452 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



A. falcinellum — fal-cin-eF-lum (finely hooked), Swartz. 



This pretty, greenhouse species, of medium growth, native of Madeira, 

 has oblong-spear-shaped fronds of a very leathery texture, 1ft. to ljffc. long 

 and 4in. to 6 in. broad, borne on somewhat slender stipes (stalks) 4in. to 

 Sin. long, densely clothed, especially below, with spear-shaped scales of 

 a blackish-brown colour. The central pinnre (leaflets) are about 3in. long 

 and Jin. broad, but they gradually become smaller towards the base and 

 summit of the frond ; they are all short-stalked, their upper side is bluntly 

 eared and their lower one obliquely truncate at the base, and their edge is 

 finely toothed like a saw. The bright green colour of the fronds, and the 

 bold nature of their large sori (spore masses), which are disposed in two long 

 rows, covered by conspicuous indusia, render this Fern one of the most 

 attractive of the whole genus. — Hooker, Species Filicum, iv., p. 10. Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 126. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, vi., t. 7. 



A. (Polystichum) flexum — Pol-ys'-tich-ura ; flex'-um (bending), Kunze. 



A noble, evergreen, stove species, native of Juan Fernandez Island, and 

 somewhat resembling A. capense in general aspect, though quite different in 

 details. Its fronds, 2ft. to 3ft. long and 9in. to 12in. broad, are borne on 

 scaly stalks about 1ft. long ; they are triangular in shape, erect, stout, 

 of a dull green colour, and tripinnate (three times divided to the midrib). 

 Their lower pinnse (leaflets), Gin. to 9in. long and 4in. to 6in. broad, are 

 spear-shaped, and their pinnules (leafits), of similar shape and of a leathery 

 texture, are cut down to the rachis (stalk of the leafy portion) below, into 

 oblong, bluntly-lobed segments Jin. long, Jin. broad, and slightly recurved. 

 The sori (spore masses) are disposed in two rows, and occupy nearly the 

 whole of the space between the edge and the midrib. The stipes (stalks) 

 and the rachis are everywhere hairy ; they are also provided with broad, 

 dark scales scattered here and there, darker and larger near the base. — 

 Hooker, Species Filicum, iv., p. 33, t. 229. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 i., p. 126. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, vi., t. 36. 



A. (Polystichum) fceniculaceum — Pol-ys'-tich-uni ; fce-nic-ul-a'-ce-um 

 (Fennel-leaved), LLooker. 

 This greenhouse species, native of Sikkim, where it is found growing wild 

 at various elevations between 7000ft. and 10,000ft., has fronds 1ft. to 2ft. 



