ASPLENI UM. 



645 



attaining more than 2in. in length ; they are of erect habit, somewhat stiff 

 in texture, of a bright green colour, and are borne on slender, erect, naked 

 stalks 3in. to 4in. long : they are either simple or cleft from the summit into 

 two or three wedge-shaped divisions with a few sharp lateral and terminal 

 teeth (Fig. 126). The copious and elongated sori (spore masses) often hide 

 the whole under-surface of the fronds when mature. — Hooker, Species Filicum, 

 hi., p. 174. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 134. Eaton, Ferns 

 of North America, i., t. 15. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, v., t. 3a ; Our 

 Native Ferns, ii., t. 41b. 



As is the case with all other species of delicate constitution and slow 

 growth, it is necessary that the tufted crowns of the Forked Spleenwort should 

 be kept above the surface of the soil, and in potting it the essential point is to 

 secure perfect drainage. Use a mixture of peat, loam, and old mortar, in about 

 equal parts. Water sparingly, taking care to avoid any superfluous moisture. 

 The cold frame, where it may be equally sheltered from the frost and protected 

 from the direct rays of the sun, is the best place in which to keep the 

 plant in good order. A. septentrionale is not given to producing varieties. 



A. (Euasplenium) serra — Eu-as-ple'-m-um ; ser'-ra (saw-edged), 

 Langsdorff and Fischer. 

 This strikingly-beautiful, stove species, native of Brazil and Peru, also 

 found on the Cameroon Mountains and at Fernando Po, is remarkable for the 

 great size of its fronds, which frequently attain 4ft. in length and 1ft. in 

 breadth, for their vivid green colour, for their prominent fructification, 

 and for their elegantly -arching nature. These fronds, which rise from a stout, 

 creeping rhizome, are furnished with fifteen to twenty pairs of spreading 

 leaflets 4in. to 8in. long, about lin. broad, sharply toothed on their edges, 

 rounded at their base on the upper side, and wedge-shaped on the lower side. 

 The sori are disposed mostly in two parallel rows close to the midrib. — 

 Hooker, Species Filicum, hi., p. 154. Lowe, Ferns British and Exotic, v., t. 8. 



A. (Diplazium) Shepherdii — Dip-laz'-i-um ; Shep-herd'-i-i (Shepherd's), 

 Sprengel. 



A very distinct, stove species, native of Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, with 

 fronds 1ft. to ljffc. long, Bin. to 9in. broad, borne on erect, greenish stalks 



