80 Asri,ENiri\i lanceoi.atum. 



A LOCAL, indigenous, interesting Fern, having a somewhat 

 similar appearance to the Black Spleenwort, yet being strikingly- 

 distinct from that species. It is easily cultivated in a flower- 

 pan, making a handsome specimen. Care should be taken to 

 use abundance of drainage, as it succeeds best when placed in 

 a saucer of water, instead of watering the surface soil. Over 

 watering both this species and Asploiiuin adiantum-nigrum, 

 will prove certain destruction to both plants. 



An evergreen half-hardy species. 



A native of Great Britain, being found mostly by the sea- 

 side. Habitat rocks and old walls. A local species, native of 

 Cornwall, Devonshire, Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, Wales, 

 Cork, and the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Sark. 



Abroad, it is found in Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Fon- 

 tainbleau, Brittany, Tangiers, Madeira, Azores, Hungary, 

 Bohemia, and South America. 



Mr. Moore, in the "Nature-printed Ferns," describes four 

 varieties, viz: — 



Multifidwn, Wollaston; Proliferum, Wollaston; Crispatum, 

 Moore; Laciniatum, Wollaston. 



Fronds bipinnate; pinnae broadest at the base, narrowing to 

 a point at the apex. Form of frond lanceolate, glabrous, pin- 

 nules obovate, and being deeply and sharply-toothed. Stipes 

 usually one-third of the length of the frond, scaly at the base; 

 terminal, adherent to a tufted rhizoma. Caudex short and 

 thick; fibres stout, branched, and tomentose. 



Length of frond from three to eighteen inches; coloui* rich 

 dark green. 



Fructification covering the whole under surfiice; sori oblong, 

 becoming confluent in irregular masses. 



For plants of A. Icmceolatum I am indebted to Mrs. Delves, 

 of Tunbridge Wells; Mr. K T. Millett, of Penzance; and to Mr. 

 James, of Vauvert, Guernsey; and for fronds, to Mr. Gray, of 

 St. Thomas', Exeter. 



It is in the Fern Catalogues of Messrs. Veitch, of Chelsea; 

 Kollisson, of Tooting; Sim, of Foot's Cray; Osborn, of Fulham; 

 Kennedy, of Covent Garden; Booth, of Hamburg; Parker, of 

 Holloway; A. Henderson, of Pine-apple Place; E. G. Henderson, 

 of St. John's Wood; and E. Cooling, of Derby. 



The illustration is from a plant in my own collection. 



