174 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
BLE,CHN\JM— CO nthmed. 
B. longifolium. 
A variable stove species, native of Tropical America and 
the West Indies. Its fronds are only once divided to the 
midrib, usually from 9in. to 12in. long including their 
stalks, and are produced from a slender, creeping rhizome; 
they consist of a terminal leaflet and three to six pairs of 
lateral ones (Fig. 79), of a leathery texture, Sin. to 5in. 
long and ^in. broad, gradually narrowed towards the point 
and somewhat heart-shaped at the base, the lower ones 
about lin. apart. The sori are disposed in broad lines 
close to the midrib. 
B. 1. g^racile. 
A distinct and pretty variety, differing from the species 
through the slender habit of its fronds, which are of a 
beautiful red colour when young. It is a good companion 
to B. Lanceola when planted in the Fern-case, and thrives 
under similar treatment. 
B. occidentale. 
To the West Indies belongs this justly appreciated stove 
species, of dwarf habit. It is very popular on account of its 
easy cultivation, and the lasting qualities of its fronds when 
cut. For years it has been used in many private establish- 
ments for growing amongst orchids, to which it forms a very 
effective background or undergrowth, the more so that it 
is a plant never infested by insects of any sort, and that it 
grows as well in coarse sand, gravel, or moss as in the best 
compost. The fronds, 9in. to 15in. long and 4in. to Sin. 
broad, are borne on upright but flexible stalks Gin. to 12in. 
long and scaly below ; they are furnished on each side of 
their midrib with twelve to twenty-four linear leathery 
leaflets, Sin. to Gin. long and fin. broad, gradually narrowed 
to a point, heart-shaped or even eared at the base, the lower 
ones often lin. apart, and the lowest pair usually deflexed 
(Fig. 80) and very little shorter than the others. The sori 
form a broad, continuous line close to the midrib. 
B. polypodioides. 
Synonymous with B. unilaterale. 
B. serrulatum. 
This very handsome stove or greenhouse species is the 
only one in which the leaflets are plainly and distinctly 
articulated to the stalks ; it is a native of the West 
Indies, Guiana, Brazil, Australia, New Caledonia, Borneo, 
Malacca, and North America. The fronds, produced from 
a stout, ascending rhizome and borne on strong, erect, 
smooth stalks Gin. to 12in. long, are 1ft. to 2ft. long. Gin. 
