IOO 
THE FERNS OF SOUTH AFRICA 
one foot long. Mrs Bennett writes that it is a lovely drooping 
fern, and most effective in hanging baskets. Swynnerton, 
whose specimens also have short pinnae upward, writes: “A 
straggling fern creeping about amongst the pebbles and 
boulders at the river’s edge, and sending down roots at 
intervals.” 
This species appears to be omitted by Kuhn, and re- 
sembles small specimens of Dry. silvatica P. and R. 
Dry opteris prolifer a (Retz). C. Chr. Index, 286, 1905. 
Poly podium (Goniopteris) prolifer uni Presl. Hk. Sp. 5, 13 ; Hk. and 
Bkr, Sy?i. Fil. 315; Wood, Natal Ferns , 31; Buchanan’s List, No. 96; 
Lady Barkly’s List, No. 1 1 4 ; Sim, Ferns of South Africa , 1st ed., 
192. 
Ampelopte 7 is. Kunze. 
South Asia, North Australia, Tropical South Africa, and 
Mauritius, usually in streams or swamps. 
Natal.— Coast to 1000 feet, Banks of Umhloti near Todd’s Mine, and 
of the Impisi near Tugela (Buchanan) ; Umgeni Brickfields (Wood), 
(Herb. Barkl. 1 14, Herb. Bolus, 3979); Nkandhla (Marriott); Winter’s 
Kloof and Sweet waters, Pinetown, Ngoya (T. R. Sim). 
Transvaal. — Spelonken, 1910 (T. J. Jenkins); Barberton (Miss Williams, 
794 )- 
Rhodesia. — Hunyani River, 1894 (J. F. Darling) ; Banks of Mazoe 
(Holland) ; Umtali (Mrs Bennett) ; Victoria Falls (J. Sim). 
Portuguese East Africa. — Inyamadzi Valley, 2300 ft, Sept. 1906 (Swyn- 
nerton, 855) ; Komati Poort, 600 ft (F. A. Rogers, 409) ; Limpopo 
Valley (T. R. Sim). 
23. DRYOPTERIS SILVATICA (Pappe and Rawson) C. Chr. 
Plate 15. Nat. size. 
Crown procumbent or sub-erect. Fronds thinly sub- 
coriaceous, semi-transparent, glabrous or minutely villose, 
often proliferous, simply pinnate, widely lanceolate, two to 
four feet long, one to two feet broad at the middle, less below, 
and with a naked, channelled, herbaceous stipe, one foot or 
more long. Pinnae sessile, lanceolate, acuminate, from a 
rounded base, six to twelve inches long, one inch broad, 
and cut one to three lines deep into obtuse, rounded, oblique, 
entire, or slightly crenate lobes. Veins conspicuous, five to 
