20 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



from the base, and is borne on a stalk shorter than itself; it is much 

 heavier than in any other species, and often 6in. long. As an example of 

 the extreme variability of this singular Fern, according to the habitat in 

 which it is found, it may be noted that while it is reported as decorating 



the forest trees on which it grows, in 

 Madagascar, with green ribbons some 

 12ft. long, in Ceylon its fronds seldom 

 exceed 6ft. in length. Although it has 

 been repeatedly imported by various 

 firms, this curious plant is even now 

 i found only in a very few collections. 

 In its natural state it is frequently 

 seen growing along with Platy cerium 

 grande, a Fern to which it bears a 

 certain resemblance, so far as the 

 drooping part of the latter plant is 

 concerned. Its roots, which, like those 

 of Platyceriums, are of a fleshy nature, 

 are deeply embedded in a spongy 

 mass of moss and roots. Fig. 7 is 

 reduced from Col. Beddome's " Ferns 

 of Southern India," by the kind 

 permission of the author. — Hooker 

 and Greville, Icones Filicum, t. 19. 

 Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 ii., p. 500. Eaton, Ferns of North 

 America, ii., t. 81. 



To cultivate this species with 

 anything like success it requires to be 

 either suspended in a basket or fixed on a piece of board in a warm house, 

 with about equal parts of spongy peat and sphagnum moss. 



O. reticulatum — re-tic-ul-a'-tum (netted), Linnams. 



This stove species, which is readily distinguished by the non-tuberous 

 character of its rootstock, has a wide range of habitat, being found in 



Fig. 7. Ophioglossum pendulum 



(much reduced). 



