656 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



A. T. ramosum — ra-mo'-sum (branched), Wollaston. 



This much -branched variety, with the stalks twice or three times forked 

 and the terminal lobes often enlarged and multifid (much-cleft), was originally 

 found at ISTewte's Hill, near Tiverton, and somewhat abundantly near Ilfra- 

 combe, in Devonshire, and subsequently on Quin Abbey, County Clare ; near 

 Windermere, near Keswick, and in Owsnip Grill, in Swaledale, Yorkshire. — 

 Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., p. 202, fig. 549. 



The foregoing are all crested, branched, or forked forms, and, with the 

 exception of A. T. eristatum and A. T. ramosum, which reproduce themselves 

 freely from spores, they can only be increased by the division of the crowns. 

 Of the non-crested forms of A. Trichomanes, some are really very pretty and 

 interesting : the following are among the most distinct : 



A. T. COnfluens — con'-flu-ens (joining), Moore. 



This strikingly-distinct form, of somewhat smaller dimensions than the 

 typical plant, is remarkable for its crowded, overlapping leaflets and the 

 conspicuously -confluent extremity of its fronds, seldom more than 3in. long. 

 It was originally found at Levens, Milnthorp. — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., 

 p. 207, fig. 560. 



A. T. imbricatum — iin-bric-a'-tum (overlapping), Clapham. 



A curious and very pretty variety, of particularly dwarf habit, its 

 fronds seldom exceeding 3in. in length. The leaflets are distinctly but 

 minutely stalked, their edges are prettily toothed, and they are disposed 

 so close together as to overlap each other. It was originally discovered at 

 Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and has not been found in any other locality. — 

 Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., p. 212, fig. 570. 



A. T. incisum — in-ci'-sum (cut), Moore. 



This, the most beautiful form of the Maidenhair Spleenwort and a perfect 

 little gem in itself, has been found wild in various localities far apart from 

 one another. It was originally discovered in Devonshire, then at Kent 

 Clough, near Burley, Lancashire ; in Burrowdale, Cumberland ; in Jersey ; in 

 County Clare, Ireland; and near Pyle, in Glamorganshire. The most singular 

 statement on record respecting this pretty little Fern, however, comes from 



