NEPHROLEPIS. 



589 



N. C. pectinata — pec-tin-a'-ta (comb-like), Schott. 



This handsome Fern, usually acknowledged as a species, but which by the 

 authors of " Synopsis Filicum " is regarded as only a variety of N. cordifolia^ 

 is a native of Tropical America, and is undoubtedly one of the gems of the 

 genus. Its close, compact, yet graceful habit, coupled with the greyish colour 

 of its comparatively short and slender fronds, borne on perfectly naked 

 stalks, make it quite unique* Either grown in a pot or in a basket of small 

 dimensions, or planted in a perpendicular wall, it is most useful. Contrary 

 to most other kinds, it produces fine bushy plants in small pots suitable for 

 table-decoration, and it is not uncommon to find in a lOin. basket as many 

 as 150 gracefully-pendulous, slender fronds seldom exceeding IJft. in length. 

 The leaflets, which are oblong in shape and toothed at the edges, are closely 

 set together, and, being distinctly auricled (eared) at the base, form an 

 uninterrupted line all along the midrib. 

 The plant does not produce any tubers, 

 but it is one of the kinds most readily 

 propagated from spores. Although intro- 

 duced into the Royal Gardens, Kew, as 

 late as 1841, we have it on the authority 

 of Lowe that it was known in some of 

 the English gardens as far back as 

 1820. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 301. 

 Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, ii., 

 p. 445. Lowe, Fer7is British and Exotic, 

 vii., t. 18. 



Fi^, 143. Nephrolepis clavallioides, showing Habit 

 and Barren Leaflet] 



N, daYallioideS daV-al-ll-O-i'-deS (Habit, much reduced ; Portion of Frond, i nat. size). 



(Davallia-like), Kunze. 

 This magnificent, stove species, of large dimensions, is a native of the 

 Malayan Archipelago, the East Indies, and Java, Its vigorous constitution 

 and the graceful habit of its arching fronds (Fig. 143), 2ft. to 3ft. long, 1ft. 

 broad, and borne on stalks 1ft. or more long, make it a plant of no ordinary 

 merit. These fronds are symmetrically disposed in a fibrous crown, which 

 sends forth on all sides stolons of a wiry nature and of great length ; these 

 delight in creeping on the surface of the ground or in some very loose 



