3 66 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



woolly. Its fronds are 2 to 3 inches long, 

 rounded in shape and almost without stem; 

 from the edges inwards they are more or less 

 deeply cut into rounded segments with incised 

 and scaly edges ; colour intense deep green. 

 Grows freely upon sandstone. West Indies and 

 tropical America. {See engraving, p. 363.) 



T. muscoides. — A dwarf creeping plant of 

 free growth, with simple erect fronds of bright 

 green, 2 to 3 inches long, very transparent, and 

 prettily waved around the margin. This kind 

 soon covers a block of wood or sandstone with 

 a dense green carpet. Covers a wide area in 

 tropical America, x^sia, Africa, and the islands 

 of the Pacific. Syn. T. erosum. 



I.ptnnatum. — A curious and pretty plant 

 with a tufted rootstock throwing erect and 

 twice-cut fronds upon long wiry stems ; the 

 segments are from 2 to 5 inches long, the end 

 one being often drawn out into a tail-like tip 

 which has thepower of takingroot.Thefronds 

 vary in length from 6 to 1 8 inches, very trans- 

 parent, and bright green ; when fertile they 

 are prettily fringed upon the edges with spore- 

 masses. West Indies and tropical America. 

 This kind does best upon a moist Fern-stem in 

 a warm corner. Syn. T.jloribundum. 



T.pluma. — In a group remarkable for fine 

 foliage, this kind stands in the front rank. 

 Travellers familiar with the tropics and the 

 beauty of this little Fern in its own home, re- 

 gard it as one of the most exquisite of foliage 

 plants. It isvery rarein cultivation andis scarce 

 even in Borneo, growing over rotting and 

 moss-grown tree trunks with short thick roots 

 less rambling than in most kinds. The fronds, 

 of barely 9 inches long including the stem, are 

 three or four times divided into thread-like 

 segments which curl in all directions into a 

 feathery hair-like mass as dainty as filmy sea- 

 weeds. 



T. Prieurii. — A choice kind but difficult to 

 manage; indeed, I have to regret its frequent 

 loss. It is of erect and rigid habit with fronds 

 broadly oval, upon long stalks, and three or 

 four times divided. They are large, 12 to 18 

 inches long and 6 to 12 inches broad, of lea- 

 thery texture, dark green and slightly hairy. 

 West Indies and tropical South America. Per- 

 haps better known-as T. anceps. 



T. rigidum. — A widely-spread Fern, found 

 in South America, the West Indies, Eastlndies, 



and tropical Asia. Its root-stock is erect with 

 broad oval fronds a foot long, twice cut into 

 segments which are again finely divided and 

 of intense green. It is a fine plant, so striking 

 and distinct as to be worth a*place anywhere, 



TRICHOMANES TRICHOMANES 

 PLUMA. SELLOWIANUM. 



but not easy to establish. A variety, elongatum, 

 bears fronds with broader segments, often over- 

 lapping and drawn out into tail-like tips. 

 T. scandens. — A lovely Fern with long ram- 

 ! bling rootstocks covering large trees in its 

 native forests. The pale green fronds, 6 to 18 

 inches long, are cut right to the stalk and the 

 segments again into narrow leaflets very thin 

 and transparent, with edges finely hairy. Ja- 

 maica and Mexico. 



T. Sellowianum. — A species which pleases 



