354 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



T. (Leptopteris) plumosa— Lep-top'-ter-is ; plu-mo'-sa (feathery), Moore. 



A very pretty seedling, raised in Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons' nursery, 

 where a considerable number of plants of identical character, but differing 

 from the supposed parent, have been obtained from a sowing of T. superba. 

 We can only suppose they are accidental hybrids, brought into existence by 

 the casual intermixture of spores of some other Todea with those which were 

 purposely sown. T. plumosa is of dwarf, compact habit, and of a pale green 

 colour when young. The surface of the fronds is moderately bristly with the 

 small, erect segments, as in T. intermedia, but the fronds are shorter and 



Fig. 707, Todea superba 

 (much reduced). 



more egg-shaped, and the stalks are also wanting in the woolly nature which 

 is peculiar to that plant. — Thomas Moore in Gardeners' Chronicle, May 4, 

 1878, p. 565. 



T. riYUlaris — ri-vul-a'-ris (brook-loving). Synonymous with T. barbara. 



T. (Leptopteris) superba — Lep-top'-ter-is ; sup-erb'-a (superb), Colenso. 



This remarkable plant, known in gardens as the " Crape Fern," the 

 " Prince of Wales's Feather Fern," and the " New Zealand Filmy Fern," 

 is undoubtedly the most striking as well as the most beautiful species 



