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phrokpis exaltata, Aneimia adiantifolia, Ophioglossum bulbostmt,
O. nudicauk, and O ./ a / » « * « «— eighteen in all. Three of these
- A s p i . serrahmi, Aspid. unitum, and Ophioglossum palmatum
— have been brought to our knowledge within the last few years,
since the publication of Dr. Chapman’s “ Flora of the Southern
States ; " and it can scarcely be rash to hazard the conjecture, that
there are yet in the swamps and hummocks of Florida more
undiscovered tropical ferns to reward the diligent explorer.
A few foreign ferns are more or less closely related to the
present species. A . sinuaium (Beauvois), from the coast of
Guinea, is perhaps the most like it, having the same habit, and
nearly as ample dimensions; but the midrib is very prominent
on the upper, not the under, surface. The bird’s-nest fern {A s plénium
Nidus (L.), from South-eastern Asia and Australasia, is
also similar in habit to our plant, and is even grander in its
proportions; but it belongs to a separate section of the genus
{^Thamnopteris), characterized by having the veinlets connected
at their tips by a transverse intramarginal vein. There is certainly
no North-American fern with which Aspknium serratum
could be confounded.
Plate III. represents an entire plant, reproduced from a sketch by Mr.
Garber, about one-eighth natural size; also a frulting-frond. natural size,
and a small portion from near the middle, magnified to twice the natural
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