ADIANTUM. 



327 



Messrs. W. and J. Birkenhead). This is a very distinct and specially striking 

 Fern, remarkable for the beautiful reddish hue assumed by its fronds when 

 first developed, and which they retain until they are fully expanded. 



A. t. Hendersonii — Hen-der-so'-ni-i (Henderson's), Linden. 



This variety, which is of much stronger constitution than A. t. gracile, 

 differs from the typical plant principally through the blunt character 

 of the small pinnules (leafits) with which its fronds, lift, to 2ft. long, are 

 abundantly furnished. It also differs from the variety gracile in the rich 

 bronzy or metallic colour of its foliage and in its robust growth, the 

 fronds being of a semi-drooping character, which gives the plant a very 

 graceful appearance. — Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 28. Linden, 

 Illustration Horticole, xx., t. 127. 



A. tinctum — tinc'-tum (tinted), Moore. 



This pretty, dwarf species, which thrives equally well in greenhouse or 

 in stove temperature, is a native of the Andes of Peru. It is intermediate 

 between A. rubellum and A. Wagneri {A. decorum of commerce), but its 

 elegant fronds, 6in. to 9in. long, borne on slender, black stalks 4in. to 6in. 

 long, and produced in profusion from a central, tufted crown, are less 

 divided than those of the latter species. They are also much narrower, 

 bipinnate (twice divided to the midrib), and their lower pinnules (leafits) 

 are closely wrapped over the stalk. When in a young state the pinnules are 

 of a delicate rosy-red tint, and they change with age to a bright green 

 colour. This species is also the smallest of the known Adiantums with 

 coloured foliage. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 474. Nicholson, Dictionary 

 of Gardening, i., p. 28. 



A. trapeziforme— trap-e-zif-or'-me (rhomb -shaped), Linnceus. 



This well-known, delicate-looking, yet bold-growing, stove species, much 

 appreciated by the floral decorator as well as by the collector, is a native 

 of Tropical America, and its geographical range extends from Mexico and 

 the West Indies southward to Brazil. Its handsome fronds, which are 

 produced from a slowly-creeping, underground rhizome (prostrate stem) and 

 borne on firm, upright, black, shining stipes (stalks) 6in. to 12in. long 



