608 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



to our stove plants, though it grows very well and forms ■ splendid specimens 

 in the cool and intermediate houses, pits, vineries, &c. A. marinum proves 

 one of the handsomest Ferns in cultivation when planted in the temperate 

 Fernery, where its shining and durable fronds, of a particularly leathery 

 texture, show to great advantage, and are rendered still more striking by the 

 purplish-black colour of their stalks, which, on account of their robust nature, 

 entirely differ from all others of our native Ferns. Although in its natural 

 state the Sea Spleenwort appears to require very little nourishment for its 

 maintenance, and although when cultivated its young seedlings will often 

 make their appearance and, if left undisturbed, grow luxuriantly in places 

 where scarcely a particle of soil is to be found, yet it is more satisfactory to 

 plant it in a compost of three parts fibrous peat and one of sand, with 

 thorough drainage. 



The various situations in which this species is found in its wild state 

 naturally account for the slight variations in the general appearance of some 

 of the specimens. Some very distinct varieties, mostly, if not all, of natural 

 production, are in cultivation ; the following are the most distinct and at the 

 same time those which remain most constant : 



A. HI. COronans — cor-o'-nans (crowned), Moore. 



This is a very pretty, dwarf form, with fronds seldom more than Gin. 

 long and simply pinnate. For about two-thirds of the way the leaflets, 

 irregularly lobed and cut, are variable in form ; the upper third is freely 

 branched, with numerous overlapping, curled, and slightly-crested divisions, 

 forming a dense head Sin. or more in diameter. — Nicholson, Dictionary of 

 Gardening, i., p. 132. 



A. m. crenatum — cre-na'-tum (notched), Moore. 



A pretty variety, with fronds Gin. to Sin. long, broadly spear-shaped, and 

 furnished with blunt leaflets that are nearly trapeziform and deeply notched 

 on their margins. — Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 132. 



A. m. imbricatum — im-bric-a'-tum (imbricated or overlapping), Lowe. 



This very distinct, dwarf form was raised from spores in the neighbour- 

 hood of Birmingham. Its fronds, seldom more than Gin. long, are distinct 



