I
Farheriaceæ*
P A R K E R IA . Hook.
Sori cominui, venas longitudinales frondis fertilis occupantes. Sporangia laxe
disposita, globosa, hyalina, sessilia, annulo lato brevissimo minuto p ro p e basin
n otata, annulo 5—6-articulato. Indusium membranaceum, continuum, e m a rgine
frondis revolutæ ortum, su tu ra longitudinal! dehiscens. Sporuloe magnæ,
obtuse triangulares, hyalinoe, pulcherrime striatæ, striis seriebus tribus concentri-
— Lilix tropico-Americana, aquatica, natans, annua, herbácea. Frondes stériles a
fe r tili diversoe, bipinnatifidæ, costatæ, reticulatim venosæ, areolis oblongis hexagonis ;
fertiles majores 3—i.-pinnaiijidoe, laciniis linearibus, acutis, costatis, venisque 2—3
longitudinalibus, hic illic anastomosantibus, soriferis.
Vorkeriapteridioides. Hook— (T a b . L .) . Hook, et Grev. le . F il. t. 97.
The drawing by Mr Bauer, here represented, was taken, I believe, from specimens
communicated by me to Mr J . Smith, at Kew, who remarks, that “ the figures of Mr
Bauer confirm an opinion he had already entertained, that Parkeria was not generically
distinct from Ceratopteris:’ ( T ab. n o s t e . X II) . In justice to myself I most observe,
that after repeated examinations of différent specimens, and at various times, I do not find
the appearance of the annulus to be such as Mr Bauer’s drawing exhibits it, but precisely
as it is figured in the leones Filicum, above quoted ; where the sporangia are given with the
most scrupulous exactness. In every sporangium that has come under my inspection, the
annnlus is reduced to a very small nearly quadrangular spot, marked witli about 5—6
transverse lines, not very closely placed (see Fig. B.) ; nor do I perceive a further trace of
an annulus above or below that spot, as depicted by Mr Bauer, whose accuracy, however,
in this, as in all his botanical analyses, cannot for a moment be called in question.
Tab. L. P a ek e e ia rTEEiniciDEs. F ig . 1. Portion of a fertile frond, magnified 4 diam. :
/ . 2, 3. Smaller portion o f the same, magnified 16 diameters; / 4. Sporangia and sporules, wag-
m /é á 200 diameters. (Mr Bauer’s drawing.)
A. Portion of a fertile frond to show the venation, and B. Sporangium, (from our own drawing ;)
—magnified.