354 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



A. excelsa — ex-cel'-sa (tall), Brown. 



This splendid, greenhouse species, native of Norfolk Island, and which, 

 according to Nicholson, proves nearly hardy in the neighbourhood of Cornwall, 

 is a very rapid grower, and is said to form, in its native habitat, trunks from 

 60ft. to 80ffc. high. Its ample fronds, of a dark green above and paler 

 green beneath, are borne on stipes (stalks) of a rough nature, and their 

 primary pinna? (principal leaflets), lift, to 2ft. long and Gin. to lOin. broad, 

 are, when young, densely clothed with rusty- coloured hairs intermixed with 

 small scales of a darker colour. The numerous pinnules (leafits) are set 

 close together, oblong-spear-shaped, acuminate (ending in a tapering point), 

 and so deeply pinnatifid that they are frequently cut down to their midrib ; 

 the segments which are thus formed are narrow, sickle- shaped, and have their 

 margins recurved (bent inwards) and toothed like a saw, those of the barren 

 fronds being larger and of a paler green than those of the fertile ones, which 

 are also of a more leathery texture. The sori (spore masses) are plentifully 

 disposed close to the midrib of the fertile segments. — Hooker, Species Filicum, 

 i., p. 49, t. 18a. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 56. 



A. excelsa is essentially a decorative Fern, growing larger and quicker 

 than A. australis : young plants of it are every year sacrificed in enormous 

 quantities for indoor decoration, as very little time is required from the 

 seedling state to get them sufficiently strong to be useful for that purpose ; 

 but those home-raised seedlings which are kept and grown on, soon form 

 short stems or trunks, producing fine heads of massive yet gracefully -arching 

 fronds, often reaching 4ft. in length. When in that state A. excelsa is 

 a most effective plant for sub-tropical gardening, for which purpose it 

 is extensively used. 



A. falcata — fal-ca'-ta (sickle -shaped), Mettenius. 



A very little-known, stove species, native of the Island of Gorgona, 

 where it was discovered by Dr. Seemann. Its ample fronds, borne on smooth, 

 grey-coloured stalks, are tripinnatifid (three times divided half-way to the 

 midrib), of a moderately firm texture, and have both surfaces perfectly 

 smooth. The primary pinna? (principal leaflets) are spear-shaped, ljft. to 

 2ft. long and 3in. to 3|in. broad ; they are furnished with stalkless, sickle- 

 shaped pinnules (leafits) Jin. broad, cut about half-way down into close, 



