■ FERNS. 



81 



pinnSB aie shorter than the others, and are made up 

 of numerous close but distinct oblong sessile clusters. 

 This is a handsome dark green foliage plant, well 

 ■worth growing for decorative purposes in the green- 

 house or cool conservatory. It occurs in a wijd state 

 from Kamschatka to Java and Ceylon. Probably the 

 only other Osmunda in cultivation in this country is 

 the ubiquitous Flowering Fern, 0. regalis, which 

 is found widely distributed over both hemispheres. 

 The name ' ' Flowering Fern " is owing to the fact 

 of the crowded fertile pinnules forming a copious 

 panicle at the top of the large fronds. The many- 

 headed root-stock, densely clothed with matted 

 fibres, sometimes attains a height of a couple of feet, 

 and is extremely hard. The height of the fronds 

 varies a good deal ; around the margins of some of 

 the Irish lakes they are not unfrequently met with 

 eight, ten, and even twelve feet high. 



CuUivation. — AH the Osmundas are essentially 

 water -lovers ; they affect boggy spots and damp 

 woods, and attain their highest development in 

 sheltered shady places, where the roots can revel in 

 a constant and abundant supply of water. Peaty 

 or hoggj' soil suits them best, and in this, provided 

 the necessary moisture is present, the fronds grow 

 larger and finer than in any other soU. They, 

 however, will thrive in almost any garden soU to 

 which has been added a good proportion of leaf- 

 mould. 0. palustris, a variety of 0. regalis, which 

 occurs in Central America and Brazil, is a very grace- 

 ful and beautiful plant. For garden purposes it is 

 abundantly distinct from the type, and its young 

 fronds, which are a fine red colour when first un- 

 folded, render it a very valuable decorative plant. 

 It is readily raised from spores, and by this means 

 is largely propagated by some of the growers who 

 supply Covent Grarden. There are few more distinct 

 and striking ferns in a small state, and none which 

 are more rapidly and more easUy grown. 



The Polypodiums Probably few ferns ex- 

 hibit greater contrasts in size and general aspect, and 

 in the texture and cutting of the fronds, than do 

 some of the species of Polypodkm, the largest genus 

 in the fern kingdom. No less than four hundred and 

 fifty species are described in the " Synopsis Fihcum," 

 and the genus is represented in all regions, but most 

 numerously within the tropics. As understood in 

 the standard work just mentioned, the genus Poly- 

 podium includes all the ferns belonging to the tribe 

 Polypodiaceai, and is characterised by the round or 

 rarely oblong sori — not more than twice as long as 

 broad — being situated on the back of the lobes. By 

 some authors the following names, arranged in alpha- 

 betical order, are made to represent distinct genera, 

 but in the " Synopsis Filicum" they simply constitute 

 54 



more or less distinctly marked sections of Polypodium 

 — viz., Campyloneuron, Cyrtomiphlebium, Bictyopteria, 

 Drynaria, Goniophlebium, Goniopteris, Grammitia, 

 JS'iphobolua, Phegopteris, Phlebodium, Phymalodea. It 

 appears desirable to mention these, as not unfre- 

 quently they are used in nurserymen's .catalogues 

 and in horticultural Hterature. As, however, the 

 specific name is nearly always the same, no matter 

 under what genus the species may be placed, there 

 will be no difficulty in recognising the ferns spoken 

 of, and identifying those described in these pages. 

 Amongst others, the late Mr. J. Smith, formerly 

 curator of the Royal Gai-dens, Kew, considers Phle- 

 bodium as a good genus; therefore Phlebodium 

 aureum of his numerous works on ferns will be 

 readily found in these notes under the same specific 

 name, viz., Polypodium aureum. (See p. 84.) 



There are two principal divisions of this huge 

 genus, well marked by a decided difference in growth, 

 and both these are represented within the limits of 

 the British flora. 



If a plant of the common Polypody {Polypodium 

 vulgare) be examined, it will be seen that its fronds 

 are produced singly from the sides of a creeping pro- 

 gressing stem, which has its accrescent apex always 

 in advance of its young developing frond, each suc- 

 cessive frond being produced singly from -special 

 nodes, formed at more or less distance apart, and in 

 an alternate manner on the sides of the progressing 

 axis ; the foot or base of attachment of the frond 

 forming with the node a distinct and well-marked 

 articulation or joint, which ultimately becomes the 

 point of separation of the mature frond, the node 

 remaining permanent in the form of a round, more 

 or less elevated cicatrix. This mode of growth has 

 been called Eremobrya by Mr. Smith, and may be 

 taken as the type of one of his three great divisions 

 of the fern family. The Oak and Beech Ferns 

 (P. Dryopteria and P. Phegopteris) are, on the other 

 hand, representatives of the second of his divisions, 

 viz., Desmobrya, and a casual examination of either 

 of these will show that the stipes are not articulate 

 with the root-stock, and that after the death of the 

 fronds they remain attached. Only a selection of the 

 best and most striking species of those in cultivation 

 at the present time in this country is given below. 



STOVE KIKDS. 



P. ai'gustifolium, a very variable species, ranging 

 from Cuba and Mexico to Peru and Brazil, has a 

 stout rhizome, clothed with deciduous brown lance- 

 shaped scales, and leathery entire shortly-stalked 

 fronds, twelve to eighteen inches long by about a 

 quarter of an inch in breadth 



P. aurenm, a noble species with arching bluish- 

 green fronds, was one of the first of stove-ferns to 



