Re: New fern, a Nephrolepis

Larry, Nephrolepis exaltata will give any species a run for the money in the 
number of cultivars in commerce. It is a popular fern, not least because of its 
tolerance of neglect. It will do well in low light levels, and can survive 
forgetfulness in watering quite well. From a cultivation viewpoint, the only 
downside of Boston Ferns is the difficulty of removing dying fronds from an 
ever-enlarging tumble of rhizomes.

The wild form is said (Hoshizaki and Moran, Fern Grower's Manual, where there 
is a lot more) to be stiff and rank. It has an unusual disjunction, native to 
the West Indies and Pacific Islands.

The only other Nephrolepis found for 2.99 would be cordifolia, difficult to 
distinguish from exaltata when young, but having narrower, sword-like, very 
erect fronds in maturity. To add to the confusion, N. cordifolia is often 
mislabeled exaltata.

The runners of N. exaltata will root and form new plants. Many forms of 
exaltata are sterile, their sori never developing fully. On your second photo, 
the sori can be seen near the margin in outline; they may or may not develop 
further.

A characteristic of the genus, so far as I know, found no where else, is the 
failure of frond tips to completely unfurl. When you see this you can identify 
this genus at ten paces. I cannot make this out in your first photo, but here 
is a photo from a Danish nursery of the cultivar 'Nevada', illustrating the 
failure:
http://uldahl.dk/NevadaYoungPlant.htm

Tom Stuart

> I bought this yesterday for 2.99. It has these long runners coming out f it,
> but where do the sori form?
> 
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Dawnrider/nephrolepis_jun05.jpg
> 
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Dawnrider/DSCF0164.jpg
> 
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Dawnrider/DSCF0165.jpg
> 
> Cheers
> Larry

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