236 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



is reduced from Col. Beddome's " Ferns of British India," by the kind 

 permission of the author. — Hooher, Synopsis Filicum, p. 380. Beddome, Ferns 

 of British India, t. 190. 



G. (Eugymnogramme) angustifrons— Eu-gym-nog-ram'-me ; an-gus'- 

 tif-rons (narrow-fronded), Baker. 

 A stove species, native of the Andes of Ecuador and Peru. It is distinct 

 from all others through its ligulate (strap -shaped) fronds, 6in. to 12in. long 

 and |in. broad, which are borne on tufted, wiry, glossy stalks 2in. to 4in. 

 long and of a dark chestnut-brown colour ; they are bipinnatifid (twice divided 

 half-way to the midrib), and their leaflets, of a somewhat leathery texture 

 and furnished with blunt, rounded lobes, are usually set a little apart, leaving 

 between them a sj)ace equal to their own breadth. The sori (spore masses) 

 are oblong. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 380. 



G. (Ceropteris) argentea — Ce-rop'-ter-is ; ar-gen'-te-a (silvery), Mettenius. 



This very pretty, stove species, of dwarf habit, is a native of Natal and 

 the Mascarene Islands. Its elegant little fronds, borne on slender, glossy 

 stalks Sin. to Gin. long and of a chestnut-brown colour, are somewhat similar 

 in shape to the Greek delta. A, and quadripinnatifid (four times divided half- 

 way to the midrib). Their leaflets, which are not very numerous and are 

 frequently distant, are of the same shape as the frond, the lower ones being 

 3in. to 4in. long and 2in. broad ; the sub-divisions of these (leafits and 

 segments) are of similar shape and of a soft, papery texture. The under-side 

 is coated with a white powder, sometimes tinged with red, while the sori 

 (spore masses) are of a peculiar pale brown colour. G. aurea of Desvaux is 

 a variety with yellow powder, found in Madagascar, Bourbon, and Angola. 

 — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 385. 



G. (Eugymnogramme) ascensionis — Eu-gym-nog-ram'-me ; as-cen- 

 si-o'-nis (from Ascension Island), Hooker. 

 This is a little, annual species, with fronds 2in. to oin. long, lin. to 

 IJin. broad, and tripinnatifid (three times divided half-way to the midrib) ; 

 they are of a thin, papery texture, and are borne on slender, thread-like 

 stalks lin. to 2in. long and of a chestnut-brown colour. The sori (spore 



