166 LASTR^A F(EN'ISECII. 
though marking its peculiarity, supposed it, iu my in- 
experience, to be a form of Aspidium dilatatum ot 
Smith. It had not then received name or notice among 
recent botanists, though, apparently, referred to both by 
Ray and Plukenet ; nor was my attention directed to 
its very distinct character, even as a variety, until, in 
1831, the Rev. W. T. Bree described it in the ' Magazine 
of Natural History,' under the name of recurvum, since 
which time opinion has been divided respecting its 
claim to rank as a species." (Sowerby's British Ferns.) 
Mr. Reeve, writing to us relative to its cultivation, 
says : 
" Lastraea Fcenisecii is, perhaps, of all the Lastrceas, the 
most elegant in shape, and, producing as it does many distinct 
forms, is well worth cultivating. It is of such easy culture, 
that it should not be absent from any collection. It will, in 
the shade, unfold its fronds to the length of three feet, and 
produce them rather abundantly, making, together, a very 
noble object ; but in proportion as it is exposed to the sun, 
so it becomes less luxuriant in habit, and also less in the 
number of its fronds. It may be grown in almost any 
degree of shade, from the Fernery or shrubbery, excluded 
from the sun altogether, to a situation exposed to all its 
rays; but, as I have said, much beauty will be lost ac- 
cording to the degree of exposure to light which it has 
to endure. It may be grown in sandy loam, with a little 
leaf-mould ; or, in default of leaf-mould, in most cases, 
a few very rotten sticks broken into small pieces will form 
a very good substitute. The fructification (which will be in 
a ripe state towards the end of the summer) may be 
employed for its propagation, proceeding in the same way 
as directed for other species. The plants, if grown in pots, 
will require to be plunged in winter." 
