FOLIAGE PLANTS 371 



cutarium. This last species is advertised in trade cat- 

 alogues as Sitalobium circutarium. 



596. Aspleniums, botanical characters. Asplenium 

 is a genus having variously divided fronds. The sori 

 are elongated, covered with a thin indusium and are 

 usually four on one side of a vein. The bird's-nest fern 

 is a species of simple-leaved ferns growing in crowns. The 

 elongated indusia are in parallel rows on the veins of the 

 large, shining, bright green fronds. Often the fronds 

 grow three or four feet long, and are from three to nine 

 inches wide. 



Habitat. Widely distributed from the Alpine sections 

 of northern Europe to the tropics. Several are native 

 in Japan and the East Indies. 



597. Culture. Aspleniums are easily grown. They 

 like abundant soil water, but will turn brown, especially 

 in winter, in a moist atmosphere. The glass should be 

 slightly shaded. Propagation is by spores; and in A. 

 bulbiferum by bulblets. They are small plantlets which 

 develop on the edge of the pinnae. When the bulblets 

 are large enough they are removed and firmly planted 

 in a mixture of garden soil, leaf-mold and sand. The 

 small ferns are then placed in a moist, close atmosphere, 

 and in a short time roots will develop and growth will 

 then be rapid. The bird's-nest ferns have become very 

 popular commercially. They are easy to grow and 

 are well adapted to living-room conditions. The clean, 

 glossy foliage makes them especially attractive. They 

 like a soil composed of one-half leaf-mold and one-half well- 

 rotted sod loam. They should have excellent drainage or 

 the foliage discolors. Avoid filling the crown when 

 watering, or the leaves will decay at the base. They will 

 endure a wider variation of temperature than many 



