620 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



pot over a pan of water, on three inverted pots, so as to prevent its bottom 

 from touching the water, but at the same time leaving a liquid barrier of 

 a couple of inches all round to keep off intruders. 



A. (Athyrium) nigripes— Ath-yr'-i-um ; nig'-rip-es (having a black foot 

 or stalk), Blume. 



A greenhouse species, of medium dimensions, much resembling in general 

 habit A. macrocarpum, from which, however, it entirely differs by its 

 fructification — its sori (spore masses), linear-oblong in shape and often curved, 

 being disposed principally in two parallel rows close to the midrib of the 

 pinnules (leafits). It is a native of Japan, the Neilgherries, Ceylon, and 

 the Himalayas, where it is found at 10,000ft. elevation. — Hooker, Species 

 Filicum, hi., p. 227. Beddome, Ferns of Southern India, t. 157. 



A. (Euasplenium) nitens— Eu-as-ple'-nl-um ; nit'-ens (shining), Swartz. 



A very pretty, stove species, native of the Mauritius and Bourbon 

 Islands. Its fronds are l£ft. to 2ft. long, 6in. to 9in. broad, and are 

 borne on firm, erect, naked and polished stalks 6in. to 9in. long and of 

 a chestnut-brown colour ; they are furnished with from fifteen to twenty pairs 

 of ascending and nearly sickle- shaped leaflets of a leathery texture, which 

 are 4in. to 6in. long, about lin. broad, terminating in a sharp point, the 

 edge being finely toothed, the base broadly rounded on the upper, and 

 truncate in a curve on the lower, side. The sori (spore masses) are 

 disposed closely and in regular rows which do not extend more than 

 half-way from the midrib to the edge. — Hooker, Species Filicum, hi., p. 157, 

 t. 195. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 132. 



A. (Euasplenium) nitidum — Eu-as-ple'-ni-um ; nit'-id-um (shining), 

 Swartz. 



A pretty and decorative, stove species, native of the Malayan Peninsula 

 and Islands, also of British India, where, according to Beddome, it is 

 found in the Sisparah Ghat, on the Neilgherries, at 4000ft. elevation. Its 

 fronds, 2ft. to 3ft. long and 1ft. broad, are borne on firm, erect, greyish 

 stalks about 1ft. long : they are bipinnate (Fig. 119). The numerous leaflets, 

 of a leathery texture and paler in colour on the under- side, the lowest 



