214 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



A. (Polybotrya) osmundaceum— Pol-yb-ot' -ry-a ; os-mun-da'-ce-uin 

 ( Osmunda-like) , Hooker. 

 This evergreen, stove species, native of Ecuador and South Brazil, may 

 justly be considered as the handsomest of all the Acrostichums (Ac-ros'- 

 tich-ums) of scandent habit, climbing as it does, in St. Catharine Island, 

 more than 20ft. up the trunks of trees, of which it eventually takes entire 



fig. 29. Acrostichum osmundaceum. 



( r V nat. size). 



possession. The barren and the fertile fronds in this beautiful species are 

 entirely different, though both are produced in abundance from a dark, scaly, 

 stout, creeping rhizome (prostrate stem) of a woody nature. The barren ones 

 are ample, tripinnate (three times divided to the midrib), and their lower 

 pinnee (leaflets), IJft. to 2ft. long and 6in. to Sin. broad, are of a leathery 



