoing names were given by the late Dr. Van den Bosch, who 



made a special study of the tribe ; his " Hymenophyllaceaj Javanicae " contains 



engravings of many of the species, which, in point of beauty and delicacy of 



execution, have rarely been equalled. The tribe Hymenophylleoe was, by 



Van den Bosch, divided into 24 genera, and comprised no less than 450 



so-called species ; but the various characters which he held as distinctive 



were of so superficial a nature that none of his species have been maintained, 



and the tribe, as at present constituted, comprises only three genera : 



Hymenophyllum, Loxsoma, and Trichomanes. 



This genus is composed of about 100 " species of Ferns, inhabiting 

 tropical and temperate regions ; in fact, the geographical range of the 



