514 
FILICES. 
[. Acrostichum . 
close, fine, distinct, mostly simple. Fertile frond bipinnate, with 
narrow linear secondary segments 2-4 in. long. A. Meyerianum, 
Hook, Sp. Fil. v. 250. Lomaria tenui folia, Desv.j Bojer , Hort. Maur. 
407. L. grandis, Bojer , loc. cit. 
Mauritius, and Seychelles, on old trunks in the forests. Also Natal, Mada- 
gascar, and East Tropical Africa. 
13. A. punctatum, Finn. Suppl. 444. Rootstock wide-creeping ; 
scales few, linear, dark brown. Stipe of sterile frond |-1 foot long, 
slightly scaly. Sterile frond simply pinnate, membranous, glabrous, 
9-18 in. long. Pinnae few or many, lanceolate, acute, entire or ob- 
scurely lobed, 1-2 in. broad, the upper ones adnate to the rachis, the 
lower ones free, sessile. Veins unequal ; main ones distinct nearly to 
the edge, with abundant fine intermediate veiulets auastoinosing in 
hexagonal areolae. Fertile frond with a longer stipe and smaller 
pinnae, all fertile. A. punctulatum, Sw. ; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 
419. A. mascarenense, Spreng. ; Bojer , Hort. Maur. 414. 
Mauritius, in dense forests. Also Bourbon, tbe Comoros, Madagascar, and 
Tropical Africa. 
14. A. repandum, Blume. ; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 419. Root- 
stock short-creeping ; scales few, brown, lanceolate. Stipe of sterile 
frond \-l ft. long, naked or slightly scaly. Sterile frond bipinnatifid, 
membranous, glabrous, 1-2 feet long, 9-18 in. broad ; rachis naked. 
Pinnae numerous, lanceolate, acute, 1-1^ in* broad, cut down to the 
middle or beyond iuto obtuse dentate segments i in. broad. Veins 
unequal ; main ones distinct to the edge, one running down the centre 
of each lobe ; intermediate veinlets anastomosing in copious hexagonal 
areoles. Fertile frond with a longer stipe and smaller pinnae, all 
fertile. Chrysodium bipinnatifidum, Mett.; Kuhn , Fil. dfric. 50. 
Seychelles, one of the commonest species in the mountain-woods of Mahe. Also 
Bourbon, Tropical Asia, and Polynesia. 
15. A. aureum, Linn.; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 423. Root- 
stock erect ; scales few, brown, lanceolate. Stipes very long, naked. 
Frond simply pinnate, 1-4 feet long, the same one fertile in the upper, 
sterile in the lower part, coriaceous, usually glabrous ; rachis naked. 
Pinnae lanceolate, acute or obtuse, 6-12 in. long, 1-2 in. broad, the 
lower ones shortly stalked. Veins fine, close, equal, anastomosing 
copiously in narrow areoles. A. speciosum, Bojer , Hort. Maur. 414. 
Mauritius and Seychelles, common in lowland swamps and salt marshes. 
Cosmopolitan in the tropical and warm temperate zones. 
16. A. spicatum, Linn.; Hook, and Baker , Syn. Fil. 424. Root- 
stock short-creeping ; scales few, minute, lanceolate. Stipe 1-2 in. 
long, articulated above the base. Frond simple, lanceolate, glabrous, 
subcoriaceous, 6-12 in. long, f-1 in. broad, narrowed very gradually 
