—74— 



further. One of the first of these forms to make its ap- 

 pearance was Pierson's fern, Nephrolepis exaltata Piersoni 

 (A r . Piersoni). It has finely pinnatifid pinnae and is con- 

 nected with the type by N. e. cristata or perhaps more 

 properly the latter points the way in which the former was 

 produced. The Tarrytown fern N. exaltata elegantissima 

 (A r . Piersoni elegantissima) is like Pierson's fern, but 

 more deeply and finely pinnate with broader fronds. The 

 fact that these are mere sports of N. exaltata is shown by 

 the occasional reversion to the type. The very latest in 

 this line is the Superlb Boston fern, N. exaltata superb- 

 issima (A T . superbissima). To give it the place it de- 

 serves according to its lineage it should be named N. 

 exaltata Bostoniensis elegantissima superbissima, but it 

 is a mere sport no matter how it was derived. It is of 

 compact growth and heavy texture, and is without ques- 

 tion the finest of these plants. Scott's Boston fern, 

 N. exaltata Scottii (N. Scottii), is a short compact 

 form of the type with nothing in common with the pre- 

 ceding. The Philadelphia lace fern N. exaltata Amer- 

 pohlii (A r . Amerpohlii) and A r . exaltata Whitmanii {N. 

 Whitmanii) are somewhat on the type of the elegantis- 

 sima forms and belong to a class of na iin ed sports which 

 is likely to be greatly augmented by additions from every 

 big grower's place. A few of these have already claimed 

 attention. N. exaltata Genyi (N. Genyi) appeared in the 

 collection of Geny Brothers of Nashville and was 

 promptly given a specific name and N. exaltata todeaoides 

 (N. todeaoides) is a British introduction. It is practi- 

 cally certain that the successes attained with the Boston 

 fern can be duplicated with almost any other fern in 

 cultivation. The characteristics of these varieties seem 

 latent in the type and may be called out by the manipu- 

 lations of the grower. 



