FILMY FERNS. 



365 



around the edges. They are 3 to 6 inches long, 

 deep green, and borne upon short broadly- 

 winged stems. 



T. bipunctatum. — A Fern of creeping habit, 

 densely clothed with black woolly hairs. Its 

 fronds are roundly oblong and twice divided, 

 from 3 to 6 inches long, opaque, and dark green 

 incolour. Widelyspread this kind variesmuch 

 in size and appearance in different countries. 

 East Indies, through Japan and India, to Mada- 

 gascar, and Natal. Syn. T. Jilicula. 



T.brachypus. — A native of the West Indies 

 and tropical America, this species is not easy 

 to establish. It climbs upon whatever is near 

 at hand, with nearly stemless fronds of filmy 

 and transparent light green. Its wide-creeping 

 roots thrive upon rotting vegetable matter. 



T. crinitum. — A tufted Fern of great beauty, 

 distinct in its dense hairiness. Its fronds are 

 deeply cut into notched segments, broadly ob- 

 long in shape, 6 to 8 inches long, and of greyish- 

 green colour with thicksoft hairs. West Indies 

 and forests of the Andes. 



T. crispum. — The fronds of this Fern are 

 also tufted, 6 to 12 inches long and only 2 

 inches wide, beautifully crisped, and of rich 

 deep green ; they are borne upon short roots 

 by strong wool-covered stalks and are of finely 

 transparent texture and dainty appearance. 

 West Indies and South America. 



T.cuspidatum. — A small species with uncut 

 fronds, waved at the edges, seldom more than 

 an inch long, and deep green. It is a dainty 

 little plant for a piece of Fern-stem, and will do 

 well suspended. Mauritius. Syn. T. Bojerii. 



T. elegans. — This Fern has often been sepa- 

 rated from other Filmies because its fruiting 

 fronds are so unlike the barren ones, and be- 

 cause thebarren frondshave netted veins whilst 

 in others of this group they are forked and free. 

 These differences, however, though interesting 

 to notice have not been held sufficient to jus- 

 tify a distinct genus, by the latest ruling. The 

 plant is a very beautiful one with tufted deep 

 green fronds, the sterile one 6 to 12 inches 

 long, broadly spear-shaped and cut into nar- 

 row sickle-shaped segments which are finely 

 toothed and often drawn out into a tail-like tip 

 which has the power of taking root. The fer- 

 tile fronds are erect, flat, and scarcely half an 

 inch wide, with spore-masses upon the margin 

 like a coarse hair-like fringe. West Indies and 



South America from Mexico to Peru. Syn. 

 Feea elegans or Hymenostachys elegans (see en- 

 | graving, p. 363). 



T.ericoides. — A kind closely allied to T. mei- 

 folium and equally beautiful in its erect and 

 finely divided fronds of 3 to 9 inches long, upon 

 smooth wiry stems, and dark green in colour. 

 The delicate segments are turned and crisped 

 in all directions, giving the plant a strange and 

 very distinct appearance. Bourbon, Java, and 

 other islands of the Pacific. Syn. T. longisetum. 



T. javanicum.- — A beautiful and singular 

 Fern with an erect tufted crown as its root- 

 centre. Fronds of 2 to 8 inches, harsh and 

 leathery in texture but of beautiful transparent 

 green colour. Indian Archipelago. 



T. Kaulfussii. — A robust erect-growing 

 kind with broad, dull green fronds from 4 to 

 12 inches long, ovate-lanceolate in shape, cut 

 nearly to thestalkandcoveredwith starry hairs. 

 They are borne upon stout winged stems from 

 a strong woolly rhizome. A rare plant, needing 

 more heat than most Filmy Ferns. West Indies, 

 Guiana, and Brazil. 



T. Kraiasii. — An elegant little creeping 

 plant covering tree-stems with tiny narrow 

 fronds of 1 to 3 inches long, widening at the 

 middle, deeply cut, and very dark green. It 

 forms a charming object upon a slender Tree- 

 Fern stem,whereits very transparent fronds are 

 safe from excessive moisture. West Indies and 

 Guiana. 



T. maximum. — Ach arming Fern with fronds 

 of 1 to 3 feet long and 4 to 6 inches wide; they 

 are peculiar in being of nearly the same width 

 throughout, a feature by which this kind is 

 easily known. They are thrice cut and rather 

 rigid, ovate-oblong in shape, dark green and 

 very transparent. The plant grows freely upon 

 wood or standstone but needs more heat than 

 most Filmies. Java, Borneo, and Polynesia. 



T. meifolium. — One of the choicest of Filmy 

 Ferns, very rare and not easy to manage ; it is 

 erect in growth, with tufted fronds of 6 to 

 20 inches long, twice-cut, and the segments 

 again finely divided and curled into a beauti- 

 fully plumed appearance. For soft and delicate 

 texture it can only be compared to the finest 

 transparent sea-weed. Mountains of Java at 

 elevations of 4,000 to 7,000 feet. 



T. membranaceum. — A quaint and distinct 

 plant, the stems of which are creeping and 



