..THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[OCTOBKIl, 
‘>•>9 
^ 
of Messrs. Veitcli and Sons, of Chelsea, who have been fortunate enough to 
procure the only plants which have, we believe, been introduced. 
The plant is furnished with a stoutish decumbent caudex, from which arise 
to the height of 12 in. or loin., the stout, black, erect, polished stipites, sup¬ 
porting the ample fronds, which are between 2 ft. and 3 ft. long, the nearly 
simple elongated branches, as well as the apical portion of the frond, spreading- 
out and hanging as gracefully pendent as the boughs of a Weeping Willow. 
On the larger fronds four or five of these pinnae, or branches, are produced, the 
lower ones being fully a foot in length, and again branched near the base. The 
pinnules are numerous, of a stoutish texture, smooth, but of an opaque green 
colour, and of large size, attached by longish slender petioles; they have the 
base more or less wedge-shaped, and the apex pointed, rarel}?- acuminate, the side 
angles being rounded, so that the pinnules become unecjually ovate or somewhat 
trapeziform according to the degree of obliquity in the two sides. The pinnules 
measure in ordinary well-grown mature fronds about 2 in. long by 1^ in. broad, 
some of those on the less divided fronds being fully 3 in. long and 2 in. broad. 
The sori are large, produced along the whole of the two anterior margins of the 
pinnule, varying in length, but generally shortish and somewhat rounded. The 
veins are flabellately-forked, without trace of midrib. 
This noble fern is, of course, a stove plant, not, however, requiring a very 
high temperature. It appears to be of free and vigorous growth, so that it will 
be invaluable both as a decorative and an exhibition plant. The bold character 
of the pinnules, and the remarkable pendent habit of the entire plant, must 
-certainly claim for it a place in the first rank of ornamental Ferns.—T. M. 
AQUATICS.— Chapter IY. 
NEAT-GEOWING native perennial is the Water Violet, or Featherfoil, 
Hottonia palustris. Its root-stock is generally submerged. The leaves 
are alternate, deeply cut, the lobes very narrow, very much resembling 
those of Boronia Dr'iimmondii^ but of a more lively green. The flower- 
stem rises above the surface about 9 in., and the flowers are set in whorls, one 
above the other, generally five or six in each whorl; they are of a delicate light 
purple, five-petaled, and not quite an inch across. When seen from a distance, 
the plant much resembles some of the darker-coloured varieties of the Cardamine 
pratensis, and has a particularly chaste appearance. As it occupies but a small 
space, it may be introduced into gardens of very limited dimensions, and is very 
suitable for a small pond or tank; but if placed in the former, it should be near 
the margin. The flowering season is July and August. It appears to be the 
-only European species. 
The Flowering Eush, Butomus wiibellatus, is also a native plant, found in 
ditches and water-courses in various parts of the country, though not over plenti¬ 
ful, except in some few localities. From its creeping rootstock it sends up a number 
