566 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



A. F.-f. uncum — un'-cum (hooked), Moore. 



A most interesting variety, of slender habit and somewhat small dimen- 

 sions, originally found wild in Levens Park. Its delicate fronds, about lOin. 

 long and 3in. broad at their widest part, are furnished with about fifteen pairs 

 of narrow leaflets divided into pinnules (leafits) that are cut down to the 

 midrib and stand out prominently in various directions, being frequently bent 

 back like a hook. The sori (spore masses) being situated near the mid vein 

 at the base of the denticulations, and therefore on the edge, give the plant 

 the appearance of being suprasoriferous (bearing its spores on the upper 

 surface). — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., p. 91, fig. 411. 



There is a sub-variety of the above called uncum ramosum, and differing 

 from uncum only in its fronds being of larger dimensions and in their leaflets 

 as well as their summit being branched. 



A. F.-f. Yelutinum— vel-u-ti'-num (velvety), Moore. 



This beautiful, densely-branched variety, raised from spores of A. F.-f. 

 acrocladon, is of dwarfer habit than its parent. It is also more compact- 

 growing, and this, coupled with the finely -divided character of the extremities 

 of the leaflets, gives the plant the appearance of a ball of green velvet. The 

 crested summit of each frond, when fully developed, is about 3|in. across. — 

 Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, iv., p. 496. 



A. F.-f. Yernoniae— Ver-non'-i-a? (Mrs. Vernon's), Jervis. 



One of the most interesting, most distinct, and prettiest varieties known 

 among non-crested forms of the Lady Fern, on account of its broad, semi- 

 pinnatifid pinnules (leafits divided half-way to the rachis), which, like those of 

 A. F.-f. conioides and A F.-f. latifolium, partake of a frilled character peculiar 

 to few varieties only. This very decorative plant, which was originally found 

 wild in Staffordshire, bears fronds 2£ft. or more in length and 4in. to 6in. 

 broad ; these are furnished with spear-shaped pinnae (leaflets) somewhat 

 closely set, esj)ecially in the upper portion of the frond, where they frecpiently 

 overlap. The pinnules into which they are subdivided are egg-shaped, short- 

 stalked, deeply -toothed, broad, leafy, and so deeply cut as to be nearly 

 pinnatifid. When in a young state and only partially developed, this form 

 somewhat resembles conioides; but in addition to the great difference in point 



