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-_PLEOPELTIS | ENSIFOLIA. 
Sword-leaved: seuly-F ern. 
CRYPTOGAMIA FILICES.—Nat. Onn. FILICES, Div. Gynat2, Br. 
GEN. ‘Cuar. LH ‘subrotundi, dorsales. J nvolucra plura’‘i in “quolibet ‘soro, 
orbicularia, ‘peltata —Rinth, in eet umb. et et Bonpl. Nov. Gen. 
e yeh ee: ye 
Pleopeltis Ensi sjfolia! fronilfbis iiivisia lanceolatis rigidis squashoss, 7 
basi in stipitem attenuatis. . 
Pleopeltis ensifolia, Canm. MS. 
Caudex rather thick, creeping, covered with small brown nolan: aid throw- 
ing out numerous downy roots, principally from its under side. ‘ 
| Fronds many, 5 or 6 inches in length, lanceolate, more or less approaching 
to linear, attenuated at the base, and there’ terminating ina stipes about 
2 inches high ; the margin is slightly waved or repand, ‘the anterior and 
posterior surfaces are alike beset with numerous minute, peltate, reticu- 
lated, membranaceous scales, some of which are orbicular, others ovate 
and very acute, the whole dark brown i in the centre, paler towards the 
margin, and dentato-ciliate. The texture of the frond is rigid « and co- 
riaceous ; a strong midrib or r rachis passes bivis, #8 its one but ‘there 
are no lateral nerves. 
3 Sori or spots of fructi ification, | confined to the upper” surface of ‘the: frotid, 
roundish or oval, at first nearly plane, afterwards remarkably prominent; 
in an early stage all the capsules are concealed by the numerous peltate 
‘involucres (Fig. 1.), which are similar in every respect to the scales just 
described upon the fronds, except that they are larger, uniformly orbi- 
cular, and their stalk is longer. In age, these involucres are either thrown — 7 
off, or become so pressed“and injured by the protrusion of the capsules 
as to be indiscernible, and then We plant assumes altogether the appear- 
ance of a Polypodium. 
Capsules spherical, opening arutetty. borne generally upon very a : 
stalks. Seeds minute, mpdichieaee. 
The g genus Pleopeltis was established by i ankat and 
BonPLAND, in their Plantes Alquinoctiales, and one species 
VOL. I. 
