144 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
ASPlDlVM—cotitifined. 
half ; they are sickle-shaped, 4in. to Gin. long, lin. to 2in. 
broad, sometimes eared, the lower side rounded or obliquely 
truncate at the base. The sori are bold and pretty, being 
thickly scattered over the whole under-surfaco of the frond. 
Although generally considered as a greenhouse Fern, this 
species has proved perfectly hardy out of doors in various 
parts of England, Ireland, and Wales. In these cases, how- 
ever, it became deciduous, though the vigour of the plants 
remained unimpaired. 
A. f. caryotideum. 
This variety, of Japanese origin, is totally distinct from 
the type in its drooping habit and also in the colour 
and shape of its fronds, which, instead of being dark green, 
are of a most conspicuous light green tint. It is erroneously 
known as Cyrtomium Fortunei. 
A. f. Fortunei. 
In commerce this Japanese variety is sometimes called 
Cyrtomium Anomophyllumy and differs from the type in 
having the leaflets narrower and more opaque. The fronds, 
too, produced in greater quantities, are also of a more 
upright habit, 2ft. to 2^ft. long, and their leaflets, slightly 
eared >at the base, are of a rather thin texture, and of a 
dull dark green colour when matured, but prettily mottled 
with lighter green in their young state. It is quite as hardy, 
and reproduces itself true from spores. 
A. f. pendulum. 
A very elegant garden variety, whose chief distinction 
lies in its pendulous habit. Fig. 67. 
A. falcinellum. 
A pretty, greenhouse species, of medium growth, native 
of Madeira, having oblong-spear-shaped, very leathery 
fronds, 1ft. to l^ft. long and 4in. to Gin. broad, borne on 
somewhat slender stalks 4in. to Sin. long, densely clothed, 
especially below, with spear-shaped blackish-brown scales. 
The central leaflets are about Sin. long and Jin. broad, but 
gradually become smaller towards the base and summit of the 
frond ; they are all short-stalked, their upper side is bluntly 
eared and their lower one obliquely truncate at the base, and 
their edge is finely saw-tocthod. The bright green of the 
fionds, and the bold nature of the large sori, disposed in two 
long rows, with their conspicuous indusia, render this Fern 
one of the most attractive of the whole genus. 
A. frondosum. 
A beautiful, evergreen species, native of Madeira. Its 
fronds, 1ft. to 2ft. long and 9in. to 12in. broad, are of a rich. 
