382 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



colour and their texture is delicately membranous. T. incisum is another name 

 for this species. — Hooker and Greville, Icones Filicum, t. 13. Lowe, Ferns 

 British and Exotic, viii., t. 10g. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 iv., p. 82. 



T. Smithii— Smith'-i-i (Smith's), Hooker. 



This elegant, drooping species, native of the Philippine Islands, somewhat 

 resembles the better-known T. tenerum. Its delicate-looking, oblong-spear- 

 shaped fronds, 4in. to Sin. long and lin. to lfan. broad, are borne on slender, 

 naked stalks lin. to 2 in. long j they are of a flaccid nature and are divided 

 three times nearly to the midrib, which is only slightly winged towards the 

 summit. The leaflets have their divisions usually simple, occasionally forked, 

 long, narrow, and very transparent. — Hooker, Species Filicum, i., p. 138 ; 

 Icones Plantarum, t. 704. 



T. (Feea) spicatum — Fe'-e-a ; spi-ca'-tum (spiked), Hedwig. 



This thoroughly distinct species, of medium dimensions, is a native of 

 the West Indies, Panama, Gruiana, and Ecuador. Its barren and fertile fronds, 

 which are produced from a tufted rootstock, are dissimilar. The barren ones, 

 spear-shaped and shorter than the others, are borne on stalks lin. to 2in. 

 long, and their leafy portion, deeply cleft nearly to the midrib, usually 

 measures 4in. to Gin. in length and ljin. in breadth ; their segments are 

 almost horizontal, oblong, and notched on the margins. The fertile fronds, 

 narrow and erect, are composed of a rachis and two rows of spore masses, 

 without any connecting membrane. This species thrives best on wood ; it 

 requires a higher temperature (65deg. to 75deg.) than most of the Trichomanes, 

 and a very humid but airy atmosphere. — Hooker, Species Filicum, i., p. 114 ; 

 Garden Ferns, t. 60. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iv., p. 82. Lowe, 

 New and Rare Ferns, t. 67c. 



T. Sprucei — Spru'-ce-i (Spruce's), Baker. 



A species much resembling the better-known T. gemmatum, but its fronds, 

 3in. to 4in. long, l|in. to 2in. broad, and of a very transparent nature, have 

 a broadly -triangular outline ; they are also more deeply divided, and their 

 segments are . distinctly flattened. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 87. 



