56 FERNS OF THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



found one or two plants there. Distrib. Malaya, Aus- 

 tralia. 



PI. biforme Bl. The common elk's horn fern, abundant every 

 where and attaining a very large size. Singapore, Tang- 

 lin, Selitar (Ridley 3595), Bukit Timah (Ridley 4354, 

 8049). All over the peninsula. Distrib. Indo-Malaya. 

 var. erecta. A much smaller plant with the fertile 

 fronds erect and short. Sterile ascending fronds a foot 

 long and as wide, very strongly ribbed, rounded in out- 

 line, and dotted over with hairs arranged stellately, fertile 

 fronds stiffly erect 8 to 18 inches long, 8 inches across, 

 dichotomously branched, the tips of the branches round- 

 ed, fertile lobe spathulate or obovate pedicelled 2-5 inches 

 long and as wide in the widest part. Singapore, Bukit 

 Timah on very lofty branches of trees (Bidley 10830), 

 Bishop Hose first pointed out this plant to me some years 

 ago on perfectly inaccessible boughs of a lofty Shorea tree 

 100 feet or more from the ground. There are a number 

 of plants on the boughs, all are quite simiJar and there 

 are no typical specimens of Platycerium biforme on the 

 tree though it is abbundant in the surrounding forests. 

 I have only been able to obtain fallen fronds. Mr. C. J. 

 Matthew took s])ecimens to Kew and Mr. Wright notes 

 on them as follows. " I do not think this can be 

 separated as a distinct species from Platycerium biforme 

 Bl. but is a form produced by growing in exposed situ- 

 ations and is worthy of a varetal name. It has also been 

 collected in Borneo by Motley who remarks " on the high- 

 est branches of trees in very exposed places perhaps only 

 [a form] of the long drooping plant growing in damp 

 and shade." The plant is certainly most closely allied 

 to P. biforme BL, but I hardly think it can be classed 

 as merely a form or state of that plant. I have seen the 

 ordinary form growing in quite exposed places, on lofty 

 trees and showing no variation. The variety with its 

 short stiff erect fronds, has a most curious appearance, 

 and really looks more distinct from the typical form than 

 any other Platycerium I have seen. I note however that 



Jour, Straits Branch, 



