SELAGINELLA. 



429 



S. suberosa — sub-e-ro'-sa (somewhat gnawed), Spring. 



A greenhouse species, native of the Khasya Mountains, Sikkim, Assam, &c., 

 with densely-tufted, somewhat upright stems, often above 1ft. long, pale shining 

 brown, branched, and having root-fibres extending sometimes half-way up them. 

 The leaves of the lower plane are oblique-spear-shaped, sharp-pointed, very 

 distant and spreading on the main stem, bright green, unequal-sided, broadly 

 rounded, and shortly ciliated ; those of the upper plane are half as long, 

 oblong in shape, with a distinct, sharp point. The fruiting spikes, copiously 

 produced, are Jin. to fin. long and resupinate (so turned and twisted that the 

 parts that are naturally undermost become uppermost). — Baker, Handbook of 

 the Fern-Allies, p. 119. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, hi., p. 412. 



S. sulcata — sul-ca'-ta (furrowed), Spring. 



This small, greenhouse species is said to be very common in Southern 

 Brazil. The stems, trailing in the lower half, are usually upright in their 

 upper half, flat on the back, deeply twice -furrowed down the face, and jointed 

 at the nodes. The fruiting spikes are square and Jin. to Jin. long. — Baker, 

 Handbook of the Fern-Allies, p. 63. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 hi., p. 412. 



S. tassellata— tas-sel-la'-ta (tasselled), Bull. 



A stove species, as beautiful as it is thoroughly distinct from all others 

 in cultivation (see Plate, for which we are indebted to Mr. Wm. Bull). Its 

 erect stems, of a fleshy nature, are pinnately branched from their base to their 

 extremity, and the branches and their branchlets are flat. The leaves, with 

 which the branches are densely furnished, are sharp-pointed, of a pale green 

 colour, stiff in texture, and overlap the stem. The fruiting spikes, abundantly 

 produced, conspicuously pendent, and unusually long, are quadrangular, and 

 greatly add to the beauty of the plant, to which they impart a tasselled 

 appearance. This species is a native of Brazil. — Nicholson, Dictionary of 

 Gardening, iv., p. 602. 



S. texta — tex'-ta (woven). A variety of S. involvens. 



S. umbrosa — um-bro'-sa (shade-loving). This is a garden synonym of 

 S. erythropus. 



