122 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
ADIANTJJM— continued. 
curved, the upper line nearly parallel, finely toothed, and 
the outer edge very oblique. The sori, usually of oblong 
form, sometimes kidneynshaped, are disposed in broken lines 
round the upper and outer margin. 
A. t. acuminatum. 
The long, narrow-pointed shape of the leaflets distin- 
guishes this garden form from the type. 
A. t. gracile. 
A closely-growing variety, introduced from Tropical 
America, having fronds similarly produced from an under- 
ground, slowly-creeping rhizome, and borno on slender, black 
stalks of a downy nature ; but these fronds are much shorter 
than those of the type, and elegantly arching. This is a very 
distinct and specially striking Fern, remarkable for tJie 
beautiful reddish hue assumed by its fronds when first de- 
veloped, a characteristic they retain until they are fully 
expanded. 
A. tinctum. 
This pretty, dwarf species, which thrives equally well 
in greenhouse or in stove temperature, is a native of the 
Andes of Peru. It is intermediate between A. ruhellum 
and A . Wagneri (A . decorum of commerce) ; but its elegant 
fronds, 6in. to 9in. long, borne on slender, black stalks, 4in. 
to Gin. long, and produced in profusion from a central, 
tufted crown, are lesis divided than those of the latter 
species. They are also much narrower, bipinnate, and their 
lower leafits are closely wrapped over the stalk. When in a 
young state the pinnules are of a delicate rosy-red, and they 
change with age to a bright green colour. This is the 
smallest of the known Adiantums with coloured foliage. 
A, trapeziforme. 
A delicate-looking, yet bold-growing, stove species, from 
Tropical America. Its handsome fronds, which are produced 
from a slowly-creeping, underground rhizome, and borne 
on firm, upright, black, shining stalks, 6in. to 12in. long, 
and furnished near their base with a few narrow scales, 
vary in length from l^ft. to 2^ft. They consist of a central 
leaflet, Gin. to 9in. long and 2in. to 3in. broad, and three 
or four large, spreading ones on each side, the lowest of 
which are frequently branched again. The leafits are of 
papery texture and a brilliant green, l^in. to 2in. long, 
^in. to fin. broad, dimidiate, and have their sides nearly 
parallel, the outer and the upper edges being bluntly lobed. 
The sori are oblong, large, prominent, and numerous, and are 
