290 
THE FERNS OF SOUTH AFRICA 
one inch broad, with a herbaceous stipe three to six inches 
long. Stipe set with numerous, spreading or reflexed, lanceo- 
late, brown scales; mid-rib with scattered similar scales; both 
surfaces with occasional smaller scales, and the margins 
sparsely fringed with small linear brown scales, all more 
or less deciduous. Veins fine, prominent in the thin lamina, 
rather distant, simple or forked, not reaching the margin. 
Fertile frond three inches long, half inch broad, narrowed 
quickly to the point and to the base, fully occupied with sori, 
and having a paleaceous stipe eight to twelve inches long. 
Elafthoglossum Aubertii (Desv.). Moore’s Index , 5 (1857); C. Chr. 
Ind. 303. 
Acrostichum Aubertii Desv. Hk. and Bkr, Syn. Fil. 406; Kuhn, 
Fit. Afr. 43; Sim, Ferns of S. Afr. 1st ed. 223. 
South America, tropical and sub-tropical South Africa; 
growing on damp rocks and trees in deep shade. 
Natal. — Peel’s, Umlaas; Townhill Bush, Maritzburg (McKen) ; Kar- 
kloof (Buchanan) ; Little Noodsberg (Wood) ; Buccleuch (W. 
Leighton) ; Benvie, York (Marriott). 
Rhodesia. — Umtali (B. H. Holland, who sends very paleaceous speci- 
mens apparently of this, with crenate margin, and one frond has a 
side lobe one inch long, two lines wide, which may be a freak). 
Portuguese East Africa. — Mount Zomba, Zambesia (Kirk). 
17 1, Elapiioglossum lineare (Fee) Moore. 
Plate 151. Nat. size. 
Rhizome short, creeping, densely clothed with linear brown 
scales. Barren frond widely linear, six to eight inches long, 
one-quarter to one-third inch wide, tapering to both ends, 
thinly herbaceous, with a firm green stipe one to two inches 
long. Fertile frond two inches long, one-quarter inch wide on 
a two-inch stipe. Stipe set with occasional lanceolate, nearly 
black scales, mid-rib on both surfaces with occasional similar 
scales, and on the under surface a few scales are scattered. 
Veins fine, mostly simple, not reaching the margin, and ending 
in a dot plainly visible on the upper surface. The Rhodesian 
plants from which the above description is taken are very 
similar to E. A ubertii , and it is possible that further acquaint- 
ance will show that they are only rock-grown and exposed 
dwarf plants of that species. But they agree with the Brazilian 
