Portion of mature Frond— upper side. 



NOTHOCHL^NA ARGENTEA. 

 Moore and Houlston. Hort. 



PLATE XIX. — A. 



Allosorus argentea, 

 Aleuritopteris argentea, 

 Casseheera argentea, 

 Cheilanthes argentea, 

 Fteris argentea, 



Pbesl. 



Fee. 



J. Smith. 



KUNZE. 



Gmelin. 



Langsdoef and Fischek. 



Nothochlcena — Spurious cloak. 



Argentea — Silver. 



The above Fern takes its name from the copious snowy-white 

 powder with which the under side of the frond is densely 

 covered. The present species and the Cheilanthes farinosa of 

 Hooker, (^Casseheera farinosa of Smith,) are undoubtedly the 

 handsomest of the silver Ferns; the fructification occurring only 

 along the edge, the whole interior surface of the pinnse is 

 covered with white powder, the fructification being, as it were, 

 a dark narrow belt surrounding the white surface. The eiFect 

 is greater than in the silver Ferns of the Gymnogrammas, from 

 the circumstance that in the latter family the seed vessels are 

 scattered all over the frond. 



The Nothochlcena argentea appears to be very rare in cultivation 

 in Great Britain, so much so that it is even difficult to procure 

 a frond. 



VOL. I. M 



