972 



DAUCUS 



DAVALLIA 



grooved, bristly, aromatic. Eu. Under cult., the root 

 has been greatly developed into many edible forms. 

 Var. Boissieri, Schweinf., from Egypt and also in 

 Spain, has blood-red or violet-colored roots. Gt. 

 1904:1527. L. H. B. 



DAVALLIA (a personal name) . Polypodiacese. Ferns, 

 some of them grown under glass, and the smaller species 

 making good plants for hanging-baskets. 



Tropical plants, usually with firm, somewhat finely 

 divided foliage and coriaceous semi-cylindric indusia, 

 which are attached at both the base and sides, opening 

 toward the margin of the leaf. Some twenty species, in 

 many parts of the globe, some of them epiphytes. 



The "diverse habits of growth of the many different 

 species of davallias, and their good lasting qualities, 

 peculiarly fit them under ordinary care for decorative 

 purposes, when delicate and graceful plants are desired. 

 Among the many species, the following are most often 

 seen and best adapted for commercial purposes: D. 

 bullata, D. parvula, very dwarf; D. pentaphylla, young 

 fronds of a dark bronzy green, and D. Tyermannii 

 (Humata), are well adapted for hanging-baskets. D. 

 dissecta and var. elegans, D. concinna (Loxoscaphe) , D. 

 fijiensis and vars. plumosa and major, D. fceniculacea 

 (Loxoscaphe), D. solida, D. pallida (syn. Mooreana) and 

 D. pyxidata are adapted for large specimen plants. D. 

 tenuifolia (Odontosoria chinensis) and vars. stricta and 

 Veitchiana are desirable for fern-dishes, because of their 

 dwarfish habit of growth and the ease with which they 

 may be raised from spores. Old plants of davallia 

 may be cut into a number of smaller ones with a sharp 

 knife. Planted firmly into shallow pans and placed in 

 a temperature of 60 to 65 F., they soon develop into 

 symmetrical plants. The rhizomes should be firmly 

 fastened to soil by strong copper-wire staples, where 

 they will root in a short time. To gain a large number of 

 small plants, the rhizomes should be detached, cleaned 

 from all soil and roots, laid on sand and thinly covered 



1229. Davallia bullata, grown 

 as a "fern-ball." 



with moss. Placed in a shaded position in a temperature 

 of 65 to 70 F., and kept moderately moist, a number 

 of small plants will develop from the dormant eyes, 

 which may be separately potted as soon as of sufficient 

 size. Spores of davallia should be sown on a fine com- 

 post of soil, leaf-mold or peat and sand in equal parts, 

 and placed in a shaded position in a temperature of 

 60 to 65 F. All the operations of propagation of 

 davallias will be most successful if conducted during 

 the spring months. All davallias delight in a rich and 

 open compost, an abundance of light and air, and mois- 

 ture at their roots, a temperature of 60 to 65 F. and a 

 thorough syringing every bright day. (N. N. Bruckner. ) 



bullata, 3. 

 canariensis, 8. 

 decurrens, 6. 

 denticulata, 5. 

 dissecta, 11. 

 divaricata, 12. 

 elegans, 5, 8, 11. 



INDEX. 



fijiensis, 10. 

 major, 10. 

 Mariesii, 4. 

 Mayi, 6. 

 Mooreana, 13. 

 ornata, 7. 

 pallida, 13. 



parvula, 2. 

 pentaphylla, 1. 

 plumosa, 10. 

 polyantha, 12. 

 pyxidata, 9. 

 solida, 7. 

 superba, 7. 



A. Lvs. once pirmate, with few linear segms. 



1. pentaphylla, Blume. Lvs. scattered, from a stout 

 fibrillose rootstock, 1-pinnate, with 1 terminal and 4-6 

 pairs of lateral pinnae, 4-6 in. long, J^in. broad; sori 

 in marginal rows. Java and Polynesia. 



AA. Lvs. tri- or quadri-pinnatifid, deltoid. 

 B. Length of Ivs. less than 1 ft. 



2. parvula, Wall. A tiny fern with scaly creeping 

 rootstocks, the Ivs. sessile or with stalks 1-2 in. 

 long, the blades H-^in. long, J^in. broad, triangular, 

 2-3 pinnatifid, the segms. threadlike, pointed. Singa- 

 pore and Borneo. 



3. bullata, Wall. Figs. 1229, 1230. Rootstock creep- 

 ing, clothed with whitish or light brown hair-like 

 scales: Ivs. scattered, 6-10 in. long, 4-6 in. wide, quad- 

 ripinnatifid, with deeply incised segms.; texture firm. 

 India to Java and Japan. F.E. 11:543. Often sold 

 for house cult, in the form of a fern-ball. 



4. Mariesii, Moore. Rootstock stout, with brownish 

 scales, which are lanceolate from a broad dilated base: 

 Ivs. deltoid, 4r-6 in. each way, with the pinna? cut away 

 at the lower side at base; segms. short-linear, 1-nerved; 

 sori intramarginal. Japan. G.C. III. 13:571. 



BB. Length of Ivs. 1-2 ft. 

 c. Foliage commonly tri-pinnatifid. 



5. denticulata, Mett. (D. elegans, Swartz). Root- 

 stock clothed with woolly fibers: Ivs. 9-15 in. wide, 

 with the main rachis slightly winged toward the apex; 

 indusia several to a segm., with the sharp teeth 

 projecting beyond the cups. Ceylon to Austral, and 

 Polynesia. 



6. decurrens, Hooker. Rootstock stout, creeping, 

 fibrillose: If .-blade 1-2 ft. long, 9^-15 in. broad, triangu- 

 lar, the main rachis scarcely winged at the apex, 3- 

 pinnate, the segms. linear-oblong, broadly toothed; 

 sori inside the margin. Philippines. Var. Mayi, Hort. 

 Graceful, much divided Ivs. 



7. solida, Swartz (D. ornata, Wall.). Rootstock 

 clothed with appressed scales or fibers: Ivs. 1-2 ft. 

 long, 12-15 in. wide, the center of the apex broad and 

 undivided; segms. broad and slightly cut; indusia 

 marginal. Malaya. Var. superba, Hort. Lvs. flat, in 

 young state tinted with red. 



cc. Foliage commonly quadri-pinnatifid. 



8. canariensis, Smith. Rootstock stout, densely 

 clothed with pale brown linear scales: If .-blades 12-18 

 in. long, triangular, with ovate-rhombic, deeply incised 

 segms.; sori on entire segms., or with a horn outside. 

 Spain, Canaries, N. Afr. Var. elegans, Hort. Lvs. 

 finely divided. 



9. pyxidata, Cav. Rootstock clothed with pale 

 brown linear scales: If. -blades tri-quadri-pinnatifid, 

 6-9 in. broad, with oblong segms.; sori with a broad 

 space outside, which is extended into a horn-like pro- 

 jection. Austral. 



10. fijiensis, Hook. Lvs. 6-12 in. broad, with the 

 lower pinnae deltoid and the segms. cut into narrow, 

 linear divisions Y^-^m.. long; sori on the dilated apices 

 of the segms. with no horn. Fiji Isls. A. F. 6:900; 

 9:233. G.C. III. 23:323. One of the finest species, 

 with numerous varieties. Considered by some botanists 

 to be a variety of D. solida. Var. plumosa, Bull. Dis- 

 tinct from the species by the gracefully drooping habit 

 and feathery nature of the pendulous Ivs. Var. major, 



