May  28,  1896 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
497 
ELK’S-HORN  OR  STAG’S-HORN  FERES. 
The  species  of  the  genus  Platycerium  (from  platys,  broad  ;  and 
Jceras,  a  horn)  are  at  once  the  grandest,  most  beautiful,  and  most 
extraordinary  representatives  of  the  order  of  Filices  or  Ferns. 
The  genus  comprises  about  half  a  dozen  species,  all  epiphytal  in 
habit,  and  for  this  reason  are  seen  to  the  best  advantage  on  a 
section  of  an  old  Tree  Fern,  large  block  of  wood,  or  in  a  basket. 
They  also  thrive  in  shallow  pans  and  pots  ;  but  in  either  case  the 
potting  material  must  be  of  an  open,  easily  drained  character,  such 
as  rough  fibrous  peat,  or  peat  and 
sphagnum. 
The  first  species  in  cultivation, 
and  the  most  widely  known  and 
easiest  of  culture,  is  the  common 
Elk’s-horn  Fern,  P.  alcicorne,  which 
was  introduced  from  Australia  in 
1808.  It  ia  the  hardiest  of  the 
genus,  and  can  be  readily  grown  in 
a  greenhouse  with  a  night  tempera¬ 
ture  of  50°,  or  even  lower  during 
the  winter  months.  When  grown 
in  a  pot  or  perforated  pan  in  a 
mixture  of  peat,  sphagnum,  and 
crocks  in  about  equal  parts,  and 
when  thoroughly  established,  the  pot 
or  pan  being  inverted  and  suspended 
by  means  of  wire  to  the  roof  of  a 
greenhouse  or  conservatory  under 
conditions  favourable  to  Fern  growth, 
it  soon  forms  a  quaint  and  charming 
object,  the  barren  fronds  completely 
hiding  the  pot  or  pan,  while  the 
fertile  fronds  spring  therefrom  in 
elegant,  graceful,  stately,  Stag’s-horn¬ 
like  form. 
In  common  with  the  other  species, 
the  fronds  of  P.  alcicorne  are  of  two 
kinds,  the  barren  ones  more  or  less 
rounded  and  shield  -  like,  convex, 
downy  when  young,  the  edge  sinu- 
ated,  and  the  lobes  spreading  ;  fertile 
fronds  erect,  2  to  3  feet  long, 
clustered,  two  or  three  times  dicho¬ 
tomous,  the  ends  of  the  lobes  droop¬ 
ing  over  in  a  very  graceful  manner. 
The  fruit  is  borne  in  the  last  forks 
and  at  their  base  in  very  irregular 
patches  ;  under  surface  of  the  fronds 
covered  with  thin  cottony  down. 
Plants  are  readily  obtained  from 
spores  and  also  by  suckers  from  the 
roots,  the  young  plants  so  produced 
being  readily  separated  from  the 
parent  plant  after  they  have  made 
one  or  two  fronds. 
If  spores  are  bad  recourse  to  for 
increase  they  should  be  sown  as 
soon  as  they  are  gatheied,  using  a 
compost  formed  of  peat,  broken 
crocks,  or  bricks  and  sand,  in  tqual 
parts,  over  thorough  drainage,  and 
the  pot  or  pan  being  well  watered 
before  sowing  the  spores  on  it,  then 
covering  with  a  bell-glass,  keeping 
c’ose  and  moist  until  they  show 
signs  of  germination,  after  which  the  sporelings  need  the  glass 
tilting  and  careful  watching  in  order  to  prevent  their  damping  off. 
Little  progress  in  growth  is  made  until  fertilisation  has  been 
completed.  Sometimes  the  spores  do  not  germinate  or  produce 
a  green  liverwort-like  appearance  (protballu  )  on  the  surface  for 
six  months  or  more  afttr  sowing  ;  constant  and  uniform  moisture 
is  essential  without  wetting  the  prothallus. 
The  large  form  of  P.  alcicorne,  known  as  P.  a.  majus,  comes 
from  Polynesia  ;  it  is  of  more  erect  and  stronger  growth  than  the 
type,  and  very  attractive  in  appearance.  The  fronds  are  dark  green 
in  colour,  thick  and  leathery  in  texture,  and  in  consequence  the 
plants  endure  a  drier  atmosphere  than  other  species,  this  variety 
and  the  type  being  the  least  affected  by  exposure  in  the  exhibition 
hall,  tent,  corridor  or  sta  rcase.  Indeed,  both  are  admirable  for 
decorative  purposes,  aud  the  wonder  i#  that  they  are  so  seldom  seen 
jn  greenhouses  and  conservatories. 
The  African  Stag’s-hori  Fern,  P.  aeituopiouro,  syn.  P.  stem- 
maria,  was  introduced  iu  1822  ficm  the  Guinea  Coast  and  Angola, 
and  requires  a  stove  temperature.  It  somewhat  resembles  the 
common  Elk’s-horn  Fern,  but  is  bolder  and  broader  in  the  fronds, 
being  strong  in  growth,  and  remarkably  handsome.  This  species  is 
very  impatient  of  water  on  the  fronds,  especially  in  the  winter,  when, 
if  the  moisture  remains  on  them,  they  soon  become  discoloured. 
The  Queensland  Elk’s-horn  Fern,  P.  Hilli  (fig.  82),  is  closely 
allied  to  the  Elk’s-horn  Fern,  P.  alcicorne,  but  is  little  more  than 
half  the  height  or  length  in  the  fronds,  these  being  about  foot 
long,  branched,  and  the  part  just  below  the  branching  about  8  inches 
broad,  gradually  tapering  into  short  stipes.  The  mature  fronds 
Fig.  82— PLATYCERIUM  HILLI. 
are  very  thinly  covered  with  white  stellate  hairs,  and  the  sori  are 
formed  in  small  roundish  spots  at  the  base  of  the  lobes.  It  was 
introduced  in  1878,  and  dots  fairly  well  under  the  same  conditions 
as  P.  alcicorne,  but  is  best  grown  in  more  warmth. 
P.  Willincki  was  introduced  from  Java  in  1875,  and  requires  a 
stove  temperature.  The  barren  fronds  are  lobed,  rounded  at  the 
base,  and  erect  ;  but  these  soon  turn  brown  and  dry  after  they  are 
developed,  fertile  fronds  drooping,  produced  in  threes,  several  times 
forked  and  greyish  white  in  colour.  These  fronds  will  endure  a 
year  or  more,  and  attain  a  length  of  about  3  feet, 
P.  Wallichi  is  a  native  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  was  intro¬ 
duced  into  this  country  in  1830.  The  barren  fronds  are  deeply 
lobed,  with  indexed,  forked  divisions,  fertile  fronds  in  pairs,  droop* 
ing,  each  in  two  divisions,  and  from  either  side  of  the  sorus,  which 
occupies  the  lounded  upper  edge  of  the  cuneate  disk  of  the 
divisions,  a  one-forktd  division  ia  produced,  the  under  side  of  the 
fronds  being  covered  with  a  yellowish  pubescence. 
The  North  Australia  Elk’s- bom,  P.  grande,  introduced  in  1828, 
