94 Lucas, Ferns Grown in the Open. \\o\ 



Vict. Nat. 



xxx^■I. 



sent out some altogether green fronds, but is now growing 

 true and very strongly. P. cretica, another species much sold 

 by the florists, with several varieties, came on famously, and 

 was far more at home in the open than in a pot in the bush- 

 house. P. straininea, P. fiahellata, and other exotic species 

 maintained the good character of the genus. 



Cheilanthes tenuifolia, which, like the bracken, is found all 

 over Australia, is naturally an easy fern to grow. In the earlier 

 stages, while sterile, it is very green and graceful — an elegant 

 Parsley Fern. The fertile fronds, erect and rigid, grow usually 

 to a height too great for the top weight, and then cling together 

 or fall prone, so that when faded and dried the plants )ook 

 very forlorn in the bush. Notolcena distans is always found 

 growing amongst rocks, often in much-exposed places on dry 

 hills, and sends its roots far down into crannies and cracks. 

 It is accordingly difficult to shift. In nature, like the previous 

 species, in high summer it assumes the form of withered tufts, 

 and my cultivation could not prevent it from doing the same 

 with me. It is alive, all the same, and is starting again with 

 a new growth. 



Aspidium, as recognized by Bentham, contains ferns very 

 different in habit. Those which grow in rosettes, with short 

 rhizomes, are useful plants, as they are easy to arrange. The 

 Prickly Shield Fern, A. acideatum, an old friend of mine in 

 England, has had its ups and downs this summer. It prefers 

 the colder climates, as of Britain and Kosciusko, but came 

 through quite alive and not much the worse for the loss oi 

 fronds. A plant which Mr. Whitelegge identified as A. 

 aristatum, from the Grafton district, quite died down, and I 

 had given it up as lost, but now it has sent out rhizomes, and 

 from these healthy new fronds are springing ; these are of a 

 bright glossy green. A. acuminatum grows in clumps, a form 

 very near to A. decompositmn, but not recorded by Bentham. 

 The plants were obtained from the banks of a running creek, 

 and have just managed to live through the time of trial, but 

 are now promising a strong fresh growth. A. molle has a 

 handsome rosette of tall fronds, and has not lost many of them. 

 Its congener, A. iinitum, a swamp fern growing not far from 

 the sea, has running rhizomes, and sends up also tall fronds, 

 which are near together, and so form clumps, and which are 

 stiff and harsh in contrast to the soft, hairy fronds of A . molle. 

 I have several plants, and all have grown on steadily during 

 the hot weather. I have not admitted A. exaltatum to the 

 fernery,but have it growing under the lee of my front garden fence. 

 The lower half of the fence is of substantial stone, and behind 

 this (the south) the ferns have multiplied exceedingly, and 

 form a high and thick hedge which is sufficiently ornamental. 



