POLYPODIUM. 



117 



breadth, tapering below to a narrow wing, their extremity being drawn out 

 into a narrow, attenuated point or tail, from which character the specific 

 name is derived. These fronds, produced from a long, slender, creeping 

 rhizome, are borne on stalks 2in. to 4in. long and of a slender nature. The 

 round, naked sori (spore masses) are produced on the lowest veinlet. — 

 Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iv., p. 592. 



P. (Goniophlebium) chnoodes — Go-m-oph-leb'-i-um ; chno-o'-des 

 (resembling down or wool), Sprengel. 

 A stove species, of elegant, drooping habit, native of the West Indies and 

 Venezuela, and very useful for growing in hanging baskets. According to 

 Lowe, who describes it under the name of P. dissimile, this species was 

 introduced into England in the year 1820. Its drooping fronds, 1ft. to 2ft. 

 long and 4in. to 9in. broad, are cut down to the rachis (stalk of the leafy 

 portion) into distinct, sickle-shaped, opposite leaflets 2in. to 4in. long, |in. to 

 fin. broad, heart-shaped at the base, of a soft, papery texture, light green in 

 colour, and finely hairy on both surfaces. They are produced from a stout 

 rhizome densely clothed with soft, spreading scales of a dull brown colour, 

 and borne on erect, slender, naked stalks 4in. to 6in. long. The spore masses 

 are disposed in two series on each side of the main veins. See Coloured Plate. 

 — Hooker, Species Filicurn, v., p. 25. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, ii., t. 35. 



P. chrysolepls — chry-soT-ep-is (having golden scales), Hooker. 



Although of small dimensions and of little decorative value, this pretty 

 little, stove species, native of the Andes of Quito, is very interesting. Its 

 entire (undivided) fronds, 2in. to 3in. long and Jin. broad, terminate in a 

 sharp point, but their lower part is very gradually narrowed ; they are produced 

 from a wide-creeping rhizome, densely clothed with rough scales of a reddish- 

 brown colour, and borne on stalks about lin. long and scaly. The texture 

 is thick and leathery, and both surfaces are clothed with small, pale-coloured 

 scales attached by the centre of the disk. The large, round sori (spore masses) 

 are disposed in rows nearer the midrib than the edge. — Hooker, Species 

 Filicurn, iv., p. 173 • Icones Plantarum, t. 721. 



P. (Goniophlebium) ciliatum — Go-ni-oph-leb'-i-uni ; cil-lV-tum 

 (ciliated). A variety of P. piloselloides. 



