96 
Ferns of British India and Ceylon. 
nearly or quite reaching the midrib. Closely allied to Pteris and 
referred to that genus by Mettenius. 
1. Onychium auratum. {Kaulf.) Stipes 6-12 inches long, 
stout, erect, naked, straw-coloured or pale brown; fronds 12-18 
inches long, about 6 inches broad, ovate, 4-pinnatifid ; lower pinnae 
subdeltoid, erect-patent ; pinnules and segments numerous, usually 
deltoid; ultimate divisions of the sterile frond often obovate-cuneate, 
trifid at the apex, about i line long, line broad when entire, 
coriaceous in texture, fertile segments pod-like, |-i inch long, ^ inch 
broad ; rachis and both surfaces naked, the membranous involucres 
and copious sori a rich golden yellow. Kaulf. En. Fil. p. 144. 
Hook. Syn. Fil. p. 143. Bedd. F. S. I. t. 30. 
Plains of East Bengal, from Nepal to Assam, up to 4,000 feet ; 
Birma ; (once received from the Paulghaut Hills in Southern India, 
but as it has not been detected since, it was probably from a cultivated 
specimen). 
(Also in New Guinea and the Malay Islands.) 
2. Onychium japonicum. {Kimze.) Stipes tufted, 6-12 inches 
long, stout, erect, straw-coloured or pale brown, scaly at the base ; 
fronds subcoriaceous when mature, shining on both surfaces, 12-18 
inches long, ovate, 4-pinnate, lower pinnae lanceolate-deltoid ; pinnules 
and segments numerous, usually deltoid, the copious linear-mucro- 
nate ultimate divisions i\-2 lines long, nearly uniform in the barren 
and fertile segments ; rachis and both surfaces naked ; indusium pale, 
membranaceous, ripe capsules deep brown. Kvnze in Sch. Fil. 
Suppl. p. II. Jlook. Syn. Fil. p. 143. Bedd. F B. I. t. 21. 
Himalayas, Gurwhal to Mishmee and Khasya, 3,000-6,000 feet j 
Birma. 
(Also in Japan and China.) 
Mr. Clarke makes two varieties besides the type : ist. multi- 
secla, fertile frond, very finely cut, herbaceous, hardly shining, often 
5-pinnate, ripe capsules straw-coloured, not numerous; involucre 
remaining closed over the ripe capsules. 2nd, intermedia ; fronds lax, 
more coarsely cut; involucres often i inch; to this 2nd variety he 
