528 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



furnished with five or six pairs of pinnae (leaflets), of a firm, parchment-like 

 texture, dark green on both surfaces, and proliferous (bud-bearing) at their 

 extremity. These pinnae affect a singular and unusual disposition, inasmuch 

 as they are adnate (attached to the stalk through the whole length of their 

 lower base), nearly or quite free and rounded on the upper side at their base, 

 and crenulate (dented) in the upper half of their length. The sori (spore 

 masses), situated close to the mid vein or rarely prolonged on either side 

 of it, are disposed in two rows running parallel all the way. — Hooker, 

 Synojjsis Filicum, p. 484. Beddome, Ferns of Southern India, t. 229. 



A. (Athyrium) decurtatum— Ath-yr'-i-um ; de-cur- ta'-tum (shortened), 

 Link. 



An evergreen, stove species, native of Brazil, having very much the 

 appearance of a deciduous Lady Fern. Its fronds, of a soft, papery texture, 

 2ft. to 3ft. long and 9in. to 12in. broad, are borne on erect, whitish or pale 

 straw-coloured stipes (stalks) 1ft. or more long and scaly at the base; they 

 are bipinnate (twice divided to the midrib), spear-shaped, and furnished with 

 numerous closely-set, spreading leaflets 4in. to 6in. long and lin. broad, cut 

 down nearly to the rachis (stalk of the leafy portion) into blunt, entire 

 lobes, pubescent (slightly hairy) on both surfaces. The oblong sori (spore 

 masses) fall short of both the edge and the midrib, and the lower ones are 

 curved.— Hooker, Species Filicum, iii., p. 226. Lowe, Ferns British and 

 Exotic, v., t. 45. 



A. (Anisogonium) decussatum — An-is-og-o'-ni-uni ; dec-us-sa'-tum 

 (decussate or cut crosswise), Swartz. 

 A stove species, of somewhat gigantic dimensions, found in the Poly- 

 nesian and Malayan Islands, also in Queensland and on the Guinea Coast. 

 Beddome says that it is also a native of Ceylon, as well as of the 

 Tinnevelly Hills, Himalayas. Its fronds, from 2ft. to 4ft. long, are borne 

 on strong, erect stipes (stalks) 1ft. to 2ft. long and often muricated (rough 

 with short tubular excrescences) ; the midrib is furnished with numerous 

 pinnae (leaflets) on each side (Fig. 88), which are from 6in. to 12in. long, 

 lin. to 2in. broad, often proliferous (bud-bearing) in the axils, and with their 

 edge nearly entire or slightly lobed. The sori (spore masses) reach nearly 



