CHAPTER XXIL 



GYMNOGRAMME, Desvaux. 

 (Gym - nog- ram^ - me . ) 

 Gold and Silver Ferns. 



HIS somewhat extensive genus, which contains the majority of 

 what are popularly known as the Gold and Silver Ferns, 

 takes its name from the fact that the linear sori (long and 

 narrow spore masses), not being provided with an indusium 

 (covering), are therefore naked, the word Gymnogramme being 

 derived from gymnos, naked, and gramma, writing. In Hooker and Baker's 

 " Synopsis Filicum " it forms Genus 52, and it is by far the most important 

 division of the tribe Grammitldece. It is almost exclusively composed of 

 plants indigenous in hot climates, requiring under cultivation stove temperature. 

 The genus, however, contains one British representative, G. lejito'pliylla, which 

 is found principally in the Channel Islands, and which is distinguished from 

 all the tropical species, not only by its superficial appearance, but also and 

 especially through its short-lived nature, for it is essentially an annual, lasting 

 but a few months in good condition. While the fronds of some of the species 

 are barely a few inches long, those of some others frequently measure from 

 5ft. to 6ft. in length. The fohage of the various Gymnogrammes differs also 

 quite as much in form as it does in dimensions, some of the species having 

 simple (undivided) fronds, while in others they are pinnate and bipinnate 

 (once or twice divided to the midrib), trifoliolate (with leaflets disposed in 

 threes), or even decompound (many times divided). Their surface, according 

 to the species to which they belong, is either smooth, hairy, or covered 



