Hypolepis
(from hypo, under, and lepis, a scale; so called from the marginal covering of the inferior sporange). ORD. Filices. A genus of about a dozen species of stove or temperate ferns. Sori marginal, small, sub-globose, uniform, distinct; involucre same shape as sorus, and covering it, formed out of the reflexed margin. For general culture, see Ferns. H. Bergiana (Berg's).* sti. tufted, 2ft. long, erect, tomentose. fronds 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. long, 6in. to 9in. broad, deltoid, quadri-pinnatifid; pinnae deltoid; pinnules ovate-deltoid; segments cut down to the rachis. sory very small. South Africa, &c., 1874. Greenhouse.
H. californica (Californian). sti. densely tufted, about 6in. long, erect. fronds small, densely tufted, about 3in. each way, deltoid, quadripinnatifid; lower pinnae deltoid; pinnules of the lower side much larger than the others. sori roundish, two to six to a segment. California. Greenhouse. (H. S. F. ii. 88A.) H. distans (distant).* sti. 6in. high, slender, flexuose. fronds about 1ft. long, 4in. to 5in. broad, ovate-lanceolate, bipinnate; pinnae spreading, at right angles with the rachis; pinnules oblong, cut half-way down. sori small, two to four to a pinnule. New Zealand, 1861. Greenhouse. H. repens (creeping). sti. 1ft. to 2ft. long, strong, erect, more or less prickly. fronds 3ft. to 4ft. long, quadripinnatifid; lower pinnae 1ft. to 2ft. long, 6in. to 12in. broad, ovate-acuminate; pinnules lanceolate; segments cut nearly to the rachis. sori two to six to a segment. Tropical America, 1824. Stove. (H. S. F. ii. 90c.) H. tenuifolia (slender-fronded). sti. 1ft. long, erect. fronds 4ft. to 5ft. long, quadripinnatifid; lower pinnae ovate-acuminate, 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. long, 6in. to 9in. broad; pinnules lanceolate. sori two to six to an ultimate division. Java to Australia, 1824. Stove. (H. S. F. ii. 89c, 90A.)