i396 



POLYSTICHUM 



POMEGRANATE 



1885. Details of sporophylls of 



Polystichum acrostichoides. 



a, sori; h^ iudusium. 



well in living:- rooms. All the species have also been 

 described under the genus Aspidium. For culture, see 



Ferns. 



A. Lvs. simjily pinnate fhrotigJtottt. 

 B. Lower pimue gradually reduced to mere lobes. 



LoncMtis, Roth. (Aspidhim Lonclntis). Holly Feen. 

 Lvs. 9-20 in. long, rigid, the piunfB broadly lanceolate- 

 talcate, the lowest trian- 

 gular. North Europe 

 and America, mostly in 

 high latitudes. 



BB. Lower pinnoe scarce- 

 ly if any smaller 

 than those above. 



acrostichoides, Schott 

 (^■1 sp kli II m acrosticho- 

 ides, Swz.). Chhistmas 

 Fern. Figs. 1885, 1886. 

 Growing in dense 

 crowns, with stalks 6-8 

 in. high, the pinnae lin- 

 ear-lanceolate, somewhat 

 falcate, and serrulate 

 with appressed teeth; 

 spire- b e aring pinnae 

 contracted, with con- 

 fluent sori. Eastern 

 United States. — One of 

 our commonest species. 

 munitum, Kaulf. (As- 

 p i d i n m m u n 1 1 u tn , 

 Kaulf.). Stalks 4-12 in. long, chaffy at base or through- 

 out; pinnae long, linear-acuminate, serrate or doubly ser- 

 rate; sori in a single row midway from midrib to mar- 

 gin. Utah northward and westward. 



lepidocaillon, Hook. Stipes densely clothed with large, 

 heart-shaped scales: lvs. short, with 12-15 pairs of pin- 

 nae, unequal-sided, scarcely toothed: sori usually in two 

 rows. Japan. 



AA. Lvs. with auricles of pinnce forming distinct leaf- 

 lets. 

 viviparum, F^e. Lvs. 12-18 in. long, 4-6 in wide, with 

 numerous lanceolate pinnae; lower basal margin ob- 

 liquely truncate; sori in 2 or 4 rows. West Indies. 



AAA. Lvs. bipinnate in the lower tico-thirds. 

 C. Pinnules auricled. 



pcvUehtum, 'Roth. (Aspidijim aculehtum, Swz.). Lvs. 

 2 ft. or more long, 6-8 in. wide; pinnules twice as long 

 as wide, with vei-y conspicuous basal auricles. Eu. and 

 (.';ilif. — P. proliferum, Hort., is an Australian form pro- 

 ducing buds on the leaves. 



anguld,re, Willd. Lvs. 1-2 ft. long, rather narrowly 

 lanceolate; pinnules nearly triangular, two-thirds as 

 broad as long, more or less incised. Europe. 



Bratinii, Lawson. Lvs. 18-24 in. long, narrowly ellip- 

 tic-lanceolate; pinnules 7-10 pairs to each pinna, 

 broad, the upper basal edge parallel with the rachis. 

 Eu., and mountain regions of eastern America. 



cc. Pinnules scarcely auricled. 



Rich&rdi, Hook. Lvs. 9-18 in. long, ovate-deltoid, 

 with 12-15 pairs of pinnae; pinnules deeply toothed, 

 texture coriaceous. New Zealand. 



am^bile, Blume. Lvs. 1 ft. or more long, 6-9 in. wide, 

 with a lanceolate terminal pinna and ;i-6 pairs of lateral 

 ones ; pinnules suhrliom))oi(lal, the upper and outer 

 portions sharply spinulose serrate. India, Japan and 

 East Indies. 



AAAA. 7/i'.s. more than once pinnate in the lower 

 pinnce. 



Cap6nBe, J. Sm. {P. coridceiim, Swz.) , Stalks 1-2 ft. 

 long: lvs. 1-.'} ft. long, subdeltoid, the segments lanceo 

 late and bluntly lobrvl, the teeth not mucronate. S, 

 Africa, S. America and New Zealand, 



aristitum, Swz. Stalks scattered, 12-18 in. long, 

 scaly below : lvs. 1-2 ft. long, 9-12 in. wide. 3-4-pin- 



natifld, the lower pinnae largest; texture firm, glossy: 

 sori in 2 rows near the midrib. Japan to Ceylon and 

 Australia. l M. Underwood. 



POMADfiRRIS (Greek words said to refer to the 

 membranous covering of the fruit). liham)idcea'. Here 

 belongs the Victorian Hazel, P. apetala. According 

 to Bentham this is a shrub 3-6 ft. high, but Von Muel- 

 ler, in his "Select Extra -Tropical Plants," says it is 

 "a tree attaining a height occasionally of 60 feet, but 

 mostly smaller. The foliage is devoured with avidity by 

 pasture animals, often in preference to ordinary good 

 feed. The genus contains several other large-leaved 

 species." The genus is confined to Australia and New 

 Zealand, and 18 species are described in the Flora Aus- 

 traliensis. They are mostly shrubs with foliage mat- 

 ted with white felt beneath and very small and numerous 

 fls. in umbel-like cymes forming terminal panicles or 

 corymbs. Calyx-tube entirely aduate to the ovary, the 

 limb 5-parted, deciduous or reflexed; petals either con- 

 cave or flattish or none; stamens 5, the filaments long 

 and usually suddenly inflected and alternate near the top ; 

 disk annular, never very prominent; style 3-cleft, 

 rarely almost entire: capsule septicidally 3-valved. 



ap6tala, Labill. Lvs. 2-4 in. long, irregularly crenate 

 and rugose: calyx stellate-tomentose or hoary, with a 

 very short tube : cymes rather loose, numerous in much- 

 branched panicles : petals none. Australia. Cultivated 

 in California for ornament. See Buliugia. ^ ]yj_ 



POMEGRANATE, the vernacular of Punica Grann- 

 tum, a small tree of southern Asia, grown both fur 

 ornament and for its edible fruit. Fig. 1887. St e 

 Punica. It is somewhat grown in the open in the 

 southern states, and also as a pot- or tub-plant in 

 greenhouses in the North. 



The natural habit of the Pomegranate is of rather 

 bushy growth, but by careful training a tree 15-20 ft. 

 may be produced. This, however, seems possible only 

 in the extreme southern sections of the United States. 

 A great many shoots spring from the base of the 

 plant; these should' be cut out, as it is contended that 

 they withdraw the nutriment which should go to the 

 fruit-bearing stems. The branches are slender, twiggy, 

 nearly cylindrical, somewhat thorny; lvs. lanceolate, 

 long, narrow, glossy green and with red veins; fls. with 

 a red-colored, thick, fleshy calyx, crowned with bright 

 scarlet, crumpled petals and numerous stamens. The 

 fruit is globular, topped with a crown-like calyx, and 

 the interior consists of numerous seeds enveloped in a 

 bright, crimson-colored pulp, seeds being arranged in 

 segments, separated by a thin skin, and very acid in 

 the typical variety. A cooling, acescent drink is made 



1886. Christmas fern— Polystichum acrostichoides 



