* 



NEPHROLEPIS. 597 



of March.. Its beautifully-pendulous fronds, 4ft. to 5ft. long, 4in. broad, and 

 simply pinnate (once divided to the midrib), are borne on slender, round 

 stalks, whose base is totally deprived of leaflets for at least Sin. ; higher up 

 the leaflets are closely set on each side of the midrib, generally numbering 

 from eighty to a hundred each side in the largest fronds. These leaflets, of 

 a soft texture, are usually sickle-shaped, broadest at the base, which is slightly 

 eared, and taper to an attenuated point ; they are about Sin. long and have 

 their margins notched in a series of oblique crenatures, a characteristic peculiar 

 to this species. The fronds are thus 4in. broad, and when produced in large 

 numbers, which is the case in strong plants, they have an elegant appearance, 

 especially when the plants are grown in suspended baskets. The sori (spore 

 masses) are transversely set at the end of the anterior venule (veinlet), being 

 disposed one to each notch. — Nicholson^ Dictionary of Gardening^ ii,, p. 446. 



.A^. pluma being thoroughly deciduous, care must be taken to keep its 

 tubers, which are of a somewhat woody character and of a dark brown colour, 

 in a constantly but moderately moist soil during the resting period, which 

 corresponds with our own winter, otherwise they will shrivel up, and the 

 plant will be lost. 



N. plumosa — plu-mo'-sa (feathery). This is a sub-variety of N. davallioicles 

 fur cans. 



N. punctulata — punc-tul-a'-ta (small-dotted). Synonymous with N. acuta. 



N. ramosa — ra-mo'-sa (branched), Moore. 



A stove species, of small dimensions, native of Western Tropical Africa, 

 Ceylon, the Philippines, Australia, Samoa, Fiji, &c. Its fronds, 6in. to 12in. 

 long and lin. to Sin. broad, are borne on very short stems disposed on wide- 

 creeping rhizomes (prostrate stems) of a wiry nature. The leaflets, of a soft, 

 papery texture, Jin. to IJin. long, and Jin. to Jin. broad, are slightly notched ; 

 their upper edge is auricled (eared) and parallel with the stalk, while the 

 lower one is oblique. The sori (spore masses) are covered with a roundish 

 involucre of a very fugacious nature. The name rainosa is rather misleading, 

 as the fronds are not branched. This species is also known as N. oUite.rata 

 and N. trichomanoides. — Hooker^ Species Filicum, iv., p. 154. Nicholson^ 

 Dictionary of Gardening^ ii., p. 446. 



