240 THE FLORAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



Asplenium trichomanes, or the common maidenhair spleenwort, 

 is very like A. viride, and often mistaken for it. It is easily dis- 

 tinguished from A. viride, however, hy the fronds having purplish- 

 black stipes or stems and rachis instead of green ; the pinnae of the 

 fronds being of a deeper green, rounder in form, and placed with 

 greater regularity along the rachis or midrib. It is evergreen, the 

 fronds reaching nearly one foot in length when found in damp, 

 favourable situations, but generally from three to six inches. It is 

 very common, growing on old walls, bridges, rocks and ruins. 



It is very easily grown when once established, making itself at 

 home in either pot 'or rockwork. The upper or drier parts of rock- 

 work suit it best. 



Asplenium marinum, or sea spleenwort, is a very thinly-located 

 fern, found only on the south-western coasts of Great Britain and 

 the Channel Islands. It is too tender to stand exposure in the open 

 air any further north. It is a maritime fern, evergreen, of tufted 

 growth. The fronds are generally from six to ten iuches long, of a 

 leathery texture, supported by rather short dark brown stipes or stems. 

 The pinna?, or divisions of the fronds, are placed alternately on each 

 side of the rachis, and are either scalloped or cut round the margin, 

 the whole frond having a lanceolate or lance-shaped appearance, and 

 darkish-green coloured. 



They make handsome specimens when grown in a moist, warm 

 atmosphere, such as in a Wardian case in a warm room. They also 

 do well in pots in a window, if the room is warm, and plenty of 

 moisture given overhead, and protection from the sun's warm rays. 



Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, or the black maidenhair spleenwort, 

 is an evergreen fern, met with in most parts of the country. It is 

 of tufted growth, the fronds ranging from two inches to a foot in 

 length, according as it is situated on walls, grassy banks, or shady 

 hedgerows. The fronds are supported by shining purplish-dark 

 stipes or stems. The pinna? are divided and subdivided, the lower 

 pair always being larger than the upper, giving a triangular shape 

 to the frond, which is of a dark green, and leathery in texture. It 

 in a very pretty and serviceable fern, making itself quite at home in 

 the shady parts of rockwork, and is easily grown in pots. The 

 variety acutum is a rare and rather tender fern, but makes a beauti- 

 ful pot plant, nearly triangular in the form of the fronds, and much 

 more robust and graceful in outline. 



Allosorus crispus, the mountain parsley fern, or rock brakes, is a 

 well-known, pretty little fern, of an elegant parsley-looking habit of 

 growth. It is a general favourite. The fronds, which vary from 

 two to six inches in height, are of a delicate light green, and a little 

 triangular in shape, supported on slender smooth green stipes about 

 the length of the frond. Its fronds appear in spring and die down 

 in autumn, and are of two kinds, barren and seed-bearing, both 

 much divided — the barren fronds having wedge-shaped segments, 

 and the fertile fronds having oblong roundish segments, which are 

 the highest of the two, causing a noticeable distinction between them. 

 It is an excellent pot fern, and very suitable for rockwork. 



Adiantum capillus veneris, or the common maidenhair fern. This 



