258 



Another fern of ivory-white colour was a piece of my 

 own Lastrea montana phimosa, not large but well grown and 

 in splendid character. There can be no doubt that this 

 fern, like most plumose varieties, appreciates glass pro- 

 tection, and it is doubtful whether it can be induced to do 

 its really best without this artificial aid. 



Other choice things noted were the celebrated seedling 

 P. ang. Baldwinii, still flourishing in its square pan, and 

 what is, perhaps, the next best of the plumose divisilobes 

 P, ang. div. pi. Esplan, of which many pseudo-forms are 

 in cultivation. The real thing, as here seen, is less finely 

 divided than Baldwinii, but is even more foliose than that, 

 or perhaps any other, form in general cultivation. It is 

 also distinguished by prostrate, rather narrow fronds 

 which give the plant a starfish-like character. Seedlings 

 of this form, which are often seen, run into densum and 

 Grimmondiae and are sometimes undistinguishable from 

 these. A. f.f. plumosiim Dnievy and pluniosntn pevcvistatum 

 Druery — grand plants — were still standing in pride, but 

 somewhat past their best for this season. A propos of 

 the latter it was after we had gone through the fernery 

 (only a tithe of whose contents I have been able to 

 mention) and were being shown some of our host's choicest 

 art treasures that our member, Mr. J. W. Woollard, was 

 introduced, bringing with him a fern which had been given 

 to him earlier in the season by ]\Ir. Druery and which 

 was believed to be a seedling from A. f.f. plumosum 

 percvistaUim. It seemed to have somehow caught a dash 

 of the setigerum character, and this, combined with the 

 plumose and percristate characters, produced an effect of 

 most exquisite and refined beauty. The earlier fronds 

 were heavily crested and plumose, but it was in the 

 autumnal ones that the setigerum character appeared, 

 with reduced but very symmetrical crests. This is a most 

 promising new fern and will probably be another triumph 

 of the celebrated " superbum " strain. {Vide also p. 250.) 



F. W. Stansfield, 



