186 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



D. (Cibotium) Schiedei— Cib-c/-ti-um ; Schie'-de-i (Scliiede's), Baker. 



Ohc of tlie handsomest of all known arborescent Ferns, and very distinct. 

 Tliougli it thrives fairly well in a conservatory, it prefers stove temperature, 

 being a native of Guatemala and of Mexico, in the warm temperate regions 

 of which latter country Liebmann says it is found at elevations varying 

 between 2000ft. and 4000ft. above the level of the sea. Accordino- to 

 G-aleotti, who found it at Jalapa, its handsome trunk reaches the height of 

 15ft. ; but although of free-growing habit, plants with such trunks must be 

 many years old, as the formation of the trunk in this case is a slow process. 

 With the exception of the unique specimen in the conservatory at Chats- 

 worth, plants in cultivation with trunks more than 2ft. high are seldom met 

 with. The very elegantly -drooping fronds, oblong-triangular in shape, 

 are frequently seen measuring from 6ft. to 10ft. in length. They 

 are tripinnate (three times divided to the midrib), are borne on stout, 

 brownish stalks of a very hairy nature, and rise from a crown that is 

 densely covered with long, silky, shining, brown hairs. The oblong- spear- 

 shaped leaflets, 1ft. to 2ft. long and ending in a very narrow point, are 

 furnished with short- stalked, narrow pinnules (leafits) cut down quite to the 

 rachis (stalk) below ; these are again subdivided into closely-set, somewhat 

 sickle-shaped, toothed segments, upon each of which four to six spore masses 

 are disposed parallel with the edge. The sori are pecuhar, inasmuch as 

 the inner valve of the involucre overtops the outer one. This species is 

 highly decorative, and all the more attractive as its fronds, of a somewhat 

 leathery texture, are of a pale yellowish -green above and beneath very 

 glaucous (bluish-grey), with which the colour of the conspicuous spore 

 masses forms a pleasing contrast. — Hooker^ SjJecies Filicum^ i., p. 84, t. 30a. 

 Nicholson., Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 468. Lowe, Ferns British and 

 Exotic, viii., t. 35. 



D. (Eudlcksonia) Sellowiana— Eu-dick-so'-m-a ; Sel-lo-wi-a'-na (Sellow's), 

 Hooker. 



This very distinct, arborescent, stove species, native of South Brazil, is 

 also known as D. Spriiceana. Its fronds are 6ft. to 8ft. long, 2ft. to 3ft. broad, 

 broadly spear-shaped, and bipinnate (twice divided to the midrib). The 

 lower leaflets, 1ft. to l^ft. long and 3in. to 4in. broad, are furnished with 



