235 



A terrestial species, ^rowing on open banks and other grassy places. 

 The stems are erect, but as they bifurcate and lengthen they curve and. 

 rest on the ground, it is a stiff species, but the stems are not rigid, 

 being fleshy. While green they are 1-2 li. thick without the leaves 



7. L. inter/nedium, Spreng. — 'Branches slender, ribbed, distantly 

 dichotomous few or several times, reaching 2 ft. long, the divisions 

 relatively few, parallel or spreading more or less, not decrescent, ; leaves 

 recurved throughout, 7-or 8-farious, linear-subulate, 2-1 li. 1. ^ li. w , 

 very laxly arranged on the ribs; margins even or slightly serrate! ; 

 sporangia about I li. w. reniform 



A more slender stemmed species than L. reflexum, of which Mr. 

 Baker regards it a variety with longer interbrauches, and smaller more 

 recurved and laxer leaves. The branches are the same size and the 

 leaves the same length from the primary stem to the ends of the 

 branches The top of the recurved leaves is turned quite round to the 

 base, and thus they form nearly a circle. 



8. L. dichotornum, Jacq. — Uranches strong, lealy from the base, 

 once to several times dichotomous, parallel or di varied ting, firm, erect 

 or spreading, ribbed ; leaves 8-farious, close, raiher crowded, linear- 

 subulate, straight, or curved, spreading variously,- horizontally de- 

 fltxed or up-curved, often falcate, Jrd-^ li. vv. f-l in. 1, even-edged, 

 purple at the base, not decrescent upwards, the outer ones often seeming 

 longer but really not so ; abundantly fertile, the sporan^^ia cordate, 

 much exposed — Bak. Fer. Al. p. 16. L. mandiocanum, Radd. 



Terrestial, near Blue Mountain Peak, epiphytal at low altitudes. 

 The leaves are very close and spread in various directions, the outer of 

 the brauches often appearing to have longer ones than the inner parts, 

 but it is only in appearance and due to the angle at which they spread. 

 The species is a characteristic one, variable in its extent of branching, 

 with a more or less upright (not pendent) but ultimately, as in L. re- 

 flexam, spreading growth, fhe leaves als > vary in width, some plants 

 frum this cause having a much finer aspect than others. 



9 L. linifoliuin, Linn. — Branches ribbed, very slender, leafy from 

 the base of the primary stem, flaccid, repeatedly dichotomous, pendent, 

 reaching 2 ft. long or over, final branches few or many, often very 

 numerous ; leaves lax, 3 serial, spreading, linear or linear-subulate, 

 often rather falcate, J-f or 1 li. w., J-| in. 1 , herbaceous in texture, 

 with a distinct midrib, even -edged; abundantly fertile, often from the 

 inner bifurcations; sporangia fully exposed, reniform PI. t. 166. c, 

 Bak. Fern. Al. p. 16. L. flexibiie, Fee. 



This differs from the two preceding species by its slender thread- 

 like in size, branches, having the leaves only 3-farious, the flaccid tex- 

 ture, and loosely arranged leaves, between which the stem is visible 

 from ^ to \ inch. It is so pliant ihat a plant might be rolled into a 

 ball between one's hands without injury. The var. of L. taxifolium 

 passer inodes, as I have pointe 1 out, in some of its states comes near it, 

 but in that the stems are never so slender or flaccid, nor the leaves so 

 few in series or so loosely placed on the ribs. So.ae specimens have 

 nearly 100 final branches, all developed by repeated forking from a 

 single primary stem. It extends from the lower hills to the high 

 mountains. 



