112 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



borne on slightly -scaly stalks 1ft. to 2ft. long. The lowest leaflets, Gin. to 

 Sin. long and 2in. to oin. broad, are cut down to the rachis below into distinct, 

 oblong-spear-shaped leafits, which are subdivided into lobes of a thin, papery 

 texture. The spore masses are disposed in pairs on the lower lobes. — Hooker, 

 Synopsis Filicum, p. 309. 



P. biserratum — bis-er-ra'-tum (twice-serrated). A form of P. subpetiolatum. 



P. (Grammitis) bisulcatum — G-ram-mi'-tis ; bis-ul-ca'-tum (twice- 

 f arrowed ) , Hooker. 



A very uncommon and singular, stove species, native of Borneo, and more 

 interesting as a botanical curiosity than useful as a decorative plant. Its 

 fronds, produced from a wide-creeping rhizome, are Gin. to 9in. long, 

 resemble the stem of a rush, and show five furrows, of which the two 

 deepest bear the closely-set, prominent oval spore masses. This plant is the 

 Holcosorus pentagonus of Moore. — Hooker, Species Filicum, iv., p. 164 ; 

 Second Century of Ferns, t. 98. 



P. blechnoides — bledi-no-i'-des (Blechnum-like), Hooker. 



This greenhouse species, native of Polynesia and Queensland, is 

 distinct on account of the fertile leaflets being confined to the upper half 

 of the fronds, which are produced from a stout rhizome clothed with dense, 

 narrow scales, and borne on rigid, upright, naked stalks 2in. to 3in. long. 

 The whole frond seldom measures more than 1ft. long and l£in. broad ; it 

 is cut down very nearly to the rachis throughout. The fertile leaflets are 

 longer and narrower than the barren ones, which are bluntish, growing 

 gradually shorter and broader downwards ; all are of a leathery texture. The 

 oblong spore masses, deeply immersed in the fronds, are disposed in rows near 

 the midrib.— Hooker, Species Filicum, iv., p. 180. 



P. Boivini — Boi-vi'-ni (Boivin's), Mettenius. 



A very small-growing, stove species, of botanical interest only, native 

 of Madagascar. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 507. 



P. (Phegopteris) Bojeri— Phe-gop'-ter-is ; Bo'-jer-i (Bojer's), Hooker. 



This stove species, of medium dimensions, is a native of Mauritius and 

 Bourbon Islands. Its much- divided fronds, 2ft. or more in length and 1ft. 



