DA VALLIA. 



149 



midrib) ; they are from 9in. to loin, long, 4in. to Sin. broad, and borne on 

 strong, upright stalks 6in. to 12in. long; they are furnished with distant, 

 linear (very narrow) and slightly-toothed leaflets 6in. long, Jin. to Jin. broad, 

 in each tooth of which the small and nearly marginal sori (spore masses) are 

 disposed. — Hooker^ Species Filicum, i., p. 173, t. 60. N{cholso?i, Dictionary 

 of Gardening, i., p. 446. 



D. (Microlepia) platyphylla — Mi-crol-ep'-i-a ; plat-yph-yl'-la (broad- 

 leaved), Don. 



A very handsome, robust- growing, greenhouse, evergTeen species, found 

 wild throughout Hindostan, from Ceylon to the Himalayas ; it is a very 

 distinct Fern, frequently met with in gardens under the name of D. lonchitidea. 

 The massive fronds, 3ft. to 4ft. long and sometimes 2jft. broad at the base, 

 are borne on firm, upright stalks 2ft. to 3ft. long ; they are of a somewhat 

 leathery texture and glaucous -green in colour. The lower leaflets, Ift. to IJft. 

 long, 6in. to Sin, broad, and spear-shaped, are furnished with distinct pinnules 

 (leafits) of the same shape, and cut nearly to the stalk below into broad, 

 bluntish, toothed, oblong lobes. The very conspicuous sori (spore masses) 

 are placed one in each tooth, at a short distance from the edge. — Hookef,^ 

 Species Filicum, i., p. 173, t. 46b. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., 

 p. 447. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, viii,, t. 30. 



D. platyphylla makes an exceedingly handsome specimen when grown in 

 a pot, but it progresses still more rapidly when planted in a substantial 

 compost in the rockery, where an abundance of water can be allowed it during 

 the summer. Its robust fronds, produced from an underground rhizome 

 (prostrate stem) of a very fleshy nature, have their under-surface rendered 

 very attractive by the large, conspicuous sori of a bright reddish-brown 

 colour, contrasting singularly with the pale bluish hue which pervades the 

 whole of the plant. 



D. polyantha — pol-y-an'-tha (many -fruited). A common garden name 

 for D. divaricata. 



D. polydactyla — pol-yd-ac'-tyl-a (many -fingered). A form of D. elegajis. 



D, polypodioides — pol-yp-od-i-6-i'-des (Polypodium-like). Synonymous 

 with D. strigosa. 



