2 FERNS OF THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



I am indebted to Dr. Christ of Basle for identification of 

 many species, as well as to Bishop Hose, and Surgeon General 

 C. T. Matthew, who always spent his spare time in Sing- 

 apore during the short stays of his ship in searching the 

 forests of Singapore for ferns, with no little success. 



The chief collectors of ferns in the peninsula have been 

 Father Scortechini, Mr. Day, Mr. Kunstler, who collected for 

 the Calcutta Gardens, Mr. Hullett, Eight Eeverend Bishop 

 Hose, Mr. Curtis and in earlier clays W. Xorris, Lady Dal- 

 housie, Mr. Pin will, Dr. Wallich and Cuming. 



Habitats. The most abundant and conspicuous fern is 

 perhaps the well-known " Eesam " Gleichenia linearis which 

 covers considerable tracts of country on the edges of forest, 

 and where the forest has been felled and burnt. In such 

 spots it produces dense thickets very troublesome to penetrate. 

 In the hill districts it is replaced by other species of Glei- 

 chenia, G. hirta, G. glauca and G. flagellaris. In more sandy 

 places in the low country, we find the common bracken, Pteris 

 aquilina taking its 2^>lace. This is probably the most widely 

 distributed and abundant of any vascular plant in the world. 

 It is remarkable too how little this plant varies in different 

 regions of the globe. There is but little visible difference 

 between the bracken of the woods of Kent and that of the hot 

 sandy country of Singapore, the chief difference being the 

 more woody texture of the stalks in the tropical form. 



Another fern which forms thick masses is the local 

 Matonia pectinata of Mount Ophir and others of our higher 

 hills. This beautiful fern often occurs growing in close 

 thickets, like bracken. 



Dipteris Horsfieldii grows in a similar manner over the 

 sea-coast cliffs and on clay banks at 2000 feet and upwards in 

 close masses. It is noticeable that all these ferns are re- 

 markably difficult to.cultivate, abundantly and readily as they 

 grow in a natural state. All attempts to grow Dipteris and 

 Matonia have failed, while the Gleichenias and the Bracken 

 too are notoriously troublesome to transplant. 



Very common and conspicuous too are the Lyg odiums, 

 known here as " Eibu-Eibu," literally " thousands," from 



Jour. Straits Branch. 



