4 GYMNOGRAMMA CHRYSOPHYLLA. 



powder. The form of the frond is bipinnate, and the pinnse 

 are lanceolate-acuminate, with roundish ovate pinnules, which 

 are dentate in a slight degree, distant, and pinnatifid. The 

 frond rises out of a fasciculate erect rhizoma, making a dense, 

 compact, golden plant. A third of the frond nearest the base 

 is naked, that is, devoid of pinnae. 



The sori are medial and terminal, and are very conspicuous. 

 All the young curled-up fronds are densely covered with 

 golden powder, the stem itself being a pale yellowish green, 

 which gradually changes to a shining black as the frond becomes 

 more mature; the changes commencing at the base and being 

 continued upwards. The pinnules curl upwards, leaving the 

 midrib of the pinnse in a hollow. 



Gymnogramma chrysoplixjUa varies when raised from seed. 

 Mr. Henderson, of Wentworth, has a very pretty pale variety 

 amongst the magnificent collection of Ferns cultivated there. This 

 species varies considerably in size, form, and in the colour of the 

 farina, according to the heat of the stove in which it is grown. 



Many persons have experienced difficulties in the cultivation 

 of this lovely plant; yet in a rich soil, mingled with plenty 

 of washed sand, and placed in a stove, it grows luxuriantly; 

 indeed my own experience proves it to be an easy species to 

 manage. One half of the plants lost by gardeners, not only 

 of this species, for the evil is common to all others, is in con- 

 sequence of the pots being imperfectly drained. Let the plants 

 have abundance of drainage, and use care to prevent the soil 

 from washing amongst it, and if properly attended to in 

 watering, etc., I will guarantee that the mortality amongst 

 plants will very sensibly diminish. The most durable material 

 to use between the soil and the drainage, is the water-moss, 

 (any of the several species of Sphagnum ; ) it is common upon 

 most of the English bogs. This moss retains moisture, and is 

 many months before it decays; it seems to have the double 

 advantage of preserving the plant well-drained, and at the 

 same time the roots are kept cool and moist. 



This species is now becoming common, being so readily raised 

 from spores. It is in the Fern catalogues of Messrs. Hen- 

 derson, of Pine-apple Place; E. G.Henderson, of the Wellington 

 Nursery; Kollisson, of Tooting; and Backhouse, of York. 



The illustration is from a plant in my own collection. 



