A Dictionary of Choice Ferns. 
251 
HYMENOPHYLLUM— ^'^^/^^^w^?^^^/. 
and. lamong decaying vegetable miatter. It is undoubtedly 
one of the handsomest land most striking of cultivated 
Hymenophyllums. The very translucid^ erect, smooth, and 
shining fronds, Gin. to 15in. long, 2in. to 3in. broad, broadly 
spear-shaped, and three times divided nearly to the midrib, 
ai^ borne on upright stalks 4:in. to Gin. long, of a wiry 
nature, and broadly winged lalmost to the base. The leaflets 
are spear-shaped, and, as is also' the case with the 
fronds, tailed at the extremity (hence the specific name) ; 
the lower ones, often 2in. long, are divided down to a broad, 
central rachis, their lower leafits being again cleft nearly 
to the midrib, while the upper ones are simple or only 
forked. The sori, two to twelve to a leaflet, are placed at 
the extremity of the segments on both sides ; they are pro- 
vided with a very large covering, divided nearly to the 
base, with valves twice as broad as deep and bluntly toothed. 
H. chiloense. 
This real gem among Filmy Ferns is a small, pendent, 
tufted species which, in Southern Chili and in Chiloe, is 
said to form a dense carpet over trees and rocks alike. Its 
pretty little fronds, triangular or broadly spear-shaped, 
seldom more than 2in. long and lin. broad, are of a dull 
green colour, with very conspicuous, dark veins covering 
their entire surface; they are bipinnatifid, their leaflets 
being regularly ciliated on the margin witi. short, strong 
hairs and their under-surfaee slightly hairy. The sori are 
placed singly at the base of the leaflets on the upper side, 
divided about half-way down, with a wedge-shaped base 
free or sunk in the frond, and half-rounded, strongly-ciliated 
valves. 
H. demissum. 
This species, native of New Zealand, Fiji, Java, and 
the Philippine and adjacent Polynesian Islands, is perhaps 
the most decorative and the easiest-grown of the entire 
genus, and is so well appreciated as to be found in every 
collection where an attempt at the cultivation of Filmy 
Ferns is made. Its fine fronds (Fig. 97), 4in. to 12in. long, 
3in. to 4in. broad, and broadly triangular, are borne on 
upright, firm, wingless stalks 4in. to Gin. long, and of a wiry 
nature ; they are three or four times divided nearly to the 
midrib, and their lower leaflets, 2in. to Sin. long, are cut 
down very nearly to the rachis on both sides into numerous 
leafits, which are again divided into pinna tifid segments. 
The sori are very numerous, terminal and axillary on the 
segments on both sides, and provided with a covering that 
is divided nearly to the base and has egg-shaped, entire or 
