NEPHROLEPIS 



NEPHROLEPIS 



2133 



lioides, and proceeded to raise and sell it by the scores 

 of thousands. Later, when a specimen of the fern came 

 into the hands of G. W. Oliver, the latter raised the 

 question of its identification and declared that it was 

 not davallioides but exaltata, though not the typical 

 form. For some time thereafter Messrs. Becker and 

 Oliver exchanged opinions in the "Florists' Exchange," 

 until Oliver's determination was accepted. The nomen- 

 clature commission of The Society of American Florists 

 did not feel competent to give a name to the new vari- 

 ety so it was sent to Kew where it was suggested that 

 the neighborhood of its discovery might well be hon- 

 ored by calling it bostoniensis. This name was given in 

 1896. The fern had been on the market for a year or 

 more previously. 



For nearly ten years the Boston fern held undis- 

 puted sway. The original species-form was superseded 

 owing to its less graceful stiff er habit. Then in 1903 



;-'"" 2469. Nephrolepis bostoniensis. 

 (Spread, 7 ft.) 



there appeared a new type of variation in the green- 

 houses of F. R. Pierson, of Tarrytown, N. Y. 



In this new form, the Boston fern departed from its 

 once-pinnate type to give rise to a twice-pinnate form 

 which was introduced as Piersonii. But this fern was 

 not consistently once or twice pinnate but both, and 

 after a time it appeared that this unstable condition 

 was not very satisfactory. It was found possible to 

 obtain by careful selection a more fixed type of the 

 twice-pinnate form and when this was introduced it was 

 given the name of elegantissima. This was followed 

 by other forms showing the two-pinnate character, 

 and later forms appeared three and even four times 

 divided. 



A year or two later, in Brooklyn, another type of 

 variation developed from the Boston fern. This was 

 the dwarf type, with which came some other differences, 

 but with the once-pinnate character retained as in the 

 parent form. John Scott brought out the first of these 

 dwarf types but there are now a half-doeen different 

 dwarf once-pinnate forms. 



About this time Harris, of Philadelphia, discovered 

 and introduced a once-pinnate type with beautifully 

 waved pinnae and called it Harrisii. This has since 

 been followed by wavy dwarfs, wavy twice-pinnate 

 forms. Pierson again came to the front with a new 

 type of variation in which the leaves are irregularly 



curled and twisted so that the resulting leaf becomes a 

 dense thick mass of divided pinna?, the superbissima 

 and muscosa forms. 



At the present time, with these four main types of 

 variation to start with, and with others, such as thick- 

 ness of petiole, rapidity of growth, stability of form, 

 and the like, there have come almost all possible com- 

 binations and mixtures of these main types so that 

 within certain limits almost anything is possible. Every 

 grower who produces any quantity of these forms is 

 having new types develop in his beds. Many of these 

 are of no commercial value. A few new ones are intro- 

 duced each year but some which at first appear good 

 prove to have serious defects after testing for a year 

 or two. 



It is an interesting fact that, after ten years of new 

 forms, the old Boston fern still holds its own and sells 

 more readily and in larger amounts than any new form. 

 It appears that with the later variations there has come 

 also less adaptability to house conditions and more or 

 less decrease in the vigor of growth. 



While these variations have been appearing in Ameri- 

 can greenhouses, the same thing has been taking place 

 in Europe. In some cases the new forms produced and 

 named are practically identical on. both sides of the 

 Atlantic, but each region has produced distinct types 

 not yet developed by the other. Generally speaking, 

 there has been almost no importation into North 

 America of the new European forms. For 

 this reason little attention is here paid to 

 European forms in this treatment. Not 

 much is known about them by our growers 

 and collectors. 



The classification of the forms of N. 

 exaltata is a difficult problem on many 

 accounts. In the first place, owing to un- 

 scientific horticultural methods of descrip- 

 tion and publication of names, it is practi- 

 cally impossible to get accurate printed 

 records of the different forms. Some grow- 

 ers have the custom of merely placing a 

 new form on the market without so much 

 as a catalogue or periodical advertise- 

 ment. At best it is a case of advertising 

 descriptions for the purpose of sale so 

 that what is stated can not be accepted for the pur- 

 poses of close and accurate description. In the second 

 place, the types of the variations themselves are often 

 of such a character that it is hard to draw up good 

 differential descriptions. Two varieties may vary not 

 at all in the cutting of the leaves but very markedly in 

 the important characters of cultural needs and response. 

 Again, it is usually the case that earlier varieties become 

 superseded by later ones of greater commercial possi- 

 bilities. The grower then has no sentiment about the 

 original forms but discards them, so that it is practically 

 impossible now to get plants of some of the early stem- 

 varieties from which nearly all of the later have sprung. 

 Added to these difficulties is often indifference on the 

 part of growers to the need of accuracy in naming forms. 

 A single form may be sold by different florists under 

 totally different names. 



The descriptions given below of the various forms 

 have been drawn up as far as possible from authentic 

 material obtained from the original producers them- 

 selves. Numerous visits have been made to growers in 

 the neighborhood of New York, Boston, and Philadel- 

 phia. A collection of living plants has been started at 

 the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the main object of 

 which is to gather authentic plants of the varieties. It 

 should be noted here that, however careless as to the 

 accuracy of descriptions and names the various growers 

 have been, they have been exceedingly courteous in 

 affording opportunities for study and in giving such 

 information as they possessed. 



The varieties chosen for description are those found 



