ACROSTICHUM. 



laurinis ferratis ; Pl«m. F3. I02. t. 117. Lonchitis cala- 

 mifera, pinnis ferratis; Petiv. Fil. n. 153. t. 9. f. 8.) — 

 Fronds pinnate, fmooth ; leaflets of the barren ones lanceo- 

 late, pointed, ferrated ; wedge-lhaped at the bafe : of the 

 fertile ones linear, entire. Common-ftalk climbing, fcaly. — 

 Tliis climbs up the ftems of trees in various parts of the Weft 

 Indies, tne fcaly common Jlalk being the thicknefs of a o-oofe- 

 quill. Fronds alternate, fomewhat ftalked, a foot long, lan- 

 ceolate ; barren leaflets an inch and a half or two inches long, 

 half an inch broad ; fertile ones rather fhcrter, and very much 

 narrower ; their edges (lightly inflexed when young ; the 

 mid-ribs hairy ; all the reil of the under furface denfely 

 covered with capfuhs. Linnaeus, long after he had pub- 

 liihed this fpecies, confounded with it a very different plant, 

 figured in Sloane's Jamaica, v. i. t. 38, and in Pluk. Phyt. 

 t. 287, (not 286,) f. 3, which is preferved in the Linman 

 herbarium ; but for want of knowing the fruftification, we 

 cannot determine its genus \vith any certainty. The main- 

 Jlalk of each frond is (lightly winged, and the habit of the 

 whole like a Dan^a, (fee that article,) except the Uaflets 

 being alternate. 



A., aureum. Great Golden Acroftichum. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 1525. Willd. n. 41. Swartz Syn. Fil. 13. Purfh n. i. 

 " Schkuhr Crj'pt. 2. t. I." (Lingua cervina aurea ; Plum. 

 Fil. 87. t. 104. Filix paluftris aurea, foliis linguz cervinje ; 

 Plum. Amer. 5. t. 7. Phyllitis ramofa aurea ; Petiv. Fil. 

 n. 142. t. 8. f. 5.) — Fronds pinnate ; leaflets alternate, uni- 

 form, coriaceous, oblong, bluntifli, entire, fmooth, with reti- 

 culated veins ; wedge-ihaped and unequal at the bafe : upper 

 ones fertile, of the fame fize. — Native of bogs and wet places 

 in the Weft Indies. Purfli found it in deep fwamps near 

 tlie fea-coaft of Florida, in July. This is a noh\e fern, from 

 five to nine feet high, confpicuous for its large broad leaflets, 

 from a fpan to twelve inches in length, curioufly marked 

 with oblong veiny reticulations. About four or iive of the 

 uppermoft, and perhaps the lower part of the next, are 

 denfely covered at the back with innumerable capfuks, of a 

 golden chefnut colour. 



A..fraximfolium. Great Afti-leaved Acroftichum. Br. 

 n. 2 — " Fronds pinnate, fmooth ; leaflets ftalked, oblong- 

 tongueftiaped, pointed, entire, reticulated : upper ones fertile, 

 contrafted." — Difcovered by Mr. Brown, in the tropical 

 part of New Holland. Very clofely related to A. aureum, 

 but differing in its acute and fhort -pointed Itaflets. 



A., pun&ulatiun. Dotted Acroftichum. Willd. n. 45. 

 Swartz Syn. Fil. 13. (A. punftatum ; Linn. Suppl. 444, 

 but not Sp. PL 1524. A. auriculatum ; Lamarck DiS. 

 v. 1 . 36. ) — Fronds pinnate ; fertile leaflets lanceolate, acute, 

 entire ; dotted on the upper fide ; lowermoft auricled ; 

 uppermoft fomewhat confluent. — Native of the ifle of 

 Bourbon. This fpecies is known only from the Linnaean 

 fpecimen, communicated by Thouin, which confifts of one 

 frond, about two feet high, entirely fertile, with a longifh 

 fmooth flalk, and eight leaflets, each near three inches in 

 length, and almoft one in breadth, tapering at both ends, 

 undulated or fomewhat crenate ; fmooth and bright green, 

 befprinkled with deprefled dots, above ; covered, nearly to 

 the edge, with tawny capfules, beneath. The two lower- 

 moft have each, at the outer fide, a large lobe, or auricle ; 

 the two or three uppermoft are more or lefs decurrent, fo 

 that the top ones are confluent. 



A. aliemum. Various-Iobed Acroftichimi. Willd. n. 48. 

 Swartz Syn. Fil. 13. Ind. Occ. 1595. ( Filix latifolia, in 

 pinnulas obtufas, at leviter crenatas, divifa ; Plum. Fil. 10. 

 t. 10. Ofmunda pulverulenta, pinnis vix ferratis; Petiv. 

 Fil. n. 154. t. 8. f. I.) — Fronds pinnate; leaflets pinnati- 

 && ; the upper ones confluent ; lobes rounded, diftantly 



toothed, fmooth, reticulated with veins: fertile ones witk 

 narrower, lefs divided, leaflets. — Found by Plumier in Mar- 

 tinico ; by Swartz on the mountains of Jamaica. Our 

 fpecimens came from St. Kitt's. This is a fine fpecies, the 

 fronds crowded, three or four feet high, fmooth and mem- 

 branous, of a fine tranfparent green ; the bafe of each com- 

 monjiali tumid, permanent. The lower leaflets, a foot long, 

 are deeply pinnatifid, and fomewhat auricled ; the middle 

 ones roundly lobed ; uppermoft wavy, and ftrongly con- 

 fluent. All the ribs are white fid fmooth. Fertile fronds 

 entirely diftinft, fmaller and lefs divided or lobed in every 

 part, but their fegments are extremely various. The under 

 fidei except the ribs, is denfely covered, to the very edges, 

 with brown capfules. None of theflalis are fcaly. 



Seft. 6. Frond doubly pinnat'fid, or doubly pinnate. Thirteen 

 fpecies, befides one of Mr. Brown's. 



A. cervinum. Hart's-tongue Acroftichum. Willd. n. jo. 

 Swartz Syn. Fil. 14 and 200. (Ofmunda cervina; Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 1521. O. linguae cervinae fohis ; Plum. Fil. 132. t. 154. 

 O. racemifera, phyllitidis folio ; Petiv. Fil. n. 162. t. 8. 

 -• ^3-) — Barren fronds pinnate, with obhquely ovate, 

 pointed, entire, bordered leaflets ; fertile doubly pinnate, 



with linear, parallel, obtufe leaflets Apparently, by Plu- 



mier's account, not uncommon in wet woods, or about the 

 banks of rivers, in Martinico. Dr. Swartz feems to have 

 met with the fame m Jamaica, and we have it from St. Kitt's. 

 The root is tufted, large, with numerous, long, branched, 

 woolly fibres, and crowned with a great number of long, 

 verj- narrow, tapering, brown and fhining fcales, among 

 which ftand (everaifronds, about a yard high, verj' fmooth in 

 every part. The barren ones are Cmply pinnate, with i8 or 

 20 ftalked leaflets, a fpan long, and near two inches broad, 

 entire, taper-pointed, with one rib, and many fine parallel 

 tranfverfe veins, not reticulated ; the bafe of each obhquelv, 

 and veiy unequally, wedge-fliaped. Fertile fronds fewer, 

 doubly pinnate, confifting entirely of numerous fmall, feflUe, 

 parallel, but not crowded, leaflets, a quarter or one-third of 

 an inch in length, covered at the back with hght-brown 

 ftalked capfules. 



A. Maranta. Scaly European Acroftichum. Linn. 

 Sp. PL 1527. Willd. n. 53. Swartz Syn. Fil. 14. 

 Prodr. Fl. Graec. n. 2344. Fl. Grsec. t. 964, unpubl. 

 " Schkuhr Crypt. 4. t. 4." Sprengel Crypt. 89. t. 2. 

 f. 1 8, not good. ( Lonchitis afpera Marantae ; Camer. 

 Epit. 666.) — Fronds doubly pinnate, uniform; leaflets 

 oblong, obtufe, entire, dilated or lobed at the bafe ; the 

 upper ones confluent ; all clothed beneath with imbricated 

 hair-pointed fcales. Stalks ftiaggy. — We have already 

 defcribed this fern (fee the article Nothol^na, n. i) ; but 

 a more careful examination has induced us, both here and is' 

 the Prodr. Fl. Grsec, to retain it in Acroflichum, as well as the 

 two following fpecies ; for the capfules appear to cover every 

 part of the under fide of its fronds, except their fcaly mid- 

 rib. With refpeft to Nothcltcna trichemanoides, we readily 

 concur with Mr. Brown in keeping it diftinft from Pteris ; 

 not having feen iiis N. veltea or Pumilio, we cannot form an 

 opinion of thofe fpecies. 



A. velleum. Woolly European Acroftichum. Willd. 

 n. 54. Swartz Syn. Fil 14. Ait. n. 5. Prodr. Fl. 

 Graec. n. 234J. Fl. Grace, t. 965, unpubl. (A. lanugi- 

 nofum ; Desfont. Atlant. v. 2. 4.00. t. 256. " Schkuhr 

 Crypt. 8. t. I. Lonchitis mollior lanuginofa, Ceterach 

 facie ; Barrel. Ic. t. 857, 858. Filicida crifpa, lanugine 

 hepatici coloris veftita, ex infulis fortunatis ; Pink. Almng. 

 150. Phyt. t. 281. f. 4.) — Fronds doubly pinnate, eUip- 

 tic-oblong, uniform ; leaflets obtufe, ovate or heart-flinped, 

 notched laterally, verv ftiaggy on both fides, like the ftalkf. 



— Native 



