25 $ JOURNAL, noun AY NATURAL HTSTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV. 
I have set seen the specimens from the west of Nepal on which $)arke founds, 
aor any others from N.-W. India. 
10. P. prolifemm, P’esl. ; Syn. 111. 315. P.prdifertum (Roxb.) Wall. 
Oat. 312, 0. K. 548. Gomoptms prolifer a Roxb., Bedd. JB. B. 236. Mrni&c 
imi proliferum (Siv.) Hook 2nd Cent. 
Kashmir * 3000' ; Trotter in List. 
Punjab : Ghamba — McDonell in List ; near Dalbousie 3000', Trotter, Kangra 
Valley List. 2-3000',, 'I’rotter. 
N.-W.I P. : D. D . List — Very common in the [Dun, on banks of streams and 
canals, up to perhaps 3000*; T. Garli. 1500', Hope t "^W Mackinnons ; Saharanpur 
Dint . — Roorkee, Lt. Sedgwick, R.E. ; Kumaun — The Bhabar 1000', S. and W. ; Gonai, 
Davidsoh, above Katgodam— below 2000', Hope GoraJchpiir JDi&t . — Sima Tal, on 
banks of Rohni R : had been submerged lift, by a flocd, A. Campbell ; Moradabad, 
T. T. 1844 j North Oudh Forests, R. Thompson. 
Histbib. — Asia : N. Ind. — eastward in the plains, and westward along the foot 
of the hills up tq 3000'j Chutia Nagpur, Lev. A. Campbell ; (ttentral Provsi, Hoshang- 
abad Disti, Liithie ; The Concan, Law. S. Ind. ; Ceylom— Trineomalee, Wight ; 
Burma — Mergui. Malaya S. China* Philippines. N. Caledonia. N. Australia. S. 
Australia— Queensland. New Guinea. Afr i Angola. Zambesi Land. Shire— near 
Blantyre; E. Txop. Africa. Mauritius. S. Africa. 
As I find none of the published descriptions of this species sufficient. I 
venture the following, which is founded on long observation of growing 
plants : — 
Rhizome stout, slowly creeping and branching. Fronds springing some- 
times in tufts, procumbent, or climbing among bushes and in hedge- 
rows : sometimes of definite length, broad, spreading, and sterile,, but 
one or more fronds of a tuft having a leading prolonged rhaehis 
which throws off branches from buds at the axils of the pinnae 
3-6 inches apart, up to 6 branches per bud, and, if trailing on the 
ground, becomes an epigeous rhizome, throwing out roots as well 
as branches from the axils, but ultimately diminishes in width and 
becomes flagelliform : the side branches fertile, and often prolonged, 
sending out one or more branches, from each bud as does the main 
rhaehis : the mam flagelliform rhaehis often fertile to the apex, 
(i Quoad ultra — vide metores). 
Seme of my observations were made on plants naturalised in my garden 
in Dehra (N.-W. P.), transplants from a closely adjoining natural 
station. Given moisture and other favourable circumstances, this 
Species is capable of great development : I believe 1 leral shoots 
sometimes become leaders. Beddome is certainly wrong in saying 
that the elongated and flagelliform fronds are <4 non-seeding,” as 
specimens in my collection show'. 
