ORNAMENTAL PLANTS FROM PHILIPPINE 

 FORESTS 



By William H. Brown 



The forests of the Philippines contain a large number of 

 species which are decidedly ornamental, and are suitable for 

 cultivation. These usually occur in the forest as very widely 

 scattered individuals. As the seeds are ripe for only a short 

 space of time and are usually quickly scattered by animals or 

 the wind, it is frequently difficult to collect seeds from a given 

 species. However, when once introduced into cultivation it is 

 generally easy to obtain material for propagation. This is par- 

 ticularly true of species which grow high up in the mountains, 

 and which will not live under lowland conditions, but have been 

 successfully introduced into Europe and America and grown in 

 greenhouses. Owing to these circumstances, most of the or- 

 namental plants in Philippine forests are of little commercial 

 value. For this reason, it seemed desirable to include in this 

 section only such wild ornamental plants as are collected in the 

 forest and sold commercially. 



Family POLYPODIACEAE 



Genus ASPLENIUM 

 ASPLENIUM NIDUS L. (Fig. 2). BiRDS'-NEST FERN. 



This species is frequently collected in the forest and sold in 

 Manila, where it is used as a hanging plant. The leaves are 40 

 to 120 centimeters in length and 6 to 20 centimeters wide, and 

 radiate in all directions from a common center, from which 

 habit it gets its name. It is the commonest native fern found 

 in cultivation in Manila. In the forest it grows in the crotches 

 of trees or along the trunks. It thrives in cultivation as long 

 as it is watered at fairly regular intervals, but does best when 

 somewhat sheltered from the wind and the direct rays of the sun. 



Genus DRYNARIA 

 DRYNARIA QUERCIFOLIA (L.) Bory. 



This species is collected in the forest, made into hanging bas- 

 kets and sold in Manila. It has very stout, somewhat fleshy 



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