98 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



roof, or on pillars covered with cork-bark, in which these singular Ferns grow 

 luxuriantly. Platyceriums form a small but widely-diffused genus of Ferns, 

 all of which are provided with two totally different kinds of fronds, the barren 

 ones being, in most cases, similar in size, as also in their rounded or sub- 

 orbicular shape and convex disposition • while the fertile ones, on the contrary, 

 differ according to the species to which they belong in their size, which is 

 very variable, in their more or less dichotomously -forked nature, and in 

 their habit, which, in some species, is erect or sub-erect, while in others 

 it is quite drooping. Elk's -horn and Stag's -horn Ferns — all of which are of 

 an epiphytal nature — may be considered as not only the most curious, but also 

 the most beautiful and the most extraordinary, subjects of the whole order. 

 From a purely decorative point of view, the commonest species, Platy cerium 

 alcicorne, and the rarest, P. grande, are, undoubtedly, the most useful. The 

 fronds of the former are abundantly produced, but seldom exceed 2^ft. in 

 length ; they are three or four times dichotomously divided, and their under 

 surface is thinly covered with a substance of a cottony or downy nature, which 

 gradually disappears as the fronds reach maturity ; their upper surface is of 

 a glossy, dark green colour, which they retain as long as they remain on the 

 plants. In the second case, the fertile fronds frequently attain fully 6ft. in 

 length ; and through their pendulous habit, and the peculiar disposition of their 

 elongated, dichotomously -forked divisions, these singular organs give the 

 plants an appearance which is indeed anything but that of a Fern. 



The genus Hemionitis is another in which the subjects, mostly of tropical 

 origin, are all of curious yet of elegant appearance ; whether we refer to the 

 charming little H. cor data, with its neat little heart-shaped fronds, or to 

 the equally singular H. palmata, whose curious fronds, 2in. to 6in. wide, 

 are formed of five divisions, all of nearly equal dimensions. Again, the 

 peculiar H. hedercefolia, the fronds of which are about 3in. each way, and 

 palmate, is a perfect curiosity. As is the case in the preceding species, 

 the fronds are formed of five lobes ; but these, instead of being of equal 

 dimensions, vary in so far that the two outer, or lateral ones, are shorter 

 and less acute than the others, and have a particularly spreading disposition, 

 which gives them quite the appearance of an ivy -leaf. 



How unlike Ferns are the species comprised in the genus Schizcea, 

 all of which are plants of comparatively small dimensions, and of very 



