THE CEOSSINO OP FERNS. 



347 



in Westmoreland, by Mr. F. Clowes, alwnt thirty years ago; 

 nor has it been found elsewhere in this conntry ; it has long 

 been accepted by British fornista as a natni-al hybrid : thotigh 

 apparently profusely sporiforous, it has, after what might 

 have been considered exhaustive experiments, been judged 

 incapable of reproducing itself from spores, and yet it is, 

 I believe, sufficiently established that one of the original 

 ])lants which Mr. Stansfield has, did once cover the pot in 

 which it was with fertile spores ; and though the young plants 

 may not yet bo in every respect entirely like the parent, 

 they arc, I believe, sufficiently unlike every other British 

 fern to prove their origin : and would it not be unreasonable 

 to conclude that not one of these could have power to repro- 

 duce itself with ordinary freedom ? 



The remarkable " confluent " forms of Asplenium Tricho- 

 manes, as fertile in appearance as they have hitherto shown 

 tliomselves to be barren in reality, are considered by those 

 who have most studied the subject to be hybrids, as arc also 

 the " microdon " forms of A. Adiantum nigrum and A. lan- 

 coolatum. Tliore is also the unique cruciate Asplenium, 

 which appeared self-sown in Mr. Clapham's fernery, and the 

 remarkable hybrid Asplenium found by Mr. Wollaston in 

 Switzerland. There are two or three other forms marked 

 apparently with the bar sinister, but I pass to less doubtful 

 cases. 



To Mr. E. J. Lowe is duo the credit of having been the 

 first to raise an unmistakable hybrid between two acknow- 

 ledged species, which was neither a monster of ugliness 

 nor incapable of reproducing itself from spores. It was no 

 accident, for with deliberate intent Mr. Lowe sot himself to 

 produce a cniciate Polystichum aculeatum by crossing a very 

 narrow cruciate form of P. angulare, well known as " Wake- 

 loyanum," with a very robust form of aculeatum, equally well 



