80 GARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY 
trailer, which blooms continuously, is used here to clothe portions of the 
ledges that overhang the lagoon. 
Lygodium scandens, is an interesting vine-like fern with twining strings 
many feet long. It is a native of India and China. 
Marsilea, a flowerless aquatic related to the ferns, has leaves that 
look like four-leaved clovers. ‘Two species are grown in the lagoon. 
Marchantia Disguncta, a common liverwort, sometimes sold by nursery- 
men as a cover for rock gardens, is grown here to supply the requests 
for it from botany classes. 
Myriophyllum proserpinacoides, or PARROTS FEATHER, a native of 
Chili, belongs to the same genus as the myriophyllum that is common 
in our ponds and lakes. This plant is a popular one for use in aquaria. 
Nephrolepis exaltata, or SWORD FERN, is of interest as the parent type 
of many of the commercial ferns of today. This fern was first imported 
into this country in 1890. Six years later a plant with unusually grace- 
ful foliage was found in a collection owned by a man who lived near 
Boston, and the new form came to be known as Boston fern. From 
the Boston fern almost innumerable horticultural forms have been 
developed. This collection includes 24 species and varieties, among 
them a horticultural variety known as N. Wittboldii, developed by a 
local florist. 
Nymphaea, or WATER LiLty. The genus is represented here by 5 
species. These plants are in bloom continuously from March to 
January. | 
Nymphoides indicum (Limnanthemum indicum), or FLOATING HEarT, 
or WATER SNOWFLAKE, is a pretty tropical aquatic, in bloom all year. 
Platycerium, or StAG-HorN FERN, is a most interesting genus, repre- 
sented here by 5 species. The plant produces two types of fronds, 
sterile ones that look like flat disks; and fertile ones that look like 
antlers. Here the disk fronds clasp the earth closely. In the forests 
where the ferns are found growing wild, the disk often clasps the trunks 
or branches of trees. | 
Polypodium quercifolium, or OAK-LEAVED FERN, is another species 
that produces two types of fronds—fertile ones that are typical fern 
fronds, and sterile ones that look like oak leaves. 
Philodendron. ‘This tropical climber belongs to the Araceae, or Aeroid 
family, and is used here to help cover the columns of the room. _Sev- 
eral species are represented in this room, some of which are in flower 
at all seasons of the year. Several species bear fruit of a most spicy 
fragrance. 
Scolopendrium officinarum, or HART’s TONGUE FERN, is an interesting 
fern that was formerly much used in Europe in fern baskets. 
Selaginella, or CLuB Moss, belongs to the Selaginellaceae, a family 
that closely resembles the Lycopodiaceae, and-that is often confused 
with it. Both families are commonly known as club moss. The 
genus is represented here by 13 species, varying in type from the low- 
growing, moss-like species that is used for lawns throughout the Fern 
and Palm Houses, to species that resemble ferns of fair size. All the 
species here shown are natives of tropical regions. The species known 
as rainbow moss, remarkable for its many-tinted foliage, is probably 
the species that attracts most comment from visitors.» 
