268 



decomposite plumose form, though, happily, by no means 

 barren of spores, the P. angulave a triply-divided one 

 instead of being merely specihcally bi-pinnate, while the 

 P. acuieatuin was in itself an unique variety of great beauty 

 and a peculiar slenderness and delicacy of make, particu- 

 larly at the frond tips, which no other native fern has 

 exhibited. It was Moly's decompositum which was the 

 first to demonstrate the faculty of yielding offspring 

 through its spores, so widely different from itself that 

 the fortunate raisers — Colonel A. i\I. Jones, of Clifton, and 

 Dr. Fox, of Brislington — could not credit the real parentage 

 until a second sowing confirmed it by yielding similar 

 results. From the spores on an only partially tri-pinnate 

 or thrice-divided frond there arose a batch of the most 

 feathery and mossy-looking ferns conceivable, quadri- or 

 quinque-pinnate, and with all the main subdivisions so 

 expanded and dissected that, instead of lying in a single 

 plane, they overlapped and piled themselves one upon 

 another to form veritable heaps of delicate verdure. Since 

 the appearance of this strain a number of beautifully 

 plumose forms have made their appearance on similar 

 lines, such as Pearson's, Esplan's and Grimmondii ; but 

 the parentage of all these is so vague that the opinion would 

 appear to be justified that spores of the Jones and Fox 

 section, since spores are sparingly produced, may have 

 yielded them. Pearsonii, at any rate, originated in ^Messrs. 

 Pearson's Nursery at Chilwell, whither many of Mr. E. J. 

 Lowe's plants were sent, and we have ascertained from 

 Mr. Charles Pearson that the decomposite parent of 

 "Pearsonii" was one of these, and unrecorded as a wild 

 find. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume from the 

 nature of its offspring and their similarity to the Jones and 

 Fox strain that it was probably one of the original non- 

 plumose seedlings from Moly's plant. All this, however, 

 can be but conjectured ; but, in any case, the fact remains 

 that no divisolobe plumose variety has yet been found w41d. 

 All are secondary "sports" under cultivation. ''Bald- 



