3 



green, paler beneath, chartaceous, tripinnatitid ; pinna? f-1 ft. 1. 4-6 in, w. shortly acuminate, not ses- 

 sile, pubescent on the costai above ; pinnula;, except the basal ones, sessile, serrulate-acuminate, 2£-3 

 in. 1. Jrd-^-rd in. w. deeply pinnatifid ; final segments oblong, blunt, 3-5 li. 1. 1J-2 li. w. crenulate- 

 dentate a ftw small bullate pale scales in the axils beneath ; veins once forked, sori copious, ascending 

 half or two-thirds up the segments ; attached near the forking. — Ilmniteha, Jenm. in Journ. Bot. n. s. 

 vol. yiii, p. 258. 



C««imon in shaded and open situations at 2,000-3,000 ft. alt. in both the eastern and western 

 parishes. It differs from the preceding in its smaller more numerous fronds, pale colour, chaff- coloured 

 Testiture, deeper cutting of the pinnules, and slighter, but much denser, stem, which reaches even- 

 tually double or treble the average height of the stem of that, and is about as thick as a broom stick 

 A slight scale-like involucre may be detected by the aid of a lens in some specimens beneath the sori. 

 The pinna? resemble in form and si»e those of Cyathea dissoluta very closely. 



4. A. infest a, K^e. — Stem rather slender, reaching several ft. high, prickly, and clothed above 

 with pale scales ; stipites prickly, with scales like those of the stem at the base ; fronds spreading, 

 dark green, rather frost coloured beneath, chartaceous, tripinnatifid ; pinna; li ft. 1. or over, 5-6 in. w. 

 not sessile, acuminate ; pinnula? 2-3 in. 1. f-1 in. w. near, sessile (or the lower not so) serrate-acumi- 

 nate, cut deeply into flat, toothed or crenate, obtuse-acute, final segments 4 in. 1. by 2 li. w. with a 

 sharp cartilaginous sinus between, a few dark bullate scales on the costula? beneath, otherwise naked; 

 Teins 2-3 times forked, the sori at their primary forking. 



" Heamy Estate, 3,000 ft." alt., Wilson, No 517, in part, Herb. Kew. Glrisebach also ascribes it 

 to Macfadyen, but later collectors have not found it Wilson's specimens differ in slight particular* 

 from the mainland form, but agree entirely with those of A. alutacca, Kze, w hich Mr Baker unites 

 with infesta. Wilson sent it, unrecognized, mixed with specimens of a form of A. aspora, to which 

 the note regarding the character of the caudex on his label refers. 



5. A. armata, Presl. — Stem attaining many feet high, 2-4 in. diameter, clothed above with chaff- 

 colored scales , stipites clothed with similar scales, and freely armed with curved sharp prickles; 

 fronds large, 4-6 ft. L 2-3 ft w. tripinnatifid, densely pilose, pale green, rather flaccid, at length char- 

 taceous ; pinmc nearly opposite, 1-1^ ft I. 4-6 in. w. acuminate, sessile ; pinnuho sessile, close, in. 

 w. 2£-34, in. 1. serrate-acuininate, deeply pintiatifid, segments oblong, blunt, subfalcate, crenate-sar- 

 rate, 3 li. L, 1 li w.; veins forked ; sori small, copious ; receptacle slightly scaly. 



Common, scattered or gregarious, on declivitous wayside banks, in open valleys, or in light forest, 

 from 2,000-,5000 ft. alt. or rather higher, extending to the hills of the central and western parishes. 

 A rival of Cyathea arborea, whose place in open situations it takes at higher altitudes, in charming 

 gracefulness. It is perhaps the tallest of the local tree ferns, and frequently occurs from 30-50 ft. 

 high, the head gradually diminishing in size as the stem lengthens. Occasionally the trunk is branch- 

 ed, bearing two or more crowns. Easily recognized by its copious soft pubescence, and pale chaff- 

 coloured scales. In J. Smith's ferns in the British Museum there are specimens of A. ferox, Preal, 

 ascribed to Jamaica, from Wilson, a mainland species only found in Trinidad or the islands, much re- 

 sembling this, but more prickly, and otherwise well distinguished by its dark coloured scales, glabrous 

 surfaces and arundinaceous stems. 



6. A. pruinta, Kaulf. — Stem short, rarely 3 ft. high, stout, clothed densely with laniferous 

 scales ; stipites 3-6 ft. 1. or more, arching, faintly impressed, rather polished, naked, except at the base; 

 fronds 4-6 ft. 1. 3-5 ft. w. sub-deltoid, tripinuu;e, pale green above, frost coloured beneath, coriaceous, 

 costae aaid cestulse pubescent above, the pinnulae lanate on the ribs beneath ; pinnae large apart, petioled 

 lowest pair deflexed and a little reduced, next above 14-2^ ft I. 6-10 in. w.; pinnula? lax, petiolate, 3- 

 6 in. 1. 1-1^ in. w. serrate-acuminate, the lowest segment situated on the superior side ; tertiary seg- 

 ments J-f in. 1. 14,-3 li. w. acute, deeply cut into deltoid lobes in which the veins are pinnate ; sori at 

 the base of the lobes at the apex of the lowest venule on the upper side near the crenulate sinus ; spo- 

 rangia few rather large, roundish, mixed with copious lanate scales. — Polypodium, Swartz. Lophoso- 

 nia, Presl, Plum. Fil. t. 33. 



Very plentiful in forest shade from 3,000 ft. alt. to the highest ridges. The caudex which is 3-4 in. 

 in diameter, buds and throws up from the base a number of minor stems about half the size of the pri- 

 mary one. The petioles are sometimes as much as 10 ft. 1. giving the fronds an immense spread. 

 In shape of frond, character of vestiture and scant number of capsules, it differs materially from all 

 the other species. 



Genus VIII. — Hemitelia, 



Sori subglobose, receptacle elevated, often oleft and bilobed, scaly, situated on the back of the 

 veins near to or distant from the forking ; sporangia numerous and densely packed ; involucres par- 

 tial, embracing the sori from the inner side beneath, sepal or kidney-shaped and bilobed and shallowly 

 quite circular : fronds generally ample ; veins free or the costal united. 



The size and form of the involucres, upon which this genus depends for its special character. ar« 

 not very definite, and show a gradual passage from Ahophila, in which they are quite absent or merelj 

 rudimentary and only discernible by close microscopic scrutiny, into the cupshaped involucres of Cya- 

 thea ; so that but for the disadvantage of upsetting established names, the three genera might well be 

 merged into one. 



