2132 



NEPHROLEPIS 



NEPHROLEPIS 



original species, N. exaltata. Thus its scientific name 

 is properly N. exaltata var. bostoniensis var. Piersonii 

 var. elegantissima. In the present treatment the trade 

 names are used, but in connection with the descriptions 

 the origin of each form is given when known. The index 

 includes all the names that have been met, although 

 no information has been available regarding some of 

 them. Very few of the English varieties are grown at all 

 in the U. S. English varieties are indicated thus: (E). 



Methods of cultivation. 



In general, nephrolepis must be propagated entirely 

 by runners. Few if any spores are produced by the 

 varieties. As a plant comes to be a year or so old, the 

 leaves develop the usual fruit-dots or sori, but when 

 examined under the microscope it appears that these 

 consist of abortive sporangia or spore-cases and con- 

 tain no spores. It is probable that spores are developed 

 occasionally, but so rarely that this method can not be 

 used in propagating new plants commercially. A vigor- 

 ous plant will, however, produce numerous runners 

 which spread in all directions and take root, starting 

 new plants in this way. It is customary to maintain a 

 number of stock plants planted out in benches from 

 which new runners can be plucked as needed. This also 

 gives a good opportunity for the production of new 

 varieties. 



New varieties of commercial value do not appear 

 very frequently in the commoner varieties. Most of 

 the present standard varieties have been propagated 

 from single original plants, although there are cases of a 

 certain type of variation occurring simultaneously with 

 different growers, one of whom might count it worthy of 

 introduction while another would disregard it. 



All growers unite in acknowledging the original Bos- 

 ton form as the best grower of all and it appears also 

 that there is a greater demand for this form than for 

 any other. The next most popular form is probably 

 N. Scottii, with N. elegantissima the third. Teddy Jr., 

 and the large frilled forms, N. Harrisii and N. Roose- 

 veltii, are also grown by most dealers. 



There are two main methods of growing nephrolepis 

 for the market, the pot method and the bench method. 

 In the former, stock plants are grown, planted out in the 

 benches, from which new runners are picked from time 

 to time. These are then potted in 2^-inch pots and 

 transferred to larger pots as becomes necessary. In 

 the bench method, the runners are planted out in the 

 benches and grown to good size when they are put 

 into pots, perhaps 6 inches, and kept till rooted, and 

 then sold. 



It would appear that the pot method should produce 

 plants which would be better suited to thrive in house 

 conditions, owing to a better establishment of the 

 roots. Then, too, the leaf-growth should also be better, 

 as the transfer from the bench to the full-sized pot would 

 tend to stop vigorous growth for a while. 



Some growers market almost their entire product 

 in the form of the bench runners. This of course is 

 entirely wholesale trade. Such runners bring from 4 to 

 5 cents in thousand lots. When sold in pots, the price 

 depends on the size of the pot. The various kinds bring 

 in general the same prices. Well-grown plants in 6-inch 

 pots sell wholesale at 50 cents apiece. 



These ferns are grown from Maine to Florida. In 

 general, a supply from near at hand is better than one 

 coming from a distance. A lot of Boston runners (5,000) 

 obtained from Florida and grown in Massachusetts 

 were recently seen which were most unsatisfactory. At 

 the end of a month there had been scarcely any growth, 

 while for similar runners obtained nearby three weeks 

 should see them well established and ready for sale. 

 One large grower found another danger in Florida 

 importations in the Florida moth, which nearly cleaned 

 out their supply of ferns before they discovered that 

 sprays of hellebore or pyrethrum destroyed it. 



A. Rootstocks with small tubers. 



1. cordifolia, Presl (N. tuberdsa, Hook. N. corddta, 

 Hort.). Lvs. numerous, tufted, with stiff petioles, 

 15-30 in. long, lJ^-2 in. wide, with close often over- 

 lapping pinnse, these usually blunt and crenulate. 

 Mex., Japan, and New Zeal. A rather slow grower. It 

 reproduces by runners but less freely than N. exaltata. 

 Commonly known in the trade as N. cordata and under 

 this name has several varieties as vars. compacta, 

 gigantea, tessellata and variegata. Var. plumosa, common 

 in the trade as N. tuber osa plumosa, is. a beautiful form 

 with glossy dark Ivs. which have the pinnae once- 

 pinnate in the outer half or two-thirds. Var. Duffii is a 

 remarkable wild variety with the pinnse reduced to one 

 or two rounded segms. Var. pectinata lacks the tubers 

 and has narrower, more spreading Ivs. Probably a dis- 

 tinct species. 



AA. Rootstocks without tubers. 

 B. Sori on special narrow segms. of the fertile Ivs. 



2. acuminata, Kuhn (A7. davallioides, Kunze). Lvs. 

 drooping, 2-3 ft. long, 1 ft. or more wide, the lower 

 pinnae incised crenate, the upper pinnae narrower, with 

 deeper lobes, each with a single sorus at the apex. Java. 

 A cult, variety with forked pinna; is grown, adver- 

 tised as N. furcans and N. furcans multiceps. 



BB. Sori along margins of ordinary divisions of Ivs. 



3. biserrata, Schott (N. acuta, Presl. N. Bausei, 

 Hort.). Lvs. few, 30-55 in. long, 8-12 wide, drooping, 

 the pinnae often distant, elongate, narrow, with entire 

 or crenulate margins, rounded in the lower half of the 

 base, auricled in upper half, leathery. Pan-tropic. N. 

 rufescens is a scaly form. Var. superba, usually ascribed 

 to N. exaltata, may be a variety of N. bisserrata. It is 

 characterized by a crested many-forked apex, and has 

 laciniate-margined pinna3. Var. furcans has the pinnae 

 once or more forked. 



4. exaltata, Schott. SWORD-FERN. Lvs. rather rigid 

 and erect, 2-5 ft. long, 3-6 in. wide, oblong, tapering 

 toward the point, the pinna; rather close, acute, entire 

 or crenulate, the upper side auricled. Fla. to Brazil, 

 Hong-Kong and E. Afr. This description applies only 

 to the wild species. It is impossible to give a descrip- 

 tion which will include all the forms which have been 

 derived from this species. Each distinct form needs 

 separate treatment. The varieties of N. exaltata have 

 practically all arisen in the last twenty years, since the 

 early nineties. At that time this species was grown 

 to some extent by florists as a house-plant but was not 

 more common .than many flowering species. It hap- 

 pened, however, that in a lot of this species of about 200 

 plants, shipped by Robt. Craig & Co., of Philadelphia, 

 to F. C. Becker of Cambridge, Mass., there was dis- 

 covered one plant which differed from the ordinary 

 exaltata in being more graceful, slightly broader, and a 

 quicker grower. The purchaser identified this plant as 

 the species acuminata or, as it was then called, daval- 



