310 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



S. dichotoma — dich-ot'-om-a (repeatedly forked), Swartz. 



This is a stove species, native of Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, Australia, New 

 Zealand, Malaysia, the Neilgherries, &c. The fronds, fan-like in general outline, 

 6in. to 9in. each way, and many times forked, are borne on firm, erect, glossy 

 stalks 6in. to 18in. long, channelled on the face above. The fertile segments 



show from four to ten spreading spikes on each side. — 

 Hooker and Greville, Icones Filicum, t. 17. Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, iii., p. 383. 



S. digitata — dig-it-a'-ta (hand-shaped), Swartz. 



In this stove species, native of the Himalayas, 

 Ceylon, and the Philippine, Malayan, and Fiji Islands, 

 the stalks, brownish, and nearly cylindrical, pass 

 gradually into the fronds, which are 2in. to 3in. long, 

 flattened, with the midrib prominent beneath, and 

 crowned- at the summit with fertile spikes IJin. long, 

 naked beneath, with the capsules disposed in four rows 

 and the edge much inflexed. Fig. 88 is reduced from 

 Col. Beddome's " Ferns of Southern India," by the 

 kind permission of the author. — Hooker, Garden Ferns, 

 t. 54. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iii., p. 383. 

 Beddome, Ferns of Southern India, t. 268. 



S. elegans — e'-leg-ans (elegant), Swartz. 



The habitat of this stove species extends from the 

 West Indies and Mexico to Brazil, whence it was 

 introduced in 1819. Its fronds, borne on firm, erect, 

 naked stalks 6in. to 12in. long, are like the letter V in outline, 4in. to 8in. 

 each way, and repeatedly forked or cleft, their divisions varying greatly in 

 number and breadth. The fertile segments, distinctly stalked, show from six 

 to fifteen close, spreading, narrow-cylindrical spikes on each side. — Hooker, 

 Garden Ferns, t. 54. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iii., p. 383. 



S. fistulosa — fis-tul-o'-sa (roundish and hollow), Lahillardiere. 



A greenhouse species, native of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and 

 Chili. Its dense, chestnut-brown stalks pass gradually into the fronds, which 



Fig. 88. Schizsea digitata 

 (nat. size). 



