FERNS. 



291 



COOL-HOUSE SPECIES. 



T. alatum, from the West Indies, Columbia, and 

 Brazil, is a handsome species with lanceolate or 

 ovate-lanceolate, twice or thrice-cut fronds of a deli- 

 cately membranaceous texture ; it has tufted stipes 

 two to four inches long, the fronds measuring from 

 three to twelve inches long by one to four inches 

 broad. In size and amount of hairiness this varies 

 a great deal ; the larger-growing forms make very 

 beautiful specimen plants. T. auriculatum has a 

 strong, wide-creeping, hairy rhizome, and nearly 

 sessile, twice-cut, olive-green, firm-textured fronds, 

 six to twelve inches in length by one and a half to 

 two inches in breadth ; it is a native of Japan, 

 Fonnosa, North Hindostan, the Philippines, Java, 

 and Guiana. T. exsectum, an elegant species from 

 South Chili, Chiloe, and Juan Fernandez, has a 

 widely - creeping, slender, tomentose rhizome, and 

 slender naked stipes one to three inches long, with 

 finely-cut, lanceolate, pendent, flaccid fronds of a 

 membranaceous texture; in size these vary from 

 six to twelve inches in length by one or two inclies 

 in breadth. T. maximum is a noble plant with very 

 finely -divided sub-rigid fronds, which are ovate in 

 outline, and measure from a foot to a foot and a half 

 in length by six to nine inches in breadth ; the 

 creeping rhizome is stout and the stipes are strong 

 and erect, varying from three to six inches in length. 

 This species is a native of Java, Borneo, and the 

 Polynesian Islands. Extremely unlike any of the 

 species hitherto mentioned is T. parvulum, a charm- 

 ing little plant which was first exhibited a few years 

 ago by Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons at one of the 

 London shows; it has small, dark green fronds — 

 orbicular in general outline — measuring from a 

 quarter to half an inch across. These are cut into 

 narrow irregular segments, and are produced in pro- 

 fusion from the wide-creeping interlacing rhizome ; 

 the plant thrives on pieces of porous stone. 1\ 

 Fetersii, a tiny species which is at present somewhat 

 rare in cultivation, has crenate or slightly-lobed 

 fronds — varying in shape from linear to obovate — 

 which make a dense carpet of dark green on the 

 moist porous stones on which the plant luxuriates. 

 The only locality given for this species in the 

 " SjTiopsis Filicum" is "near a waterfall in Winston 

 CO., Alabama, U.S.A." T. pi/xidlfe7->rm, a variable 

 species found everywhere throughout the tropics of 

 both hemispheres, is perhaps one of the most widely- 

 cultivated members of the genus ; it has widely- 

 creeping, rather slender, tomentose rhizomes, and 

 ovate-oblong, thrice-cut fronds, one to six inches 

 long by an inch to one and a half broad. Perhaps 

 of all filmy ferns the Killarney Fern, T. radicans, is 

 cultivated by the greatest number of gardeners, 

 amateur and professional. It has a remarkably wide 



geographical distribution, being found in West 

 Europe, tropical Africa and America, Himalaya, 

 Japan, and Polynesia. In the last edition of the 

 "Student's Flora," the distribution of the scries in 

 the British Isles is given as follows : Wet shaded 

 rocks, Killarney, York, S. Wales, ArgyU, Arran." In 

 all probability the Bristle Fern no longer exists in 

 some of the localities just mentioned, owing to the 

 destructive zeal of collectors. T. radicans varies 

 somewhat in a wild state even in this country, and 

 to a great extent in the tropics, one of the more dis- 

 tinct of the numerous named forms which must be 

 referred as varieties to T. radicans being T. Luschna- 

 tianmn, a handsome plant with lanceolate pointed, 

 quite sessile fronds. 



T. reniforme, with its peculiar kidney - shaped 

 entire fronds, is quite different in habit and general 

 aspect from all the other species of the genus. It is 

 a native of New Zealand, and is the only Trichomanes 

 in which the frond has four layers of cellules. One 

 of the most graceful and delicate of all is T. trichoi- 

 deicm, with thrice-cut, bright green, membranaceous 

 fronds, the pinnules being cut into distant hair-like 

 segments. When each segment bears at its tip a 

 drop of condensed moisture the aspect of the plant is 

 very beautiful. It is a native of the West Indian 

 Islands and Mexico southward to Ecuador and 

 Brazil. 



Cultivation. — In a wild state Trichomanes grow 

 under very varying conditions in some respects, 

 though humidity and shade are in all cases pre- 

 sent. Some affect wet rocks, others stems of 

 various ferns and trees, whilst a few grow luxu- 

 riantly in strong loam. Under the widely dif- 

 ferent conditions which obtain artificially, these 

 latter do best in a pot or pan thoroughly drained 

 and filled with a mixture of loam, peat, pieces 

 of charcoal, porous stone, &c.. Those, like T. 

 triehoideum, &c., which seem to thrive best on' 

 tree-fern stems, should have their delicate rhizomes 

 carefully attached to a portion of Dicksonia stem, 

 amongst the lOots of which peat has been rubbed. 

 Others, of which T. macilentmn, T. alatum, and 

 T. Litschnatianum may be regarded as representa- 

 tives, thrive in pots or pans on a raised mound of 

 Sphagnum, or on tree-fern trunks on which living 

 Sphag-num has been bound. None of the species 

 should be watered overhead ; the case or structure in 

 which the plants are grown should be so liberally 

 supplied with water that the fronds are constantly 

 laden with the condensed moisture. Direct sunlight 

 should always be excluded ; it has, however, been 

 abundantly proved that established healthy plants 

 do better in a good light than with dense shading. 

 Most of the remarks on Hymenophyllum cultivation 

 are equally applicable to Trichomanes. 



