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as the said character is not shared by any of the Aspleniums, or Spleen- 

 worts, of British origin, whereas nearly all the species of exotic origin have 

 it more or less extensively developed. Foremost among these is the popular 

 A. dimorphum (biforme, diver sifoliv/m), from the Norfolk Islands, which, 

 probably, is also the strongest-growing kind contained in its genus. The 

 fronds, from 3ft. to 4ft. in length, are, as the name indicates, of two forms ; 

 according to their barren or fertile characters, these are bipinnate, with 

 broad pinnae in the former case, whereas the fertile parts are much more 

 finely divided, tripinnate, and of a bright shining green colour. It frequently 

 happens with this curious and highly decorative plant, that the lower 

 portion of the frond is barren, while the upper part is fertile, and, therefore, 

 much more finely divided. The evergreen nature and vigorous growth of 

 this species render it one of the most valuable among all Ferns grown for 

 indoor cultivation. 



From New Zealand we have also the evergreen A. bulbiferum, of 

 equally rapid growth, although shorter in all its parts than the preceding 

 species. Smaller still is A, Coletisoi (ffookerianum), also from New Zealand. 

 This species, of particularly compact habit, is probably the most proliferous 

 of all the Aspleniums ; for the young plants of it, even when in quite a small 

 state, have their little fronds literally covered with very small bulbils. In 

 A. jlaccidum we have another New Zealand species extensively partaking of 

 the viviparous character ; for its bipinnate, leathery fronds, from 2ft. to 3ft. 

 in length, and of a very pleasing colour and elegantly pendulous habit, 

 are, when mature, thickly studded with young bulbils all over their upper 

 surface. A. compressum, a rare species from St. Helena, is distinct from 

 all others on account of its thick and simply pinnate fronds, which are of a 

 very fleshy texture, and are covered all over their upper surface with young 

 plants. Among the dwarfer forms of this remarkably proliferous genus, the 

 lovely A. viviparum, from the Mauritius, occupies the most prominent 

 place. Its fronds, which seldom exceed 1ft. in length, are very finely 

 divided ; their colour is of a particularly dark green, unknown in most 

 other Aspleniums, unless it be in A. Belangeri {Veitchianuni) , a West 

 Indian species, producing, from an erect caudex, elegant, feather-like fronds 

 from 15in. to 20in. long, which, like those of A. viviparum, are at times 

 covered with adventitious growth. 



