•2132 



NKrilUOl.KPIS 



NEPHllOLEPIS 



oriKinM siK-cics .V. ijrnllala. Thus its snout itu; i.:iino 

 ,. i.r..iHTlv S.,xaltoUi vnr. boxhmkn.s-is var. / -<r.s.>»a 

 var J,„auli.<sima. Iiv-tho prosont troatmont tho trade 

 iiaiiu-< an- used, but in cininoct ion with the .loscnptions 

 llu- orittin of oaoh fonii is civon whoii known. 1 1''' '"''« 

 inc-huics all tho nanios that havo boon mot. allhouRli 

 no information has boon available ro-anhny; some o 

 them. Vcrv few of tlie iMishsh varieties are ^rown at all 

 in the U. S'. English varieties are uuheateil thus: (1^). 



Melhixisofculliiadoii. 



In cener:U. nephrolopis must be propat^atod entirely 

 In- runners. Few if any spores are produocd by ho 

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

 leaves develop the usual fruit-tlots or son, but when 

 examined under the miorosoopo it appears that tliese 

 consist of abortive sporanpia or spore-Ciises and eon- 

 tain no spores. It is probable that siiores are devolojiod 

 occasionallv, but so rarely that this method can not be 

 used in proVapatinj: now plants eoinmoroially. A vigor- 

 ous plant will, however, produoe mimorous runners 

 wliieh spread in all direetions and take root, starting 

 new plants in this way. It is eustomary to ra.amtain a 

 number of stoek plants planted out in benehes from 

 whieh new runners ean be plueked ivs needed. Ihis also 

 gives a good opportunity for the production of new 



^''xew "varieties of commercial value do not appear 

 yen- frequently in the commoner varieties. Most o 

 the" present stmidard varieties have been propagated 

 from single original plants, although there are cases of a 

 certain {\"pe of variation occurring simultaneously with 

 different"growers, one of whom might count it worthy ol 

 introiiuction while another would disregard it. 



• \\\ growers unite in acknowledging the original iSos- 

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

 that there is a greater demand for this fonn than lor 

 any other. The next most pojiular fonn is^^probably 

 N Scnttii, with .V. ekganlissima the third. Teddy Jr., 

 and the large frilled forms, .V. Ilarrisii and N. Roose- 

 vellii, are also grown by most dealers. , i ■ 



There are two main methods of growing nephrolepis 

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

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

 benches, from which new runners are picket from time 

 to time These are then potted in 2i2-mch pots and 

 transferred to larger pots as becomes necessary, in 

 the bench method, the runners are planted out in tne 

 benches and grown to good size when they are put 

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



It" would appear that the pot method should produce 

 plants which would be better suited to t^hrive m house 

 conditions, owing to a better estabhshmenfc of tiie 

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

 as the transfer from the bench to th.; full-siz(^d pot would 

 tend to sUip vigorous growth for a wlule. 



Some growers market almost their entire product 

 in the form of the bench nmners. This t.f cour.se is 

 entirely wholesah; trade. Such runners bring from 4 to 

 5 cents in thousand lots. When sold in pots, the l)nce 

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

 in general the same prices. Wc^U-grown plants in t)-in('h 

 pots sell wholesale at .50 cents apiece. ^, . , -, 



These ferns are grown from Maine to I'lorida. in 

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

 coming from a distance. A lot of Boston runners (5,(X)0) 

 obtained from Florida and grown in Massachuset^ts 

 were recently seen which were most unsatisfactory. At 

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

 while for similar nmners obtained nearby three weeks 

 should see them well establish(-<l and reafly for sale. 

 fJne large grower found another danger in Honda 

 imp^jrtations in the Florida moth, which nearly cl«aned 

 out their supply of fem.s before they dis(jOvered that 

 sprays of hellebore or pyrethrum destroyed it. 



ftcuniinata. 2. 

 acuta, 3. 

 .\nierpoliUi, 20. 

 Anna Foster, IS. 

 Harrowsii, 18. 

 Itiiuufi, !i. 

 hiscrrata. 3. 

 bostonicnsis, .'». 

 caiialioulata, 34 (E), 

 Clarkii, 29. 

 comiyactn, I (E). 

 conlnta, 1. 



cortUfoiia, 1. 

 C'rainii. 2',t. 



damUioiiUf^. 2. 



Diiffii, I. 



Dwarf Boston, 12. 



cloKantissima, 19. 



clpRUntissiina coni- 

 IKii'ta. 2.''.. 



Elin.sfortiii. 27. 



INDEX. 



p^iiillala, i. 

 lalc-ihi. 10. 

 fun-ans. 2, 3. 

 ( lialrasii, II. 

 timnnit-n, 1 (K). 

 Kra.ilUnia, 29. 



Ilarrisii, 6. 



lycopodioidcs, 32. 



rnaRnifica. 28. 



Milleri, 29. 



M. P. Mills, 24. 



mnlticcps, 2 (E). 



niuseosa, 31. 



Ncubortii, 29. 



Now York. 8. 



gpctinata. 1. 

 ioraonii, 17. 

 phnnosa, 1. 

 robusta. 22. 

 Ilorhfordii, 29 (E), 

 KoosfveUii, 7. 



ntfescens, 3. 

 Scholzolii, 23. 

 Scottii, 9. 

 Smithii, 29. 

 superba, 3, 33 (E). 

 supprbissima, 30. 

 Trddy, Jr.. 13. 

 tc.ssellnla. 1 (E). 

 todooidos, 21 (E). 

 tuberoaa, 1. 

 variemdri, 1 (E)._ 

 viridissima, 1.'*, 30. 

 Wagneri, 14. 

 Wanamaker, Boston, 



16. 

 Whitmanii, 20. 

 Wliitmanii compact a, 



20. 

 Wittboldii, 35. 

 Wm. K. Harris, 6. 



A. Rootstocks with siiiall tubers. 

 1 cordifoUa, Presl (A^. iubcrdsa, Hook. N. cord&ia, 

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

 l,5-;«) in. long, II2-2 in. wide, with close often over- 

 lapping innme, these usually blunt and crenulate. 

 Mek, Japan, and New Zeal.-A rather slow grower It 

 reproduces by runners but less freely than A^. exaltata. 

 Commonly knowii in the trade as A^. cordata and under 

 this name has several varieties as vars. compacla, 

 qinantca, tcssdlata and varicgnta. Var. plumosa, common 

 m the trade as N. tabcwua plumosa, is a beautiful form 

 with glossy dark Ivs. which have the pinnae once- 

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

 remarkable wild variety with the pinnae 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 vAthout tubers. 

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

 2 acuminata, Kuhn (N . davallioUes, Kunze). Lvs. 

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

 pinnlc incised crenate, the upper pinna- narrower, wath 

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

 —A cult, variety with forked pinnie is gvovm, adver- 

 tised as A'^. furcans and N. furcans viulticeps. 



BB. Sori along margins of ordinary divisions of lvs. 

 3 biserrata, Schott (A^. acida, Presl. A^. Baiisei, 

 Hort ). Lvs. few, 30-5.'5 in. long, 8-12 wide, drooping, 

 the pinna; often distant, elongate, narrow, with entire 

 or crenulate margins, rounded in the lower half of the 

 base, auricled in upper half, leathery. Pan- ropic. AT. 

 rufe.^cens is a scaly form. Var. superba u.sually ascribed 

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

 characterized by a crested many-forked apex and has 

 laciniate-margined pinna. Var. furcans has the pinn» 

 once or more forked. . 



4 exaltata, Schott. Sword-fbrn. Lvs. rather ngid 

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

 toward the point, the pinnae rather ^"se acute, entire 

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

 Hong-Kong and E. Afr.— This description applies oiily 

 to the wild si.ecies. It is impossible to give a descrip- 

 tion which will include all the fonns which have been 

 derived from this species. Each distinct fo™ "« e^s 

 seiiarate treatment. The varieties of A^. 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 hou.se-plant but vvas not 

 more common than many flowering species. It hap- 

 pened, however, that in a lot of this;^l)ecies of about 200 

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

 to F C Hecker of Cambridge, Mass., there WiM dis- 

 covered one i.lant which differed from the ordinary 

 exaltata in being more graceful, slightly hroader and a 

 quicker grower. The purchaser ident.hed this P'an js 

 ^e species acuminata or, as it was then called, daral- 



