386 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



A. dentata— den-ta'-ta (toothed). Synonymous with A. fdiformis. 



A. (Coptophyllum) diehotoma — Copt-oph-yF-1 um ; dich-ot'-om-a 

 (dichotomous or divided in twos), Gardner. 

 In this stove species, native of Brazil, the barren and the fertile fronds 

 are quite distinct. The barren ones are borne on firm, upright, densely-tufted 

 stipes (stalks) of a peculiarly slender nature ; their leafy portion is only 

 about 2in. long and lin. broad, oblong in shape, and tripinnate (three times 

 divided to the midrib) ; their segments or sub-divisions, two to three lines 

 long and of almost leathery texture, are filiform (thread-like) and repeatedly 

 forked. The fertile fronds, borne on stalks 3in. to 4in. long, consist of 

 contracted segments forming a panicle 2in. to 3in. long, with the lower 

 branches elongated. — Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 435. 



A. Dregeana— Dre-ge-a'-na (Drege's), Kunze. 



A stove species, native of Natal. Its fronds are borne on firm, slightly 

 hairy stipes (stalks) 8in. to 12in. long ; their barren portion, 8in. to 12in. 

 long and 2in. to 3in. broad, is formed of from eight to twelve pairs of pinnae 

 (leaflets), which are lin. to ljin. long, Jin. to fin. broad, unequal at the 

 base, with their upper side somewhat heart-shaped, and their margin con- 

 spicuously toothed. These leaflets are of almost leathery texture, and their 

 surfaces and rachis (stalk of the leafy portion) are covered with fine hairs : 

 they show a distinct midrib often half-way to their summit. The fertile 

 portion, situated at the base of the barren one, is composed of contracted 

 segments, disposed in a panicle 3in. to 4in. long, with lower branches 



stretched out, and is borne on a stalk 3in. to 4in. long. See Fig. 54. 



Hooker, Synopsis Filicum, p. 431. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 i., p. 73. 



A. filiformis — fi-lif-or'-mis (thread-like), Presl. 



A stove species, native of the West Indies and Brazil, also known in 

 gardens as A. dentata. Its fronds are of a very thin, papery texture, finely 

 hairy on both surfaces, borne on peculiarly slender stipes (stalks) 2in. to 3in. 

 long, which are also of a slightly hairy nature. The barren portion, Sin. 

 to 4in. long and lin. to lfin. broad, is formed of from six to eight pairs of 

 pinnas (leaflets), only two to three lines broad, with nearly their own breadth 



