THE SEA SPLEENWORT. 



lertninal and adherent to the caudex. Ituvhis margined and more or less coloured brown below, winded 

 and green above. 



Vem/ttion circiiiatc. 



Frond* including the stipes averaging from six to twelve inches long, sometimes shorter, occasionally 

 upwards of a yard long; smooth, coriaceous, broadly linear tapering to the apex, pinnate, Pinnw 

 oblique, thb anterior basal angle being most produced, varying in outline between oblong, oblong-ovate, 

 and linear; obtuse, often of nearly equal width throughout, usually about an inch iu length ; the anterior 

 base truneately rounded, and produced into a blunt more or less apparent auricle, the inferior base cut 

 away obliquely. The lowest are stalked with the stalks winged, the upper become decurrent* and at 

 length confluent into a tapering pinnatitid ai>ex. The margins arc usually doubly crenato-serrate, the 

 serrntures unequal, sometimes deeper, forming evident lobes ; sometimes (as in lig, u.) the incisions form 

 very even and elegant crcnatures. 



Vcnatitrtt consisting of a prominent Ilexuous midvein from which proceed forked tefns ; the lowest 

 anterior vein is two or three times forked, the rest usually once only ; the emulat terminate abruptly 

 within the margin, the anterior ones generally bearing the soil 



Fmctijicativn spread over the back of the frond, AW linear, oblique, indusiatc, borne on the anterior 

 side of the venules (except sometimes on those of the auricle, when two or more sori are borne by the 

 same fascicle of veins), commencing near the midvein, and forming two series of short divergent lines 

 along each pinua. The sori, though consisting of a profusion of spore-cases, are commonly distinct, 

 though they sometimes coalesce so as to cover the whole under surface. Irulttsium of the same form. 

 Insistent, entire, Spwc-ctms numerous, globose, brown, Spores ovate, angular, 



Duration. The caudex is perennial. The fronds being persistent^ and the young ones each year 

 produced long before the old ones decay, the species is truly evergreen. 



This is a well marked species, distinguished technically from the other simply pinnate British 

 Aspleiiiums by its winged raehis ; and generally by its greater size and more coriaceous texture, this 

 latter feature giving to it an aspect of massiveness as compared with its size, by which it may be 

 known at first sight. 



This species is easily cultivated iu sheltered situations, as in a frame or greenhouse, and thrives 

 remarkably in a moist stove- It does not bear frost or exposure, and we have found it to be destroyed 

 by being frozen, oven when kept in a close greenhouse. Few of the smaller Ferns are more ornamental, 

 or mom deserving of cultivation than the Sea Splcenwort. Its fronds, owing to their thick leathery 

 substance, are long-enduring, and they are moreover of a deep shining green ; and thus, with very little 

 care, may bo kept clean and bright, — a state which tends greatly to the preservation of tho health of a 

 cultivated plant, and always adds immeasurably to its beauty and to the attention and interest which it 

 excites. Hence, for a shady greenhouse, no Fern can bo more appropriately chosen ; while, oven for 

 very sheltered situations outdoors, especially in localities near the sea, the same qualities recom- 

 mend it. 



We may take this opportunity to state generally the kind of treatment which has been found to 

 suit the small evergreen Ferns of this character when under pot culture. Tho pots in which they are 

 planted should lie of moderate size compared with the plant, that is, their diameter exceeding by two 

 or three inches only, the breadth of the crown or mass formed by the caudex. They grow well either iu 

 a soil of turfy peat and silver sand, with a small proportion of friable yellow loam, and liberally inter- 

 mixed with small nodules or fragments of sandstono or porous brick, or iu a mixture of which saudy 

 fdjrous loam forms the staple, and in which the coarser materials are also blended. In either case, the 

 bottom of the pot* must have a good layer of these latter materials for drainage. The crown should be 

 kept rather above the surface of the soil, and is perhaps best set between two or tlircc larger somewhat 





