176 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs 
B. unilaterale. 
Of small dimensions, this very elegant stove or green- 
house species, native of tropical America, is usually met 
with in gardens under the name of B, polypodioides. Its 
fronds, while young, are of a conspicuous pink colour, and 
are borne on slender stalks lin. to 4in. long, scaly below, and 
produced from an elongated rhizome densely clothed at 
the crown with narrow, pale brown scales; they are spear- 
shaped, Gin. to 12in. long, about 2in. broad, and furnished 
with numerous leaflets of a thin, papery texture, usually 
toothed at the point, but with the edges smooth or nearly 
so, the lower ones being dilated to a broad base, shorter, 
and blunt. The sori are disposed in a line close to the 
midrib. 
BRAINEA. 
So far, this commemorative genus is represented 
l)y a solitary species, B. insignis, a tree-like 
Indian and Chinese Fern resembling Blechnum in 
general appearance, but with naked sori, and with 
veins forming little cells along the costa or midvein. 
Its distinctive characters consist in the sori being 
continuous along transverse veins near the midrib, 
and being also produced along the small veins in the 
direction of the edge of the leaflets, which they at 
length entirely cover. The roots of B, insignis are 
of a remarkably brittle nature, and great care must 
be taken in repotting; if that operation is carelessly 
performed, a certain quantity of roots are mutilated, 
and the chances are that the plant will never 
recover. The compost it prefers is a mixture of 
flbrous peat and loam in equal parts, with the addi- 
tion of some sharp sand ; it also requires good 
drainasre, as it should receive plenty of water at the 
roots and on the stem. It is usually propagated 
from spores, which germinate freely. 
B. insigfnis. 
An interesting greenhouse Tree Fern, of small dimen- 
sions, native of Hong-Kong, Burmah, and Khasya. It forms 
a somewhat stout stem, which is seldom perfectly straight, 
akd which, when fully developed, attains a height of 4ft., 
measures about 2ft. in circumference, and is covered with 
narrow, rusty scales ^in. to lin. long. The fronds, which 
are not unlike those of a Lomaria in general appearance. 
