ACROSTICHUM. 



185 



lin. broad, are very variable, some being nearly entire, while others are cut 

 half-way down to the midrib of the blunt lobes, the upper side frequently 

 auricled (eared), the lower one obliquely truncate (terminating abruptly), and 

 dark green. The fertile fronds, besides being narrower, are on a longer spike, 

 with roundish or oblong pinnae, often distinctly stalked. This is a free- 

 growing species, native of various parts of India, from the Himalayas to 

 Hong-Kong, Ceylon, the Malaccas and Philippine Islands, and, according to 

 Beddome, it is found growing in moist forests, at no great elevation, in the 

 Anamallays, Neilgherries, &c. — Hooker, Species Filicum, v., p. 251. Beddome, 

 Ferns of Southern India, t. 194 ; Ferns of British India, t. 110. Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 18. 



A. (Polybotrya) articulatum— Pol-yb-ot'-ry-a ; ar-tic-ul-a'-tum (jointed), 

 Hooker. 



A very strong-growing stove species, native of the Philippine Islands. — 

 Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 413. 



A. (Polybotrya) aspidioides — Pol-yb-ot'-ry-a ; as-pid-i-o-i'-des 

 (Aspidium-like), Baker. 

 A distinct stove species, from Cuba, with general habit similar to that of 

 Nephrodium (Lastrea) Filix-mas. The barren fronds, pinnatifid (nearly 

 divided to the midrib) and of a sub-coriaceous (almost leathery) texture, 1ft. 

 high, are borne on stems densely clothed with lanceolate-acuminate (spear- 

 shaped and pointed) scales. The fertile fronds are narrower, doubly pin- 

 natifid, with the lobes fertile on both sides.— Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 414. 



A. (Polybotrya) asplenifolium — Pol-yb-ot'-ry-a ; as-ple-nif-or-i-um 

 (Asplenium-fronded), Bory. 

 A greenhouse species, from the Neilgherries, Anamallays, &c, where, 

 according to Beddome, it grows wild in moist forests, at no great elevation. 

 Its barren and fertile fronds are very dissimilar : the former are pinnate (cut 

 down to the midrib), glabrous (smooth), sometimes viviparous (producing 

 young plants) at their apex ; pinnaa (leaflets) twenty-five to forty pairs, 

 opposite or alternate. Fertile fronds much contracted, with leaflets much shorter 

 than those of the sterile ones. Both are produced from a short, creeping, thick 



2 B 



