PTERIS. 



299 



divided at its summit and each division terminating in a deeply-cut or 

 fimbriated, fan- shaped crest. 



P. S. gracilis— grac'-il -is (slender), May. 



A compact and very distinct variety. Its slender, arching fronds, which 

 are of the same length as those of the typical P. serrulata, are furnished with 

 very narrow leaflets, which do not show any signs of cristation, but are of 

 a most elegant outline. 



P. S. Leyi— Ley'-i (Ley's), Moore. 



Of all the freaks of nature in connection with P. serrulata, this variety 

 is undoubtedly the most extraordinary. Its fronds, of normal size, are of 

 upright habit, and their leafy portion is reduced to a broad wing which runs 

 along the rachis and for -about lin. at the base of the leaflets. The leaflets 

 are reduced to a narrow, thread-like process 2|in. to 4in. long, curved upwards 

 and very elegant. This curious plant reproduces itself true from the spores, 

 which are disposed on the margins of the broad wing only, the other parts of 

 the leaflets never showing any sign of 

 fructification. It frequently happens 

 that among seedlings of it plants with 

 more or less crested fronds are found, 

 and this character is retained, though 

 it hardly adds to the beauty of the 

 subject. 



P. s. polydactyla— pol-yd-ac'-tyl-a 

 (many-fingered), Moore. 

 This variety, which is normal as 

 far as size and habit are concerned, 

 has all the points of its leaflets several 

 times forked and frequently much 

 lengthened out. — Nicholson, Dictionary 

 of Gardening, iii., p. 245. 



Fig. 86. Pteris serrulata tenuifolia, showing Habit and 

 portion of detached Frond 



(Habit, i nat. size ; Portion of Frond, nat. size). 



P. S. tenuifolia — ten-u-if-ol / -i-a (slender-fronded), Moore. 



Although the foliage of this light and graceful form is as fine and as 

 elegant as that of P. s. gracilis, the plant itself differs considerably from that 



