252 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



(for which we are indebted to Messrs. W. and J. Birkenhead). — Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 24. 



A. bellum— bel'-lum (handsome), Moore. 



A greenhouse species, of small dimensions, native of Bermuda. Its short, 

 tufted fronds, oin. to 6in. long, including the stalks, are bipinnate (twice cut 

 down to the midrib) and furnished with pinnas (leaflets) composed of five 

 or six pinnules (leafits) only ; the pinna? are cuneate (wedge-shaped) ; the 

 terminal ones, of the same shape, are lobed, with their margins erose (gnawed) 

 all round them, and all are borne on short stalks. The sori (spore masses) are 

 roundish, or sub-lunate (crescent or half-moon shaped), disposed by two or 

 three on the smaller pinnules only. — Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 i., p. 24. 



A. Bennettii — Ben-net'-ti-i (Bennett's), Carruthers. 



In this distinct, stove species, from the Sandwich Islands, the fronds, 

 about 1ft. long, and borne on black, naked stalks, are deltoid (in form like 

 the Greek delta, A), twice or three times divided to the midrib, and furnished 

 with numerous pinnules (leafits), broader than deep, ^in. to fin. broad, entire 

 (undivided), of a somewhat rounded, heart shape, and borne on pedicels 

 (stalks) three to four lines long. These pinnules are of a membranous (thin and 

 transparent) texture, with their upper surface glabrous (smooth), while their 

 under-side is densely bristly. The sori (spore masses) in this singular species 

 are reniform (kidney- shaped), one to two lines broad, and are crowded round 

 the outer border of the pinnules (leafits), where they are disposed from six 

 to ten on each fertile segment. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 473. 



A. Birkenheadii — Birk-en-head'-i-i (Birkenhead's), Moore. 



This is undoubtedly one of the handsomest of the numerous Ferns of 

 garden origin, and thrives equally well in the intermediate or in the warm 

 house. Its handsome fronds, produced from a tufted crown, are tripinnate 

 (three times divided to the midrib), about 2|ft. long, including their stalks, 

 and 1ft. broad. Their pinna? (leaflets) are alternate (apparently disposed 

 without regularity), distant and long-stalked towards the base, closer set 

 together and sessile (stalkless) near the apex ; the lower ones are bipinnate 



