t 



Juptly temmatlng In A pinna 3-5 iti. 1. 1 lateral pinn« 3-6 td a side, shorter than the terminal, uppdi! 

 and lower usually slightly reduced the former free and oordate-auriculate, the inferior base narrowed 

 and rounded, more or less separated or subdistant, the latter close adnate and slightly connected; mar. 

 gins cartilaginous and finely spinulose- serrate , veins fine forked, free or forming casual costal areoloe ; 

 Bori reaching to the base and in the upper pinnae shortly decurrent against the rachis. — •Hook. Sp. 

 Fil. t. 154. 



Var. B. gracilis, Kaulf. — Stipites very slender, 2-8 in. 1. ; fronds 4-7 in. 1. 1-2 in. w. ; pinnae 4-12 

 to a side, f-l^ in. 1. 3-5 H. w. upper adnate, lower free, terminal 2-3 in. I. 



Common in infrequent situations, by the banks of rivers at low altitudes, plentiful on rocks by the 

 side of Ugly river, St. Mary; less generally diffused than the preceding, from which it is marked by 

 the fewer pinnae, the upper not much reduced, and long terminal one, which is the largest of all. The 

 variety varies in form and number of pinnae from the preceding to this, and is quite a complete con- 

 necting link between them. It is found on banks and precipices in forests and lighter shade from 

 5,000-7,000 ft. alt. 



4. B. serriilattm, Rich. — Rootstock free-creeping subterraneous, with erect branches, the growing 

 parts densely scaly ; stipites stiffly erect in tufts 2-3 together, \-\\ ft. 1., stramineous, naked or with 

 a few minute scales at the base ; fronds stiffly erect, coriaceous, pale green, oblong lanceolate, ft. 

 1. 3-9 in. w. fully pinnate throughout ; pinnae very numerous, close, often imbricating, spreading, 

 linear or ligulate, point blunt or acute, rounded, inequilateral and articulated at the sessile free base, 

 attached transversely to the rigid, channelled, rachis, 2-6 in. I. in. w. the fertile narrower than 

 the barren, margin cartilaginous and finely serrated, sparse minute deciduous scales along the 

 ribs, otherwise naked and glossy ; veins very fine, close, forked and parallel, spreading, pellucid ; sori 

 costal, falling short of both base and apex. 



Common in certain open situations in the central parishes, up to 3,000 ft. alt ; gathered on Mt. 

 Diablo ; a communal species, the roots thickly and deeply ramifying under the surface of the ground, 

 covering very wide areas. Generally the fronds are fertile only in the upper half, but occasionally 

 they are so quite throughout. Eventually the pinnae are shed, leaving the erect naked rachises stand- 

 ing. Like the bracken (Fteris aquilina) it perfers open fully exposed wet or dry savannahs or hill 

 sides. 



5. B. volubile Kaulf. — Root-stock strong, subterraneous, creeping, several in. 1. beset with the 

 bases of past stipites, the extending part finely scaly ; stipites several, strong, channelled and angular 

 below, thick as cord, 1-2 or more ft. 1., fronds separately barren and fertile, the former short, simply 

 pinnate, the latter twining, many feet high and bipinnate, pinnae of the latter distant, in opposite or 

 sub-opposite pairs, petiolate, consisting of a long terminal pinnule and 1-5 similar spreading lateral 

 oneSjthe upper piunai iu the frond, becoming gradually reduced to a simple pinna without lateral 

 leaflets f pinnulae entire, 6-10 in. 1. 1-2 in. b. l|-3 in. apart, coriaceous, naked, glossy, with pedicels 

 1-6 li. I. rounded at the base, acuminate, acute or cuspidate at the apex, the margins even and carti- 

 laginous ; veins spreading free, close, single or forked, connected by a marginal line ; sori costal or 

 sub-costal, linear and continuous, reaching from the base nearly to the apex of thi leaflets, deciduous ; 

 involucres revolute, deciduous. — Hook. Gard. Fern. X. 15. — Salpichlcena, J. Sm. 



Infrequent, gathered by Purdie. The earlier fronds produced are not climbing, and are barren. 

 They have a petiole a foot to 1^ ft. 1., and a simply pinnate frond about the same length and width, 

 with a long terminal pinna, 2-3 simple similar pinnae to a side. In this stage the plants resemble 

 somewhat Acrostichum (Olfersia ) cervinum of reduced size. After this the fertile fronds appear one 

 after another, arising as mere slender stems devoid of leaves, wavering about for support, till they 

 reach a branch or young sapling to twine upon, which they ascend, reaching a dozen feet high or 

 more, developing the pinnae as they ascend, the fiist of which are usually largest and infertile, be- 

 coming gradually fertile, smaller, with fewer pinnules upwards, the upper and terminal ones being 

 quite simple, the stems forming a dense entangled mass in time, the original, simply pinnate, frond 

 by that time having quite disappeared. The involucres are quite cylindric at first, arising from be- 

 n-eath the sori and involutely covering it. At length they open out quite flat, revealing the lines of 

 ruddy sori, when after a time both break up and gradually drop away, leaving only the raised re- 

 ceptacle as a slight ridge, barely separated from the midrib, as evidence of their former presence. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT. 



Library. 



Hooker's Icones Plantanim. Vol. II. Pt. II. Mar. 1893. [Bentham Trustees through Kew.] 

 Bulletin R. (Jarden.s, Kew. App. II. 1893. [Kew.] 

 Export of Cape Fruit. [Kew.] 



Report on effects of late frosts on Vegetation. [Bot. Gar. Hong Kong.] 

 Report on Govt. Bot. Gard., Bangalore. 1891-92. [Supt.] 

 Report on Museum, Bangalore. Ih92. [Supt.] 



Report on the Daris-Daulat Gardens, Seringapatam. 1892. [Supt.] 

 Report on state of Crops. Nova Scotia. [Secy, for Agriculture.] 



Report on condition of growing Crops, N. S. Wales, Oct., 1893. [Dept. of Agriculture.] 

 Report on the Failure of the Dominica Cacao Crop, 1892-93. [Supt. of Agriculture.] 

 Report on Natal Bot. Gard., 1892. [Curator.] 



Ann. Report Bot. Gard., Graaff-Reinet, S. Africa, 1892. [Curator.] 

 Ann. Report Colonial Herbarium, Durban, 1 892. [Curator.] 

 Ann. Report McGill Univ., 1892. [Director.] 



Ann. Report Dept of Agri., Queensland, 1891-92. [Dept. of Agri.] 



Trans, of Queensland Acclimatisation Soc, Dec 1892. [Sec] 



Pro. and .lourn, of Agri-Horti-Soc. of India. Oct. to Dec. 1892. [Sec] 



Timehri : Journ. of R. Agri- Comm. Soc. of B. Guiana. Dec. 1892. [Editor.] 



