FERNS— HARDY. 



607 



N. spinulosum. — Caudex decumbent, bearing distant 

 broad ovate pale-coloured scales; fronds erect, bipinnate. 

 (See also N. dilatatum.) Europe (Britain). 



N. Stand ishii. — Fronds tripinnate, triangular, 2 to 3 feet 

 long; pinnae and pinnules closely set, giving the frond a 

 dense and massive appearance. Japan. 



N. Thclypteris. — Caudex slender, creeping ; fronds bi- 

 pinnate, erect, 1 to 3 feet long ; under surface quite 

 covered with dark-brown sori. It delights in a damp, 

 boggy situation. Temperate regions (Britain). 



Nothochl.ena Marantce. — Fronds bipinnate, broadly 

 lanceolate; pinnules 4 to 10 inches long, deep -green, 

 clothed beneath with reddish - brown scales. Southern 

 Europe, &c. 



N. vestita. — Fronds bipinnate, narrow lanceolate, 6 to 

 12 inches long ; pinnules crenate, pale-green ; stipes and 

 frond furnished with reddish hairs. North America. 



Onoclea. — A small genus of deciduous Ferns, having 

 dimorphous fronds, and a peculiar membranous indusium 

 enclosing each sorus. Rich loam, shade. 0. sensibilis 

 has fronds 1 to 2 feet long; sterile triangular, pinnate- 

 pinnatifid, with pale -green segments, fertile bipinnate, 

 much contracted, spicate. North America. 



0. germanica (pennsylvanica). — Sterile fronds 1 to 3 feet 

 long, pinnate, the pinnae pinnatifid, spreading; fertile 

 fronds simply pinnate, contracted, with re volute margins. 

 Europe and North America. 



Osmunda. — Noble handsome plants; fronds leathery or 

 herbaceous, pinnate or bipinnate, springing from a tufted 

 caudex. They delight in abundance of water, shade, and 

 shelter, and should be planted in peat. 



0. cinnarnomea. — Deciduous, fertile fronds densely 

 clothed with ferruginous hairs; sterile fronds shorter, 

 glaucous. North America. 



0. Claytoniana (interrupta). — Fronds upwards of 2 feet 

 in length, erect. The great peculiarity of this species lies 

 in its having the middle pinnae contracted and sporan- 

 giferous, hence the name interrupta. North America. 



0. regal is (Royal Fern). — Fronds erect, bi- or tri-pinnate, 

 3 to 9 feet long; pinnules 2 inches long, auriculate, light- 

 green; upper portion of frond fertile, paniculate. There 

 are several varieties, viz. corymbifera, cristata, japonica, 

 palustris, pmrpurasccns, &c. Temperate regions (Britain). 



0. speetabilis. — Fronds bipinnate, 2 feet long; pinnules 

 3 inches long, bright-green, upper portion of the frond 

 contracted and sporangiferous. North America. 



Polypodium alpestre. — Fronds deciduous, bipinnate, 

 erect, 12 to 24 inches long, with lanceolate, serrated, dark- 

 green pinnules. The variety hurnile has fronds a foot high, 

 the pinnae inclining downwards, and the stipes very short. 

 North temperate zone (Britain). 



P. Dryopteris. — Caudex slender, creeping; fronds de- 

 ciduous, ternate ; pinnae deeply incised, bright - green. 

 Var. Robertianurn has tripinnate fronds, twice divided, 

 dull-green. North temperate zone (Britain). 



P. Krameri. — Fronds bipinnate, pale-green, 5 inches 

 long, articulated ; pinnae deflexed, oblique, crenate ; sori 

 scattered. Japan. 



P. Phegopderis. — Creeping, with deciduous, pinnate, tri- 

 angular fronds; pinnae sessile, the lower pair refracted, 

 the whole surface hirsute, dull-green. North temperate 

 zone (Britain). 



P. vulgare. — Caudex stout, creeping, clothed with brown 

 chaffy scales ; fronds evergreen, pinnatifid, linear-oblong, 

 12 to 18 inches long; pinnae bluntly oblong, dark-green; 

 sori golden -yellow. North temperate zone (Britain). 

 There are numerous varieties, some of the handsomest 

 being: — cambricum (fig. 735), fronds 9 to 18 inches 



long, pinnae dense, overlapping, lobed, invariably barren; 

 cristatum, pinnae all crested, forming a beautiful tuft ; 

 omnilacerum is like cambricum, but larger, the pinnae 

 lengthened into a tail-like point, not imbricate, fertile ; 

 pjulcherrimum also resembles cambricum, but the pinnae 

 are broad and dense, overlapping, serrate, and fertile; 

 semilacerum has fronds 12 to 18 inches long, deeply 

 divided, the sori large and conspicuous; cornubiense is so 



Fig. 735.— Polypodium vulgare cambricum. 



much divided as to resemble Davallia dissecta. Fouieri 

 differs from this in being permanently decompound. 



Pteris aquilina (Bracken). — Fronds deciduous, 1 to 

 6 feet, tripinnate. Although a common native Fern, it 

 is worthy of a place in the garden. 



P. scaberula. — Rhizome creeping; fronds tripinnate, tri- 

 angular, 10 to 15 inches long, pinnules finely cut ; stipes 

 hairy. A very elegant species. Should have a covering 

 of dry leaves in winter. New Zealand. 



Scolopendrium. — The British representative (I 



ml- 



gare) has produced an immense number of varieties, some 

 of which are grotesque, others extremely handsome, and 

 nearly all are valuable additions to the out-door fernery. 

 The indusiate sori are linear, arranged in opposite parallel 

 contiguous pairs. 



S. {Camptosorus) rhizophyllum (Walking Fern) (fig. 736). 

 — Fronds simple, 6 inches long, cordate, tapering to a 

 point, where they take root, proliferous. Prefers shade. 

 North America. 



S. vulgare (Hart's- tongue). — Caudex erect; fronds 

 simple, ligulate, cordate at the base, entire, evergreen, 

 6 inches to 3 feet long, the sori dark-brown, conspicuous. 

 The varieties are endless: — acrocladon has narrow fronds, 

 the apex branched and crested; Claphami has the mar- 

 gins lobed, the apex forked and crested; columnan has 

 the rachis fringed with a narrow wing-like membrane, 

 leaving only a dense multifid head; Coolingii is about 

 4 inches high, as broad as long, much branched, almost 

 spherical; crispum has fronds 12 to IS inches long, 

 erenate and undulate; this form has sported into many 



