6 



1. D. Saccoloma, Spreng. — Rootstock short, erect or decumbent, very stout; stipites tufted, 

 erect, 2-3 ft. L dark brown, glossy, channelled, fibrillose and asperous at the base ; fronds 2-4 ft. I. 1-1^ 

 ft. w. chartaceous, glossy bright green, naked, simply pinnate, with a terminal pinna and numerous 

 similar spreading lateral pinnae, £-1 ft. 1. 1-1^ in. w. the base obliquely rounded or subcuneate, the 

 lower ones stipitate ; veins close, simple or forked, prominent beneath ; sori one to each vein, forming 

 a continuous series along the margins, falling short only of the finely serrated acuminate point : invo- 

 lucres shallow, broader than deep, the crenulate margin of the pinnae forming an uninterrupted outer 

 valve. — Saccoloma elegans, Klf. 



Common in forests and on well-shaded banks of the eastern parishes up to 10o0 or 1500 ft. alt. 

 Through the veins being close, and each one fertile, the sori form an almost continuous line. From a 

 mistaken or transposed note of Purdie's, which represents the rootstock as creeping 20 ft. high, the 

 habit has hitherto been misunderstood. The rootstock is in fact 4-6 in. thick, reaching not more than 

 1 ft. high. 



2. D. Sloanci, Jenm. — Stipites strong, dark-brown, channelled; frouds Rft. or more 1 nearly as w. 

 bipinnatifid or fully bipinnate, chartaceous, pellucid, light glossy green, naked ; pinnae alternate, apart, 

 the upper ones narrow subentire, sessile; the lower 10-15in. 1. 3-6in. w., petiolate, pinnate at the base, 

 above this deeply pinnatifid, suddenly reduced in the outer third to a one-inch w. ligulate portion 

 which is broadly and roundly lobed, the lobes fading outwards through mere sinuations into the ser- 

 rulate acuminate point ; pinnulae alternate, 3-4in. 1. ^-£in. w. oblique and except the lower one or two 

 fully adnate and connected, with a broad cuneately notched sinus }-£in. w. between ; veins once forked ; 

 sori terminal on the veins, forming an uninterrupted marginal line; involucres transversely attached, 

 pocket-like, the crenatures of the thin membranous margin forming an outer reflexed valve. — Sloane 

 Cat. p. 19 ; Hist. p. 89. tab. 47 ; pits. p. 102. Pteris. Radd. 



Gathered by Sloane in 1688 about Mt. Diabolo, where he says it grew at the time in several 

 places. No other collector has found it. Sloane's specimen, cited above, is an entire fertile frond. A 

 good search of Mt. Diabolo for its rediscovery would be well worth the while of any collector. 



3. D. Speluncw, Baker. — Rootstock branched, short-creeping ; stipites close, erect, 2-3ft. 1. lightly 

 channelled; fronds 4-5ft. 1. 2£-4ft. w. tri-quadripinnate, rather soft, greyisli green, both sides lightly 

 pubescent ; pinna; apart, alternate, l{-2ft. 1. 5-10in. w. acuminate, nearly sessile ; pinnulae numerous, 

 2^-6in. 1. f -l^in. w. sessile or nearly so, lobed to the acuminate point ; tertiary segments approximate, 

 broader on the outer side, ^-£in. 1. 2^-5 li. br. blunt, dentate, deeply pinnatifid or fully pinnate, the 

 lowest on the inferior side largest ; final lobes 3-7 to a side, 1^-3 li. 1. li. w. blunt, the larger den- 

 tate ; veins forked, not reaching the margin ; sori sub-marginal, terminal on the lowest veinlet in the 

 crenatures at the base of the lobes, one to each except the large basal lobe which has 2-4 ; involucres 

 wider than deep, attached by the base, ciliate or not. — D. Jamaicemh Hook. D. polypodioides, Eat. 

 Polypodium Spcluucm, Linn. 



Frequent in open and bushy places among the lower hills, and extending upwards to 2,000 or 

 3,000 ft. alt. It varies a good deal in siz«% shape of pinnce and pinnulae, and in pubescence. The tex- 

 ture is uniformly soft. 



4. D. in&qualis, Kunze — Rootstock very stout, erect ; stipites tufted, 3-4 ft. 1. channelled, scaly 

 at the base ; fronds nearly deltoid, 3-4£ ft. 1. 2^-4 ft. w. firm, naked, glossy pale green, quadripinnate ; 

 pinnae alternate, similar in shape to the frond 1^-2 ft. 1. f-l^ft. w. lax, petiolate, serrate, acuminate, 

 the larger deeper on the lower side ; pinnulae proportionately reduced ; tertiary segments similarly 

 shaped, f-2 in. 1. J-f in. w. hardly sessile, the apex serrate or dentate, below this fully pinnate, the 

 outer side the deeper; final segments ovate-oblong, dentate, or al the base lobate, 3-5 li. 1. 1-2 li. br. ; 

 veins simple or forked, not reaching the margin ; sori 2-6 to each of the final segments, placed against 

 the shallow teeth, sub-marginal; involucres deeper than broad, quite enclosing the sori, pocket-shaped, 

 opening only at the top. — Hook. Sp. fil. vol. i. t, 57. B. ; Sloane's t. 57. 



Frequent in mountain forests from 2000-4000 ft. alt. A large multifidly cut species, of pale or 

 straw green colour, with glossy naked surfaces, and lax habit. The lower pinnae are deeper on the 

 inferior side, but this character is gradually reversed in those above. 



5. D. aculeata, Swartz. — Rootstock prostrate, short-creeping, densely fibrillose ; stipites close, 



the several lower ones usually much the largest ; quadriary segments cuneate-flabellate, pinnate or 

 pinnatified, 2-3 li. w. and d. forming 1-3 emarginate or bifid wedge-shaped blunt lobes, which are 

 li w. and into which usually a single veinlet runs ; rachis and other ribs more or less castaneous, fiat 

 or channelled down the face, prickly beneath, costae and costulae fiexuose or zig-zag ; sori at the ends of 

 the final lobes, one to each ; involucres cuneate, rather deeper than w. opening at the top. — -Hook Sp. 

 Fil. vol., 1, t. 54 B. Plum. Fil. t. 94, (greatly exaggerated). 



Abundant in forests and in their skirts, forming dense and impenetrable thickets from 2500 ft. 

 alt. up to the highest ridges and peaks. The fronds reach 15 or 20 ft. high, supported by each other 

 or the surrounding bushes or trees, the lower pinnae dying and decaying away as the top of the frond 

 extends. Cutting through a ticket, it emits a very offensive smell, the juice produces a yellowish stain 

 or dye. 



6. D. fumarioides, Swartz. — Root6tock prostrate, short-creeping; stipites close, a foot or more 1. 

 sparsely prickly ; fronds ascending few or several ft. high, 3-5 ft. w. quadripinnate, naked, light green : 

 rachis angular, and with the flexuoee or zigzag costae armed with recurved prickles, channelled, straw or 

 ohestnut coloured ; pinna; opposite, nearly sessile, 1^— 3ft. 1, f-lft. w ; pinnulae usually alternate, 4-8 

 in 1. 2-3 in. w., lowest piece reduced and unequal; tertiary divisions the same shape, nearly sessile, 

 l-2in 1. £-i|in- w. : quadriary segments flabellate, deeply pinnatifid or fully pinnate, 2-3 li. w. and 



