90 



3,000 f fc. alt. ; distiaguislied by tlie very dark hair-like deciduous scale s 

 that fringe the margins, the midrib on the under side, and petioles. 

 With age the fronds become nearly or quite naked, when, but for their 

 thinner texture they might be mistaken for those of latifolium, which 

 in form they nearly exactly resemble, the venation however being 

 rather more open and the apex more inclined to cuspidate. The pe- 

 tioles and rachises vary from stramineous to a bright or dull reddish 

 brown, a is a smaller variety a fourth or sixth the size of the type, 

 with very little vestiture and permanent in these characters. It is 

 much the more plentiful, generally gregarious with other herbage. 



A Boryamimy Fee, intermediate between villosic?)i and hybridum, the 

 fronds blunt or truncate, retuse and viviparous at the apex, very open 

 venation, and hairy on the surfaces, likely inhabits Jamaica, but has 

 not yet been recorded. 



19. A. apodum, Kaulf. — Rootstock short and broad, very densely 

 clothed with light aureous long soft linear scales ; stipites tufted, several, 

 J - J in. 1., furnished with a few deciduous spreading hairs ; fronds 

 spreading flabellately, 6 - 10 in. 1. f - ^ in. w., the apex shortly acumi- 

 nate, gradually tapering from the middle, or upper third, to the base, 

 chartaceous, pellucid ; light but rather dullish green, a thin deciduous 

 short fringe of hairs along the margins, other parts naked ; veins 

 forked ; fertile fronds the same shape, but much smaller. — Hook, and 

 Grev. Icon. t. 99. 



Plentiful on open banks and in shade from 2,000 ft. alt. upwards, 

 but chiefly in the middle mountain region ; a peculiar and well charac- 

 terised species. The rootstock forms a flat broad cushion, clothed densely 

 with the bright soft light aureous undulate scales, from which the 

 fronds spring in a loose cluster, and spread flatty in the form of a fan. 

 The stipites are very short, and hardly longer in the fertile than in the 

 barren fronds, both of which in some cases appear as if quite sessile and 

 the vestiture consists only in a short thin marginal fringe, which is 

 deciduous. 



20. A. Cuhense, Mett. — Rootstock short, fibrous, densely coated with 

 aureous lanceolate acuminate crispate scales ; stipites contiguous or 

 sub-tufted, J - 1-J or 2 in. 1., furnished with deciduous spreading rather 

 ferruginous hairs ; fronds oblanceolate, spreading 4 - 6 in. 1. IJ - 1^ 

 in. w. shortly pointed or rounded at the apex, the base much tapering 

 and decurrent on the slender petioles, chartaceous densely pellucid dot- 

 ted, light green, deciduously clothed with scattered hairs, more plenti- 

 fully on the midrib, a copious aureous fringe to the margins, veins close, 

 1-3 times forked ; fertile fronds much smaller, the same shape, but 

 the tapering lower part more elongated. 



Infrequent between 2,000 - 5,000 ft. altitude. Allied to apodum but 

 distinguished by the smaller rootstocks, shorter, oblanceolate fronds, 

 which are rounded or very shortly pointed in the broad upper part, the 

 base tapering gradually into the slender petioles ; by the more copious 

 though deciduous hairs, which, as in the four preceding species, have a 

 beautiful aureous tinge along the margins, and by the closer dichoto- 

 mously branched veins. The rootstock is at length shortly repeat, and 

 in this state the stipites are not so near together. The old fronds be- 

 come nearly bare, but more or less of tke marginal vestiture is retained 

 to the last. 



