PTERIS. 



281 



points of the leafits. — Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 216 ; Garden Ferns, 

 t. 23. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iii., p. 243. Lowe, Ferns British 

 and Exotic, iii., t. 47. 



P. litobrochioides — li-tob-roch'-i-o-i'-des (Litobrochia-like), Klotzsch. 



A stove species, of medium dimensions, native of British Guiana and the 

 Amazon Valley. Its fronds, 2ft. long and 1 Jft. broad, are borne on strong, 

 upright, naked stalks of a bright chestnut-brown colour ; they are composed 

 of a terminal leaflet 1ft. long, 2in. to 3in. broad, cut down to within a short 

 distance of the rachis into numerous spreading, narrow, entire lobes ; and of 

 three or four lateral leaflets on each side similar to the terminal one, the lowest 

 3in. or 4in. distant at the base, all unbranched and of a leathery texture. The 

 fronds are naked on both surfaces, and the spore masses reach nearly to the 

 extremity of the lobes. — Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 178. 



P. (Heterophlebium) lomariacea — Het-er-oph-leb'-I-um ; lo-ma-n-a'-ce-a 

 (Lomaria-like), Kunze. 

 This stove species, of small dimensions, with fronds about 4in. each 

 way, and borne on wiry, dark chestnut -brown stalks 6in. to 12in. long, is 

 a native of British Guiana, Peru, and Brazil. It closely resembles the better- 

 known P. palmata in habit, differing from that popular species principally in 

 the nature of its venation. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 164. 



P. longifolia — long-if-ol'-i-a (long-leaved), Linnceus. 



This deservedly popular, greenhouse species, particularly useful on account 

 of its decorative qualities and easy culture, is said by Lowe to have been 

 introduced into England in the year 1770. Its range of habitat is unusually 

 extensive, it being found wild in tropical and warm temperate regions all 

 round the world. Its fronds, broadly spear-shaped in form, are simply pinnate 

 (only once divided to the rachis), 1ft. to 2ft. long, and 6in. to 9in. broad ; 

 they are borne on stout, upright stalks 6in. to 12in. long and more or less 

 densely clothed in their lower part with narrow scales of a pale brown colour. 

 The sessile (stalkless) leaflets, Sin. to 6in. long and seldom more than Jin. 

 broad, are sometimes slightly eared at the base ; they are of a somewhat 

 leathery texture and naked and dark green on both surfaces. The sori 



