GYMNOGRAMME. 



239 



largest-growing kinds of Gold and Silver Ferns ; it.s oblong-triangular 

 fronds, 1ft. to 3ft. long and 6in. to 12in. broad, being borne on firm, very 

 nearly black, shining, tufted stalks 6in. to 12in. long. These fronds spring 

 from all round the crown of the rhizome (prostrate stem), bending outwards, 

 and leaving the plant very hollow in the centre. 

 The spear-shaped leaflets (Fig. 54), often cut down 

 quite to the midrib, are closely set, Gin. long and 

 IJin. to 2in. broad ; they are divided into distinct, 

 toothed pinnules (leafits) of a somewhat leathery 

 texture, dull green on the upper side, but entirely 

 covered underneath with creamy-Avhite farinose 

 powder. The sori (spore masses) are branched, 

 oblique, and confluent, nearly covering each segment. 

 See Coloured Plate. ■ — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, 

 p. 385. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, ii., 

 p. 104. Lovje, Ferns British and Exotic, i., t. 11. 



According to Baker, this species includes a 

 variety of forms, some of which are usually con- 

 sidered in gardens as so many species : they are 

 connected by very gradual shades of colour of the 

 powder with which their under -side is covered, 

 and which forms their most attractive character. 

 Among these varieties we particularly note the 

 following : 



G. C. chrysophylla — chry-soph-yF-la (golden- 

 leaved), Kaulfuss. 

 In reference to this plant, Lowe, in his ex- 

 tensive work, " Ferns British and Exotic " (vol. i., 

 p. 3), says : "Of all the Ferns cultivated in Great 



Britain, perhaps no species is so universally admired as the Gymnogramme 

 chrysophylla, the 'King of the Gold Ferns.' Its graceful habit of growth, 

 added to the farinose powder covering the whole of the under -side of the 

 fronds, and the rich golden appearance of the young stems, are attractions of 

 no ordinary character — attractions which cannot fail to strike even the most 



Fi^. 54. Pinna of Gymnogramme 

 calomelanos 

 (nat. size). 



