PLATYCERIUM 



PLATYCERIUM 



2709 



is the only species that does not produce suckers at the 

 roots, by which all the others are easily propagated. It 

 alone must be raised from spores, a long and anxious 



Erocess. The only kind that has an erect and rigid 

 abit is P. Hillii, which therefore is grown in pots 

 while all the others may be grown on a block of wood, 

 and some in baskets. P. biforme differs from all others 

 in having a separate and specialized structure on which 

 the sori are borne, the other kinds bearing their spore- 

 masses on the under surface of the fertile fronds at or 

 near the last forks. P. biforme, though it has been 

 advertised, is probably nowhere in cultivation in the 

 world. There is an improved form of the common type 

 known as P. aldcorne var. majus, which is stronger- 

 growing and has thicker fronds, enabling it to endure a 

 drier atmosphere. It is therefore one of the best, if not 

 the best, for exhibition purposes. At the other extreme 

 from the slender grace of P. aldcorne ar.d the rest is the 

 bold and broad style of P. asthiopicum. The only one 

 which bears no resemblance to antlers is P. angolense. 

 All the species require a moist atmosphere, though the 

 humidity should be reduced during the winter. With 

 the exception of P. aldcorne they all demand a high 

 temperature. All need perfect drainage, and in winter 

 they should not have too much direct syringing, for 

 they need a slight rest and are likely to spot or damp- 

 off if water remains on the foliage too long. P. sethiopi- 

 cum is said to be particularly sensitive. Stag-horn 

 ferns are often grown on pieces of tree-fern stem. They 

 are fastened to such support or to a board by means of 

 wire, having first furnished the roots with a slit piece 

 of peat for roothold and some sphagnum moss, to 

 which may be added a little bone-meal for food and 

 some charcoal for drainage. A little moss may be 

 added every year or two. Eventually the barren fronds 

 will entirely cover this material and the plants should 

 then be left undisturbed for years. A stag-horn fern, 

 with antlers spreading 6 or 8 feet, is a sight never to be 

 forgotten. (W. H. Taplin and F. L. Atkins.) 



A. Plants not forked like a stag-horn. 



angolense, Welw. (P. sthibpicum var. angolense, 

 Welw.). Fertile Ivs. wedge-shaped in outline and 

 merely wavy at the margin, not divided into lobes. It 

 is also distinct by reason of felt-like covering of rust- 

 colored wool on the lower side of the Ivs. Barren Ivs. 

 large, erect; fertile Ivs. attaining a length of 18 in. and a 

 width of 9 in. at the top: spore-mass nearly as broad as 

 the If. Angola (W. Afr.). G.C. III. 23:155 (repeated 

 in 28:444). 



AA. Plants resembling a stag-horn. 



B. Sori borne on a special receptacle. 



biforme, Blume. According to Blume's plate and 

 description, this differs from all other kinds in having 

 the spores borne on a special appendage, which is kid- 

 ney-shaped and attached below the first fork. Blume 

 says there are 2 such appendages; that the barren Ivs. 

 are roundish, entire below, lobed above: fertile Ivs. 3-5 

 ft. long, many times forked, pale green. Java. The 

 fertile Ivs. of P. biforme are said to grow 15 ft. long 

 sometimes. The picture in Gn. 4, p. 295, labeled P. 

 biforme seems to be distinct and anomalous, though 

 somewhat like P. grande. 



BB. Sori borne on the last forks or near their base. 

 c. Barren Ivs. stag-horn-like above. 



D. Fertile Ivs. in pairs. 

 E. Plants glabrmis or nearly so. 



grande, J. Smith. Fig. 3064. This may be readily 

 distinguished from P. aldcorne by its barren Ivs., 

 which are also stag-like, while those of P. aldcorne are 

 not. Barren Ivs. stalkless; segms. blunt, spongy, pale 

 green, tomentose: fertile Ivs. in pairs, 3-6 ft. long: sori 

 not at the base of every ultimate fork but against the 



upper edge of the disk, with an infertile fork project- 

 ing beyond on either side. N. Austral. G.C. 1872: 

 1137; III. 8:97 (good, repeated in III. 10:698 and 28: 

 433). Gng. 5:169 (same as A.F. 6:701). F. 1850:47 

 (same as F.S. 6, p. 156). Not G.M. 40:135, which is 

 P. sethiopicum. Mn. 1, p. 77 (erroneously as P. aldcorne). 



EE. Plants pubescent, with yellowish wool. 



Wallichii, Hook. As in P. grande, the sori are borne 

 not at the base of the ultimate forks, but on a disk 

 which is not squared off at its upper surface but 

 rounded and projecting into the angle between the 

 forks; sori roundish. Malay Penins. G.C. III. 28:435. 

 Hook. Fil. Exot., pi. 97. 



3064. Platycerium grande. 



DD. Fertile Ivs. in 3's. 



Willinckii, Moore. Distinguished from P. grande 

 by the sori, which nearly fill the last forks but do not 

 approach the base of the sinus. The Ivs. are thinly 

 furnished with minute stellate hairs, at length glabrous 

 and pale green. Moore says: "fertile fronds in 3's, elon- 

 gate, pendent, with scarcely any disk, bipartite for 

 about two-thirds of their length, one of the margins of 

 each primary branch entire, the other bearing numerous 

 lobes in about three series on a dichotomous plan." 

 Strong features of this plant are the length, narrowness 

 and acuteness of the forks, and also the narrowness of 

 the "disk" or unbranched portion just below the pri- 

 mary forks. Java. G.C. II. 3:303 (repeated in III. 

 10:701 and 28:431). A.G. 15:111. Gn. 10, p. 383 

 (repeated in Gn. 30, p. 300). 



CC. Barren Ivs. not stag-horn-like, entire or merely lobed. 

 D. Segms. and sinuses of the fertile Ivs. very broad. 



aethiopicum, Hook. (P. Stemmaria, Beauv.). Bar- 

 ren Ivs. rounded; fertile Ivs. 2-3 ft. long, clustered, 

 pendent, twice dichotomous (not twice trichotomous, 

 as some writers say) : sorus a V-shaped patch surround- 

 ing the sinus. Guinea, Angola. Hooker's Garden 

 Ferns, pi. 9. A.G. 15: 111. G.M. 40: 135 (erroneously as 



