170 THE FERNS OF SOUTH AFRICA 
flabellate, deeply lobed pinnules, above which are bifid, and 
then simple pinnules, more or less confluent. Fertile pinnae 
longer, cut throughout into distinct, separate, pointed pinnules,, 
of which the upper are simple, gradually longer downward,, 
then bifid and trifid, and with the lower pinnules ranging from 
flabellately three to five-lobed to fully pinnate, with three to 
four pairs of linear, or sometimes bifid, pointed segments. 
All the pinnules or segments, as well as the rachis of the 
pinna, are about a half line broad, and consist of a thickly 
margined vein only. Sori one to three lines long, marginal 
along the inner face of each segment, or in partly fertile 
fronds sometimes intramarginal. The lower pinnules on the 
upper side of the pinnae are parallel with the rachis, and 
sometimes very noticeable when much larger than the others, 
but with no corresponding pinnule on the lower side. This 
is a most variable plant, and has been made into several 
species ; but there is every possible gradation, and even 
permanent forms cannot be selected. 
Caenopteris furcata Bergius ( Asplenium stans Kze) is the 
small plant growing on trees, in which the pinnules are all 
simple, or the lower only bifid. 
A frond in the Albany Museum marked var. /3 is two and 
a half feet long, one foot broad at the middle, very unlike 
the ordinary form, and more nearly approaching A. jiaccidum 
except in texture. It has pinnae six inches long, one inch 
broad at the base, and tapering to a point, only the lower 
pinnules six to seven lobed, the next bifid, then simple, distant, 
linear lobes. The two lowest pinnae are different, two inches 
long, one inch broad, and like usual barren lower pinnae 
of A. bipinnatum. But even this curious form is connected 
with A. bipinnatum by as large a frond in Natal Govt 
Herb., which is similar in all respects, except that three to 
four of the lowest pinnules are pinnate. The lowest one on 
the upper side is parallel with the rachis, and the others point 
outward. The texture is as in the common form. 
In habit, habitat, cutting, etc. the simpler forms of A. 
bipinnatum and A. theciferum are very much alike, and 
Kuhn places the latter in Asplenium, where it would stand 
