502 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
POl^YPODllJM— continued. 
P. Heracleum. 
This really magnificent, large-growing, stove species, 
native of Java and of the Philippines, is the P. coronans of 
gardens, but not of Wallich ; it is also frequently found 
under the name of P. morhillosum. Its stalkless fronds, 
3ft. to 6ft. long and 2ft. or more in breadth, are usually 
disposed in a crown (Fig. 115), and are produced from a 
stout, short-creeping rhizome of a woody nature, clothed 
with long, silky scales of a bright brown colour, except near 
the extreme end, where they are whitish. These fronds, 
which are deeply pinnatifid, are of a light green colour and 
of a stiff, harsh texture; their upper surface is covered 
with minute, short, whitish hairs, while the midrib of the 
frond is crowded with brown hairs, especially near the base, 
where they are longer. The small sori are irregularly 
scattered over the whole of the under-surface. 
P. irioides ramo=cristatum. 
Queensland again is the home of this decorative, much 
admired, robust-growing variety, which differs from the 
type in having the tips of the leathery fronds lobed, some 
of them having as many as a dozen segments. The fronds 
are of a bright green colour. 
P. Meyenianum. 
In gardens this stove species, popularly known as the 
Bear's-paw Fern,'' is as ornamental as it is distinct. It is 
a native of the Philippine Islands, where it is said to grow 
on branches of trees. It is provided with a rhizome of a 
particularly stout nature, and densely clothed with narrow, 
crisped scales ^in. long and of a bright rusty-brown colour. 
From these singular-looking rhizomes are produced fronds 
2ft. to 3ft. long and Sin. to 12in. broad; their lower part is 
cut down nearly to the midrib into oblong, blunt, entire 
lobes, while their upper portion is furnished with numerous 
close leaflets 4in. to 6in. long. The fertile part of the 
frond, which usually extends about one-third of its length, 
bears a bright yellow spore mass, the fructification hanging 
out so prominently that it gives the plant quite the 
appearance of what is commonly called a " flowering 
Fern '' (Fig. 116). In gardens this curious and beautiful 
species is sometimes met with under the names of 
Aglaomorpha Meyeniana and of Dryna<ria philippinense. 
As a rule, the Bear's-paw Fern is a difficult plant to 
manage in pots, but it thrive® apace when treated like a 
Platycerium — grown either on a stump, in a shallow pan, or 
in a hanging basket. Care should be taken not to bury its 
