12 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



side of their midrib witli twelve to twenty-four linear leaflets of a leathery 

 texture, 3in. to Gin. long and fin. broad, gradually narrowed to a point, 

 heart-shaped or even auricled at the base, the lower ones often lin. apart, 

 and the loAvest pair usually deflexed (Fig. 4) and very little shorter than 

 the others. The sori (spore masses) form a broad, continuous line close to 

 the midrib. — Hoolter^ Species Filicum., iii., p. 50, Lowe., Ferns British and 

 Exotic^ iv., t. 39. Nicholson., Dictionary of Gardening i., p. 195. 



B. O. multifidum — mul-tif'-id-um (much-cut). 



A very pretty varietj^, said to have been introduced from Dominica, but 

 for the name of which we can find no authority. Its very elegant fronds 

 attain about Ift. in length ; they are pinnate (once divided to the midrib), 

 their leaflets being copiously crested and tasselled at their extremity, giving 

 the whole plant a very elegant and pleasing appearance. In general habit it is 

 similar to the species, but the weight of the tassels renders the fronds more 

 pendulous and more elegant. — Nicholson^ Dictionary of Gardening., i., p. 195. 



B. (Blechnopsis) orientale — Blech-nop'-sis ; or-i-en-ta'-le (Eastern), 

 LinncEUS. 



Tills very handsome, robust, greenhouse species, whose habitat extends 

 from Australia and the Polynesian Islands northward to South China and 

 the Himalayas, is no doubt one of the most interesting of the whole genus. 

 Its massive fronds, 1ft. to oft. long and frequently 1ft. broad, are produced 

 from a stout, upright stem clothed at the crown with dark brown scales, and 

 borne on strong, erect stalks 4in. to Sin. long and ' scaly below ; they are 

 egg-shaped, and furnished on each side of their midrib with numerous nearly 

 contiguous pinnae (leaflets) of a leathery texture, 4in. to Sin, long and fin. 

 broad, narrowed to a long point, a few of the lowest being reduced to mere 

 auricles or lobes. The leaflets, when young, are of a beautiful metallic colour, 

 changing with age to a uniform light green, and the fronds being of 

 a particularly drooping habit, this species is very useful where Ferns are 

 recpiired for hanging baskets of large dimensions. The sori (spore masses) 

 are disposed in a long, continuous line close to the midrib. — Hooker., Species 

 Filicum, iii., p, 52, Lowe, Ferns British and Fxotlc, iv,, t. 40. Beddome, 

 Ferns of Southern India, t, 29. 



