476 
Tans ley and Lulham. — A Study of the 
It was already evident in 1898 that a study of the young plants would 
throw light on this question 1 , though the importance of the vascular 
structure of the first-formed stem, especially in Ferns, as furnishing an 
ontogenetic parallel to the process of evolution of the adult structure, was 
not at that time so clearly recognized as it is to-day. 
It was largely for this reason that I welcomed the opportunity, in 
January, 1901, of joining Dr. W. H. Lang in his visit to Mount Ophir in 
the Malay Peninsula, the original locality 2 for Matonia pectinata , which 
is particularly abundant on its upper slopes. I can confirm Wallace’s 
description of the habitat of this magnificent Fern, as quoted by Seward 3 . 
The Matonia is almost confined to open situations on Ophir, covering the 
comparatively shallow soil overlying the flat or gently sloping rock faces 
in dense thickets. Its most abundant congener in these thickets is 
Gleichenia linearis ( dichotoma ), while Gleichenia JlageUaris , Dipteris con - 
jngata , and a little Pteris aquilina are also constantly associated. All these 
Ferns are characteristic of the open, or of slightly shaded situations. Matonia 
scarcely penetrates the thick dwarf woods of the upper part of Ophir, though 
an occasional clump occurs where an opening in the trees allows more 
light than usual to reach the ground. In Borneo M. pectinata occurs on 
Santuborg and Matang, 3,500 to 3,800 feet above sea-level, situations which 
seem quite comparable to the Ophir one, though curiously enough it 
is said to be there confined to old jungle 4 , quite contrary to its occurrence 
on Ophir. It is also known from various Malay islands at sea-level, 
and thus seems to belong to the coast-mountain flora to which Ridley 
has called attention 5 . 
Young Plants of Matonia pectinata . 
After considerable search I discovered three young plants embedded 
in moss and humus on a shaded ledge of rock, a few feet below the rocky 
top of Gunong Ledang, which is the principal summit of Mount Ophir. 
These are represented on Plate XXXI, Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7. The strong 
resemblance of their fronds to those of older but starved specimens of the 
plant growing in a deeply shaded crevice below an overhanging rock on the 
other side of the summit, left no doubt of the identity of these plants, 
while their small size and the shortness of their rhizomes indicated their 
comparative youth. 
Dr. Lang afterwards found three even younger specimens, which he very 
kindly handed over to me, in the damp soil by the side of a small stream on 
Padang Batu. These are represented on Plate XXXI, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and 
here again the form and venation of the fronds, when compared with the 
1 Seward (’ 99 ), pp. 180, 181. 
3 Seward (’ 99 ), p. 1 71. 
2 Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, 1886, p. 30. 
4 Seward (’ 99 ), p. 174. 5 Ridley (’ 01 ). 
