3o8 
FLORA AND SYLVA 
or more. In this country it grows well in a 
greenhouse or cool fernery, with rich green 
leaflets which differ widely according as they 
are barren or seed-bearing. The barren fronds 
are leathery in texture, twicefoi kedin segments 
of I to 3 inches long, ^ inch broad, rounded 
at the tips, and with often a grey under-sur- 
face. The fertile fronds are many times forked 
and roughly fan-shaped, the segments con- 
tracted into short spikes of spore-masses. 
L. Boivini. — A distinct kind with barren 
leaflets of crisp parchment texture, smooth on 
both sides, about 6 inches long and an inch 
wide, cut into 3 or 4 blunt segments on winged 
stalks. The fertile ones are shorter, narrower, 
and closely lobed. Madagascar. 
L. dichotomum. — A plant of beautiful effect, 
with very long shoots rising from a thick 
crown, and set with finely cut leaflets arranged 
in pairs and rather far apart. The barren fronds 
are 10 to 12 inches long, leathery in texture 
and a lovely bright green paler beneath. They 
often last in good condition for several years. 
The fertile segments are much reduced, with 
the seed-masses arranged as erect spikelets 
round the edges. The plant is well suited for 
large hothouses, growing freely and conspicu- 
ous, though so finely cut. In health the growth 
is so rapid as to make it the stoutest of all, 
but if neglected it seldom recovers. It has 
often to be grown from five to seven years 
before it becomes fertile. A form of this, 
known as dichotomum polydactylon has fronds 
in varying shades of green, yet more finely cut, 
and crested. Eastern tropical Asia. Syns. L. 
circinatum, Jiexuosum, or pcdatum. 
L. digitatum. — A stout grower with very 
long shoots and hand-shaped fronds, which 
are finely toothed when barren, and edged 
with spore-masses upon both surfaces when 
fertile. New Granada and Central America. 
L. hetcrodoxum. — A plant of the West Indies, 
Mexico, and Guatemala, with leaflets of 4 to 
6 inches, very thin in texture, with seed masses 
in rows upon the margin in all the fertile 
fronds. Syns. L. Lhideni, and L. spectab'dis. 
L. japonicum. — The commonest kind, easily 
grown in a vinery or cool house, yielding an 
abundance of slender garlands of 10 to 15 feet 
from strong stools which increase in force from 
year to year. Cut down each spring, these 
I form one of the most useful forms of foliage 
for shower-bouquets and decoration, keeping 
fresh far into the winter. The leaflets are 
closely set, 4 to 8 inches long, and roughly 
triangular. Thebarrenonesareslightly notched 
: on the margin ; the fertile segments, while of 
I similar outline, are much contracted and 
I studded with erect masses of seed at the tips 
! of every lobe, which scatter and spring up in 
all directions when ripe, making this the easiest 
kind of all to propagate. The value of its wiry 
stems for all kinds of decoration has caused it 
to be widely grown in gardens, but mostly 
under the name of L. scandens which rightly 
belongs to quite another plant. The wild plant 
covers a vast area from the Himalayas to Japan, 
the East Indies, and Australia. 
h.lanceolatum. — A strong-growing climber 
from Madagascar, with long and very broad 
leaflets which are tilted upwards and divided 
into 3 or 4 pairs of equal segments set on a 
zigzag-midrib, glossy green in colour, and of 
stout texture. When fertile, the segments 
bear close rows of scaly spikes around the 
margins upon both sides. Their number de- 
creases as the plant ascends, the topmost fronds 
often consisting of 2, or only i pinnule, deeply 
lobed. Syn. L. madagascariensis. 
L. palmatum. — Also known as the Hartford 
Fern of the United States, and the hardiest 
and most graceful plant of the group ; found 
in moist woods from Massachusetts to Florida, 
growing in light soil and partial shade. Its 
finest " trails " are only 3 to 4 feet long, and 
creep rather than climb among the low brush- 
wood of the river valleys, the pale green stems 
arising at short intervals from a dark, creep- 
ing, hairy tipped rootstock. The tendency of 
these roots to advance in a straight line un- 
fits them for pots, and the best way of growing 
the Fern is to plant it out upon rocks in a cool 
fernery, where it forms one of the most beauti- 
ful of draperies. Though slender, the stems 
are strong and tough, but often only 2 feet 
long under cultivation. As in other kinds the 
pinnsE are of two sorts, the fertile ones palm- 
shaped and bright green, to 2 inches broad, 
cut into several rounded lobes which differ in 
number (from 3 to 7), in size, and in shape. 
The upper part of the " trails" are crowded by 
the seed-bearing fronds, composed of finger- 
