600 



THE GARDENEK'S ASSISTANT. 



late, rigid; pinnae oblong; pinnules ovate, mucronate; 

 stipes and rachis clothed with chaffy scales. A form of 

 P. aculeaturn. New Zealand. 



Pteris. — A large and diversified genus, the plants 

 mostly of vigorous habit, and characterized by forked 

 veins which are united by the marginal receptacle upon 

 which the sori are situated, forming a continuous band; 

 indusium continuous. 



P. arguta. — Fronds 3 to 5 feet long, bi-tri -pinnate; 

 pinnse pinnatifid, segments obtuse, dentate, pale-green; 

 stipes brown. South Europe. G. 



P. argyrcea. — Fronds pinnate, 1 to 4 feet high; pinnse 

 deeply pinnatifid, the lowest pair again divided, silvery- 

 white and green. East Indies. 



P. collina. — Fronds palmate, 6 to 10 inches high, three 

 to five lobed ; segments obtuse in the sterile fronds, lan- 

 ceolate when fertile, bright-green ; stipes black. Brazil. 



P. cretica. — Fronds with erect, wiry, polished stipes, 

 pinnate, the terminal pinnule elongated, green. Var. 

 albolineata has prettily variegated fronds. P. Mayi is 

 a crested form of this ; crispata has crisped and wavy 

 pinnules. Tropics. 



P. denticulala. — Similar to P. cretica; fronds pinnate, 

 1 to 2 feet long; pinnae decurrent; segments serrate. Brazil. 



P. ensiformis (crenata). — Fronds 10 to 20 inches long, 

 bipinnate, dark-green; pinnse ovate where sterile, linear 

 where fertile, decurrent, crenate. P. Victor ice is a beauti- 

 ful form of this with variegated fronds; cristata is another 

 form. China, &c. G. 



P. hastata. — Fronds 10 to 18 inches long, bipinnate, 

 pinnules hastate, sori forming a dark-brown marginal 

 band; stipes and rachis brown. South Africa. G. 



P. leptophylla. — Fronds bi-tri-pinnate, 12 to 18 inches 

 long; segments finely divided, bright-green; sori red. Brazil. 



P. longifulia. — Fronds 1 to 2 feet long, pinnate; pinnse 

 linear, 5 to 6 inches long, serrate, dull-green; sori brown; 

 stipes and rachis slightly scaly. Var. Mariesi is an ele- 

 gant Japanese form ; nobilis has fronds 5 feet long and 

 pinnse 8 inches long and £ inch wide. Tropics. G. 



P. macilenta. — Fronds tripinnate, ! road, spreading, 1 

 to 3 feet long; pinnules deeply cut, serrate at the edges, 

 light-green. New Zealand. G. 



P. macroptera. — Fronds bipinnatifid, 2 feet or more 

 long; segments broad, rich-green. Brazil. 



P. nobilis. — Fronds simple, entire, sagittate when 

 young, palmate when mature, 12 to 18 inches long, 

 bright-green with a broad band of white up the centre 

 of each segment. Brazil. 



P. palmata. — Fronds palmate; segments narrow and 

 distant, proliferous, 10 to 12 inches high, dark- green. 

 Brazil, &c. 



P. podophylla. — Fronds tripartite, 3 to 5 feet long, in- 

 cluding the stout erect stipes; segments pinnatifid, bright- 

 green. West Indies. 



P. sagittifolia. — Fronds sagittate, erect, 6 to 12 inches 

 high, bright-green ; stipes black. Brazil. 



P. semipinnata. — Fronds erect, pinnate, 1 to 2 feet 

 long; pinnse divided on the lower side only, deep-green. 

 Var. Bausei is an elegant garden form. Tropics. 



P. serrulata. — Fronds 6 to 18 inches long, pinnate; 

 pinnse linear, narrow, serrate, the lower pair bipartite, 

 light-green. There are many garden varieties, the most 

 notable of which are : — angustata, Childsii, Coxoani, 

 compacta, coryrnbifera, cristata, cristata variegata, densa, 

 gigantea, PococTcii, gracilis, gloriosa, Leyi, maxima, 

 Ouvrardii, undulata, and valuta. China, &c. G. 



P. tremula. — Fronds 1 to 3 feet long, quadripinnate, 

 deltoid ; pinnae linear, caudate at the apex, pinnules linear- 



oblong and obtuse, serrate ; stipes green, changing to 

 dark-brown. Vars. elegans, Kingiana, foliosa, grandiceps, 

 variegata, and Smitkiana are good garden forms. Aus- 

 tralia, &c. G. 



P. tricolor. — Fronds pinnate, 1 to 2 feet long; pinnae 

 pinnatifid, basal pair branched, green, banded with silvery- 

 white, the centre purplish-red. Malacca. 



P. umbrosa. — Fronds 1 to 3 feet long, bipinnate below, 

 pinnate above; pinnse decurrent, linear, acuminate, serrate, 

 deep-green. Var. cristata has elegant crisped pinnae. 

 Australia. G. 



P. vesper tilion is. — Fronds tripinnate, 1 to 3 feet long; 

 pinnules opposite, sessile, obtuse, green above, glaucous 

 below. Australia. G. 



Todea. — There are two sections in ..this genus, one 

 having stout coriaceous fronds and dense masses of 

 spore-cases; the other and more beautiful having pellucid 

 membranous fronds and spare distant lines of spore-cases. 

 These resemble the Filmy Ferns, w r ith which they should 

 be grown. 



T. africana. — A big coarse Fern with a thick bole-like 

 trunk, bipinnate fronds, 3 to 6 feet long; pinnse sessile, 

 serrate; sori naked, dense, reddish - brown ; stipes and 

 rachis long, stout. South Africa. G. 



T. hymenophylloides (pellucida). — Fronds bipinnatifid, 

 10 to 30 inches long, finely divided, vivid-green; stipes 

 and rachis slightly hirsute. New Zealand. G. 



T. Moorei {grandipinnula). — A handsome species with 

 broadly ovate tripinnate fronds 12 to 18 inches long, 9 

 to 12 inches wide, pellucid-membranous ; pinnules over- 

 lapping, over an inch long, ovate, incised. Old plants 

 have a short thick stem. Lord Howe's Island. 



Fig. 729.— Todea superba. 



T. superba (fig. 729).— Fronds bipinnatifid, spreading, 

 10 to 20 inches long. The whole frond is everywhere 

 crispate, giving it the appearance of a thick plume; caudex 

 erect. New Zealand. G. 



