A Dictionary of Choice Ferns, 
145 
ASPlDl\jyi—co7iiim6ed. 
shining green ; they are horne on strong, straw-coloured or 
pale brown, usually polished stalks 1ft. to 2ft. long, but 
densely scaly below. The lowest leaflets measure from 6in. to 
12in. in length and Bin. to 4in. in breadth, and are borne on 
comparatively long footstalks. Their leafits, of a somewhat 
leathery texture, are spear-shaped, very unequal-sided, 
pinnatifid, with rounded lobes terminating in sharp-pointed 
teeth, and obliquely truncate at the base below. The sori 
are plentifully produced, and are disposed principally in two 
rows close to the midrib. 
A. laserpitiifolium. 
Much better known under the popular name of Lastrea 
Standishii, this very handsome, greenhouse Japanese Fern 
has proved hardy in several parts of England and Ireland. 
It is of robust growth and very elegant habit, producing from 
a slowly-creeping rootstock of a woody nature, roughly scaly, 
and remaining on the surface of the ground, fronds which 
frequently measure 2Ht. in length by l^ft. in breadth at their 
widest part, and which are borne on stout, fleshy, light green 
stalks quite 1ft. long. The leafy part, of a somewhat broad 
spear-shaped form, is tripinnate, being abundantly furnished 
with spear-shaped leaflets, which are in their turn sub- 
divided into leafits of the same shape and of leathery texture, 
so closely set as to overlap, and these, being very numerous 
and bluntly lobed, give the whole plant a very massive, 
though feathery and beautiful, appearance. 
A. lepidocaulon. 
A very interesting, greenhouse species, native of Japan 
and Tsus-Sima, with fronds of a dark green and shiny nature 
and of a leathery texture, like those of the popular 
A, (Cyrtomium) falcatum, but usually much longer, drooping, 
and rooting at their extremity. The chief peculiarity of this 
Fern is that the upper part of its fronds is totally unprovided 
with leaflets, .and terminates in a long, tailed process, pro- 
ducing at the extreme end a solitary bulbil, which later on 
develops into a perfect plant. A splendid basket or bracket 
Fern. 
A. Lonchitis. 
This very handsome species, which is generally loiown 
under the popular name of Holly Fern," but which some- 
times is also called the "Alpine Shield Fern," is of very 
cosmopolitan character. Though usually accepted as a plant 
of true British origin, it is so extensively distributed as to be 
considered native of almost all parts of the globe. 
A. Lonchitis has a thick and almost woody rootstock 
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