18 Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
Gymno gramme, Nephrolepis, Poly podium, Pteris, 
and Woodwardia are those to whicli the cultivator 
must look for individuals suited to these special re- 
quirements. The largest and handsomest of the 
whole group is Poly podium subauriculatum. 
Fig. 13. A British representative of the delicate=fronded Filmy 
Ferns—Hymenophyllum tunbridgense. 
Filmy Ferns. 
Filmy Ferns constitute a most distinctive sec- 
tion, the popular name here given being in allusion 
to the transparent nature of the foliage — so trans- 
parent that it is possible to read the smallest type 
through it. Such Ferns belong to Hymenophyl- 
lum, Todea, and Trichomanes. They cannot, it is 
true, be described as popular, though more's 
the pity. Their great decorative value may best be 
gauged by referring to the fact that fronds of Filmy 
Ferns have been known to keep in good condition 
