Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 April 1919 — Fem Family Includes 6,000 Species and Many Varieties [ARTICLE]

Fem Family Includes 6,000 Species and Many Varieties

According to the latest authority, the fern family comprises something like 150 genera, which Include about 6,000 species, with varieties among the species practically innumerable. Of all the varieties, however, there are only about two dozen which are commonly used for house decoration, and almost all come from the Nephrolepie family, of which the popular Boston fern Is a type. The Boston originated near Boston, Mass., about 25 years ago, and soon came into favor as a vigorous plant, most graceful in appearance, and capable of thriving under conditions found in the ordinary dwelling. But the most remarkable thing about it is its “sporting” proclivities, it having, through variation, produced a number of ferns in form notably differeht to type, over 30 of which have been catalogued commercially as distinct varieties.