Ferns of British India and Ceylon. ii 
tripinnate J primary pinnae short, petiolate very remote, 10-14 inches 
long, 2-3 inches wide, oblong acuminate, deeply pinnatifid, pinnate 
near the base; segments i-ii inch long, oblong acute subfalcate 
entire or serrate, all horizontal, the extremity suddenly pinnated with 
oblong undivided sessile pinnules serrated at the margin; veins once 
forked (rarely twice-forked) ; sori in the axil of the fork, or in 
the lower veins, considerably above it ; involucre a hemispherical 
cup completely surrounding the base of the sorus. Bedd. F. B. J. 
t. 236, under Alsophila. Hook. Syn. Fil. p. 41. 
Penang. My specimens distinctly show the indusium. 
GENUS IV.— ALSOPHILA. {Brown.) 
[Alsos, grove; phileo, to love.) 
Sori globose, dorsal, on a vein or at the forking of a vein ; recep- 
tacle generally elevated, often villous ; involucre none, but the buUate 
scales along the costa of the segments may often be mistaken for 
such. Arborescent ferns ; fronds decompoundly pinnate ; veins never 
anastomosing, simple forked or pinnate. 
I. Alsophila latebrosa. {Hook) A lofty tree fern; stipes 
aculeate at the base, muricated upwards, dark mahogany-brown; 
primary pinnae oblong acuminate, 12-24 inches long, 6-8 inches 
wide; pinnules lanceolate-acuminate, 3-4 inches long, cut down 
nearly to the rachis into linear-oblong, blunt slightly-toothed 
segments on each side ; rachis of pinnules beneath glabrous or 
pubescent ; veins generally minutely hairy (under the lens) ; veinlets 
forked ; numerous buUate scales along the costa of the segments 
beneath and also along the rachis of the pinnules ; sori occupying the 
lower two-thirds of the segment. Bedd. F. S. I. t. 58. Hook. Syn. 
Fil. p. 43. 
Nilgiris and all the western mountains in the Madras Presidency 
and the Shevaroys, up to 7,000 feet ; but often found as low as 
3,000 ; Sikkim, Bhotan and Khasya, 3,500-5,000 feet ; also through- 
out the Malay Peninsula and Penang. I cannot distinguish the 
two varieties given by Mr. Clarke. The South Indian specimens 
