Davallia.] 
FILICES. 
469 
scales. Frond deltoid, coriaceous, glabrous, 2~3 in. long, the upper 
pinnae simple, close, erecto-patent, those of the fertile frond distinctly 
toothed, the lowest pair much larger, deltoid, distinctly lobed on the 
lower side. Veins fine, close, erecto-patent. Sori minute, marginal, 
oblique. Involucre twice as broad as long, free at the sides. 
Hook. Sp. Fil. i. 54, t. 45. D. repens, Kuhn, Fil. Afr . 158. (Adiantum, 
Linn.) 
Mauritius and Seychelles, common on rocks and old trunks. Tropical Asia and 
Polynesia, not Continental Africa. 
2. D. elata, Sw.y Hook, and Baker, Syn. Fil. 95. Eootstock woody, 
wide-creeping above ground, densely clothed with linear-subulate bright 
brown scales. Stipe | to 1 foot long, glossy, naked, pale brown. Frond 
deltoid, coriaceous, glabrous, quadripinnatifid, -|-H foot long and 
broad. Pinnae and pinnules deltoid, the lowest the longest, distinctly 
stalked. Ultimate segments erecto-patent, linear or lanceolate, xW* 
in. broad. Veins fine, close, ascending. Sori minute, copious, marginal, 
oblong, the sides of the coriaceous involucre attached to the frond. 
D. mauritiana, Hook.; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil . 26. D. Vogelii, 
Hook. D. denticulata, Mett.j Kuhn , Fil. Afr. 157. 
Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Seychelles, common on old trunks in shaded places. 
Spread through the warmer zones of the Old World. 
3. D. tenuifolia, Swartz ; Hook . and Baker, Syn. Fil. 102. Root- 
stock short-creeping, clothed with minute subulate brown scales. 
Stipe naked, glossy, pale brown, f-1 foot long. Frond feet long, 
oblong-lanceolate, subcoriaceous, naked, decompound. Pinnae and 
pinnules deltoid. Ultimate segments cuneate, l in. long, narrowed 
from the tip to the base. Veins distinct, one or two to each segment. 
Sori marginal, confined to the tip of the segments. Involucre firm, 
persistent, often broader than long. Lindsaya chinensis, Mett. ; Kuhn, 
Fil. Afr. 67. 
Mauritius and Seychelles, frequent in woods and ravines. Spread through 
the tropics of the Old World. 
4. D. speluncse, Baker j Hook, and Baker, Syn. Fil. 100. Eoot- 
stock short-creeping, subterranean. Stipe 1 ft. or more long, straw- 
coloured, naked. Frond ample, deltoid, decompound, membranous, 
pilose. Pinnae and pinnules oblong-lanceolate, cut away on the lower 
side at the base. Ultimate entire segments oblong, obtuse, adnate, 
Li_ in. broad. Veinlets fine, forked, erecto-patent. Sori distinctly 
intramarginal. Involucre minute, pale, membranous, half cup-shaped, 
attached at the sides. D. polypodioides, Hook. Syn. Fil. i. 181. Micro - 
lepia speluncse, Moore j Kuhn , Fil. Afr. 159. 
Seychelles, frequent in the forests. Gathered in Mauritius by Thouars, hut- 
unknown to recent collectors. Cosmopolitan in the Tropics. 
