lyo Ferns of British India and Ceylon. 
involucre small, subquadrate, hardly ever horseshoe-shaped, not 
very fugacious. Clarke, F. N. I. t. S9'fiS' 
Kashmir, 10,000-12,000 feet, north of the main valley ; appears 
to be only a stunted form of dentigera., 
Var. 4. RETUSA. {Clarke.) 1-2-pinnate, rachis firm, round 
when dry ; fronds red, never very large ; involucre small, fugacious ; 
sori, scattered, round. Cystopteris retusa, Decne in Jacq. Voy. 176, 
t. 177. Clarke, F, N. I. t. 59-2. 
Himalayas 10,000-15,000 feet, from Kashmir to Bhotan. 
Var. 5. FLABELLULATA. {Clarke.) 2-pinnate ; rachis firm, round 
when dry, fronds red, 1-3 feet ; secondary pinnae deeply pinnatifid ; 
segments laciniate; involucre small, fugacious; sori scattered, round. 
Clarke, F. N. 1. t. 60. 
Sikkim, 13,000 feet; Yakla, Jongri, scarcely distinct from 
dentigera. 
Var. 6. polyspora. {Clarke) 2-pinnate, or sub-3-pinnate; 
rachis firm, round when dry; fronds red, 1-3 feet; involucre large, 
approximate, very persistent, often reniform ; sori large, often ulti- 
mately thickly covering the whole of the pinnules. Clarke, F. N. I. 
t. di. fig. I. 
N. W. Himalayas, 6,000-10,000 feet ; Kumaon to Chumba. 
Very distinct from the other varieties, and approaching 
oxyphyllum. 
Var. 7. parasnathensis. {Clarke.) i -pinnate, sub-2-pinnate; 
rachis triangular when dry ; fronds reddish, \\ foot, narrow-oblong, 
scarcely attenuated at the base; primary pinnae \\ inch, broadest at 
the base ; secondary pinnae \~\ inch, acutely toothed, scarcely 
pinnatifid ; involucre short, oblong, in two oblique rows, very 
persistent. Clarke, F. N. I. t. 61. fig. 2. 
Parasnath 4,000 feet elevation ; probably only a small stunted 
form of retusa. 
IT. Athyrium oxyphyllum. {Hook.) Stipes \nth many 
