11 



bhh. Midribs of tho segments connected by a shallow costal arch, other veins free. 



9. F. biaurita, Linn. 

 aaaaa. Fronds tri-or quadripinnatifid, 



h. Veins areolated. 



10. P. poclophylla, Swartz. 



11. P. acaleata, Swartz. 



12. P. Eunzeana, Agardh. 



13. P. bulb if era, Jenm. 



14. P. yigantea, Willd. 

 bb. Veins free. 



15. P. laciniata, Willd. 

 aaaaaa. Fronds tripinnate. 



b. Veins free. 



16. P. heterophylla, Linn. 

 bb. Veins free or casually united. 



17. P. incisa, Thunb. 

 aaaaaaa. Fronds quadripinnate ; veins free. 



b. Involucres simple. 



18. P. dejiexciy Link. 

 bb. Involucres double. 



19. P. aquilina, Linn. 



20. P. viscusa, Moore. 



1. P. pedata, Linn. — Rootstock small, fibrous, scaly ; stipitcs tufted, slender, wiry, polished 

 blackish, 2-6 in. 1., furfuraceous or naked at maturity ; fronds subdeltoid, tripartite, 3-5 in. each way, 

 subcoriaceous, dark green above, pale beneath, naked or the ribs slightly furfuraceous ; central portion 

 larger, and equilateral, deeply pinnatifid below the entire lanceolate-acuminate apex, the lowest pair 

 of its segments entire or pinnatifid and decurrent ; lateral portions furcate from near the base, the 

 divisions nearly equal or the superior larger, divaricating, subentire or more or less pinnatifid on one 

 or both sides ; rachis and costae inconspicuous on the upper side, beneath prominent but evanescent 

 outwards, dark coloured and polished ; veins forming a fine net work, without free branches, obscure 

 in dry fronds ; sori continuous along the margins. — Plum. t. 152. Bortjopteris, J. Smith. 



Frequent under banks in open and shady situations in the mid-region of the principal mountain 

 ranges, from 3,000 to 4,500 ft. alt. The smaller, less divided, fronds, which are uniform, in some 

 plants, but may often be gathered with the larger, more divided, from the same rootstock, are often 

 in herbaria ascribed to P. palmata, Linn., a species similar but more coriaceous, and somewhat less 

 divided in the fronds, fuund on the maluliiud. Sec also tKe ui^te lu Pcllwu (jeruaicefolia. 



2, P. lomjifolia, Linn. — Stipites tufted, spreading, from a few inches to 1 or 2 ft. 1. nearly naked or 

 more or less freely villose, scaly; arising from a stout, shortly repent rootstock ; fronds 1 - 3 ft. 1. ^ - 

 1^ ft. w. simply pinnate, stiff dark green, striated, the base generally much reduced, the apex termi- 

 nating abruptly in a linear segment ; rachis channelled, and with costse glabrous or villose ; pinnae 

 very numerous, spreading horizontally, linear, 4 - 8 in. 1. 2 - 6 li. w. cordate or more or less auricled 

 at the sessile base, acuminate or blunt-pointed, the barren margins crenate-serrate ; veins close, spread- 

 ing, once or twice forked; sori continuous along both margins, — Sloane, t. 34. ; Plum. t. 69 and 70 ; 

 Eat. Fer. N. Am. pi. 78. P. Vittata, Linn. 



Common on banks and in dry woods up to 4,000ft. alt. Very variable in size of fronds, width of 

 pinnae and vestiture. In the narrower forms the inflexed involucres nearly touch the midrib, while in 

 tbe broader there is a more or less open space between ; the pinnae of barren fronds in all being 

 broader than those of the fertile. At the higher elevations it is more hispid or villose than in the low. 

 The summits of the veins in barren fronds are thickened, and often covered with minute calcareous 

 scales. There is a remarkable multifid freely lobed and incised state, and another with the apex fas- 

 ciated, spreading fringe- like. The Linnean names are founded on the larger and smaller states. 

 3. P. grandifolia, Linn. — 



Rootstock stout, free-creeping, densely coated with brownish scales ; stipites apart, strong, erect, 

 scaly at the base, 2-4 ft. 1. not channelled; fronds stiff", 3-6 ft. 1. 1^-2^ ft. w. simply pinnate, sub- 

 coriaceous, naked, the rachis strong, channelled, straw-coloured or brown ; pinnae entire, numerous, 

 about 2 in. apart, f-li ft. 1. 1-1^ in. br., sessile and subrounded or rather cuneate at the base, the 

 lower ones shorter on the inferior side, terminal like the lateral ; veins very close, spreading at a wide 

 angle from the midrib, simple or forked and parallel within the marginal network ; sori in a marginal 

 band, extending from the base to the finely serrated tapering point. — Plum. t. 105. Hook. Sp. Fil. 

 Vol. 2 t. 113 B. Heteroplilebium, Fee. 



Common among the lower hills on roadsides, banks, and more or less open places. The upper 

 dark green surface is rather silky looking. Both in this and the preceding the sporangia are early 

 mixed with scales. Sir Henry Barkly gathered a form with sinuated and branched pinnae. P. domini- 

 centsis, Baker of Dominica ditfers by having the veins wholly areolated. The habit resembles that of 

 Davallia mccoloma. P. vittata, Schk, from Cuba has mostly free veins. 



4. P. cretica, Linn. — Stipites 1-2 ft. 1. numerous, slender, erect, naked, stramineous, channelled, 

 arising from a shortly creeping rootstock ; fronds ^-1 ft. 1., nearly as w., light green, naked, chartaceous, 

 composed of a long terminal pinnae and 2-3 pairs of distant similar, linear-ligulate, and acuminate 

 erecto-spreading lateral ones, the upper pair of which are close to the base of the terminal and shortly 

 decurrent on the slender, channelled, straw coloured rachis, the middle pair sessile, subcuneate at the 

 base but not decurrent, the lowest pair forked from near the base, tho membrane on the lower side 

 below the fork being absent, 4-9 in. i. about ^ in. w. those of the barren fronds rather wider and spina- 



