A List of the Ferns of the Malay Peninsula. 



By H. K Kidley, f.r.s. 



As might be expected in a wet tropical forest region such 

 as the Mala} Peninsula, the number of ferns is very large, no 

 less than 38"3 species being recorded, and further the number 

 of individuals is so large that they form a very conspicuous 

 feature in the forests and damp open spots. 



That the number of species occurring here will be very 

 largely increased by futher discoveries may be taken as certain, 

 for there still remains a very large area of the country es- 

 pecially in the centre and northern part of the peninsula 

 which has not as yet been investigated by the lovers of ferns. 



The ferns of the plain country of the west coast are 

 probably pretty well known and the Thai ping Hills and some 

 of the other hill-ranges have been the collecting grounds of 

 Day, Scortechini, and Kunstler. The ferns of Penang were 

 well collected by Curtis, but the hill-ranges of Selangor and 

 Pahang and the low country of the east coast have as yet 

 been only partially searched and that mainly by myself. The 

 northern states on the borders of Siam have been hardly in- 

 vestigated at all, and are likely to produce many additions to 

 our flora. 



In following the arrangement of Beddome's Ferns of 

 British India, I have incorporated into the list some species 

 recorded by him from definite localities in the peninsula 

 which have not been seen by me. There are however a good 

 many recorded by him as from " Malays peninsula " without 

 special localities, and which have not been apparently met 

 with again. These I have excluded at present as some authors 

 include Tenasserim as part of the Malay peninsula and the 

 plants thus vaguely localised may have been obtained across 

 the border. 



Jour. Straits Branch, R. A. Soe., No. 60, 1908. 



