DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SPECIES 
293 
Genus 44. Platycerium Desvaux. 
Plant epiphytal, the barren fronds few, flat and thalloid, 
and adpressed to what the plant grows on, rounded or cordate 
at the base ; the fertile fronds rising from the sinus, and fresh 
plants starting from roots at the margin of the mature barren 
frond. Fertile fronds coriaceous, simple or dichotomously 
branched, bearing the sori in patches on the back of the 
bifurcations or upper part of the frond. Veins anastomosing 
more or less in the fertile frond, and freely in the barren 
frond. There are only about twelve species, of which three 
are from Madagascar only. 
South-east Asia, Australia, tropical Africa, and South 
America. 
174. Platycerium bifurcatum (Cav.) C. Chr. 
Plate 154. Plant, much reduced. B Venation of barren frond, 
nat. size. 
Barren fronds few, three to nine inches wide, rounded, 
conspicuously veined, those from overlapping plants forming 
a large thalloid mass one to three feet in diameter. Fertile 
fronds several together, ascending, two to four feet long, up 
to three times dichotomously branched, leathery, glabrous 
above, white-pubescent below. Ultimate segments half to 
one inch wide, four to eight inches long, rounded at the point. 
Sori in brown woolly masses on the lower surfaces of the 
ultimate segments, or meeting and extending downward where 
they unite. On immature plants, less divided or simple lanceo- 
late fertile fronds occur without sori. 
P. bifurcatum (Cav.). C. Chr. Ind. 496. 
Acrostichum bifurcatum. Cav. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1, 105. 
P laty cerium alcicorne Gaud. Hk. and Bkr, Syn. Fit. 425 ; Sim, 
Trans. S. A . Ph. Soc. xvi. 3, 293. 
Australia, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, and tropical 
Africa; always epiphytal on trees and often high up, and fully 
exposed to sunshine. It is possible that P. stemaria Beauv. 
does not differ specifically. 
