212 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



Sin. to 12in. long and about ljin. broad, are narrowed at both ends ; they 

 are of a coriaceous (leathery) texture, and their upper surface is naked, while 

 their lower surface is quite hidden by imbricated or overlapping scales, shortly 

 ciliated (fringed with hairs), of a rusty colour, and frequently dark chestnut- 

 brown in the middle ; they are borne on firm stipes (stalks), 4in. to Bin. 

 long, clothed with large, ovate (egg-shaped), pale brown scales, and are pro- 

 duced from a woody, short rhizome (prostrate stem), equally covered with 

 scales of a bright chestnut-brown colour. The fertile fronds are much smaller 

 than the barren ones, but their stalks are longer. See Fig. 28. — Hooker, Species 

 Filicum, v., p. 231. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 19. 



A. (Gymnopteris) nicotianaefolium— Gym-nop'-ter-is ; ni-co-ti-a-na3- 

 fok-i-um (Tobacco-leaved), Swartz. 

 This stove species, native of Cuba, is of very easy culture and highly 

 decorative. Its barren fronds, which are from 1ft. to 3ft. in length, frequently 

 measure 1ft. in breadth, and are usually composed of a large, terminal pinna 

 (leaflet) and two or three pairs of lateral pinna? 6in to 12in. long and 

 sometimes 3in. broad, of a papyraceous (paper-like) texture, shining, and 

 with both surfaces naked ; these barren fronds are borne on stipes (stalks) 

 lift, to 2ft. long, scaly below, and are produced from a woody, wide -creeping 

 or long-trailing, scaly rhizome (prostrate stem). The fertile pinna? (fruiting 

 leaflets) are distant (set far apart), Sin. to 4in. long and about* lin. broad, 

 the basal ones j)etiolate (borne on stalks), the upper ones adnate (closely 

 attached to the stalk). — Hooker, Species Filicum, v., p. 275. Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 19. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, 

 vii., t. 50. 



A. nigrescens — nig-res'-cens (nearly black), Hooker. 



A stove species of purely botanical interest, native of British Gruiana. — 

 Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 400. 



A. Norrisii — Nor-ris'-i-i (Sir W. Norris'), Hooker. 



This stove species, from Penang, resembles A. flaccidum (flac'-cid-um) in 

 the shape of its barren fronds, but their texture is that of A. conforme 

 (con-for'-me) and A. latifolium (la-tif-oh-i-um). They are sessile (stalkless) 



