568 



HORTICULTUEE 



October 28, 1916 



The Collection of Nephrolepis Varieties at the Brooklyn 



Botanic Garden 



Some eight months ago. the writer 

 published in tlie trade press an at- 

 count of the Xephrolepis collection at 

 the Brooklyn Botanic (Jarden. together 

 with a suggestion for a means of co- 

 operation between the Garden and 

 florists which would be of mutual 

 benefit. Tlie offer made in behalf of 

 the Garden was to send out small 

 plants of named varieties from a list 

 then published as far as duplicates 

 were available, the purpose being to 

 aid tlorists in the building up of col- 

 lections and testing new varieties. 

 Second, the Garden offered to act as 

 a bureau of information regarding 

 these ferns, and. in this connection, 

 offered to send out copies of a reprint 

 of the Nephrolepis article from the 

 New Standard C.vclopaedia of Horti- 

 culture. Florists were asked in return 

 to send information to correct or sup- 

 plement the statements in the article, 

 and also to send plants of varieties not 

 on the list. The present statement is 

 in the nature of a report on the results 

 obtained with a further offer of co- 

 operation on the same lines as before. 



About two hundred copies of the 

 Nephrolepis articles have been sent 

 out, the great majority to commercial 

 growers. Several hundred small plants 

 have been distriljuted in lots varyin.t; 

 from five to thirty different kinds, ac 

 cording to what was available. These 

 have gone to all comers of the T'nited 

 States, and applications have come 

 from Australia and New Zealand. A 

 considerable number of florists have 

 thus been able to build up collections 

 for exhibition purposes, and at least 

 one grower exjiects to add one form 

 so obtained to the list offered in a 

 mail order catalogue. 



The Nephrolepis investigation work 

 at the Garden has also profited. The 

 collection of Nephrolepis fomis has 

 more than doubled. The list jwevious- 

 ly published included forty named 

 sports of N. exaltata bostoniensis. 

 The present list includes seventy. Of 

 varieties of other species, fifteen 

 were given before. Now there are fiftv 

 names. It should be noted that I sav 

 "fifty names," not fifty varieties. 

 Some of these names are undoubtedlv 

 synonyms. The list of actually dis- 

 tinct forms may not be more than 

 thirty, but it is yet impossible cer- 

 tainly to determine the proper names 

 for these varieties or the exact num- 

 ber of different kinds. The diflScultv 

 m correctly classifying these forms is 

 due in part to carelessness and inac- 

 curacy on the part of growers and 

 others and in part to the fact that the 

 classification of the original species of 

 Nephrolepis is an unusually difficult 

 problem. 



Besides the named varieties a con- 

 siderable number of unnamed kinds 

 have been sent in for experimental 

 growmg to the number of at least fiftv. 

 When full grown plants of all kinds 

 are developed it will undoubtedly be 

 found that some of these unnamed 



forms are duplicates of varitlies al- 

 ready in the trade. It is safe to say, 

 however, that the present living col- 

 lection at the Garden includes at least 

 one hundred and twenty-five distinct 

 varieties of Nephrolepis. 



About thirty of tliis increase of 

 sixty odd kinds have been obtained by 

 purchase from English and French 

 growers. The remainder have been 

 received through the co-operation of 

 American growers and botanic gar- 

 dens. The Bureau of Plant Industry 

 through its Office of Foreign Plant In- 

 troduction is now co-operating through 

 its agents in all jiarts of the tropics, 

 who are collecting specimens of the 

 wild forms to be grown and compared 

 with the types under cultivation. 



The writer has continued his visits 

 to commercial establishments through 

 the aid of a grant of one hundred dol- 

 lars from the American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science. 

 Growers in Columbus and Springfield, 

 Ohio, and in and about Bostoii, New 

 York and Philadelphia have been vis- 

 ited, some of them several times. A 

 .great deal of valuable information ha.-; 

 been gained in this way. .\ partial 

 scientific report of the study of these 

 ])Iants has been published in the May 

 number of the Bulletin of the Torrey 

 Botanic Club and reprinted as Contri- 

 butions Number i:! of the Brooklyn 

 Botanic Garden. Further reports are 

 in preiiaration. 



In the meantime the facilities of the 

 collection continue to be available for 

 the Ijenefit of florists. Small plants of 

 named varieties will be sent on ai)pli- 

 cation as far as the stock of dupli- 

 cates allow. Definite apiilications for 

 few and specific varieties will receive 

 preference over general application 

 but all will be served as far as jiossi- 

 ble. If general ajjplications are made 

 for the purpose of building uj) collec- 

 tions of varieties, the request for 

 specimens should include a list of the 

 kinds already being grown to avoid 

 duplication. 



Not all the varieties listed here are 

 available for distribution, although 

 there is a much larger assortment 

 than last year. Some have only re- 

 cently been received from England 

 and there has been insufficient time 

 for propagation of small plants. Oth- 

 ers, especially some in the second 

 group, are very slow to reproduce, or 

 so large and require so much space 

 that it has not been possible to give 

 them bench room. In general, the va- 

 rieties in the second group are mostly 

 of little commercial value in the 

 United States except for large coUec- 

 lections. 



Perhaps the collection can find its 

 greatest value for florists as a clearing 

 house of information about Nephro- 

 lepis forms. How this might work out 

 was suggested recently by a well 

 known grower of the New York dis- 

 trict. As president of one of the lo- 

 cal growers' associations he had had 



occasional requests for an opinion as 

 to the value and distinctiveness of 

 some supposedly new form of Nephro- 

 lepis sent in by some florist of the 

 district. The only means of answer- 

 ing such a question would be by refer- 

 ence to some practically complete col- 

 lection of these forms. The writer 

 will be glad to answer questions along 

 this line , and regarding any other 

 phase of interest in connection with 

 these ferns. Visitors are welcome at 

 any time. 



Nki'IIkolei'is e.\ai.t.\t.\ .\.M) its Vaki- 

 TiES Once Pin.nate Forms. 



exaltata. wild species, tropics gen- 

 erally. 



bostoniensis, F. C. Becker, Cam- 

 liridge, Mass., and others. 



Childsi. J. L. Childs, Floral Park, 

 1.. I. 



Dreyeri. Dreyer Brothers, White- 

 stone, N. Y. 



Dwarf Boston. F. R. Pierson, Tai^ 

 rytown, N. Y. 



Edmontoniensis. H. B. May & Sons, 

 Upper Edmonton, England. 



falcata. Peter Wagner, Brooklyn, 

 N. Y. (There is also an English 

 falcata.) 



Gretnai. B. M. Wlchers & Co., 

 Gretna, Louisiana. 



Giatrasi. George Glatras, West Ho- 

 boken, N. J. 



Harrisi. Wm. K. Harris & Co., Phil- 

 adelphia, Penn. 



New York. George Giatras, West 

 Hoboken, N. J. 



Randolphi. Randolph & Sons, Ve- 

 rona, Penn. 



Roosevelti. American Rose & Plant 

 Co., Springfield, Ohio, 



Schultheisi. Anton Schultheis, Col- 

 lege Point, N. Y. 



Scotti. John Scott, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



splendida*. Good & Reese Co.. 

 Springfield, Ohio. 



Teddy .Ir. American Rose & Plant 

 Co., Springfield, Ohio. 



viridissima. F. R. Pierson, Tarry- 

 town, N. Y. 



Wa.gneri. Peter Wagner, Brooklyn, 

 N. Y. 



Wanamakeri*. Robert Craig, Phila- 

 delphia, Penn. 



Twice Pinnate Forms. 



Anna Foster. Lucius H. Foster, Dor- 

 chester, Mass. 



Baby Pierson, (parentage uncer- 

 tain). 



Barrowsi. Henry H. Barrows * 

 Son, Whitman, Mass. 



Clarki. Clark (?) 



Duplex bernsteili. (?). 



Elmsfordi. Scott Brothers, Elms- 

 ford, N. Y. 



Fosterianna. (Same as Anna Fos- 

 ter). 



Kingsessing. Wm. K. Harris & Co.. 

 Philadelphia, Penn. 



Millsi, Wm. K. Harris & Co., Phila- 

 delphia. Penn. 



•Produces some 2-pinnalc lenves. Ak 

 typically developed, ■'J-piiin:itc, 



