158 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
ASPLtK'SllJM— continued. 
essentially indigenous in North America. The general ap- 
pearance of the plant is that of an erect-growing, elongated 
form of our own A. Trichomanes. The pretty fronds lare 
1ft. to l^ft. long and 2in. to 3in. broad. Fig. 72. 
A. elegfantulum. 
Synonymous with A. incisum, 
A, erectum. 
Synonymous with A, lunulatum. 
Fig. 72. Asplenium ebeneum, a North American species hav= 
ing considerable resemblance to ournative A. Trichomanes. 
A. Filix=foemina. 
This, the popular Lady Fern, is one of the easiest to 
grow as well as one of the most deco native of our native 
species. The fronds, 1ft. to 3ft. long, and- 6in. 
to 12in. broad, are borne on firm, erect, straw- 
coloured or brownish stalks, sealy below below and Gin. 
to 12in. long; they are remarkably light in form, 
plume-like and graceful, and are disposed in a crown 
situated at the summit of a rootstock which in old plants 
is often very large and stem-like, but which, even then, 
remains lying upon the surface of the ground. The leafy 
