498 
FILICES. 
\_Ncphr odium. 
11. N. oppositum, Hook.; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 283. 
Rootstock and basal scales not seen. Stipes above a foot long, densely 
clothed throughout with large linear brown scales. Frond deltoid, 
moderately firm in texture, glabrous, tripinnati fid or tripinnate ; rachises 
pubescent and densely scaly. Pinnae oblong-lanceolate, reaching a foot 
long, the lowest sometimes deltoid, produced on the lower side ; 
pinnules lanceolate, cut down nearly or quite to the rachis into oblong 
obtuse entire tertiary segments £ in. broad. Veins pinnate in the 
tertiary segments, with simple or forked distinct veinlets. Sori medial. 
Involucre small, glabrous. Aspidium crinitum, Bojer, Hort. Maur. 391. 
Mauritius, in Trou Kanaka and the woods of the Savanne district. Also Bour- 
bon and Madagascar. 
12. N. unitum, B. Br. ; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 289. Root- 
stock wide-creeping ; scales minute, lanceolate, dark brown. Stipes 
2-3 feet long, brown or straw-coloured, glossy, naked. Frond oblong- 
lanceolate, bipinnatifid, 1-2 feet long, 6-8 in. broad, subcoriaceous, 
glabrous or minutely pubescent ; rachis naked. Pinnae lanceolate, ses- 
sile, f-f in. broad, cut down to a broad wing into oblong obtuse entire 
lobes i in. broad; lower pinnae not dwarfed. Veins pinnate in the 
secondary lobes, with 10-12 pairs of distinct simple veinlets, 3 or 4 of 
which join at the tip. Sori copious, minute, medial. Involucre mi- 
nute, persistent, glabrous or pilose. 
Mauritius, in damp plains at Moka, Plaines Wilhelms, and Savanne ; l)iego 
Garcia, Bouton ! Tropical and subtropical zones of both hemispheres. 
13. N. cucullatum, Baker ; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 290. 
Rootstock wide-creeping ; scales small, brown, lanceolate. Stipes f-1 
foot long, brownish, pubescent, naked above the base. Frond oblong- 
lanceolate, bipinnatifid, 1-1^ foot long, 6-10 in. broad, rigidly coria- 
ceous, densely pilose, especially on the under surface; rachis scaleless, 
densely pubescent. Pinnae lanceolate, sessile, |-| in. broad, cut about 
a third of the way down to the midrib into oblong obtuse entire lobes 
■^2 in. broad ; lower pinnae suddenly very much dwarfed. Veins pin- 
nate in the secondary lobes, with 8-10 pairs of distinctly -raised pilose 
simple veinlets. Sori copious, minute, medial. Involucre glabrous, 
firm, persistent. Aspidium obtusatum, Bojer , Hort. Maur. 390. 
Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Seychelles, frequent in swamps at a low level. 
Spread through the tropics of the Old World. 
14. N. datum, Baker ; Hook, and Baker, Syn. Fil. ed. ii. 502. Root- 
stock wide-creeping ; scales lanceolate, dark brown. Stipes pubescent, 
scaleless, a foot long. Frond oblong-lanceolate, bipinnatifid, mem- 
branous, minutely pubescent, reaching, according to Bojer, a length of 
6 or 8 feet and a breadth of 2^-3 feet; rachis scaleless, pubescent. 
Pinnae lanceolate, sessile, 1 j in. broad, cut about halfway down to the 
