ADIANTUM. 



333 



outer edge : yet, under the names of A* falcatum of Swartz, A. oblique- 

 truncatum of Fee, and A. varium of Willdenow, as also under the garden 

 appellation of A. rhomboideum, several plants in every respect identical with 

 this species are found in collections. A. villosum is a robust grower and a 

 very ornamental Fern, whose massive fronds rise from a slowly -creeping, 

 underground rhizome (prostrate stem) of the thickness of a goose-quill and 

 of a decidedly woody nature. They are borne on upright, blackish stalks 

 9in. to 12in. long and of a downy nature, and consist of a terminal central 

 pinna (leaflet) and several spreading pinnae on each side 6in. to 12in. long 

 and ljin. to 2in. broad ; these are furnished with pinnules (leafits) of a 

 coriaceous (leathery) texture and of a bright green colour, dimidiate (fully 

 developed on one side of the midrib and scarcely at all on the other), about 

 lin. long and Jin. broad, their lower line nearly straight, the upper line 

 nearly parallel with it but considerably larger, slightly toothed, and the 

 outer edge auricled (eared) at the base. The rachis (stalk of the leafy 

 portion of the frond) is conspicuously clothed with light brown down. — 

 Hooker, Species Filicum, ii., p. 18. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 L, p. 29. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, iii., t. 18. 



A. Wagneri — Wag'-ner-i (Wagner's), Mettenius. 



As a purely decorative Fern, this greenhouse species, native of the 

 Andes of Peru and more extensively known as A. decorum (under which 

 name it has been described by Moore), may be considered as one of the most 

 valuable species in cultivation. In general appearance it may be said to 

 rank midway between A. cuneatum and A. concinnum. The fronds, larger 

 in all their parts than those of the first-named species, are produced in the 

 same way from a close, tufted crown : they are from 9in. to 15in. long, 

 tripinnate (three times divided to the midrib), and borne on black, shining 

 stipes (stalks) 4in. to Gin. long. The pinnules (leafits) have their lower 

 border straight in a line with the stalk, the inner border overlapping the 

 rachis (stalk of the leafy portion of the frond), and their outer border 

 distinctly lobed. The round or slightly kidney-shaped sori (spore masses) 

 are disposed at the extremity of the lobes, from four to six being found on 

 each pinnule. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 473. Nicholson, Dictionary of 

 Gardening, i., p. 26. 



