The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-05-22

into good specimens under cultivation.
In it's native haunts it usually grows to
a height Of eight, and even ten feet.
These masses Of tall Ferns form excel
lent hiding places for alligators and
crocodiles and for many shore birds A
second species, closely allied to the
former, is A. lomaroides It attains
equally large proportions but it does
not appear to be so common Both
these Ferns a~e confined to the south
ern peninsula, and while the first
named species is found in many tropic-
al countries, the second one has so far
only been met with in Florida and the
West Indies. Along the Gulf Coast
there are many shell mounds, many of
them very large, appearing as if they
had been placed there by some pre-his-
toric races. In these shell mounds very
pretty and dainty little Fern has
chosen its home-the Cheilanthes mi
crophylla, the only species Of quite
large genus, which I found particularly
we'll represented in western Texas,
together with large number OF
Nothalaena species, a genus not at all
represented in our fair state.
In April, 1886, I observed in Lake
Monroe, and in the upper St. Johns,
the curious Water Fern or Floating
Fern (Ceratopteris thalictroides) in
countless numbers, also species wide
ly distributed in the tropics. It is
usually seen floating in the water like
the Water Lettuce, or it is roofing in
the mud, particularly where the water
is shallow. It is very interesting
plant, attracting always attention where
1t grows. The leaves are about a foot
long, simple Or only slightly divided
when young, and twice pinnate at ma
turity. At present the plant is not as
common as it used to be, as the Water
Hyacinth (Eichornia crassiper, an
introduced plant from tropical South
America) has taken possession Of
almost all the rivers and many lakes
and has crowded it out almost entirely.
There are few other species con-
fined to Florida. Three very pretty
and highly priced Ferns in cultiva-
tion-Pteris longifolia, P Cretica,
both widely distributed in the tropics,
are common in many places of our
state. Pteris serru1ata, from China,
occurs on old walls in St. Augustine,
etc. They all three, perhaps, escaped
from cultivation
OF the Aspleniu1ns, or Spleen Worts,
we find a few species confined to the
borders of this state. Asplenium SER
ratum a very graceful plant, is found
in swamps, and also A. cicutarium,
while A. frmum and A. myriophyllum
inhabit caverns, rocks and sink-holes
All four are tropical species. They all
are very interesting and graceful plants
and grow we'll in plant sheds and green
houses. Other species of the genus
Asplenium find their southern limit in
our state, notably A. resilians, A.
ebeneum (p1atyneuron), A. tricho-
names, A. denta bum and A. Filix-
foemina
The Sensitive Fern s(Onoclea sensi-
bllls), the pretty Polystichium acros-
tichoides. three handsome Shield
Ferns (Dryapteris Thelypteris, Dr.
Patens and DR.. Floridana) already
alluded to, find their southern limit in
Florida, but they seem nowhere very
abundant. Dryopterls unita is a pretty
Fern and like its near relative, the
fine D. contermina, which abounds in
the swamps around Fort Meade, is
confined to the state.
Tectaria trifoliata (Aspidium tri-
foliatum), species common in the
American tropics, has been found to
be quite abundant in fernando county.
1t is a small species, growing about
foot high.
.Ornlthopteris adiantifolia (Aneimia
adl;alntlfoila) a very charming West
Indian species, is common in sandy
SOIL and coral rock near the coast