ASPIDISTRA 



ASPLENIUM 



413 



f 



ASPIDISTRA (Greek, a small, round shield; referring, 

 probably, to the shape of the stigma). Liliacex. A 

 popular" florists' plant, grown for its stiff, shining, 

 beautiful foliage, which is sometimes striped. 



Leaves all radical, many, long, gradually narrowed 

 into petiole, the rhizome thick and sometimes creep- 

 ing: fls. inconspicuous and borne close to the ground; 

 perianth wide-campanulate, 8-lobed; stamens 8, at- 

 tached on the tube, the filaments very short; ovary 

 4-celled: fr. a globose indehiscent 1-seeded berry. 

 Three or 4 species in Himalaya, China and Japan. The 

 casual observer never suspects that Aspidistra is a 

 liliaceous plant. The parts of the fl. in monocotyledons 

 are typically in 3's. The genus Aspidistra is con- 

 sidered abnormal, as usually having its parts in 4's. 

 This tetramerous state (which is here considered the 

 normal one, and described below) is pictured in B.M. 

 2499, but the species was first described upon a trimer- 

 (iiis state, and pictured in B.R. 628. In A. lurida, the 

 trimerous state must be regarded as an exceptional 

 reversion: in .4.. typica, B.M. 7484, the trimerous state 

 is thought to be constant. 



Aspidistra is invaluable to the 

 florist in decorative work, owing to its 

 ability to withstand rough usage, dust, 

 heat, cold and drought. The foliage is 

 very useful when cut for mixing with 

 amaryllises when they are used as cut- 

 flowers, lasting for weeks in good con- 

 dition; for such purposes the aspidistra 

 may be planted under greenhouse 

 benches in waste places for the production 

 of leaves alone. The variegated variety is 

 often seen, but a poor soil must be used or 

 the variegation will speedily disappear. To 

 increase the plants, divide in early spring 

 when repotting, shaking out the old soil from 

 the roots and separating the leaves, putting 

 several in a pot of a useful size, a 6-inch 

 being large enough to hold a number of leaves and their 

 roots. (E. O. Orpet.) 



lurida, Ker-Gawl (A. elatior, Hort. A. punctata, 

 Lindl.). Fig. 413. Lvs. 15-20 in. long, stiff, evergreen, 

 oblong-lanceolate, sharp-pointed, radical; blade nar- 

 rowed into a channeled petiole a third of its length: fls. 

 lurid purple, on short 1-fld. scapes; perianth segms. 8; 

 stamens 8; stigma broadly shield-shaped, like a small 

 mushroom. China. B.R. 977. Var. variegata, Hort., 

 has alternation of green and white stripes, no 2 Ivs. 

 being exactly alike. In Fla., the aspidistra makes 

 beautiful dense specimens in unheated plant-sheds. It 

 thrives in sunshine when growing along the edges of 

 ditches and flowing water. 



A. typici, Baill. Rootstock creeping: Ivs. elliptic-lanceolate, 

 long-petioled, about 7 -nerved: fls. greenish or whitish, speckled 

 with red, purple inside, trimerous. China. L H B t 



ASPfDIUM: Dryoptms and Polyatichum. 

 ASPLENfiNDRlUM: Thumnopteris. 



ASPLENIUM (Greek, not the spleen; referring to sup- 

 posed medicinal properties). Polypodiacese. A large, 

 widely distributed genus of ferns, containing some 200 

 species. Some of them hardy, and many others grown 

 in the greenhouse. 



Aspleniums are distinguished by the free veins, and by 

 the elongated sori covered by an indusium, which nor- 

 mally is attached to one side of a vein. The species 

 here included under Asplenium, which have some of 

 the spri curved across the subtending veinlets and 

 certain differences in the internal structure of the st. 

 are placed by many botanists in a separate genus, 

 Athyrium; in the list below, Xos. 10, 25, 26, and 27 

 belong in this group. 



Aspleniums enjoy an abundance of moisture at the 

 roots, but they will turn brown in the winter months in 



an excessively moist atmosphere. They should be kept 

 in a very lightly shaded position. A good potting ma- 

 terial consists of equal parts of rich soil and leaf -mold or 

 peat. The following are some of the most useful com- 

 mercial kinds: A. Belangeri, height 23^ feet; A. bulbif- 

 ernm (including A. laxum), which grows quickly into a 

 handsome specimen about 20 inches high, and seems to 

 stand the hot, dry American summers better than other 

 species; A. salicifolium; and A. viviparum, which ia 

 dwarf, compact, with lace-like fronds, and easily propa- 

 gated. For hanging-baskets, A. flaccidum is best. The 

 foregoing species and others of like habit develop small 

 plantlets on the surface and edge of pinnae. As soon as 

 these are sufficiently strong, they may be detached, with 

 a small piece of old pinnae, and pricked into shallow 

 pans, the older part being placed below ground to hold 

 the young plant firmly in position until roots have 



413. Aspidistra lurida var. variegata. 



formed. The best soil for this purpose is composed of 

 equal parts of fresh garden soil, leaf-mold or fine peat, 

 and sand. Plant very firmly, and place in a shady, 

 moderately moist and close position, where in ten or 

 fifteen days they will make roots. The foregoing ones do 

 best in a temperature of 50 F A. cristoium is easily 

 grown from spores, and is very useful for fern-dishes. 

 (Nichol N. Bruckner.) 



A. Sori linear or oblong, straight, borne on the back of the If. 



(Nos. 1-26.) 

 B. Lf. simple, with a serrate margin. 



1. serratum, Linn. Lf. 1-3 ft. long, on a very short 

 stalk, 2-4 in. wide, gradually narrowed below: sori 1 in. 

 or more long. Fla. to Brazil. 



