310 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



YnhQ^. — Hooher, Species FUicum, i., p. 109. Nicholson, Dictionary of 

 Gardening, ii., p. 166. Loive, Ferns British and Exotic, viii., t. 7b. 



No Hymenophyllum is more elFective tlian this species ; it is a suitable 

 companion for tiie Killarney Fern, with which, under cultivation, it is often 

 found. The lively green colour of its young fronds, which, with age, turn 

 to the deepest dark green, and the vigorous habit and constitution of the 

 plant, are special recommendations. 



H. denticulatum— den-tic-ul-a^-tum (toothed), Sicartz. 



A very distinct species, of small dimensions, native of Java and also of 

 Moulmein, Avhere it is found growing at 7000ft. elevation. Its little fronds, 

 2in. to 3in. long and lin. broad at the base, are borne on erect, naked stalks 

 lin. to 2in. long ; their leaflets are slightly crisped, the lower ones being 

 deeply cleft into narrow segments. The sori (spore masses), usually simple, 

 are placed at the axils on the upper side of the leaflets, and are provided with 

 an egg-shaped involucre (covering) divided about two-thirds of the way down, 

 spiny on the back, and having toothed YulYes. — Hooker, Species Filicum, 

 i., p. 101. 



H. dichotomum — dich-ot'-om-um (repeatedly divided into twos), Cavanilles. 



This pretty, dwarf-growing species, native of Juan Fernandez and ChiH, 

 where it grows on mossy trees, is particularly striking on account of the 

 beautifully-crisped and transparent characters of its finely-divided foliage, 

 which distinguish it at first sight from any other species in cultivation. Its 

 broadly-triangular fronds, two or three times divided nearly to the midrib, are 

 4in. to 6in. long, 2in. to Sin. broad, and borne on stalks 2in. to Sin. long, 

 either naked or slightly margined, with an undulated and crisped wing on 

 both sides; their lower leaflets, three times as long as broad, are divided into 

 crisped segments that are sharply toothed or torn at the edges. The numerous 

 sori (spore masses) are placed in the axils of the segments, and provided 

 Avith a small, egg-shaped involucre (covering), having valves thorny on the 

 back, divided about half-way down, and nearly entire at the summit. — 

 Hooker, Species Filicum, i., p. 98, t. 36a. Lowe, New and Piare Ferns, 

 Addenda, p. 182. 



This little plant delights in sending its tiny rhizomes through a coating 

 of moss covering either a piece of rock or a block of wood or Tree Fern. 



