ASPLENIUM. 



551 



known as cristulatum of Wollaston, a beautiful dwarf form raised from 

 spores, having the extremity of its fronds multifid (much-cleft) and 

 many of the pinnules (leafits) minutely crested ; and cristato-polydactylum 

 of Stansfield, another home-raised form which may be described as a splendid 

 improvement on A. F.-f. multifidum, with short fronds ending, as well as its 

 pumas, in massive crown-like crests, rendering the plant very distinct. — 

 Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., p. 14, figs. 454 and 290. 



A. F.-f. dareoides — da'-re-o-i'-des (Darea-like), Moore. 



A very singular and quite distinct variety, originally found near Castle 

 Kelly, County Dublin. Its fronds, ljft. long and about 8in. broad, are 

 furnished with pinnas (leaflets) that overlap each other and taper to a point ; 

 their pinnules (leafits) are distinct and deeply pinnatifid (cut nearly to the 

 midrib), thus forming narrow lobes toothed only at the end, the indentations 

 being entire at their edges. The sori (spore masses) are most singularly 

 disposed in the angles of the segments, thus projecting beyond the margin 

 of the frond, and forming a single row on either side of and near to the 

 costa (midvein) ; the pinnules also bulge forward. — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, 

 ii., p. 38, fig. 322. 



A. F.-f. depauperatum — de-pau-per-a'-tum (impoverished, starved), 

 Wollaston. 



This remarkable variety, with tasselled fronds of unsymmetrical develop- 

 ment, 8in. to 12in. long and 2in. broad, was originally found near Ben Bulgen, 

 in Sligo, Ireland. The fronds terminate in a many-branched, flattish, some- 

 what fishtail- shaped head 3in. or 4in. wide, while the point of each of the 

 pinnas (leaflets), which are depauperated and irregularly laciniated, ends in from 

 three to six feathery little crests. — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., p. 42, fig. 328. 



A. F.-f. dissectum— dis-sec'-tum (dissected), Wollaston. 



A variety with very lax foliage, of elegant habit, originally found in 

 Ireland. Its fronds, although only 1ft. in length, are usually 9in. in breadth 

 and irregular in appearance ; their pinnas (leaflets) are crowded, not quite 

 equal in length, and suddenly acuminate at the apex ; their pinnules (leafits), 

 irregular in shape and size, mostly blunt egg-shaped and cut into unequally- 



