80 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
ACROSTlCHVM-eonfinucd. 
fronds are both borne on firm, erect stalks, 6in. to Sin. 
long, which are densely clothed with long and very narrow, 
black silky scales. This interesting Fern is a general 
favourite. The long black hairs which cover both surfaces 
but more abundantly the margins of the barren fronds, are 
the characteristic that is responsible for the specific name. 
A. decoratum. 
In this handsome stove species, native of the West 
Indies, Guiana, and Peru, which is totally distinct from 
all others in cultivation, the barren fronds, 1ft. or more 
long by Sin. to 4in. broad, are of a leathery texture and of 
a bright green colour; they are sharp-pointed at their 
extremity, rounded at their base, and their edges are 
densely-fringed with rough scales nearly Jin. long and of a 
bright brown colour. The fertile fronds are nearly as large 
as the others ; both are produced from a very stout stem, 
furnished with scales of the same bright colour, but fully 
fin. in length. 
A. drynarioides. 
This stove species, from Penang and the Solomon 
Islands, is very peculiar on account of its fronds, several 
feet long and 1ft. or more broad, being stalkless ; it also 
differs from most other known kinds in the upper part of 
the fronds being furnished with Lomaria-like leaflets quite 
1ft. long; these, although attached throughout their 
length to the stalk, break away from it readily. Fig. 46. 
A. flagelliferum. 
In this free-growing, East Indian stove species, the 
barren fronds are of a somewhat succulent texture, and the 
terminal leaflets, at least 1ft. long, become narrower towards 
the extremity of the frond, where it becomes proliferous. 
Such fronds average about 2ft. in length, and are borne on 
stems 6in. to 12in. long, are usually furnished with three 
pairs of leaflets, Sin. to Gin. long and lin. to 2in. broad, 
borne on short wavy stalks, and of a dull green colour. The 
fertile fronds are from 1ft. to l^ft. long, and their leaflets, 
2in. to Sin. long, are seldom more than ^in. in breadth. 
Both are produced from a creeping, scaly, woody, prostrate 
stem. The specific name, meaning rod-bearing, is in allusion 
to the manner of growth of the barren fronds. Fig 47. 
A. Herminieri. 
This stove species, whose habitat extends from Cuba to 
Brazil, is very handsome, and easily distinguished from all 
others through the striking appearance resulting from its 
