568 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



pinnules (lea/fits) cut clown to the midrib for half the length of the pinnae 

 and then decurrent to the apex (running down to their point), being there 

 merely a row of small teeth on either side of the midrib.— Lome, Our 

 Native Ferns, ii., p. 97, hg. 423. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, 

 i., p. 130. 



It is worthy of notice that this particular form has never been found 

 wild again either in the above-mentioned or in any other locality, and 



Fig. 100. Frond of Asplenium Filix-fcemina Victoria; 



(i nat. size). 



also that, although it produces spores most abundantly, no seedlings yet 

 raised from it have been known to reproduce the typical form. In many 

 instances the seedlings partake of some of the distinctive characters, but they 

 all differ more or less, and it is through these repeated sowings that the 

 variations gracilis and lineare have been obtained. The former of these two 

 sub-varieties is distinguished by its more compact habit and by its narrower 

 fronds, which are more heavily crested. The latter has very small but 

 heavily-crested fronds and is extremely elegant. 



