A Dictionary of Choice Ferns. 
171 
BLKCHNUM—cofitinued. 
B. brasiliense. 
This very handsome and popular greenhouse or stove 
species, native of Brazil and Peru, is undoubtedly the 
strongest-growing and most useful from a decorative point 
of view of the family (Fig. 78). Its comparatively slender 
stem, which attains an average height of 3ft., is densely 
Fig. 78. Blechnum brasiliense, a very decorative species, and 
tlie strongest growing of the family. 
clothed at the crown with dark brown scales. The fronds, 
which are produced in great abundance, are oblong-spear- 
shaped, 2ft. to 3ft. long, 1ft. or more broad, narrowing 
downwards very gradually; they are pinnatifid, their 
leaflets, of leathery texture, not being cut quite down to 
the midrib, with which they remain connected along the 
whole length of the frond ; when mature they are somewhat 
inclined to be pendulous, getting with age into a nearly 
horizontal position. The numerous leaflets are 4in. to Gin. 
