TEE FERNS OF NORTH-WESTERN INDIA. 
249 
N.-W. P. .* D. D. Diet . — Dehra Dun E., Song R., above Lachiwala 18-1900', Hope 
1886 : seen also eastward down to 1150' alt. ; Nala P&ni, near Dobra, “ 23-9 70, M in 
Herb. Hort. Calc. ; Garhival — G. King, 1868 ; Kumaun — R. B. 1827 ; A. 0. Hume, 
in Herb. Hort. Calc.: Kali Valley, 2-3000', Duthie 1884 ; Sarju Valley near Bageswar. 
3-3600', Trotter- 1891. 
Distrib.— Asia:, N. Ind. (Him.), Sikkim 500'-4000', common ; in the Terai 
universal (Clarke in ‘ Review ') ; ASSam-Kohima 5000', Clarke — as N. externum , in 
Linn. Journ. XXV, 94. China, Henry , No. 13079 : presented to Kew Herb, in 1900 
and named there N. molle. 
Colonel Beddome has given up his iV. microsorum , and in his Supplement of 
1892 has in its stead set up N. molliusculum , Wall. Both Baker and Clarke say 
that Wallioh’s N . molliusculum is N.molle, alias N. parasiticum ; but on 
turning up Wallich’s specimen in the Linnean Society's Herbarium, I find that 
Col. Beddome’s new view is correct. Mr. Baker had, of course, been obliged 
to rename the plant, because there was already a Nephr odium ( Lastrea ) microse- 
rum , Hook., No. 69 in the 4 Synopsis ? This re-christening has promoted 
research. 
N. molliusculum , though very rare in N.-W. India, seems — if Beddome's 
reduction of Clarke’s varieties of N. externum be correct — to be very abundant 
in Sikkim and the 4 Tarai' below it. Clarke says his var. mkrosora is common 
in Sikkim, arid that his var. late-repens is universal in the 'Tar ax? [As this verna- 
cular word had nob, I think, appeared in this paper before it. may be explained 
that it means the second belt or zone of land below the Himalaya Range, —the 
first, just at its feet, being the 4 Bhabar ’ or steepish stratum of boulders and 
gravel into which the off flow of the mountains sinks — to reappear in the flatter 
4 Tarai ,’ at a lower level.] Mr* Clarke says :■ — 44 This fern creeps in the sand 
near streams where they debouch from the hills, covering acres, . I might say 
square miles, of country, as round Siliguri.” Again, under N< procurrens. he 
says — 4 ‘ There are ferns, like N. extensum, var . late-repens , where a single 
rhizome will cover a quarter of an acre." In the Dehra Dun, the station whore 
I first saw N. molliusculum was below the high bank of a river, in swampy 
ground caused by water trickling out of the bank ; this was in forest, and 
canes (Calamus sp.) were growing in the swamp, which prevented the rhizomes 
being traced to any great extent. It was evidently a wrong time of year for 
collecting the fern, and there were large beds of young sterile fronds, among 
which were found a few larger and more developed fertile fronds of the previous 
season. I think in July and August good fertile specimens would be got ; but 
where a fern perpetuates itself so well from its rhizome it has small need for 
producing sporangia. Asplenium multkaudatum , Wall., is another case in point. 
Dr. King’s plant from (rarhwal, noted above, seems this ; but the pinnae 
dwindle to nothing at the base of the frond. In the Calcutta Herbarium there 
is a remarkably fringed sport, from Assam, Simom. 
