ASPLENIUM. 



587 



the Azores, and Tenerrffe ; it is much more commonly known by the name 

 of A. palmatum on account of the peculiar shape of its fronds, which are 

 borne on firm, naked, dark-coloured stipites (stalks) 4in. to Sin. long. 

 These fronds, 4in. to 6in. each way, usually lOin. high, and of a papery 

 texture, are composed of a triangular, sharp terminal lobe and of two large, 

 cordate (heart-shaped), pointed lateral ones, which are again sometimes 

 bluntly, sometimes acutely, lobed at the base, and these basal lobes on each 

 side overlap one another and the stalk. The very abundant sori (spore 

 masses) affect the form of a narrow line about ljin. long, disposed on each 

 vein, giving the fronds the appearance of being striped in long hues all 

 over their under-surface. This plant must not be mistaken for the "West 

 Indian Hemionitis palmata, for, while there is a great similarity in names, 

 which has caused a certain amount of confusion, there does not exist 

 the slightest analogy between the two subjects, unless it is simply in the 

 ivy-leaved shape of their fronds. — Hooker, Species Filicum, hi., p. 91. 

 Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 131. Lowe, Ferns British and 

 Exotic, v., t. 6. 



This singular Fern, as pretty as it is curious, has produced two quite 

 distinct varieties : A. H. cristatum, in every respect resembling the species, 

 with the addition of a large crest at the extremity of each frond ; and 

 A. H. multifidum (see Plate), the fronds of which are quite as broad as they 

 are long and have their main divisions again freely divided or deeply cut, 

 which, gives them quite a fringed outline. 



A. (Diplazium) herbaceum — Dip-laz'-i-um ; her-ba'-ce-um (soft), 

 Baker. 



An arborescent, stove species, native of Rio Janeiro. Its ample fronds 

 are four times pinnatifid (cut clown half-way to the midrib) and are furnished 

 with pinna? (leaflets) of a soft texture and from lift, to 2ft. long. The 

 pinnae are divided into distinctly-stalked, spear-shaped, bright green pinnules 

 (leafits) 4in. to 6in. long and lin. to Sin. broad; and the latter are again 

 cut into stalkless pinnatifid segments with close, blunt lobes. The sori 

 (spore masses), about one-and-a-half lines long, touch the midrib but fall 

 short of the edge. This species is also known as A. Glasiovii. — Hooker, 

 Synopsis Filicum, p. 492. 



