318 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



gathered in a wild state in any other places than Madeira, Teneriffe, and 

 the Azores. It is an evergreen Fern of comparatively small dimensions, 

 having as little as possible the appearance of an Adiantum ; but its great 

 distinctness alone is sufficient to make it indispensable in any collection. Its 

 singular, leathery fronds, which are abundantly produced from a close, tufted 

 crown and borne on slender, shining stipes (stalks) of a particularly bright 

 chestnut-brown colour, 4in. to 6in. long, are essentially reniform (kidney- 

 shaped) ; they are of a brilliant shining-green colour, smooth, when fully 



Fig. 47. Adiantum reniforme 

 (i nat. size). 



developed frequently l|in. across, and their leafy portion is, at the point of 

 junction with the stalk, provided with a broad, shallow depression (Fig. 47). 

 The venation of the fronds is very delicate, conspicuous, and interesting, 

 the main veins which start from the basal depression being dichotomous 

 (repeatedly forked) until they reach the outer margin, by which time they 

 have been four times forked. The oblong sori (spore masses) are produced 

 abundantly, and are disposed in a continuous row all around the margin. — 

 Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 2, t. 71a. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 i., p. 28. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, hi., t. 2b. 



