A C R 



Native of Spain, Barbary, Madeira, and Zante, in the 



fifTiires of rocks. Rather fmaller than the laft, with (horter 

 Jlalks and denfer/ro«</f, whofe leaflets are fhort and rounded, 

 hairy on both fides rather than fcaly ; their common Jlalks of a 

 mahogany colour, their pubefcence hoary, without the golden, 

 or bright copper, hue of A. MaranU. The root is neither 

 fcaly, nor creeping. 



A. Ji/lans. Diftant-winged Acroftichum. (Notholsna 

 diftans ; Brown Prodr. v. i. 146.)— Fronds doubly pinnate, 

 linear-lanceolate, uniform ; branches oppofite, diftant, fome- 

 what deltoid ; leaflets oblong, obtufe ; the lower ones piiina- 

 tifid. Stalks and ribs fliaggy, with hair-pointed fcales. 

 (See NoTHOL^NA n. 2.) The capfuhs decidedly cover 

 every part of the under fide of each leaflet, except the fcaly 

 rib, in as broad and continuous patches, as in any other 

 /icrojlkhum ; at leaft when, like our fpecimen, they are 

 ariived at maturity. 



A. fulphureum. Sulphur-coloured Acroftichum. Willd. 

 n. 56. Swartz Syn. Fil. 15. Ind. Occ. 1597. Schkuhr 

 Crypt. 4. t. 4. — Fronds doubly pinnate ; leaflets oblong- 

 wcdgefhaped, pinnatifid, cloven and notched ; clothed vrith 

 pale yellow powder at the back. — Native of (hady rocks, in 

 the fouthern part of Jamaica. Swartz. Linnseus had 

 numerous fpecimens of this fern, which he left undetermined, 

 or perhaps confounded with the following, from which they 

 differ in the wedge-hke fliape, and more dehcate texture, of 

 their leajlets, as well as the pale fulphur colour of the pow- 

 der that covers their under furface. The mafles of capjules 

 are moil denfe about the middle of each leaflet, the tips being 

 naked. 



A. calonelanos. Mealy Acroftichum. Linn. Sp. PI- 

 1529. Willd. n. 57. Hort. Berol. t. 41. Swartz Syn- 

 Fil. 15. "Schkuhr Crypt. 4. t. 5." (Filix albiffimo 

 pulvere confperfa ; Plum. Fil. 30. t. 40. Pet. Fil. n. 156. 

 t. 9. f. II. F. non ramofa major, caule nigro, furculis 

 raris, &c. ; Sloane Jam. v. i. 92. t. 30. f. 2. Adiantum, 

 nigro fimile, albilSmo pulvere confperfum ; Plum. Amer. 30. 

 t. 44. A. calomelanos americanum ; Pluk. Phyt. t. 1 24. 



f- 3-) 



j3. A. ebeneum ; Linn. Sp. PI. 1528? f Filix non 

 ramofa minima, caule nigro, furculis raris, &c. ; Sloane Jam. 

 V. I. 92. t. 53. f. 1.) 



Fronds doubly pinnate ; leaflets elliptic-oblong, clothed 

 with white powder beneath ; lowermoft cut or pinnatifid, 

 with an auricle from the upper edge at the bafe ; upper ones 

 ferrated ; uppermoft confluent. — Native of fliady fituations 

 in the Weft Indies. The fronds are tufted, and, when full 

 grown, 12 or 18 inches high, with black (hining^a/zf j ; the 

 leajlets fmooth, and of a fine deep green above ; tapering, or 

 wedge-fliaped, at their bafe ; in the upper part of each frond 

 decurrent. Thofe which bear capjules are lefs white, and 

 rather grey, beneath, befprinkled with white dots, the 

 capjules moft crowded about the middle region of each. 

 Willdenow, on the pofitive aflertion of Swartz, makes 

 A. ebeneum of Linnaeus a variety, Swartz efteeming it the 

 fame plant in a young ftate, when the fronds are only fimply 

 pinnate. But Willdenow declares that he had 100 times 

 raifed calomelanos from feed, without ever feeing the young 

 fronds as reprefented by Sloane, t. 53. f. i ; and that his 

 own figure was taken from a plant of one year's growth. 

 Still we are difpofed to believe Sloane's plant belongs to 

 calomelanos; though it is far otherwife with the Linnaean 

 ebeneum, the original fpecimen of which is fimply pinnate, 

 with broad, feflile, tranfverfe, partly pinnatifid, leaflets, white 

 beneath ; the maffes of capjules nearer the margin than the 

 rib. The upper /fo^rtj, indeed, are decurrent and confluent. 



A C R 



Having feen but this fingle fpecimen, we are afraid to form 

 any pofitive opinion. 



A. cljryjophyllum. Golden Acroftichum. Willd. n. 58. 

 Swartz. Syn. Fil. 15. Ind. Occ. 1598. (Fihx aurea, 

 pinnulis rotunde incifis divifa ; Plum. Fil. 33. t. 44. 

 Adiantum pulverulentum aureum ; Petiv. Fil. n. 160. t. 9. 

 f. 9. ) — Fronds doubly pinnate ; leaflets ovate-oblong, 

 obtufe, ftriated, polifhed ; clothed beneath with deep- 

 yellow powder ; lower ones pinnatifid ; upper confluent and 

 wavy. — Native of rather mountainous paftures, in various 

 parts of the Weft Indies. We are indebted to J. V. 

 Thompfon, efq. for a fpecimen of this elegant plant, which 

 is confpicuoufly diftinguifhed by the copious deep lemon- 

 coloured powder, entirely covering the back of its leajlets, 

 among which the capjules feem fpai-ingly, but uniformly, dif- ■ 

 perfed and funk. 



A. alb'tdulum. Whitifli Round-leaved Acroftichum 



Willd. n. 61. Swartz Syn. Fil. 16 and 205. t. i. f. 2 



Fronds doubly pinnate ; leaflets rounded, obtufe ; powdery 

 and white beneath ; lowermoft three-lobed ; uppermoft 

 fimple and undivided. Capfules denfely crowded towards 

 the margin. — Gathered by Louis Nee, in South America. 

 Sivartz. A dehcate httle fern, three or four inches high, 

 with a capillary _/?a/i. The whole Jrond is oblong, once or 

 twice compounded, in a ternate manner. Leajlets fmooth 

 and flat above ; clothed beneath with wliite powder, which 

 feems to conceal their mid-ribs. The capjules are brown, each 

 with a fhining ring, and are very numeroufly crowded, in 

 denfe maffes, over two-thirds of each lateral poiijon of the 

 leaflet, from the edges, leaving a bare ftripe in the middle, 

 rience this fpecies ftiould feem referable to Mr. Brown's 

 genus NothoLjBNA, to which we have already alluded 

 (fee that article) ; but the capjules compofe much broader 

 mafles than in A^. tr'ichomanoides, and feem unattended by 

 hairs. 



A. ptero'tdes. Bordered Acroftichum. Brown n. 3. — 

 " Fronds doubly pinnate, fmooth ; leaflets linear, reflexed at 

 the margin." — Gathered by Mr. Brown, in the tropical 

 part of New Holland. This fpecies feems to anfwer to the 

 charafter of Willdenow's Lomaria. We have feen no 

 fpecimen. 



ACROTRICHE, fo called by Mr. Brown, from ax^o^ 

 terminal, and 9^i|, i"fi;^o{, a hair, in allufion to the bearded 

 points of the corolla. — Brown Prodr. Nov. HoU. v. i. 547. 

 — Clafs and order, Pentandria Monogynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Epacridex, Brown. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of five ereft, concave, 

 obtufe, permanent leaves, with a pair of fmaller ones at 

 their bafe. Cor. of one petal, funnel-fhaped, longer th;:n 

 the calyx ; limb in five equal, fpreading fegments, each fur- 

 nirtied, towards the point, with a tuft of hairs direfted 

 inwards. Neftary a cup-ftiaped gland, flightly lobed, fur- 

 rounding the bafe of the germen. Stam. Filaments five, 

 thread-fhaped, equal, inferted into the tube of the corolla, 

 and not projefting beyond the mouth ; anthers roundifli- 

 oblong, incumbent. Pijl. Germen fuperior, globofe ; ftyle 

 columnar, fhort ; ftigma fimple. Peric. Drupa globular, 

 deprefled, flightly pulpy. Nut fohtary, of five lobes and 

 five cells, its furface minutely cellular. Seeds folitary. 



Efl". Ch. Outer calyx of two leaves. Corolla five-cleft, 

 funnel-fhaped ; fegments with a deflexed beard at the 

 extremity. Drupa nearly dry. Nut of five cells, its fur- 

 face minutely cellular. 



This genus, the produce of New Holland, confifts of 

 humble much-branched fhrubs, their branches generally 

 divaricated. Leaves fcattered. Spikes fhort, lateral, or 

 axillary. Flowers fmall, white. Drupa fmall, with but 



httle 



