216 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



P. (Dictyopteris) sparsiflorum — Dlc-ty-op'-ter-is ; spar-sif-lo'-rum 

 (having scattered flowers), Hooker. 

 This robust-growing, stove species, native of Sierra de Crystal and Old 

 Calabar, West Tropical Africa, produces from a thick and conspicuously- 

 knotted rhizome its fronds 2ft. to 3ft. long and 1ft. or more in breadth. 

 These are borne on stalks l^ft. long, and furnished with -leaflets fin. to Sin. 

 long, l^in. to Sin. broad, sharp-pointed at their summit, narrowed at the 

 base, of a soft, papery texture, and naked on both sides. The small and 

 abundant sori (spore masses) are irregularly scattered over the whole under - 

 surface. — Hooker, Species Filicum, v., p. 92. 



P. spectabile — spe:-ti'-bil-e (remarkable). This is synonymous with 

 Nephrodium villosum. 



P. (Phymatodes) spectrum — Phy-mat-o'-des ; spec'-trum (spectral), 

 Kaulfuss. 



This stove species, better known in gardens under the name of Colysis 

 spectra, is a plant of distinct appearance, native of the Sandwich Islands. 

 Its fronds, produced from a creeping rhizome of a woody nature, and borne 

 on erect, naked stalks Sin. to 4in. long, are somewhat halbert-shaped, their 

 central lobe being sharp-pointed, while the lateral ones are sometimes rounded ; 

 they are of a firm texture and naked on both sides. The small and abundant 

 spore masses are irregularly scattered over the whole under- surface. — Hooker, 

 Species Filicum, v., p. 74. 



P. (Drynaria) splendens — Dryn-a'-rl-a • splen'-dens (splendid), Hooker. 



In this stove species, native of Singapore and the Philippines, the fronds, 

 which are produced from a rhizome of a woody nature, and clothed with grey 

 scales, are barren in their lower part and fertile in their upper portion only ; 

 they are almost stalkless, 2ft. to 3ft. long and 1ft. or more in breadth. The 

 barren leaflets are 4in. to Sin. long, lin. to 2in. broad, and closely set, while 

 the fertile ones, though of the same length, are distant, strap-shaped, and 

 only | in. to Jin. broad. The abundant oblong spore masses fill up the 

 whole under-surface of the fertile leaflets except the midrib. — Hooker, Sp>ecies 

 Filicum, v., p. 96. 



