29 



quite naked ; rachis similar ; fronds lanceolate-oblong, bi- or tripinna- 

 tifid, f-lj ft. L 2-4 in. w., acuminate the base truncate, firm, naked, 

 or the ribs beneath ciliate, dark green and glossy above, pale and 

 striated beneath ; pinnae numerous, sub-distant, horizontal or oblique, 

 ovate-lanceolate, obtuse or acuminate, 1-3 in. 1. f-lj in. w. stipitate 

 and broadest at the base, no distinct midrib, cut nearly to the centre 

 into few sub -distant oblique segments, the inner of which on the supe- 

 rior side is cuneate and externally toothed or incised or sub-digitate- 

 cuneate, the opposite, under-side, void of a corresponding segment, the 

 others usually linear-oblong, truncate and sharply toothed or eroded at 

 the end, the sides plain and even ; veins close, parallel or flabellate; 

 sori parallel or radiant, copious, ^-1 in. 1. straight, involucres narrow, 

 pale. Plum. Fil. t. 98. Hook and Grev. Icon. t. 189. A.furcatum 

 Thunb. 



Common on rocks and banks in open and sheltered situations between 

 4,000-6,000 ft. alt ; variable inform, but with no ally of near likeness. 

 It is an almost cosmopolitan species, being spread through nearly all 

 tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Though Thunberg's 

 name is usually used, the Swartzian name is the oldest (1788), and was 

 moreover founded on Jamaica specimens. 



27. A cuneatmn, Lam. — Rootstock erect or decumbent, shortly 

 elongated, densely clothed with fine dark reticulated scales ; stipites 

 tufted, 4-9 in. 1. channelled dark grayish, naked or puberulous, base 

 slightly scaly ; rachis similar ; fronds bi-tripinnate, f-lj ft. 1. 3-8 in 

 w. ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, acuminate, base truncate, firm, naked, 

 dark green, glossy, pale beneath ; pinnae numerous, usually horizontal, 

 2-4 in. 1. 1-2 in. w., much the shape of the frond, stipitate, approxi- 

 mate or sub-distant, usually bi-pinnate at the base or lower two-thirds ; 

 pinnulae apart, stipitate, the larger pinnate ; final segments 4-5 li. 1. 

 2-3 li. b. entire or lobed, spathulate-cuneate, the outer edge rounded 

 and dentate ; veins forked, radial ; sori radial, 1-2 li. 1. reaching the 

 marginal teeth ; involucres pale, narrow. — SI. t. 46. f. 2. PI. t. 41. 



Frequent on trees, logs and rocks in peat or decayed wood or leaf 

 mould in woods and forests from the valleys of the lower hills up to 

 2,000 ft. alt. A much more compound plant than prcemorsum, with 

 the segments narrowed in all cases to a distinctly stipitate base, but 

 with no distinct midrib, and the largest being on the superior base, 

 the opposite inferior side being void of a corresponding one. 



28. A. auritum, Sw.— Stipites slender, tufted from a small upright, 

 brown-scaly fibrous rootstock, 4-6 in. 1. gray-green, naked ; rachis 

 similar, channelled, flattened upwards ; fronds pinnate or bi-pinnatifid 

 6-10 in. 1. 2-4 in. w. acuminate, base truncate, pale clear green, 

 naked, variable in texture; pinnae spreading, opposite or attenuate, 

 sub-distant, petiolate, in. 1. J-J in. w., base broadest and usually 

 obliquely cuneate, with a single free enlarged ovate or lanceolate seg- 

 ment on the superior side, beyond which both margins are serrato- 

 entire or inciso-lobate, the inferior base cut away, tapering outwards to 

 the acute, acuminate or sometimes attenuated end; veins pinnate, 

 once or twice forked, running into the marginal teeth ; sori. li. 1. 

 very oblique, sub-paralled with and medial between the midrib and 

 margin, the same in the basal pinnule ; involucres pale, silvery. — SI. 

 t. 33. f. 1 and 2. 



