ASPLENIUM. 



485 



(leaflets), which are oblong-spear-shaped and of a leathery texture, 4in. to 

 6in. long, ljin. to 2in. broad, and divided into numerous unequal-sided 

 pinnules (leafits), which end in a long, tapering point. The sori (spore 

 masses) are disposed in two rows in the upper part of the pinnules. — Hooker, 

 Species Filicum, hi., p. 183, t. 206. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 i., p. 127. 



A. acutum — ac-u'-tuin (acute). A very distinct form of A. Adiantum- 

 nigrum. 



A. (Euasplenium) adiantoides — Eu-as-ple'-m-um ; ad-i-ant-o-i'-des 

 (Adiantum-like), Raddi. 

 A stove species, of somewhat large dimensions, native of Jamaica and 

 Brazil, and distinguished in the group of bulbiferum, to which it belongs, by 

 its distant and long-stalked pinnae and pinnules (leaflets and leafits). Its 

 handsome fronds, ljft. to 2ft. in length and Sin. to 15in. broad, are borne 

 on firm, naked stalks of a grey colour. They are deltoid (in the shape of 

 the Greek delta, A) and quadripinnate (four times divided to the midrib). The 

 lower pinnaB, 6in. to 9in. long and 4in. to 6in. broad, are distant, and are 

 furnished on each side with pinnules borne on comparatively long stalks ; 

 these are in their turn subdivided into numerous cuneate (wedge-shaped) 

 divisions. The texture is herbaceous (very soft and succulent), and the 

 abundant sori (spore masses) are linear (disposed in a long and narrow slit). 

 — Hooker, Species Filicum, hi., p. 186. 



A. (Euasplenium) Adiantum-nigrum — Eu-as-ple'-ni-um • Ad-i-ant'- 

 uin-nig'-rum (Black Maidenhair Spleen wort), Linnceus. 

 This hardy, evergreen species is of quite a cosmopolitan character, for 

 while it is well known as a native Fern in most parts of the British 

 Islands, where it occurs on rocks and on old walls as well as on sandy 

 banks from the sea-level to the altitude of nearly 2000ft., it is also found 

 in quantities almost all over the world. It is plentiful in Northern Europe, 

 in Scandinavia, Russia, and Denmark, as well as in France, Belgium, 

 Germany, and Switzerland, while it is known to grow most luxuriantly 

 under warmer conditions in Spain and Portugal, in Corsica, Madeira, and 

 other places. In Asia it is known to occur in Siberia, Arabia, and Armenia, 



