SELAaiNELLAS. 



379" 



"Varieties, — In making a selection of the specie9 

 to be mentioned here, we may take aa a guide 

 the collection of Selaginellaa in cultivation at Kew, 

 where no less than sixty distinct species and varieties 

 may he seen, and by bringing ^into prominence those 

 kinds which there prove to be very ornamental and 

 of the easiest possible cultivation, we may perhaps 

 do something towards popularising a remarkably 

 beautiful and varied group of elegant foliage 

 plants. 



Tropical Species. 

 Eor these a summer temperature of* 70° to 75°, 

 and in winter 60° to 65'' are required, though in a 

 dry house with a light aspect the latter temperature 

 is 5*^ higher than would be really necessary. 



S. atroviridis — this grows to 



about one foot in heigtit, 



■with, rather stout sterna, 



which are clothed with 



broad, overlapping scale- 

 leaves of firm texture, and 



olive-green in colour. It 



is one of the most dj^tinct 



of the sub-erect, broad- 

 leaved group, of wbich. S. 



Martensii is the best- 



Icaown example. A native 



of the Malay Peninsula. 

 S. caualiculata has a cylin- 

 drical stem about half an 



inch in diameter, smooth, 



shining, reddish-brown in 



colour, the surface thinly 



covered with the green 



scale-leaves. The main 



branches are developed in 



a distichous manner, and 



are semi-erect, and from 



these lateral branches are 



produced. The length 



of one of these main 



branches upon a plant 



at Kew measured three 



feet. East Indies. Intro- 

 duced recently under 



several names — viz., S. 



conferta, S. muricata, and 



S. caudata, and probably 



S. cognata. 

 S. caulescens — stem erect, 



about afoot high,brajiched 



upon the upper portion, 



with frond-like pinnate 



leaves, which are pale 



green, and thin in texture. 



The variety Japonica has 



less crowded pinnfe, which 



are not so deeply cut as in 



the type; the variety ar- 



gentea has long pale green 



pinnBB, which are silvery 



on the under side. 

 S. convoluta— very similar 



to the Eesurrectipn plant, 



or HygTometric Club- 

 moss, botanically known 



as S. lepidopbylla. The 



foliage of S. convoluta is 



dark bluish-green in col- 

 our, and is remarkable for 

 its producing adventitious 

 buds aa in the Aspleniums, 

 but in the Selaginella the 

 proliferous portions are 

 merely fragments of the 

 leaves, which form roots 

 before -falling to the 



ground, where they soon 

 establish themselve:^. The 

 fronds have a curiously, 

 wrinkled, or crimped, 

 appearance, and are some- 

 what firm in texture. 

 Tropical America. 



S. cuspidata — generally 

 known as Lycopodium 

 cordifolium. It has tufted 

 stems a foot in length, 

 freely branched, and is 

 noted for the beautiful 

 green and elegantly di- 

 vided ' character of its 

 white-edged foliage. It 

 is one of the Eosulate 

 group, and when well- 

 grown forms a specimen 

 not unlike Todcea superna. 

 The variety elongata is 

 even more elegant than 

 the type, having long, 

 arching, graceful fronds, 

 which sometimes attain 

 to two feet in length. 

 Tropical America, 



S. erjthropus — a handsome 

 species with erect, bright 

 crimson stems, eight or 

 ten inches long, and 

 clothed with recurved 

 branches, upon which the 

 tiny scale-leaves are close- 

 packed, having a very nice 

 effect. In well - grown 

 specimens the fronds are 

 freely branched, amd when 

 in fruit the fringe of tiny 

 spikes which surround the 

 margins of every division 

 of the frond is very orna- 

 mental. This is some- 

 times called S. setosa and 

 S. umbrosa. Tropical 

 America. 



S. flabellata— closely allied 

 to the last-mentioned 

 species, but differs from 

 it and the rest of the Cau- 

 lescent group in having 

 its fronds recurved much 

 more distinctly. Stems 

 about two feet in height, 

 erect, branched above, 

 with pale green foliage 

 closely packed along the 

 upper portion of the 

 branches. Tropics of both 

 worlds. 



S. flexuoaa — a plumose 

 species, with erect stems 



afoot long.f reely branched 

 at the base, the under 

 sides of the fronds freely 

 rooted. It has been called 

 Lycopodium stolonife- 

 rum. South Brazil; re- 

 cently introduced to cul- 

 tivation. 



S. Galeotii — a long-fronded, 

 graceful species, with 

 stems about a foot long, 

 from which the branches 

 or fronds often ^ow to 

 a length of three feet. 

 Trailing rather than 

 chmblng. The smaller 

 branchlets are thickly 

 covered with small over- 

 lapping scale-leaves. 

 Mexico. 



S. grandis — this is the hand- 

 somest of the larger-grow- 

 ing kinds, and one of the 

 most beautiful of foliage 

 plants. It has broad, 

 flattened, bright shining 

 green fronds, the upper 

 portion curving over so as 

 to present a curiously 

 rounded surface, which 

 shines like the scales on 

 a salmon's back; they 

 measure quite a foot 

 across. When mature the 

 fronds produce a close 

 fringe of graceful, tassel- 

 like fruit-spikes, which 

 hang downwards, and add 

 to the beauty of the 

 plant. Syn., S.platyphylla. 

 Borneo. 



S. hsematodes — one of the 

 finest of all cultivated 

 Selaginellas. Stem erect, 

 bright crimson, un- 

 branched below, and bear- 

 ing upon its apex a large 

 deltoid frond, the divi- 

 sions closely overlapping 

 each other; upper snnaee 

 a bright shining green, 

 the under side being much 

 lighter and glossy. When 

 well grown the fronds are 

 frequently twelve inches 

 across. At.Kew the enor- 

 mous specimens of this 

 Selaginella form one of 

 the principal attractions 

 in the Ttopical JFemery.- 

 Tropical South America, 



S. insequalifolia— closely re- 

 lated to S. canahculata. 

 The stems are semi-erect, 

 sometimes four feet in 

 height, and bear oblong 

 lance-ghaped pinuse, six 

 inches long, which are 

 much divided and are a 

 rich deep green colour. 

 It grows very quickly, and 

 in a tropical moist house 

 soon forms a handsome 

 specimen, Var. bellula is 

 dwarfer in habit and has 

 shorter pinn&e. East 

 Indies. 



S laevigata is distinguished 

 by its pale green colour 

 and rigid, falcate, pointed, 

 almostspine-tipped leaves. 

 It produces a frond about 

 two feet in length, which 

 spreads out almost hori- 

 zontally, and, owing to its 

 firm,almost woody nature, 

 retains this position from 



base to point. It is some- 

 times called S, pectinata,. 

 and a variety of it is in 

 cultivation under the 

 name of S. Lyalli, Mada- 

 gascar. 



S. Lobbii — ^fchis has erect 

 slender stems three ta 

 four feet in height, and 

 clothed with numerous 

 alternate branches, which 

 are feather-like, and are 

 arranged at right angles 

 with the stem. The colour 

 of the foliage is a bright 

 g^een. The fronds some- 

 times turn to a cui-ious- 

 metallic green when old, 

 A rare plant in cultiva- 

 tion, but represented at 

 Kew by several large 

 specimens. Borneo and 

 Sumatra. 



S. patula— one of the Mar- 

 tensii group, with dectun- 

 bent stems, nine inches tO' 

 a foot in length, branched, 

 the branches narrow and 

 short except the terminal 

 one, which is lengtheaed 

 out to a long whip-like 

 tip. Jamaica. 



S. plumosa — a dwarf species, 

 with branches about half' 

 ail inch wide and distinctly 

 flattened out, or rather 

 the distichous arrange- 

 ment of the leaves pro- 

 duces that appearance. 

 The stems are pale green 

 in colour and do not gene- 

 rally extend to more than 

 a foot in length. It formS' 

 a pretty tuft of dense 

 darkgreen feathery foliage- 

 if planted in shallow pans 

 and kept rather moist.. 

 There are several varieties 

 of it in- cultivation. East 

 Indies. 



S, serpens — a pretty little- 

 Moss-like species, the 

 stems growing closely to 

 the ground. By means of 

 these roots this species is- 

 enabled to cling to any 

 moist surface, such as 

 walls, stones,on rockeries,, 

 or even to wood. The 

 ujiper surface of -the- 

 foliage becomes almost' 

 white towards the evening- 

 of a summer's day, resum- 

 ingits normal green colour- 

 again during the night. 

 This phenomenon is sup- 

 posed to be the result of 

 changes caused in the 

 colour of the chlorophyll 

 by the action of light. 

 Syns., S. variabilis, S. 

 varians, S. mutabihs, and 

 S. Jamalcensis. West 

 Indies. 



S. Victoriae — very similar to- 

 S. Wallichii. The stems 

 are from three to four feet 

 in height, semi- erect,, 

 forming along with the- 

 alternate branches a 

 broad, flattened frond. 

 The stems spring iror^ a 

 central tuft as in a Todoea, 

 the fronds measure a foot 

 or even more in width, 

 and are bright shining- 

 green in colour. A very 



