A Dictionary of Choice Ferns. 
241 
LOMARIA — continued. 
L. d. nuda. 
Although, accepted as only a variety of L. discolor, this 
handsome, compact-habited, Australian, greenhouse Fern, 
often met with in cultivation under the name of L. falcata^ 
is apparently very distinct from the type. Its general 
appearance, the texture of its foliage, its mode of growth, 
and the disposition of its fructification, are all different. 
Witih the exception of L. gihha, which is of more rapid 
growth, L. d, nuda is undoubtedly the most useful Lomaria 
in a young state for tahle and room decoration. This 
variety, which is readily propagated by means of spores, and 
is extensively grown for decoration, has produced several 
sub-varieties, the best of which, and indeed the only one 
worth cultivating for its own decorative merits, is the one 
commonly known as L. d. n. pulcherrima, an ornamental 
plant with, a constitution equally as good as that of the 
typical plant from which it no doubt originated. From 
L. d. nuda it differs in having the extremity of each, leaflet 
somewhat crested or forked, and the summit of the frond 
still more distinctly crested. It should be kept as much as 
possible from artificial heat, the effects of which are most 
pernicious to the young growth. 
L. falcata. 
A synonym of L. discolor nuda. 
L. Gei mainii. 
This pretty, dwarf- growing, greenhouse or hardy 
species, native of Chili, is more extensively known in gardens 
and in the trade as L. crenulata. In general aspect it 
much resembles L. alpina, but the lower leaflets of its fronds 
are distinctly separated. 
L. gibba. 
This well-known, stove or greenhouse species, native <ff 
New Caledonia, Aneiteum, and the Isle of Pines, is one of 
the most elegant and useful species of the large genus. 
Its elegant barren fronds, 2ft. to 3ft. long and Gin. broad, 
are deeply pinnatifid, their leaflets being cut down nearly 
to the rachis, but dilated and connected at the base ; in the 
centre of the frond they are 2in. to Sin. long, but the lower 
ones grow shorter very gradually ; all are of a bright shining 
green colour and of a leathery texture. In the fertile 
fronds, the leaflets are narrow and contracted, and the sori 
occupy the whole space between the edge and the midrib. 
Both kinds of fronds are borne on short, strong, upright 
stalks densely clothed below with long, narrow, black scales, 
and produced from a fleshy crown, which in course of time 
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