270 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



P. Dalhousise— Dal-hou'-si-aB (Lady Dalhousie's), Hooker. 



A stove species, of large dimensions, native of Penang and Java, and very 

 distinct from any other species in the group. Its fronds, 2ft. to 3ft. long, 

 lft. to lift, broad, and borne on strong, upright, polished stalks about 1ft. 

 high, are three or four times divided nearly to the midrib. In their upper 

 portion they are composed of unbranched leaflets ; in their lower parts the 

 leaflets, sometimes lft. long, are furnished with simple or occasionally branched, 

 narrow segments of a somewhat leathery texture and naked on both surfaces. 

 The spore masses, which do not reach to their extremity, are covered with 

 a narrow involucre of a parchment-like texture. — Hooker, Species Filicum, 

 ii., p. 170, t. 121a. Beddome, Ferns of British India, t. 191. 



P. decomposita— de-com-pos'-it-a (much divided), Baker. 



This very distinct and remarkable, greenhouse species is a native of the 

 Andes of Peru, where it occurs at 10,000ft. elevation. It is of robust habit, 

 with fronds 3ft. to 4ft. long, their lowest leaflets often measuring 2ft. in 

 length, with many pinnules (leafits) divided again into deeply-cleft segments. 

 The fronds are of a stiff and somewhat leathery texture and naked on both 

 surfaces, and the spore masses clo not extend to their extremities. — Hooker, 

 Synopsis Filicum, p. 479. 



P. (Doryopteris) decora— Dor-y-op'-ter-is; dec -o'-ra (decorous), Brackenridge. 



A stove species, of small dimensions, native of the Sandwich Islands. 

 Its singular and pretty fronds, borne on erect, wiry stalks 6in. to Sin. long 

 and of a dark chestnut-brown colour, are 3in. to 4in. each way, and are 

 composed of a narrow terminal lobe, two or three pairs of similar lateral ones, 

 and below these two pairs of compound leaflets, the lowest cut down again 

 into three divisions. They are of a leathery texture, naked on both surfaces, 

 and the spore masses reach to the extremity of the lobes. — Hooker, Species 

 Filicum, ii., p. 210. 



P. decussata — dec-us-sa'-ta (cut crosswise). Synonymous with P. patens. 



P. deflexa — de-flex'-a (deflexed), Link. 



This stove species, which is found in Tropical America, from the West 

 Indies southward to Brazil and Peru, has its ample fronds, 2ft. to 4ft. long, 



