POLYSTACHYA 



POLYSTICHUM 



2749 



Sepals connivent or subpatent, the lateral ones con- 

 nate with the short foot of the column into a mentum; 

 column short: flowering sts. short, few-lvd., pseudo- 

 bulbous. About 80 species. For cult., see Orchid. 



luteola, Hook. (Dendrobium polystachyon, Swartz). 

 Height 6-12 in. : Ivs. oblong-Unear or lanceolate-oblong, 

 exceeded by the St.: fls. small, greenish yellow; lip 

 3-lobed to the middle. S. Fla. and Trop. Amer. 



P. appendiculata, KranzL Fls. small, yellow; upper sepal with 

 short, subulate, spur-like appendage attached to back a little 

 above base. Trop. Afr. P. bicolor, Rolfe. Plant very small: sts. 

 tufted: Ivs. lanceolate-oblong: scapes 3-5 in. long; fls. small; sepals 

 light purple; petals cream-white. Seychelles. P. campyloglosaa, 

 Rolfe. Lvs, oblong or linear-oblong, 2-4 in. long: scape 2 in. long, 

 1- or few-fld.; fls. green, with brown on foot of column and base of 

 lip. Trop. Afr. P.\ coridcta, Rolfe. Lvs. linear-oblong, 4-6 

 in. long: racemes densely-fld., sparingly branched at base; fls. 

 minute, deep yellow. Cent. Afr. P. dendrobiiflora, Reichb. f. Fls. 

 up to 20 together, in a short corymb, white, suffused with pale rose, 

 resembling in size and shape Dendrobium Fytchianum. P. 

 ensifdlia, Lindl. Sts. erect, bearing linear-oblong Ivs. 4-6 in. long: 

 fls. numerous, tawny yellow, borne on an erect infL Trop. Afr. 

 P. flfiubsa, Schlecht. Scape slender, about 1 ft. long, terminated 

 by a lax raceme of small white fls, with a purple-spotted lip. E. 

 Trop. Afr. G.C. III. 44:276. P. golunginti*, Reichb. f. Plant 

 about 4 in. high: infl. branched, with many small light yellow fls. 

 P. Haroldiana, Hort. Fls. white, sepals tinged with green, 

 borne on a short spike. Trop. Afr. P. Laurtntii, Wildem. Plant 

 trailing: Ivs. fleshy, green: fls. in panicles, white or cream-white. 

 Congo. P. Latcrtncidna, Kranzl. St. pubescent: raceme 4-8-fld.; 

 fls. yellowish green, the Up rose-pink; sepals spreading, puberulous, 

 the dorsal ovate, acute, about }-i m - long; petals incurved, oblong- 

 oblanceolate, subobtuse, about as long as sepals; lip 3-lobed, about 

 ng, the front lobe fleshv, nearly orbicular. Trop. Afr. B.M. 

 8211. P. mystacidioides, Wildem. Sts. branched, over 3 ft. long: 

 Ivs. lanceolate, dull green, covered with tiny dots: fls. lurid purple 

 and flesh-colored, J^in. long, solitary- Congo. P. paniculdta, 

 Rolfe. Pseudobulbs flattened, the young shoots blotched with 

 purple: racemes panicled; fls. from coppery yellow to reddish 

 orange. Trop. Afr. G.C. III. 48:462; 58:85. B.M. 8618. P. 

 ripens, Rolfe. Small, creeping: fls. about Jiin. long; sepals and 

 petals buff-vellow striped with brown; lip deep red-brown. 

 Uganda. P. strMa, Rolfe. Panicle erect, 9 in. long; fls. HM. 

 long, light greenish yellow, with faint purple streaks. Trop. Afr. 



GEORGE V. NASH.! 



POLYSTICHUM (Greek, many rows; referring to the 

 sori). Polypodiacese. A group of ferns mostly of tem- 

 perate regions, some species of which do well in living- 

 rooms. 



Veins free and the roundish son covered by indusia 

 that are peltate and attached to the leaf by a short cen- 

 tral stalk. They are mostly easily grown and thrive 

 best in shade. One species is very commonly grown 

 for fern-dishes. All the species have also been described 

 me authors under the genus Aspidium. For cul- 

 ture see Ferns. 



LNDEX. 



acrostichoides, 2. 

 aculeatum, 6. 

 amabile. 11. 

 angulare, 8. 

 arista turn, 13. 

 Braunii, 9. 



capense, 12. 

 coriafeum, 12. 

 lepidocaulon, 4. 

 Lonchitis, 1. 

 munitum, 3. 

 proliferum, 6. 



Richardii, 10. 



tensemen-sf, 7. 

 Tsus-sinense, 7. 

 varium. 14. 

 viviparum, 5. 



A. Lis. simply pinnate throughout. 

 B. Lower pinna? gradually reduced to mere lobes. 

 1. Lonchitis, Roth (Aspidium Lonchitis, Swartz). 

 HOLLY FERN. Lvs. 9-20 in. long, rigid, the pinnae 

 broadly lanceolate-falcate, the lowest triangular. N. 

 Eu. and Amer., mostly in high latitudes. 



BB. Lower pinny scarcely if any smaller than 

 those above. 



'2. acrostichoides, Sehott (Aspidium acrostichoides, 

 Swartz). CHRISTMAS FERN. DAGGER FERN. Figs. 

 3119, 3120. Lvs. growing in dense crowns, with stalks 

 6-8 in. high, the pinnae linear-lanceolate, somewhat 

 falcate, and serrulate with appressed teeth; spore-bear- 

 ing pinnae contracted, with confluent sori. E. U. S. 

 One of our commonest species. The common name is 

 due to the evergreen character of the Ivs. which are 

 picked by the thousand and sold in bales to florists. 



3. munitum, Kaulf. (Aspidium munitum, Kaulf.). 

 Stalks 4-12 in. long, chaffy at base or throughout; 

 pinnae long, linear-acuminate, serrate or doubly ser- 



rate; sori in a single row midway from midrib to mar- 

 gin. Utah northward and westward. 



4. lepidocaulon, Hook. Stipes densely clothed with 

 large, heart-shaped scales: If .-blades short, with 12-15 

 pairs of pinnae, unequal-sided, scarcely toothed; sori 

 usually in two rows. Japan. 



3119. Christmas 

 fern. Polystichum 

 acrostichoides. 



AA. Lvs. with auricles of pinnae forming distinct Ifts. 



5. viviparum, Fee. Lf.-blades 12^18 in. long, 4-6 

 in. wide, with numerous lanceolate pinnae; lower basal 

 margin obliquely truncate; sori in 2 or 4 rows. W. 

 Indies. 



AAA. Lvs. bipinnote in the lower two-thirds. 

 B. Pinnules auricled. 



6. aculeatum, Roth (Aspidium aculeatum, Swartz). 

 Lf.-blades 2 ft. or more long, 6-8 in. wide; pinnules 

 twice as long as wide, with very conspicuous basal 

 auricles. Eu. and Calif. Hardy. P. proliferum, Hort., 

 is an Australian form producing buds on the Ivs. A 

 large number of varieties are grown and offered for 

 sale by English florists, but they are not of a sort to 

 be of value in American trade. 



7. Tsus-sinense, J. Smith (the name is often incor- 

 rectly spelled tensemense in the trade). Fig. 3121. Lvs. 

 commonly 6 in. long, 2-3 in. wide, the petioles slender, 

 dark, the Ivs. dark green. Somewhat like P. aculeatum 

 but well distinguished both in size and general appear- 

 ance. This is one of the ferns commonly used for 

 fern-dishes. 



8. angulare, Willd. Lf.- 

 blades 1-2 ft. long, rather 

 narrowly lanceolate; pin- 

 nules nearly triangular, two- 

 thirds as broad as long, 

 more or less incised. Eu. 

 Another favorite with Eng- 

 lish growers who offer many 

 varieties. Hardy. See P. 

 aculeatum above. 



9. Braunii, Lawson. Lf.- ,. 

 blades 18-24 in. long, nar- \'\ 

 rowly elliptic -lanceolate; 

 pinnules 7-10 pairs to each 

 pinna, broad, the upper 

 basal edge parallel with the 

 rachis. Europe and moun- 

 tain regions of eastern 3120 Details of tip of 

 America. Sometimes con- fertile leaf of Polystichum 

 sidered a variety of P. acrostichoides. a, son; b, in- 

 aculeatum. dusium. 



