ii8 



ones, resolving themselves into two forms, one quite thin 

 and papery and with merely dilated tips or small crests, 

 while the others, of somewhat tougher character, were 

 branched into leafy divisions, each of which was branch- 

 crested on flat lines, but in nowise resembling the stag- 

 horn type. Upon the surfaces of the basal lobes of all these 

 latter fronds, but on only one or two of the other type, one 

 or two strong bulbils appeared, and also a few small ones 

 on the stalks below the lobes, while one very strong one 

 appeared on the surface close to the angle of separation of 

 a branched frond. The form of viviparousness is very rare 

 in the Hartstongue, and only one other case of lobe bulbils, 

 and that on a minor scale, has come within our ken. By 

 the end of the season of 1909 the plant formed a bush of 

 several crowns, and was a handsome specimen. 



This season it resumed growth vigorously in the spring, 

 but this time the fronds were all much more on normal 

 lines, though in all cases bearing flat crests, they were 

 much longer and only here and there quite small bulbils 

 appeared of a brown colour, which shewed no tendency to 

 develop, as did the previous ones, aerial roots and frondlets, 

 though still, as will be noted, growing under the same close 

 conditions as before. It will thus be seen that the plant 

 has passed through three stages, first that of a narrowly- 

 branched tough stag-horn type, in which the viviparous 

 character was not noticed, though possibly present; 

 secondly, a more foliose thinner-fronded stage, accompanied 

 by branching and cresting on dimorphic lines and with 

 proliferous buds of a vigorous character, forming several 

 fronds and aerial roots in situ, and finally a form little better 

 than an ordinary crested and otherwise normal one. 



We have now transferred the plant to the open in a 

 somev;hat sheltered bed, and it will be interesting to note 

 whether, restored to open air conditions, it will resume the 

 original stag-horn type, or whether the series of changes 

 prelude entire reversion to the normal. This, of course, 

 remains for the next season's growth to shew. 



