508 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



near the White River, in North America. According to Eaton, it is very 

 variable in the shape of its fronds as well as in the degree of incision of their 

 pinnae (leaflets) ; the narrower and less-divided forms have some resemblance 

 to the better-known A. ebenum, while the larger forms have so much of the 

 appearance of A. lanceolatum as to suggest its being a hybrid between these 

 two species. The fronds are abundantly produced, and are borne on stalks 

 2m. to Bin. long, polished, and nearly black, which colour continues up to 

 the middle part of the frond, except in the smaller specimens ; they are 

 usually pinnate, but in fully-developed specimens are frequently pinnatifid 

 (cut down part of the way to the midrib) and even bipinnate (twice divided 

 to the midrib) ; they are from 5in. to 7in. long, oblong-spear-shaped, and 

 furnished with eight to twelve pairs of pinna, the lower ones the largest, and 

 all of them short-stalked and more or less deeply toothed. The sori (spore 

 masses) are short and subcostular (placed close to the midvein of the fertile 

 pinnae).— Eaton, Ferns of North America, ii., p. 39, t. 51. Hooker, Synopsis 

 Filicum,, p. 487. 



A. (Euasplenium) brasiliense — Eu-as-ple'-ni-um ; bras-il-I-en'-se 

 (from Brazil), Moore and Houlston. 

 A stove species, native of Brazil and other parts of South America, 

 with simple (undivided) fronds, like those of the popular Bird's-nest Fern, 

 A. Nidus, and produced from an erect crown ; they are from 1ft. to 3ft. 

 long, of a deep green colour, smooth, leathery, slightly undulated, and their 

 leafy portion extends nearly to the crown itself, as the somewhat scaly stipes 

 (stalks) are seldom more than lin. long. The form of the fronds is that of 

 an elongated spear-head ; they are smooth on the margins and proliferous 

 at their extremity. The sori (spore masses) are situated on the lateral veins, 

 and extend from near the midrib half-way to the edge of the frond, and this 

 fructification, being prettily shown on the thick, fleshy, green fronds, renders 

 the plant particularly attractive. — Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, v., t. 15b. 



A. (Athyrium) brevisorum — Ath-yr'-i-uin ; brev-is-o'-runi (having 

 sori disposed in short patches), Wallich. 

 A stove species, from Ava, Mishmee, and the Sandwich Islands, 

 somewhat like A. achilleaifolium, but much larger and more divided. Its 



