H YMENOPHYLL UM. 



327 



naked or slightly -winged stalks lin. to 2in. long. The pinnas (leaflets) are 

 crisped, and their very narrow ultimate segments, are deeply cut nearly to 

 the midrib by numerous strong, aristate (awned) teeth ; this character is so 

 conspicuously developed that the ordinary appearance of a Hymenophyllum 

 is quite lost, and a frond looks more like a miniature branch of Jimi'perus 

 Sabina. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 71. 



H. SCabrum — scab'-rum (rough), A. Richard. 



A truly beautiful and very distinct species, native of New Zealand, and 

 one of the most decorative of the whole genus, on account of its splendidly- 

 arching fronds, produced from a wiry rhizome (prostrate stem), which has a 

 peculiar dislike to being left underground, often measuring l|ft. in length 

 and 5in. in breadth. These fronds are tripinnatifid (three times divided nearly 

 to the midrib) and borne on strong, wiry stalks 2m. to 4in. long, densely 

 clothed with stiiF hairs of a rusty-brown colour. The lower leaflets, 2in. to 

 Sin. long, are divided on both sides nearly to the midrib into several pinnules 

 (leafits), which are again pinnatifid, with divided lower and entire narrow 

 upper segments. The sori, six to twenty to a leaflet, and terminal on the 

 lateral segments on both sides, are provided with a small involucre (covering) 

 that is divided nearly to the base and has valves toothed at their summit. 

 The fronds are of a dark, dull green colour, which, however, makes a very 

 pleasing contrast with that of the rusty-brown, bristly hairs which densely 

 cover the rough, round stalks on which they are borne ; the latter character 

 causes this plant to form a luik between the species with smooth fronds 

 and the truly hirsute ones. — Hooker, Species Filicum, i., p. 110. Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, ii., p. 167. Lowe, Neiv and Rare Ferns, p. 180. 



This handsome plant is particularly averse to being wetted overhead, 

 although it requires an abundance of moisture at the roots. A somewhat 

 airy place in the house suits it best. 



H. sericeum — se-ric'-e-um (silky), Swartz. 



This species, native of Tropical America, from Cuba, Jamaica, and Mexico 

 southward to Peru and Brazil, is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable of 

 the hairy kinds in cultivation, for its splendid fronds are produced in such 

 abundance from thin, woolly rhizomes (prostrate stems) as to quite cover the 



