DA VALLIA. 



135 



D. (Microlepia) hirta — Mi-crol-ep'-i-a ; liir'-ta (hairy), Kaulfuss. 



THs strong-growing, stove species, also known under tlie names of 

 D. jirma and D. scaberula, is a native of Ceylon and the Malayan and 

 Polynesian Islands. Its handsome fronds, oft. to 6ft. long, Ift. to 2ft. broad, 

 and borne on strong, upright stalks 1ft. to 2ft. long, are three or four times 

 pinnatifid (cleft nearly to the midrib). Their lower leaflets, 6in. to 12in. 

 long and Sin. to 4in. broad, have spear-shaped pinnules (leafits), which are 

 cut down to the rachis (stalk) into oblong, broadly-toothed lobes, each of 

 these bearing from two to twenty spore masses disposed several together at 

 the base of the teeth. — Hooker^ Species Filicum, i., ]3. 181. Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 446. Beddome, Ferns of Southern India, 

 t. 256. 



Fi^. 31, Upper Portion of Frond of Davallia hirta cristata 



Q nat. size). 



D. h. cristata — cris-ta'-ta (crested), Moore. 



A fine, crested form, usually found in gardens under the name of 

 Microlepia hirta cristata. It was introduced into this country from the 

 South Sea Islands, and is greatly superior in decorative qualities to the original 



