POLYPODIUM. 



199 



or more in length and 2ft. to 3ft. broad, are borne on strong stalks 2ft. 

 to 4ft. long, scaly at the base, but naked upwards. The lower leaflets, lft. to 

 1-J-ft. long and Sin. to 4in. broad, are again divided into narrow, sharjD- 

 pointed leafits Jin. broad, the lower ones of which are thrown back. The 

 fronds are of a somewhat leathery texture, naked on both sides, and have their 

 spore masses disposed along the margins of their leafits. — Hooker, Species 

 Filicum, iv., p. 255, t. 280. 



P. pubemlum — pu-ber'-ul-um (minutely downy), Schlechtendahl. 



A stove species, of medium dimensions, native of Mexico and Guatemala, 

 with fronds lft. to ljft. long, Gin. to Sin. broad, borne on firm, polished, 

 naked stalks 6in. to Sin. long, and produced from a wide -creeping, scaly 

 rhizome. The leaflets, 3in. long and Jin. broad, have their edge irregularly 

 notched, and are distinctly eared on both sides at the base ; they are of a soft, 

 papery texture and slightly hairy, and the spore masses are disposed in rows 

 nearer the edge than the midrib. — Hooker, Species Filicum, iv., p. 220. 



P. (Goniophlebium) pubescens — pu-bes'-cens (downy), Hooker and 

 Greville. 



This pretty, small-growing, stove Fern, native of the Andes of Peru, 

 produces from a wide-creeping rhizome of a scaly nature its pinnate fronds, 

 6in. to 12in. long and 3in. to 4in. broad, which are borne on naked stalks 

 4in. to Sin. long, and cut down to the rachis into numerous nearly entire 

 leaflets, the lowest pair of which are deflexed and rather reduced. The fronds 

 are of a somewhat leathery texture, slightly glandular and hairy on their 

 under-side, and have their spore masses generally disposed in a single 

 series. — Hooker, Species Filicum, v., p. 19. Hooker and Greville, Icones 

 Filicum, t. 182. 



P. (Phlebodium) pulvinatum — Phleb-o'-di-um ; pul-vi-na'-tum 

 (cushioned). A variety of P. aureum. 



P. (Phegopteris) punctatum — Phe-gop'-ter-is ; punc-ta'-tum (dotted), 

 Thunberg. 



This strong-growing, greenhouse species, with ample and much-divided 

 foliage, has a wide range of habitat, for it is said to be a native of Colombia, 



