Acrosticbum, Linn.
882. *A. dimorphum, Hk. & Gr.—A small Fern growing
amongst the grass along both sides of the central ridge, at alt. 4 to
5'4, above Swampy Gut, &c. ; somewhat rare. Hk. and B. Syn.
Fil. 1868, p. 406.
883. *A. bifurcatum, H k .; Microstaphyla bifurcata, J . Smith.—-
A very beautiful little Fern, thickly covering the wet banks along
the sides of the roads over Sandy Bay ridge, &c.; very abundant.
Alt. about 4. Hk. and B. Syn. Fil. 1868, p. 413.
884. *A. subdiaphamim, Hk. & G r.; A. lanceolatum, Roxb.;
Aconiopteris nervosa, Smith. — A pretty little Fern, with fronds
about six to ten inches long, found somewhat rarely growing para-
sitically on the stems of Dicksonia arborescens on the high central
ridge, Diana’s Peak, &c. Alt. 5'4. Seeds in June. Hk. & B.
Syn. Fil. 1868, p. 416.—Hab. Also Bourbon.
885. *A. conforme, Sw.—A Fern of somewhat rare occurrence,
with habit and locality similar to A. subdiaphanum. Hk. & B.
Syn. Fil. 1868, p. 401.— Hab. Also Mexico to Chili, Sandwich
Islands, Cape of Good Hope, Tristan D’Acunha, &c.
Asplenium, Linn.
886. *A. erectum, Bory,; A. tenellum, Smith and Roxb.; A. reclir
natum, Moore and Houlst.; A. radicans, Prit. Cat. S. H. F.—A delicate
little Fern, easily recognised by its habit of rooting from the ends
of the fronds; very common on the central ridge and in shady
ravines lower down in the neighbourhood of Joho’s Hole, Powell’s
Spring, &c. Grows at alts. 2'8 to 5. Hk. & B. Syn; Fil. 1868,
p. 202.—Hab. Also Cape of Good Hope, Tristan D’Acunha, Ascension,
and universally distributed throughout the Tropics.
887. *A. fureatum, Thunb.; A. pramorsum, Sw. —Grows in
rocky crevices, and on old walls at alts. 3 to 3-8, near St. Paul’s
Church, Terrace Knoll, &c. Hk. &B. Syn. Fil. 1868, p. 215.—Hab.
Also Tropical America, West Indies, Cape of Good Hope, Australia,
&c.
888. *A. compressum, Sw.; A. fcecundum, Kunz.—A very handsome
Fern, found abundantly amongst the native vegetation on the
high central ridge, growing in the wettest parts. The fronds are
three to five feet in length, and are easily recognised by the young
plants growing from the surface of the leaflets. Alt. 4 to 5'4. Hk.
and B. Syn. Fil. 1868, p. 207.—Hab. Also Cape of Good Hope,
Bourbon, Mauritius, Madagascar, &c.
889. *A platybasis, Kunze.—A Fern with fronds’about twelve
to eighteen inches in length, though rare, found growing on the
grassy banks on the north side of the central ridge near Taylor’s
Flat. Alt. 4. Hk. & B. Syn. Fil. 1868, p. 206.
Cheilanthes, Swartz.
890. *C. multifida, Swartz.—The most beautiful and delicate
little Fern, perhaps, of all found in the Island. Its habits of growth
and locality resemble closely those of Gymnogramme Haughtoni, being
usually found amongst rocks and stones on the somewhat barren and
exposed portions of the Island, at High Knoll, High Hill, Red
Hill, Thompson’s Hill, the Friar Rock, Sandy Bay, &c. The
fronds are from three to twelve inches in length. The plant generally
dies away after the rainy season is over. Hk. & B. Syn. Fil. 186S,
p. „188.—Hab. Also Cape of Good Hope and Java.
Dicksonia, L’Herit.
891. *D. arborescens, L’H e rit.; D. auricoma, Spreng.; D.
integra, Sw.; Balantium auricomum, Kaulf.; B. arborescens, Hk.—
The Tree Fern of the Island; growing on the central ridge at
Diana’s and High Peaks, at alt. from 4'8 to 5 '4 ; its upright stem
varies from six to eight inches in diameter, and from four to ten feet
in height, more or less covered with long bright golden-brown hair,
intermixed with parasitical plants, and topped with a splendid crown
of bright green fronds, much resembling a miniature palm-tree;
it is exceedingly picturesque amongst the other Fems and native
vegetation.
Dr. Roxburgh describes the size of this fern as twenty feet or more
in height, and of various thicknesses up to that of a man’s body, with
fronds (including the stipes) from four to ten feet long. As it does
not now attain that size, it may be considered that, like other
indigenous plants, it is degenerating, and gradually dying out.
Hk. & B. Syn. Fil. 1868, p. 50.—P l a t e 54.