POLYPODIACEiE. 283 



4. Cyathea affinis, SwJ 



C stipite semitereti basi paleaceo antice sulcato tubereulato; frondibus 

 glabris subcoriaceis bipinnatis ; pinnulis oblongis nunc lineari-lanceo- 

 latis acuminatis pinnatipartitis, segmentis lineari-oblongis subfalcatis 

 obtusis crenatis, infimis minoribus; costa subtus squamis laceris but- 

 latis induta; venis tenuibus furcatis ; soris inter costam et marginem 

 uequidistantibus ; indusio irregulariter rumpente. 



Cyathea ajffinis, Sw. Syn. Fil. p. 140 & 368 ? ; Willd. Spec. PI. 5, p. 494? 



Hab. Feejee and Samoan Islands. 



Trunk from 20 to 30 feet high. Fronds broad, smooth, subcoriar 

 ceous, pinnate ; the inferior pinnae small and distant, on a short, ihieh, 

 half-round stipe, which at the base is sulcate in front, and has a 

 compact line of long palese seated on the edge of the furrows : paleae 

 entire, about an inch long, the point much attenuated. Pinnules 

 oblong or sometimes linear-lanceolate, acuminate, pinnatifid almost to 

 the rhachis. Segments linear-oblong, obtuse, somewhat falcate and cre- 

 nate; the lower and inferior one much the smallest, with numerous, 

 pale, bullate, lacerated scales on the costa beneath; while on the upper 

 side the rhachis and costa are furnished with a short brown pubes- 

 cence. Veins very slender, and forking once or twice. Sori nume- 

 rous, seated half-way between the margin and costa, forming a conti- 

 nuous line from the base of the segments to their apex. Indusium at 

 first globular, at length bursting open at the top irregularly, forming a 

 ragged-mouthed cup, which ultimately breaks into 4 or 5 lobes. 



We have reason to believe that we are correct in referring our 

 plant to the G. affinis of Swartz. It certainly is distinct from G. 

 medidlaris of the same author, to which Sir William Hooker, in his 

 Species Filicum, has united it. Our present species differs from G. 

 medullaris in its shorter pinnae; its broader and obtuse segments, 

 with the sori seated a greater distance from the costa ; the fronds are 

 of a darker green, and less harsh in their consistence ; the tubercles 

 on the stipe are larger and more numerous, and the paleee at the base 

 are longer. 



