A Dictionary of Choice Ferns. 
105 
ADIASTXJM— continued. 
the popular A. c. gracillimum. Its habit is more erect 
than that of the type; it is also of quicker growth and repro- 
duces itself freely from spores. 
A. c. g^racillimum. 
One of the first really distinct variations observed in 
the popular A. cuneatum, and one which has very few 
rivals. The fronds — which, like those of the typical species, 
are produced in profusion from la densely-tufted crown, and 
measure from l^ft. to 2ft. in length, and about 9in. across^ — 
are many times divided, thin and fragile in spite of their 
massive appearance, and furnished with minute rich green 
leafits, which are distinctly stalked and two- or three-lobed, 
the sterile lobes blunt. is a most elegant Fern, with 
light and graceful fronds. The multiplicity of the minute 
leafits, and the almost invisible ramification of the stalk, 
give to a well-grown plant a particularly charming appear- 
ance. The slightly kidney-shaped sori are solitary on the 
entire pinnules and two or three on the larger lobed ones. 
This variety reproduces itself true from spores, although 
seedlings do not show their characters until they have 
attained a certain size. 
A. c. grandiceps. 
One of the most distinct and by far the most attractive 
of the numerous home-raised forms of the popular species, 
from which it differs in several striking particulars. It is 
more robust in habit; its fronds, produced in great numbers 
from a densely-tufted crown, are more elongated and ter- 
minate in a dense tassel of finger-like growths ; the leaflets also 
terminate in similar, but smaller, branched tassels, which by 
their weight give the fronds a very elegant, arching habit, 
rendering the plant one of the most suitable Ferns for sus- 
pended baskets, in which position it thrives apace, and soon 
makes a very handsome object. It freely reproduces itself 
true from spores. Fig. 57. 
A. c. Lawsonianum. 
A distinct variety, as it differs from the type in having 
more rigid fronds, which frequently attain l^ft. in height, 
and are abundantly furnished with curiously and finely- 
cut dark green leafits, of a peculiarly narrow wedge-shape; 
these, being set further apart than in the species, and 
borne on short, thread-like stalks, give the whole of the 
plant a very light and decorative appearance. Unfor- 
tunately this form does not reproduce itself true from 
spores, and consequently remains comparatively scarce. 
