( 24 ) 
aurita and Campteria bi-aurita were also to be found, and suspect it must be 
a hybrid between the two. Mr. Bentham in his Hongkong Flora joins the two 
species “ nemoralis” and quadri -aurita. In P. quadri-aurita, C. nemoralis, and 
C. bi-aurita , the veins always reach the margin, in C. Anamallayensis vever. 
And again after the letter-press for 1. t. 45, Campteria bi-aurita, Col. Beddome 
has the following remarks : — “ Without examining the venation this fern is 
hardly distinguishable from Pteris quadri-aurita.” I may here observe that the 
specific terms bi-aurita, Linn, and qmdri-aicrita, Betz, for these two supposed 
species, do not convev any correct idea of the difference in the ferns themselves. 
The following note by Baker after his description of Pteris (Campteria) biaurita, 
surely settles the point though it concludes with the words “ doubtfully distinct”. 
« This differs only from P, quadriaurita, in the pinnae being less deeply 
pinnatifid and the bases of the midribs of the segments being connected by an 
arching vein. This arch springs normally from the bases of the midribs, but 
sometimes begins and ends at points between them. It is sometimes triangular, 
but sometimes very low, and in what Agardh considers as P. nemoralis, Willd, 
we have the venation considered as characteristic of biaurita combined with 
the entirely free venation considered as characteristic of quadriaurita in one 
and the same frond, so -that they must -be regarded as very doubtfully distinct.”— 
See my remarks on 62. 
66. Pteris (CampteriaJ patens, Bk. 
Bed. 1. t. 205. This is a tall handsome fern and cannot be confounded with 
any -other Ceylon Fern. Found in the very steep slopes of the forest between 
Oodowella and Kittulamulla Estates, in Hantane at Deltotte ; but I fear this 
habitat for it will soon be cleared, if it has not been so before now. It is the fern 
most liable to be eaten by insects in the herbarium of any I know. Great care 
is necessary in drying it, and it should then be poisoned to preserve it. — See notes 
on No. 62. Specimens of this fern grown in Colombo were very different from 
the common form found in the damp forests of Oodowella i ^.-^'^’ 
67. Pteris (Litobrochia) incisa, Thunb. 
Bed. 1. t. 221. This is a beautiful and scandent fern, growing to a height 
of many feet in rich damp soil. Found in abundance in a belt of Forest 
separating Bichland and Hatale Estates in Kalibokka. In Lindoola Patnas and 
other places not uncommon. It is very liable to be attacked by insects. 
68. Pteris (Litobrochia) tripartita, Sw. 
Bed. 1. t. 220. This is a very fine fern when found growing in rich soil 
It is a thick rigid and stunted fern when growing in exposed places in the Central 
Province, and a good deal like some forms of No. 62, but when found growing in 
old heaps of broken bricks between Colombo and Xadawella, it . is a very fine 
large fern, but the finest specimens I have seen are to be found in the shaded 
gardens close to the Kacheri at Galle. I have got specimens here with the fronds 
from 6 to 8 feet in height, and the same in expansion. I saw some fine specimens 
in Captain Bayley’s Fernery at Galle. This is also very liable to be eaten by 
insects unless the specimens are poisoned. 
69. Ceratopteris thalictroides, Brong. 
Bed. 1. t. 75.. This is a very common and remarkable fern, found generally 
in ditches, the edges of sheets of water, Canals, or damp places, often growing 
half submerged in the water. Long descriptions are given of the specimens 
collected by Hermann in Ceylon in 1660, by Linneus in his Flora Zeylanica, 
under two Nos. vizt. 376 and 377. The Specimens collected by 
Hermann more than 200 years ago, were in excellent condition when I saw 
them in 1857. I have no doubt this is what Moon, Cat. p. 76, has called 
Aspidium viviparum, with the Singhalese name, Ganga-miwana. It is nearly 
always viviparous, and its Singhalese name, river , or acquatic equally applies 
to it. — In the half stagnant canals near Colombo it grows sometimes to a height 
of 1^ to 2 feet. I know of no other fern that it can be confounded with. It 
is very liable to spring up in flower pots in Colombo, the spores being con- 
veyed in the water used. One of the four tables illustrating the Flora Zeylanica 
of Linneus, 1747, t. 4. is a very characteristic one of this plant 
