002 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT, 



to about twenty. These would afford interest 

 and be useful in various ways. Many of them 

 are of dimensions large enough to be grown as 

 big specimen plants, others make excellent 

 basket plants, while the small creeping kinds 

 may be employed to form carpets or cushions 

 under large plants. A collection of them, such 

 as that at Kew for instance, is as charming as 

 anything in the Fernery. 



Selaginellas are easily managed; they grow 

 quickly, and they may be propagated to almost 

 any extent in a short time. Any light, open 

 soil suits them, the essential point being perfect 

 drainage, so that frequent waterings, which the 

 plants like, will not make the soil stagnant. If 

 good examples are wanted, it is necessary to 

 propagate a fresh stock every year from cuttings 

 which should be put in in February. They 

 may also be raised from spores, but this is a 

 slow and tedious method. 



S. affinis. — Stems nearly a foot high, branched freely ; 

 leaves flat, overlapping, rather firm, bright - green ;' 

 branches tasselled and twisted. Very elegant. 



S. apus. — Stems slender, trailing, densely matted : 

 leaves minute, pale-green. North America. G. (nearly 

 hardy). 



S. atroviridis. — Stems 6 inches high, branched, forming 

 broad shining dark olive-green fronds, almost black in 

 the summer. Tropical A sin. 



*S'. canal iculata. — Stems sarmentose, 3 to 4 feet long; 

 branches 6 to 9 inches long, flexuose, clothed with bright- 

 green oblong pointed leaves. East Indies. 



S. caulcsc'cns. — Stem stout, branched above, the 

 branches spreading horizontally, giving them the appear- 

 ance of a large feathery frond, 8 inches wide. Malaya. 



S. convoluta (hygrometrica). — Stems densely tufted, 

 forming a dwarf spreading rosette, 6 inches across, of 

 pinnate branchlets. When dry, the branches curl in- 

 wards and form a ball, which is sometimes sold under 

 the name of "Resurrection Plant ", the branches spread- 

 ing out flat when placed in water. Tropical America. 



S. denticulata. — Stems densely matted, trailing, 6 

 inches long, pinnately branched; leaves sub-acute, an inch 

 long, flat, toothed, bright-green, turning to bright-red 

 when old. Mediterranean Region. The plant commonly 

 grown for this is S. Kraussiana. 



S. Emiliana. — Semi-erect, 9 inches high, the fronds as 

 in & Martensii, but more finely divided, and leaves 

 smaller, slightly curled, pale-green. 



S. grandis. — Stems 1 to 2 feet high, erect and un- 

 branched, except near the top, where the branches are 

 numerous and form a flat chcll-like frond of a bright 

 blue-green colour. Spikes large, tassel-like. Borneo. 



S. h&niatodcs. — Stems about a foot long, wiry, red, 

 branched above and horizontal, forming a handsome frond 

 a foot wide. A beautiful plant, which should be grown 

 in a large mass. Peru. 



S. incequalifolia. — Stems erect, 2 feet high, branches 

 alternate from the base upwards, horizontal, 5 inches 

 long, the branchlets forming an elegant frond 4 inches 

 wide. India. 



S. inrolvens ( Veitchii). — Stems densely tufted, 2 to 6 

 inches long, branched from the base, forming a flat 



rosette ; leaves thick, rigid, bright-green ; var. texta has 

 long, unbranched, chain-like stems. Japan, China, &c. 



S. Kraussiana. — The common "Lycopodium" of gar- 

 dens, usually called S. denticulata. Stems trailing, flat, 

 branched freely, bright-green, forming a turf -like mass. 

 There are many varieties, of which Brownii is a compact 

 and pretty one. Africa. Hardy in the warmer parts of 

 England. 



S. Icevigata. — Stems erect, 12 to 18 inches long, 

 branched only in the upper half, the branches spreading 

 and forming a wide elegant frond in which the erect 

 ridge-like rows of dark-green leaves are striking; var. 

 Lyalli is a more graceful form. Madagascar. 



S. Martensii. — Stems 6 to 12 inches long, the lower 

 half prostrate, the upper erect, pinnately branched, flat, 

 bright-green, the leaves crowded. A common garden 

 plant, of which there are several varieties, including a 

 variegated form. Mexico. 



S. stenophyUa. — Stems erect, 6 to 12 inches high, 

 branched, as in S. Martensii, but more delicately divided 

 and coloured pale-yellow; var. albospica has white tassel- 

 like spikes. Mexico. 



S. uncinata (casia). — Stems trailing, with alternate 

 branches, 3 inches long, triangular in outline, covered 

 with flat imbricating leaves of a steel-blue colour, varying 

 with the light. A pretty and useful plant, as easy to 

 cultivate as the commonest. China. 



S. Wallichii. — Stems stout, 3 feet or more high, with 

 horizontal alternate branches, which are frond-like, 9 

 inches by 3 inches, plumose, the tassel-like drooping 

 spikes adding to their beauty. India. 



Fig. 731.— Selaginella Willdenovii. 



S. Willdenovii (ccesia-arborca) (fig. 731). — Stems climb- 

 ing, attaining a length of 20 feet or more, wiry when old, 

 reddish, bearing frond-like branches 2 feet long, the scale- 



