480 
FILICES. 
1-2 ft. long, 6-12 in. broad, subcoriaceous, naked, simply pinnate. 
Fertile pinnae 20-30 on a side, linear, acuminate, sessile, adnate to the 
rachis on the lower side; central ones 3-6 in. long, £—§- in. broad; 
lowest reduced to mere auricles ; barren pinnae shorter, broader and 
less pointed, finely serrated. Veins fine, crowded, ascending, free. 
Involucre narrow, soon hidden by the sorus. P. costata, Bory ; Bojer, 
Hort. Maur. 399. 
Mauritius, on the banks of streams. Cosmopolitan in the tropical and warm 
temperate zones. 
2. P. cretica, Linn. ; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 154. Eootstock 
short-creeping. Stipes contiguous, 1-2 ft. long, naked, glossy, straw- 
coloured, except at the base, where they are brown. Frond deltoid, 
\-l ft. long, naked, subcoriaceous, simply pinnate, but the lowest pair, 
of pinnae forked at the base. Pinnae sessile, 3-9 on a side, linear, 
acuminate, 3-6 in. long, the fertile ones % in. broad, the barren ones 
twice as broad, with sharply-toothed edges. Veins crowded, distinct, 
spreading from the midrib almost at a right angle. Involucre narrow, 
soon hidden by the sorus. 
Mauritius, in the woods of Savanne and Grand Bassin. Tropical and warm 
temperate zones, principally of the Old World. 
3. P. quadriaurita, Betz. ; Hook, and Baker, Syn. Fil. 158. Eoot- 
stock suberect. Stipes naked, tufted, 1-2 ft. long, generally straw- 
coloured, except at the base. Frond deltoid, 1-2 ft. long and broad, 
membranous, naked, bright green on both sides, regularly deeply 
bipinnatifid, except that the lowest pair of pinnae are forked at the 
base. Central pinnae lanceolate, 6-12 in. long, l|-3 in. broad, cut 
down to a narrow wing into obtuse ascending ligulate segments -i— | in. 
broad. Veins free, distinct, erecto-patent, forked at the base. In- 
volucre narrow, membranous, glabrous. Barren segments entire or ob- 
curely serrated. P. nemoralis, Bojer , Hort. Maur. 401. P. pyrophylla, 
Blume ; Kuhn , Fil. Afr. 89. 
Mauritius and Seychelles, in woods. Common in the tropical and warm tem- 
perate zones of both hemispheres. 
4. P. scabra, Bory ; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 159. Eootstock sub- 
erect. Stipes tufted, naked, a foot or more long, dark glossy chestnut- 
brown, as is also the rachis. Frond deltoid, 1-2 ft. long and broad, 
glabrous, rigidly coriaceous, regularly deeply pinnatifid, except that 
the lowest pair of pinnae are forked at the base. Central pinnae lan- 
ceolate, 6-9 in. long, 1-2 in. broad, cut down to a narrow wing into 
close ligulate obtuse ascending segments £ in. broad, the barren 
ones minutely serrated. Veins forked, erecto-patent, very distinct. 
Involucre narrow, distinct, persistent. P. angusta, Bojer, Hort. Maur . 
401. 
Mauritius, in woods of the Black River, Grand Bassin, Trou aux Cerfs, etc. 
Also Bourbon and Madagascar. 
