CA 
 
 
I ML 60- 
 
 Plate XV 
 
 
 
 
 
 
POPULAR HISTORY 
 
 BRITISH FERNS 
 
 AND THE ALLIED PLANTS, 
 
 COMPRISING THE 
 
 CLUB-MOSSES, PEPPERWORTS, AND HORSETAILS. 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS MOORE, E.L.S., &c., 
 
 CURATOR OF THE BOTANIC GARDEN OF THE SOCIETY OF APOTHECARIES, CHELSEA, 
 AND AUTHOR OF *A HANDBOOK OF BRITISH FERNS,' ETC., ETC. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 REEVE AND BENHAM, 
 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 1851. 
 
PRINTED BY REEVE AND NICHOLS, 
 HEATHCOCK COURT, STRAND. 
 
TO 
 
 N. B. WABD, ESQ., P. L. S., &c., 
 
 WHOSE INVENTION OF 
 CLOSE GLAZED CASES 
 
 HAS EXTENDED THE CULTIVATION OP FERNS TO THE PARLOUR, 
 
 THE WINDOW-SILL, AND THE CITY COURT-YARD, 
 
 AS WELL AS ENRICHED OUR GARDENS WITH THE FRUITS AND FLOWERS 
 OF OTHER LANDS, 
 
 (!jte ^Little Walumt 
 
 IS, WITH MUCH RESPECT AND ESTEEM, DEDICATED, 
 BY HIS OBLIGED FRIEND, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IT has been presumed that we have been labouring for 
 beginners in the study of Ferns, and especially for the 
 young. Hence our aim has been to familiarize the sub- 
 ject as far as possible, without sacrificing that integrity 
 of detail which may render these pages acceptable even to 
 those who have made some progress in the study ; and with 
 this end in view, we have avoided all unnecessary techni- 
 calities, and confined ourselves rather to plain, and, as we 
 hope, easily understood descriptions of the plants. Those 
 dubious and debateable matters, which, perhaps, have the 
 most interest to the advanced student, have been for the 
 
VI PEEFACE. 
 
 most part entirely avoided, as being calculated to perplex 
 rather than instruct those who are but acquiring the rudi- 
 ments of the subject. 
 
 Abstruse questions of identity or of specific distinctions 
 have also been regarded as foreign to the purposes of this 
 ' History/ On these points we have been content to follow 
 the generally received opinions of Pteridologists. In one 
 or two instances, in which perhaps this course has been 
 departed from, the reason has been made sufficiently ob- 
 vious. 
 
 These explanations may serve to acquaint more advanced 
 students why so little of novelty has been prominently 
 introduced, and why several recently described plants have 
 been rather treated as varieties than as species. The 
 consideration of the specific distinctness of these plants 
 opens up questions involving much doubt and difficulty, 
 and leading different inquirers to widely different conclu- 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 sions. Of the difficulties of such questions the uninitiated 
 can have but a faint idea, neither could they be expected 
 to see clearly through them in any form in which they 
 could possibly be presented to them. It has, therefore, 
 been thought best to simplify the matter by regarding such 
 dubious species as varieties, ranging them with those ad- 
 mitted species in whose company, it appeared to us, they 
 would be most easily recognized. In doing this, however, 
 we record no opinions as to the questions really involved. 
 
 One novel species a less dubious addition to our 
 British Ferns has been announced while these pages have 
 been going through the press. This will be found de- 
 scribed in an Appendix. 
 
 One word. more. If it so happens that any of those who 
 may be led by the perusal of these pages to study the Ferns 
 of Britain, should, in the course of their inquiries, meet 
 with difficulties or perplexities which we may be able to 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 remove, it will afford us much gratification to do so. And 
 we should be glad to trouble any reader for information 
 as to the occurrence of any of the species in the counties 
 to which they are not assigned under the head of " Local 
 Distribution/'' 
 
 Botanic Garden, Chelsea, London, 
 November, 1851. 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Fi - 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 1 Ceterach officinarum 
 
 2 Polypodium vulgare 
 
 PLATE II. -' 
 
 1 Polypodium Dryopteris 
 
 2 - - Phegopteris 
 
 PLATE III. " 
 
 1 Polypodium calcareum 
 
 2 Wooclsia ilvensis 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 1 Woodsia hyperborea 
 
 2 Polystichum Lonchitis . 
 
 PLATE V. - 
 
 1 Allosorus crispus 
 
 2 Polystichum angulare .. 
 
 Page. 
 
 100 
 152 
 
 148 
 150 
 
 146 
 181 
 
 179 
 160 
 
 64 
 158 
 
 PLATE VI. - /i6 
 
 l ri &- Page. 
 
 1 Lastrea Thelypteris 136 
 
 2 cristata 116 
 
 PLATE VII. -131 
 1 Lastrea Oreopteris ....... 131 
 
 PLATE VIII. - f 
 
 I Lastrea Filix-mas, and var. 
 cristata 126 
 
 PLATE IX. - ( ^ ^ 
 
 1 Lastrea rigida 132 
 
 2 dilatata 123 
 
 PLATE X. ~/^ 
 
 1 Cystopteris fragilis 106 
 
 2 alpina 104 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 PLATE XI. - * 1 
 
 Fig. Page. 
 
 1 Atliyrium Pilix-foemina, and 
 var. multifidum ........ 87 
 
 PLATE XII. ^ 
 
 1 Asplenium lanceolatum ... 74 
 
 2 - Adiantmn-nigrum ... 66 
 
 3 - septentrionale ...... 79 
 
 PLATE XIII. -^ 
 
 1 Asplenium Euta-muraria, var. 78 
 
 2 - fontanurn ......... 69 
 
 3 - germanicum ....... 72 
 
 4 - virkle ............. 83 
 
 5 - Trichomanes ....... 80 
 
 PLATE XIV. - ) *> 
 
 1 Asplenium marinum ...... 76 
 
 2 Cystopteris montana ...... 109 
 
 PLATE XY. - ^] 
 
 1 Scolopendrium vulgare .... 169 
 
 2 Hymenopliyllum tunbridg- 
 
 ense ................. 113 
 
 3 Hymenopliyllum unilaterale . 114 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 1 Adiantum Capillus-Veneris . 
 
 2 Blechimm Spicant ....... 
 
 PLATE XVII. ~'^ 
 
 1 Pteris aquilina, var. integer- 
 
 rima ................. 1 
 
 2 Pilularia globulifera ...... 2 
 
 PLATE XVIII. - ' K 
 
 1 Trichomanes radicans ..... 1 
 
 2 Botrychium Lunaria ...... 
 
 3 Ophioglossum Tulgatuni ... 1 
 
 PLATE XIX. '^^ 
 
 1 Isoetes lacustris . 
 
 2 Osmunda regalis 
 
 J 
 
 PLATE XX. " u1 ^ 
 
 1 Equisetum hyemale ...... 2 
 
 2 - Telmateia ......... $ 
 
 3 - sylvaticum ......... 2 
 
 4 Lycopodium inundatum ... 1 
 
 5 - Selago . . ........ 1 
 
 6 - clavatum .......... ] 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 INTRODUCTION . 1 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF FERNS 7 
 
 PROPAGATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURE . . 20 
 
 DISTRIBUTION AND TOPOGRAPHICAL ASPECT . . 29 
 
 THE USES OF FERNS 33 
 
 SELECTION AND PRESERVATION FOR THE HERBA- 
 RIUM 37 
 
 THE CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS ...... 41 
 
 TABLE OF THE GROUPS AND GENERA OF BRITISH 
 
 FERNS AND ALLIED PLANTS .... 34 
 
 TABLE OF THE SPECIES AND VARIETIES 49 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 THE BRITISH PERNS 
 
 THE BRITISH CLUB-MOSSES 
 
 THE BRITISH PEPPERWORTS 
 
 THE BRITISH HORSETAILS 
 
 LOCAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE BRITISH FERNS, CLUB- 
 MOSSES, PEPPERWORTS, AND HORSETAILS 
 
 APPENDIX . 
 ADDITIONAL SYNONYMS 
 INDEX 
 
POPULAR 
 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THERE are several causes which conduce to render the 
 native Perns of Great Britain an attractive object of study. 
 Of these we will mention the following : 
 
 1. They are for the most part objects of exquisite ele- 
 gance, and this is apparent, whether they are superficially 
 examined as to their external appearance, or whether they 
 are investigated anatomically, with the view to discover 
 and analyse their minute structure. 
 
 2. They are not very numerous, nor very inaccessible, 
 and consequently their study opens a field which even 
 those who have not much leisure may hope to compass, 
 and for which the greater part, at least, of the materials 
 may be obtained without much difficulty. 
 
 " 
 
2 HISTORY OF BRITISH FEENS. 
 
 3. They are plants for the most part very easily culti- 
 vated, and of all others perhaps the best adapted to parlour 
 or window culture ; and hence, besides the interest they may 
 excite in the collection and preservation of them in the 
 herbarium, and in the study of them in the dried state, there 
 is to be added the pleasure to be derived from their culti- 
 vation, and the opportunities thus afforded of studying and 
 admiring them in the living state. 
 
 Those who desire a thorough knowledge of the species 
 of Perns, should certainly, if possible, adopt the method of 
 study just indicated, as it reveals many curious and in- 
 teresting features which are not to be learned from the 
 investigations though patiently and assiduously prose- 
 cuted which are aided only by dried portions of the 
 plants. All the essential points necessary for the recogni- 
 tion of the species, may, nevertheless, be availably present 
 in well-selected herbarium specimens, so that those who 
 have not convenience for cultivating them, may yet store 
 up in their cabinets ample materials for their amusement 
 and instruction in detached and leisure hours. 
 
 There is something peculiarly fascinating in the graceful 
 outline and disposition of parts, which is so common among 
 the Perns as to have become associated in idea with this 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 portion of the vegetable creation. Gaudy colouring is 
 indeed absent, and they wear while in life and health 
 nothing beyond a livery of sober green, which can scarcely 
 be said to gain ornament from the brownish scales, with 
 which in some of our native species it is associated on the 
 living plant. In some exotic forms indeed, as for example 
 in the species of Gymnogramma, the lower surface is covered 
 more or less with a silvery or golden powder, which adds 
 considerably to their beauty; and in the wide range of 
 the " Ferns of all nations " there is considerable variety, 
 even of the tints of green, to be observed. The more sober- 
 tinted natives of our northern latitude can, however, boast 
 but of comparatively little such variety of hue. It is not, 
 therefore, in the colouring that their attractions rest ; nor 
 is it in their endurance, for a large proportion of the native 
 species lose all their beauty as soon as the frost reaches 
 them, and for nearly one-half of the year are dormant un- 
 less artificially sheltered. "We therefore conclude, that it 
 is the elegant forms and graceful habits of the majority of 
 the Ferns, native and exotic, which render them so gene- 
 rally pleasing, even to those who are slow to perceive beauty 
 apart from rich and gaudy colouring. 
 
 The number of the native species of Ferns may be taken 
 
4 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 -at from forty to fifty, according as some of the more doubt- 
 ful forms are ranked as species or varieties. In a botanical 
 point of view the lowest estimate is probably the most cor- 
 rect, as the experience we have of some of the so-called 
 species leads to the notion that they are insensibly united 
 by intermediate forms. As, however, affecting their culti- 
 vation, or when the Terns are taken up as a "fancy/* the 
 higher number is too low ; for we hold that in all such 
 cases, if one plant is palpably different from another, it 
 forms a legitimate object for culture or for study as a dis- 
 tinct object, though the differences may be of such a cha- 
 racter as would lead the rigid botanist to brand it as not 
 " specifically distinct." 
 
 There is a good deal of pedantry abroad on this question 
 of the limits of the species of plants, with which, happily, 
 in this popular sketch of the British Perns, we shall have 
 no occasion to intermeddle. 
 
 The literature of the British Ferns is tolerably extensive, 
 viewed in connection with the comparative numerical insig- 
 nificance of the plants themselves, a mere fraction of the 
 three thousand species of Ferns which are known to botanists, 
 and a mere fraction, also, of our indigenous vegetation. 
 
 Passing by the ancient writers, whose works are both 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 for the most part inaccessible, and not of much value to 
 the casual student, we shall enumerate the several English 
 publications of the present day, which are exclusively oc- 
 cupied in the description of the British Ferns and their 
 allies ; as we hope some at least of our readers may be so 
 far led on by the sketch we shall endeavour to offer in the 
 following pages, as to seek the further assistance to be 
 derived from the more varied sources indicated below. We 
 shall arrange them in the order of their original publication, 
 and mention the most recent editions : 
 
 1. An Analysis of the British Ferns and their allies. By 
 
 G. W. Francis, F.L.S. Fourth Edition (same as the 
 Third, excepting the date on the title). 8vo, pp. 88, 
 with 9 plates, containing reduced figures of the spe- 
 cies described. 
 
 2. A History of British Ferns, and allied plants. By 
 
 Edward Newman, F.L.S., &c. Enlarged Edition of a 
 former work. 8vo, pp. 224, with beautiful woodcut 
 illustrations. 
 
 3. Florigraphia Britannica, Vol. IY. : The Ferns of Britain 
 
 and their allies. By Richard Deakin, M.D. 8vo, 
 pp. 136, with 31 plates and numerous woodcuts. 
 
 4. A Handbook of British Ferns. By Thomas Moore, 
 
6 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 F.L.S., &c. IGmo, pp. 156, with plain woodcuts of 
 
 all the species and the principal varieties. 
 
 The most important enumerations of the British Ferns 
 
 elsewhere to 1>e met with, are those in the recent edition 
 
 (6th) of Sir W. J. Hooker's < British Mora/ by Dr. Walker 
 
 Arnott, and in Mr. Babiiigton's ' Manual of British Botany * 
 
 (3rd edit.), in both of which they are treated with deference 
 
 to modern views. Ample descriptions of them so far as 
 
 then known, are given in Sir J. E. Smith's e English Flora/ 
 
 accompanied by the synonyms of the older writers. 
 
 Much has been achieved towards a thorough knowledge 
 of the English species, by the scrutiny to which the Ferns 
 at large have of late years been subjected, both in this 
 country and in Germany ; and we ought not to close this 
 paragraph without mentioning, of English botanists who 
 have contributed to this advance, the names of Brown, 
 Hooker, Wallich, Greville, J. Smith, and Heward, espe- 
 cially, as having most successfully dealt with a difficult 
 subject. 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF FERNS. 
 
 BUT our young readers will be ready to ask, What is a Pern ? 
 This we will now endeavour to explain by means of a 
 familiar comparison, 
 
 It is presumed that every reader of this little book, even 
 the youngest, can recognize a flower, not indeed by the aid 
 of the somewhat technical intricacies to which the man of 
 science would resort, but by means of that intuitive per- 
 ception, which has grown up with the growing faculties and 
 acquired strength from the little experiences of childhood 
 and youth. We. will suppose, then, that all our readers are 
 familiar with natural productions such as the buttercup, the 
 poppy, the brier-rose, the daisy, the dandelion, and others 
 such as these, which are so profusely dispersed over the 
 meadows and corn-fields, and along the hedge-rows, and by 
 the way-sides : even the young ears of corn and the spikes 
 of meadow grasses must be well-remembered objects. Now, 
 these all afford examples of flowers, or of masses of flowers. 
 But then the plants from which the daisy heads and 
 
8 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 dandelions were plucked to be made into floral chains, and 
 those which yielded the buttercups, the roses, and various 
 others for the rural bouquet, produced, besides their flowers 
 those brilliantly coloured parts which the tiny fingers chiefly 
 desired to gather other parts, mostly green, and in which 
 the same intuitive perception has learned to recognize the 
 leaves. These " organs/' as they are called the leaves and 
 the flowers are the two most conspicuous parts of the 
 majority of plants. 
 
 Popularly speaking, a Peru may be said to be a plant 
 which never bears flowers, but leaves only ; and these leaves 
 are greatly varied, and very elegant in form. But some one 
 will say, How can I tell a Pern, which never bears flowers, from 
 some other plant which does bear flowers, but from which 
 they are temporarily absent ? A little patience, and a little 
 attentive study, will overcome this seeming, and to the 
 beginner real, difficulty. You must search for what seems 
 to be a full-grown plant. Examine the under surface of its 
 leaves, and you will see brown dusty-looking patches, round 
 or elongated or in lines, scattered here and there, and 
 generally arranged with much regularity. These patches are 
 vast accumulations of the minute seeds so minute as to be 
 fabulously invisible from which young fern-plants would 
 be produced. 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF FERNS. 9 
 
 Now, as the leaves of those plants which do bear flowers 
 do not bear these dusty patches, it is on their presence that 
 the novice must depend for the assurance that the plant he 
 has under examination is really a Fern. It must be confessed, 
 indeed, that this is a very imperfect definition, and one 
 which would fail to satisfy the more advanced student ; but 
 in truth, there is no other available guide-mark at the 
 starting point, nor until the eye has become familiarized 
 with the peculiar appearances by aid of which Perns may be 
 recognized at first sight. This first step the ready re- 
 cognition of a Fern from other plants will be greatly as- 
 sisted by Mr. Fitch's characteristic figures which accompany 
 and ornament these pages. More detailed particulars of 
 the peculiarities of Ferns we must now proceed to offer. 
 
 Ferns, as we have already stated, are flowerless plants. 
 They are furnished with roots, by which they obtain nou- 
 rishment from the soil ; with stems, by which their con- 
 spicuous parts are borne up and supported; and with 
 leaves, to which their elegance is due, these leaves bearing 
 on some part of their surface, but usually on the lower face, 
 the seeds by which the plants may be propagated. These 
 are their external parts, and are called organs. 
 
 The proper roots of Ferns are entirely fibrous, and they 
 
10 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 proceed from the under side of the stem, when the latter 
 assumes the prostrate or creeping mode of growth ; but 
 when it grows erect, they are produced towards its lower 
 end on all sides indifferently, from among the bases of the 
 decayed leaves or fronds. Fibrous roots are so called from 
 their consisting of little thread-like parts, which, as they 
 extend by growth at their points, insinuate themselves 
 between the particles of earth to which they have access, 
 and this in process of time becomes filled with their rami- 
 fications. They often form entangled masses, but are not 
 always sufficiently numerous for this. The fibres of Perns 
 are mostly of a somewhat rigid or wiry texture ; and in the 
 younger portions are often more or less covered with fine 
 soft hairs, which become lost with age. It is by means of 
 these organs chiefly, that Perns, and all the more highly de- 
 veloped plants, are nourished. 
 
 The stem of a Pern, which is sometimes called a rhizome, 
 sometimes a caudex names given to particular modifications 
 of the stems of plants forms either an upright stock, which 
 in our native species seldom elevates itself above the sur- 
 face of the ground, but in certain exotic ferns reaches from 
 thirty to fifty feet or more in height, and gives a tree-like 
 character to the species ; or it extends horizontally either on 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF PERNS. 11 
 
 or beneath the surface of the soil, and forms what is called 
 a creeping stem. These creeping stems are generally 
 clothed with hairs or scales, and sometimes to such an 
 extent as to become quite shaggy ; they vary greatly in size, 
 some being as thick as one's wrist, and others, as in our 
 native Hymenopliyllums, as fine as threads. 
 
 The common Polypody has the thickest stem of any 
 of the creeping British species : in this it is about as thick 
 as one's thumb ; but that of the common Bracken, or Pleris, 
 creeps the most extensively. The Osmuncla, or Flowering 
 Pern, as it is called, is, of the native upright-growing species, 
 that which most readily gains height, and very old plants of 
 this may sometimes be found with bare stems of a foot or 
 more in length. The common Male Pern, the Lastrea Oreop- 
 teris, and the Polystichum angnlare, have also a tendency, 
 though in a less degree, to this mode of growth, but it never 
 becomes apparent except in the case of very aged plants. 
 
 The leaves of Perns are generally called fronds, and as we 
 think this latter term the most appropriate, we shall adopt 
 it, with this general explanation, that it means the leaf-like 
 organs which are borne on the proper stem. The leaf-like 
 character they bear, has led some botanists to reject the 
 term frond altogether, and to consider them as true 
 
12 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 leaves ; but since they produce, from some part of their 
 surface, what in their case stands in the place of flowers, 
 there is no more reason why they should be called leaves, 
 than the leaf-like stems of Cactuses, or those of some 
 curious hot-house plants called Xylophyllas, each of which 
 is an example of a plant bearing its flower on what appear 
 to be leaves, but which are in reality stems. The frond or 
 leafy part of a Fern is, however, not to be classed among 
 stems; and hence, since it is of intermediate character 
 between a leaf and a stem, a distinctive name seems to be 
 properly applied to it. The name in common use among 
 botanists is frond, which we shall therefore adopt, and re- 
 commend our young friends to employ. 
 
 As there are no flowers produced by the Ferns (we use 
 the term flower in its popular sense, without entering into 
 points of speculative botany), it is in the fronds that we must 
 seek for that ornamental aspect which renders them such 
 general favourites. The fronds alone, however, afford 
 almost endless variety : some are very large, others very 
 small; some quite simple and not at all divided, others 
 divided beyond computation into little portions or segments, 
 and it is these much-divided fronds which, generally 
 speaking, are the most elegant. 
 
THE STRUCTURE OE FERNS. 13 
 
 Even in the few species which are natives of Britain, this 
 variety of size and form is very obvious, some kinds not 
 being more than two or three inches, others five to six feet 
 or more in height, some quite simple, and others cut 
 into innumerable small segments. There is much variety 
 of texture too : some being thin and delicate, almost trans- 
 parent, others thick and leathery, and some perfectly rigid ; 
 some are pale green, some are deep green, some are blue- 
 green, some dark brownish, scarcely green at all ; some are 
 smooth and shining, others opake, and some few are 
 covered with hair-like scales. 
 
 The duration of the fronds of many species is compara- 
 tively short : they come up in spring, and in some cases 
 the earliest of them do not last till autumn, in others they 
 continue until touched by frost, from which the more 
 robust of them shrink, even as the tender sorts do from 
 drought as well as frost. Others are much more durable, 
 and the plants, if in a moderately sheltered situation, 
 become evergreen. These latter should be most ex- 
 tensively adopted for culture where ornamental effect is an 
 object. We shall point out these peculiarities as we de- 
 scribe the different species. 
 
 The fronds of Perns consist of two parts the leafy portion; 
 
14 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 and the stalk, which latter is often called the stipes. The 
 continuation of the stalk, in the form of a rib extending 
 through the leafy portion, and becoming branched when the 
 frond is divided, is called the rachis ; if the frond is compound, 
 that is, divided, so that there is another set of ribs besides 
 the principal one, the latter is called the primary rachis, and 
 the former the secondary rachis. Eew of our native spe- 
 cies are so highly compound as to possess more than a 
 secondary rachis. In practice, when the outline or division 
 of the frond is mentioned, it is generally the leafy portion 
 only that is referred to, exclusive of the stipes. 
 
 The stipes is generally furnished more or less with mem- 
 branous scales, which are sometimes few and confined to the 
 base, and at other times continued along the rachis. Some- 
 times these scales, which are generally brown, are large 
 and so numerous that the parts on which they are situated 
 acquire a shaggy appearance. The form of the scales, as 
 well as their number and position and even colour, is found 
 to be very constant in the different species or varieties, and 
 hence they sometimes afford good marks of recognition. 
 Whenever they are produced along the rachis, as well as 
 on the stipes, they are invariably largest at the base, and 
 become gradually smaller upwards. 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF FERNS. 15 
 
 In some species the leafy portion of the frond is un- 
 divided, that is to say, the margins are not scalloped or 
 cut away at all : an example of this occurs in the common 
 Hart's-tongue. The margin is, however, much more com- 
 monly more or less divided. In the simplest mode of 
 division which occurs among the British species, the margin 
 of the frond is deeply divided or scalloped out at short 
 intervals, the divisions extending inwards nearly to the 
 rachis, bat not reaching it : this slightly divided form is 
 called pinnatiftd. 
 
 The fronds are sometimes divided quite down to the rachis, 
 which is, as it were, quite bared of the contiguous leafy 
 expansion, and when this occurs the frond is said to be 
 pinnate ; in this case, each of the distinct leaf-like divisions 
 is called a pinna. When these pinnse are divided again 
 upon precisely the same plan the frond becomes lipinnate, 
 or twice pinnate, but if the pinnse are only deeply lobed 
 they are said to be pinnatifid. 
 
 When the fronds are thrice pinnate, and in all other 
 more intricate forms, they are called decompound, but this 
 seldom occurs in any of the native kinds ; the nearest 
 approach to it is in very vigorous plants of the common 
 Bracken, and in some of the Lastreas, when very largely 
 developed. 
 
16 HISTORY OF BEITISH TEENS. 
 
 The young fronds of the ferns before being developed 
 are arranged in a very curious manner, the rachis being 
 tolled inwards from the point to the base, and in the com- 
 pound sorts the divisions are each again rolled up in a 
 similar way. This arrangement is what is called circinate. 
 All the British species, with two exceptions, are folded up 
 in this way, so that their development consists of an un- 
 rolling of the fronds. The exceptions mentioned, are the 
 Moonwort and the Adders-tongue, in both of which the 
 fronds in the undeveloped state are folded straight. 
 
 The substance of the fronds is traversed by veins vari- 
 ously arranged; in some species forming straight parallel 
 lines, in others joined together like net-work. The manner 
 in which the veins are disposed is called the venation, and 
 the nature of this venation affords useful data in the divi- 
 sion of the ferns into family groups. It is from some 
 determinate part of these veins that the clusters of fructifi- 
 cation "proceed, that part to which they are attached being 
 called the receptacle. A correct appreciation of the con- 
 dition and position of the receptacle with reference to the 
 veins, is of considerable importance in the study of the 
 genera and species that is to say, the individual kinds and 
 the family groups. In some, though few of the native 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF FERNS. 17 
 
 kinds, it is projected beyond the margin, and the little cases 
 of seeds are collected around its free extremity. More 
 commonly, however, the veins stop within the margins, and 
 the seed- cases grow in round or elongated clusters, situate 
 at their ends or along their sides, and protruded through 
 the skin of the lower surface of the fronds. 
 
 No flowers are produced, but the plants bear, generally, 
 great abundance of seed-like bodies, which are technically 
 called spores, and are contained in little cases of very sin- 
 gular construction. Collectively, these cases and their 
 contents are called the fructification. The seed-cases, as 
 already remarked, are attached in the different species to 
 certain determinate thickened portions of the veins, which 
 points of attachment are called the receptacles. Each 
 separate mass or cluster of the seed-cases is called a sorus, 
 but as they are generally spoken of collectively, the plural 
 term sori becomes much more frequently used. 
 
 The seed-cases called also spore-cases, or sporangia, or 
 tlieca are mostly minute roundish-oval bodies, containing 
 one cavity, and nearly surrounded by an elastic vertical 
 band or ring, which is continued from the base so as to 
 form a short stalk, by which they are attached. TV hen 
 they have reached maturity, the elasticity of the ring 
 
18 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 bursts the case irregularly, and the seeds or spores, in the 
 shape of fine dust, almost invisible, become dispersed. 
 This is what occurs in the majority of the native species ; in 
 Trichomanes and the Hymenopliyllums, however, the elastic 
 band is horizontal or oblique ; and in Osmunda, Botrycliiurn, 
 and OpJiioylossum, the spore-cases are two-valved, and des- 
 titute of the elastic ring. 
 
 In a considerable proportion of the known species of 
 Perns, and in the majority of those which are natives of 
 Great Britain, the sori are covered in the earlier stages of 
 growth by what is commonly called the indiwum, which 
 is mostly a thin transparent membranous scale of the same 
 general form as the sorus itself, at first completely covering 
 or enclosing the young seed-cases. Eventually, however, 
 by their growth, its margins are disrupted, and it is cast off, 
 frequently even before the maturity of the seeds. Some 
 species, however, never bear any indusium, and its presence 
 or absence is consequently one of the technical points by 
 which the large body of Terns are divided into groups of 
 manageable extent. In some Perns the indusium, or cover, 
 or at least what is considered analogous to it, is cup-shaped, 
 containing the seed-cases; but this form is of very rare 
 occurrence among the native species, and exists only in 
 Trichomanes and the Hymenophyllums. 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF FERNS. 19 
 
 Taking now a retrospective glance, we have seen that 
 the Perns are, as regards external structure, flowerless 
 plants, having erect or creeping stems, which bear the leaf- 
 like fronds ; and on some part of the surface of the latter, 
 usually the lower side, but sometimes the margin, are borne 
 the clusters of seeds, which, in the majority of the native 
 species, are, when young, furnished with a membranous 
 scale-like cover. 
 
 The subject of internal structure, or anatomy, is foreign 
 to the purposes of this volume. We may, however, men- 
 tion in general terms, that the Ferns belong to the lowest 
 group of vegetation, which is especially remarkable for its 
 loose and often succulent texture, owing to the absence, or 
 nearly so, of those tissues which give firmness and elas- 
 ticity to the higher orders of plants. The Perns, however, 
 are the highest members of this group, and hence we find 
 them possessing, to some extent, both woody and vascular 
 tissue, matters which, together with cellular tissue, the 
 soft loose material above mentioned, may be found explained 
 in any elementary book on physiological botany. 
 
20 
 
 PROPAGATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURE. 
 
 NATURALLY Perns are propagated by means of the spores, 
 of which mention has been already made. These spores 
 are somewhat analogous to seeds, being like them endowed 
 with that mystery the vital germ ; and, when placed under 
 fitting conditions, they become developed into young plants ; 
 but they differ from seeds in some important particulars. 
 
 All true seeds have a determinate structure; they have 
 an embryo, with special organs, namely, the plumule, or 
 germ of the ascending axis, the origin of the stem, and 
 the radicle, or germ of the descending axis, the origin of 
 the root. When a seed is planted, in whatever position it 
 may chance to have been deposited in the soil, the young 
 root or radicle strikes downwards, and the young stem or 
 plumule grows upwards. 
 
 The Tern spores have none of these determinate parts, 
 but are, as it were, homogeneous atoms ; and when placed 
 under circumstances which induce germination, that part 
 which lies downwards produces the root, and that part 
 
PROPAGATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURE. 21 
 
 which, lies upwards produces the rudimentary stem. The 
 spores are very minute vesicles of various shapes, but 
 mostly roundish, and are often beautifully ornamented with 
 markings on the exterior. They consist merely of a small 
 vesicle of cellular tissue, and as they grow this vesicle 
 becomes divided into others, which again multiply and 
 enlarge, until they form a minute green leaf-like patch, 
 roundish but irregular in outline, unilateral, and often, if not 
 always, two-lobed, forming a primordial scale or leaf ; this 
 by degrees thickens at a central point on the side, which 
 henceforth becomes the axis of development, and from this 
 point a small leaf or frond is produced on the upper surface 
 where the tissue is acted on by light. This leaf is usually 
 very different in aspect as well as size from the mature 
 fronds, and is succeeded by other fronds, which acquire by 
 degrees the characteristic features peculiar to their species. 
 
 In some annual Ferns the mature character is soon at- 
 tained, but in others two or more years of growth is re- 
 quired before they reach maturity; they, however, soon 
 begin to assume something of their peculiar appearance, 
 so that by the time three or four of these young fronds 
 are produced, sometimes even earlier, a practised eye can 
 recognize the species. 
 
22 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 It is from the under side of the thickened point or 
 axis of development above mentioned, where it comes in 
 contact with the moistened soil, that the roots are protruded, 
 The stem, or caudex, whatever its character, originates in 
 this primary axis of development. 
 
 In the first stages of development, then, the young seed- 
 ling Ferns (that is, Perns raised from the spores) assume the 
 appearance of a Liverwort, forming a green, semi-transparent, 
 crust-like patch on the surface of the soil the unilateral 
 primordial scale referred to above. 
 
 In these minute and almost invisible atoms, no less than 
 in the more ponderous materials which surround us, we dis- 
 cover the impress of Almighty and Creative power. They 
 teem with life ! No commixture of elementary matter, no 
 electric shock guided by human agency, can originate that. 
 Truly the hand that made them is Divine ! 
 
 The requisite conditions to induce the germination of the 
 spores of Ferns, in addition to the supply of the degree of heat 
 proper for the species which produced them, is simply contact 
 with a continually damp surface. Diffused light is favourable 
 to the young growth as soon as it begins to form, but is appa- 
 rently not necessary as a means of exciting it. It matters 
 little in what way the principal condition above-mentioned 
 
PROPAGATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURE. 23 
 
 is supplied. In hothouses, where the plants stand and 
 shed their spores, the latter germinate freely on the undis- 
 turbed soil, or on any damp brickwork with which they 
 come in contact, or on the upright sides of the pots in 
 which the plants are growing, if these are so circumstanced 
 as to remain continually damp. They grow very readily on 
 the rough surface of a piece of sandstone-rock, just kept 
 moistened by water constantly but slowly dripping upon it. 
 
 The most convenient way, however, to raise Ferns from 
 the spores, where cultivation is the object, is to sow them 
 on the surface of peat soil, in pots of convenient size, the 
 surface of the soil being kept an inch or more below the 
 level of the pot rim, so that a piece of flat glass may be 
 laid over the top, to secure a close and constantly moist 
 atmosphere, and prevent rapid evaporation from the soil. 
 
 The pots should be nearly half-filled with small pieces of 
 broken potsherds or of broken bricks, and the soil itself 
 should be used rather coarse than fine, the surface being 
 left rough, that is, not pressed down close and even. The 
 pots should be set in pans or feeders, in which water should 
 be kept so long as the soil does not become saturated. By 
 this means, the soil may be kept at the required degree of 
 continual dampness ; but if by any chance saturation seems 
 
24 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 to be taking place, the supply should be withheld for a time. 
 A shady situation, under the influence of a temperature 
 proper for the individual kinds, should be selected for these 
 nursery pots. 
 
 When all is in readiness, the spores should be thinly 
 scattered over the rough surface of the soil, and the glass 
 cover at once put on. It is necessary to be somewhat careful 
 in the act of sowing, as the spores, from their lightness and 
 minuteness, are liable to be dispersed in the atmosphere, 
 instead of being lodged on the seed-bed prepared for them ; 
 from the same cause, they are apt to cling about the surface 
 of the paper even though it be glazed in which they may 
 have been enclosed. A bell-glass may be employed to cover 
 the soil after sowing, but we have been content to point out 
 the simplest means and materials by which the end in view 
 may be attained. 
 
 A simple and convenient contrivance for sowing the 
 spores, by which the progress of germination might be very 
 readily watched, would consist in inverting a porous flower- 
 pot in a shallow dish or pan of water, large enough to take 
 also the rim of an enclosing bell-glass, which should cover 
 some surface of the water. A small cup or vase, set on the 
 top of the inverted pot, with two or three worsted siphons, 
 
PROPAGATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTUEE. 25 
 
 would keep its sides always damp ; the spores scattered 
 over the sides of this moistened porous earthenware would 
 find a proper nidus for their development, which might thus 
 be watched with great facility. It is to be borne in mind, 
 however, that the seedling plants are not so readily trans- 
 planted from an earthenware or stone surface, as they are 
 when growing on the soil. 
 
 The general features of culture which it will be sufficient 
 here to notice are shade, shelter, and abundance of mois- 
 ture, neither of these being, however, essential to all the 
 species, but when judiciously combined producing the con- 
 ditions under which all the species admit of being very suc- 
 cessfully grown. 
 
 In the garden, Ferns seem only appropriately introduced 
 on what is called rockwork, which generally means a bank 
 of earth irregularly terraced with misshapen fragments of 
 stone, or by some other hard porous material, the vitrified 
 masses formed in the burning of bricks being that most 
 commonly substituted. With taste in the distribution of 
 these and such like materials, and in the planting of the 
 Eerns, a very pleasing effect may be produced ; and on 
 rockwork of this kind, if it be erected in a shaded and 
 sheltered situation, and liberally supplied with percolating 
 
26 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 (not stagnant) water, nearly all the English Ferns may be 
 grown. 
 
 It will, as a matter of course, suggest itself to the planter, 
 that the most sunny, most exposed, and least moistened 
 positions on the rockwork should be appropriated to those 
 species which grow naturally in situations to which these 
 conditions afford the nearest resemblance ; while, on the 
 other hand, the kinds which naturally prefer the deepest 
 shade and the dampest soil, should be placed in the posi- 
 tions where these conditions are most nearly imitated. 
 
 Perhaps, however, the most interesting occupation for the 
 amateur in Perns consists in the cultivation of them under 
 glass, either in pots, or planted in a Wardian case. All the 
 species admit of being grown in pots, and when developed 
 under the protection of a covering of glass, acquire more 
 than their natural delicacy of appearance. 
 
 For general purposes the frame or case in which they 
 are grown should have a northern aspect ; the eastern and 
 western aspects are less favourable, though with attention 
 to shading during sunny weather, they may be adopted, and 
 are at least much preferable to the southern, even with the 
 advantage of shading. It is the heat, no less than the 
 brightness of such an aspect, which is to be avoided ; and 
 
PROPAGATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURE. 27 
 
 therefore, for all practical purposes, the nearer the situation 
 in which they are grown approaches the northern aspect, 
 the better. The plants must be kept cool in summer, by 
 shading, by sprinkling, by not quite closing the frame in 
 the day-time, and by removing all impediments to a free 
 circulation of air all night. 
 
 Wardian cases for Ferns, in which they may be planted 
 out on rockwork, may be either of the size and nature of a 
 small detached greenhouse, or of those window or balcony 
 greenhouses made by enclosing within a projecting sash, a 
 greater or smaller area external to the window, or they may 
 be of smaller size and more finished workmanship, for the 
 interior of dwelling rooms, for stair-case landings, or any 
 other situations within- doors, where they can be moderately 
 lighted. 
 
 As a general rule, Ferns under cultivation do not require 
 any manure. The most proper soil for them consists of the 
 native earths called peat or bog earth, and sandy loam, 
 mixed in about equal proportions, with a further admixture 
 equal to an eighth of the whole mass for the coarser sorts, 
 and of a fourth of the whole mass for the more delicate 
 sorts, of any clean sharp grit, which is used for the purpose 
 of preventing the too close adhesion and consolidation of 
 
28 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 the particles ; the clean white sand, called Reigate sand, is 
 that most generally employed. 
 
 The supply of water to Ferns under artificial conditions 
 is a very essential matter ; they must never lack moisture, 
 or their fragile texture shrinks as before a burning blast ; 
 nor, with few exceptions, must the soil about them be kept 
 continually wet with stagnant water; indeed, stagnant 
 water is in all cases to be avoided. 
 
DISTRIBUTION AND TOPOGRAPHICAL ASPECT. 
 
 THE species of Ferns known to botanists, including the 
 lesser groups sometimes separated from what have been 
 called the ' ' true " Ferns, amount to something more than 
 three thousand. Their head-quarters are the humid forests 
 of tropical islands, in some of which they acquire a giant 
 size, and in their tree-like habit become rivals to the noble 
 Palms. The tree Ferns are not, however, numerous, the 
 number of species having this habit bearing a small pro- 
 portion to those of shrubby or herbaceous growth. 
 
 From the statistics which have been collected in reference 
 to this question, it appears that the Ferns bear a higher 
 proportion to the flowering plants both towards the equator 
 and towards the poles ; and that their proportional number 
 is least in the middle of the temperate zone. They reach 
 their absolute maximum in the torrid zone, amid the heat, 
 moisture, and shade of the tropical forests ; and their 
 absolute minimum on the inhospitable shores of the polar 
 regions. 
 
30 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 The proportion borne by the Ferns to the whole mass of 
 flowering plants, in the torrid zone, is stated at one in 
 twenty ; in the temperate zone at one in seventy ; and in 
 the frigid zone at an average of one in eight. In the most 
 northern parts of the Arctic zone, none have yet been dis- 
 covered. 
 
 In onr own country, the proportion borne between these 
 two great divisions of vegetation, is reckoned at one Pern 
 to thirty-five flowering plants. In Scotland they stand re- 
 latively as one in thirty-one. 
 
 The forms which exist among the Ferns are very diversi- 
 fied, and this, no less than their variations of size and habit, 
 renders them conspicuous objects in the scenery where they 
 abound. They may all be classed under three divisions, so 
 far as their leading features are concerned, namely, arbores- 
 cent, shrubby, and herbaceous. 
 
 It is the former class, the arborescent species, chiefly, 
 which exert a marked influence on the physiognomy of 
 nature, for, as Meyen well remarks, they unite in themselves 
 the majestic growth of the Palms, with the delicacy of the 
 lower Ferns, and thus attain a beauty to which nature shows 
 nothing similar. These truly arborescent species are prin- 
 cipally confined to the torrid zone, their slender waving 
 
DISTRIBUTION AND TOPO GRAPHICAL ASPECT. 31 
 
 trunks often beautifully pitted by the marks left on the 
 falling away of the fronds ; they grow to a height of from 
 twenty to fifty feet or more, from their tops sending out the 
 feathery fronds, often many feet in length, and yet so 
 delicate as to be put in motion by the gentlest breeze. On 
 some of the East Indian Islands the tree Ferns occur as 
 numerously as the crowded Firs in our plantations ; but 
 wherever they are found from the plains to an elevation of 
 3,000 to 4,000 feet the soil and atmosphere are full of 
 moisture. Yery noble arborescent Ferns are found in New 
 Zealand and Tasmania. 
 
 The shrubby Ferns, those with short stems, surmounted 
 by tufted fronds, prevail rather at the tropics than at the 
 equatorial zone, and are found less frequently at the foot of 
 tropical mountains, than at an elevation of from 2,000 to 
 3,000 feet. Ferns of this aspect abound in the South Sea 
 Islands. Mr. Colenso describes one of the New Zealand 
 species as producing, from a main trunk twelve feet high, 
 fronds which form a droop often of eighteen feet ; such 
 plants, standing singly on the bank of a purling rill of 
 water, being objects of surpassing beauty. 
 
 The herbaceous species are rather characteristic of the 
 temperate and colder zones : not that their number in 
 
32 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 warmer regions is less great, but their influence on the 
 aspect of vegetation there is of a different character ; they 
 are more frequently parasitic in the tropics, and by their 
 varied forms and colours, and the way in which they fix 
 themselves, they give an air of peculiar luxuriance to the 
 higher vegetation. Even in the temperate regions some of 
 these herbaceous Eerns attain considerable height, as is the 
 case with the common Bracken, which, in the hedge-rows of 
 sheltered rural lanes in the south of England, reaches the 
 height of eight or ten feet, and assumes the most graceful 
 habit that can be conceived. 
 
 Wherever the Eerns occur, whether it be the herbaceous 
 species of temperate climates, or the arborescent species of 
 the equatorial regions, or the epiphytal species which clothe 
 the trunks and branches of the trees in tropical forests, they 
 add a marked and peculiar character of beauty and luxuri- 
 ance to the scenery, and that to an extent which is not 
 realized by any other race of plants. 
 
33 
 
 THE USES OF FERNS. 
 
 WE cannot make out a long catalogue of the uses of Ferns. 
 Indeed, compared with their numbers and size, their useful- 
 ness to man is very limited ; and the frigid utilitarian might 
 be almost tempted to ask of Nature, wherefore she gave 
 them birth. Her reply would, however, stay further inter- 
 rogation : " They are given 
 
 ' To minister delight to man, 
 To beautify the earth.' " 
 
 The Ferns are not, moreover, altogether without their use ; 
 for to the aborigines of various countries they furnish a 
 rude means of subsistence. The pith of the stem or 
 rhizome is the part usually employed for food, and this on 
 account of the starch deposited in its tissue. Among the 
 species which are thus employed as food chiefly, however, 
 where civilization has not become the dispenser of better 
 fare there is the Cyathea, medullaris, Marattia alata and 
 elegans, Angwptens evecta; the Tasmanian Tara, Pteris 
 esculenta ; Nephrodium esculentum, Diplazium esculentum, 
 
 D 
 
34 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 and Gleichenia Hermanni ; and it is worth remark that these 
 species represent almost all the principal groups into which 
 Ferns are scientifically divided. 
 
 But while the child of nature turns to the Fern for food, 
 his more civilized brother seeks in it a medicine ; and he 
 finds it ! Two of our common native species, the Filix-mas 
 and the Bracken, especially the former, have the reputation 
 of being remedies against intestinal worms, in consequence 
 of their bitter and astringent qualities, which properties are 
 possessed by the stems of many other species. Another 
 native Fern, the Eoyal Fern, has been successfully used in 
 cases of rickets. From the astringent mucilage present in 
 the green parts of many of the species, they are reckoned 
 pectoral and lenitive ; and both the native Adiantum 
 Capillus-Veneris, and the American Adiantum pedatum, are 
 thus employed in the form of capillaire, which is prepared 
 from them by pouring boiling syrup over the fronds, and 
 flavouring it with orange flowers ; this preparation is con- 
 sidered undoubtedly pectoral, though if too strong it is said 
 to be emetic. Other species of Adiantum, as well as some 
 Polypodium&, AcrosticJiums, and Noihochl&na*, are reported 
 to possess medicinal properties. 
 
 Both the common Bracken and the Male Fern abound 
 
THE USES OF FERNS. 35 
 
 in alkali, and are applied to various economic uses, as 
 the manufacture of soap and glass, the dressing of leather, 
 &c. These species have also been used in the preparation 
 of beer ; and the Aspidium fragrant has been employed as 
 a substitute for tea. 
 
 The bruised leaves of Angwpteris evecta and Polypodium 
 phymatodes are said to yield an aromatic oil, employed in 
 perfuming the cocoa-nut oil of the South Sea Islands. 
 
 Deserving of especial mention in this place is the vegetable 
 curiosity called the Barometz, Boranez, or Tartarian or 
 Scythian lamb, of which marvellous tales have been told. 
 This "lamb" consists merely of the decumbent shaggy 
 rhizome of a Pern, what it has been supposed is that of the 
 Cibotmm Barometz ; when turned upside down, the bases of 
 four of its fronds being retained as legs, by the aid of a little 
 manipulation, this not inaptly resembles some small animal, 
 and may fairly rank as a vegetable curiosity. 
 
 The 'traveller's tale' on this subject is, that, on an ele- 
 vated, uncultivated salt plain, of vast extent, west of the 
 Volga, grows a wonderful plant, with the shape and appear- 
 ance of a lamb, having feet, head, and tail distinctly formed, 
 and its skin covered with soft down. The ' lamb' grows 
 upon a stalk about three feet high, the part by which it is 
 
36 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 sustained being a kind of navel ; it turns about and bends 
 to the herbage, which serves for its food, and when the grass 
 fails it dries up, and pines away. The real facts are, that 
 the rhizome of tin's plant, as already stated, does present a 
 rude appearance of an animal ; it is covered with silky down, 
 and, if cut into, is seen to have a soft inside, with a reddish 
 flesh-coloured appearance. And no doubt when the herbage 
 of its native plains fails, its leaves, too, dry up, both perish- 
 ing from the same cause, but having no dependence the one 
 on the other. Thus it is that simple people have been per- 
 suaded, that in the deserts of Scythia there existed creatures 
 which were half animal, half plant. 
 
37 
 
 SELECTION AND PRESERVATION FOR THE HERBARIUM. 
 
 FERNS are amongst the best of all plants for preservation in 
 the form of an herbarium ; for in addition to their elegant 
 appearance when nicely dried and arranged on sheets of clean 
 white paper, they are less liable than most plants to the 
 attacks of the destructive pests in the shape of insects, 
 which commit such havoc among dried plants in general. 
 We must give our inexperienced readers a few hints on the 
 selection of specimens for this purpose. 
 
 The process of drying we need not describe in detail ; we 
 shall merely remark, that they should be dried quickly, 
 under moderately heavy pressure, among sheets of absorbent 
 paper, which must be replaced by dried sheets as long as the 
 plants continue to give out moisture. The thicker the bulk 
 of paper placed between the specimens whilst under pressure, 
 the better. Two or three changes will generally be sufficient, 
 if the substituted sheets be in each case perfectly dry. 
 
 The smaller growing kinds should be gathered, if possible, 
 in the tufts as they grow, preserving the whole mass of 
 
38 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 fronds, with the stem and roots, the fronds being spread out 
 in an easy and graceful form, and as far as possible kept 
 quite flat, but not formally ' laid out ' so as to destroy any 
 peculiarity of habit which the species may possess. 
 
 If entire tuffcs cannot be obtained, and single fronds have 
 to be substituted, they should be taken quite to the base, 
 and must be removed from the stem with care, so that the 
 scales, or hairs, or farinose powder, which may be present 
 on the stalk, may be preserved equally with the frond itself. 
 
 Of larger growing species, single fronds only are manage- 
 able, and these, when of larger size than the folios in which 
 the specimens are to be kept, must be folded to somewhat 
 less than the length of the papers, whilst yet fresh. 
 
 Of the gigantic species, portions only of the fronds, cor- 
 responding in size with the paper to be used, can be pre- 
 served; but all of our native species, except in cases of 
 extreme luxuriance, may, we believe, with a little judgment 
 in the selection of specimens, be folded so as to allow of 
 their being preserved in ordinary folios measuring eighteen 
 inches by twelve inches, or thereabouts. 
 
 It is sometimes recommended to select specimens with the 
 fructification mature. We should rather, as a general rule, 
 advise their being gathered before the masses of spores reach 
 
PRESERVATION FOR THE HERBARIUM. 39 
 
 their fall growth. If, however, more than a single speci- 
 men of each kind is preserved, the perfectly mature and the 
 incipient states of fructification should also be gathered ; 
 but in the majority of cases the intermediate state will 
 afford the best materials for subsequent examination and 
 recognition. 
 
 Of course, when the species produces two or more kinds of 
 fronds, examples of each must be preserved, as, for instance, 
 in the Allosorus crispus, the fertile fronds of winch alone 
 would convey but a very indifferent notion of the plant. 
 The necessity of attending to this point is even more strik- 
 ingly apparent in such exotic genera as the Strutkiopteris, 
 and almost all the species related to the Acrosticliums. 
 
 After being thoroughly dried under pressure, the speci- 
 mens, according to their size, should be arranged, singly if 
 large, or in groups resembling the natural tufts, if sufficiently 
 small, on one side only of a series of sheets of stout white 
 paper, to which they should be fastened by a few thread 
 ties, or gummed straps, in preference to being pasted down 
 with glue. The specimens, however, admit of a much more 
 convenient and searching examination when kept loose in a 
 folded sheet of paper ; but if there should be frequent occa- 
 sion to handle such loose Specimens, they will be found much 
 
40 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 more liable to become injured and broken than such as are 
 fastened to the paper. 
 
 The specimens should be fully labelled, the labels giving 
 at least their names, the locality where gathered, and the 
 date ; and these labels should, as far as possible, be fixed 
 with some degree of uniformity as to their position, so as to 
 be readily referred to by turning up one of the corners of 
 the sheets of paper. 
 
 The papers to which the specimens are affixed should be 
 enclosed in paper covers, each genus separately ; and these 
 covers should be placed either on the shelves of a cabinet, 
 or in drawers, or in any convenient place where they may 
 be preserved against dust, the attacks of insects, and other 
 casualties. 
 
41 
 
 THE CLASSIFICATION OF FERNS. 
 
 THE first notions of classifying the Ferns, if we may judge 
 from the Latin sentences which served as names for them in 
 former times, were derived chiefly from the size, form, and 
 general resemblance of the fronds, and the situations in 
 which they grew. As, however, the knowledge of their 
 structure and organization became extended, the insufficiency 
 of such means of distinction and arrangement became appa- 
 rent ; and when the great Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, set 
 about the task of distributing the plants known to him, into 
 family groups, he selected the fructification as the leading 
 character of association, his groups of Eerns being formed 
 from the resemblances in the form and position of the 
 clusters of ' seed-vessels/ which we have already mentioned 
 (p. 17), under the name of spore-cases. 
 
 Those who immediately succeeded him did but carry out 
 to greater perfection, in accordance with increasing know- 
 ledge, the same general idea of family relationship, the most 
 important additional characteristic called into requisition 
 being that derived from the presence or absence of a general 
 
HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 investing membrane or cover to the spore-cases,, and its 
 form,, origin., and mode of bursting when present. This, in 
 fact, brings us to the basis of the classification which has 
 prevailed till within comparatively very few years, and even, 
 to some extent, to the present time. 
 
 Another feature has, however, latterly been adopted by 
 many botanists skilled in the knowledge of Perns, as forming 
 the leading characteristic of their family relationship, the 
 groups thus brought together representing the modern classi- 
 fication of Perns. The feature thus adopted, as affording 
 the marks of family recognition, is the veining of the fronds ; 
 and probably, as at present employed, in conjunction with the 
 characters derived from the clusters of spore-cases and their 
 covers, there is but little scope for further improvement. 
 The tendency of the system is, however, towards subdivision 
 of the family groups, and in this direction it is perhaps 
 somewhat liable to err. "We shall introduce a summary of 
 the groups and species adapted to Mr. John Smith's plan of 
 arrangement, in accordance with the venation ; the picture 
 presented by our few native species must riot, however, be 
 taken as a proper representation of this system of classifica- 
 tion. In the more detailed descriptions it will be more con- 
 venient if we follow an alphabetical order. 
 
A TABLE OF THE GROUPS AND GENERA OF THE BRITISH 
 FERNS AND ALLIED PLANTS. 
 
 I. PEBNS FILICES. 
 
 Plowerless plants, bearing seed-vessels (spore-cases) on 
 
 the backs or margins of their leaves (fronds). The 
 
 British Perns belong to gronps which are called 
 
 Polypodiacea, Osmundacea, and Opkioglossacea. 
 
 i. POLYPODIACES = Perns having the leaves rolled up in a 
 
 circinate or crozier-like manner while young, and the 
 
 spore-cases girt with an elastic ring, and bursting in 
 
 an irregular manner. It comprises the lesser groups 
 
 of Polypodies, Aspidiece, Aspleniea, Pteridea, and 
 
 Dicksoniea. 
 
 A. POLYPODIES = Perns whose clusters of spore-cases 
 have no special membranous cover (indusium). It 
 contains the genera Polypodlum and Allosorus. 
 1. Poly podium = Dorsal-fruited Perns, with the sori 
 exposed. 
 
44 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 2. Allosorus = Dorsal -fruited Perns, with, the sori 
 
 covered by reflexed, unaltered margins of the frond. 
 
 B. ASPIDIEJS= Perns whose sori have a special indusium, 
 
 of a circular or roundish form, and springing here 
 and there, from the back of the veins. It contains 
 the genera Wood&a, Lastrea, Polystichum, and 
 Cystopteris. 
 
 3. Woodsia = Dorsal-fruited Perns, having the in- 
 
 dusium attached beneath the sori, and divided 
 into hair-like segments. 
 
 4. Lastrea = Dorsal-fruited Perns, having a reniform 
 
 indusium, attached by its indented side. 
 
 5. PolysticJium = Dorsal-fruited Perns, having a cir- 
 
 cular indusium, attached by its centre. 
 
 6. (^fo^fem==Dorsal-fruited Perns, having a cucullate 
 
 or hooded indusium, attached by its broad base. 
 
 C. ASPLENIE^: = Perns whose sori have a special indusium, 
 
 of an oblong or elongated form, and springing from 
 the sides of the veins. It contains the genera 
 AtJiyrium, Asplenium, Ceterach, and Scolopendrium. 
 
 7. AtJiyrium = Dorsal- fruited Perns, having an oblong 
 
 reniform indusium, attached by its concave side, 
 the other side fringed with hair-like segments. 
 
TABLE OF GENERA. 45 
 
 8. Aspleninm = Dorsal-fruited Perns, having the in- 
 
 dusium straight and elongate, and attached 
 by the side towards the margin of the pinnae or 
 pinnules. 
 
 9. CeteracJi = Dorsal-fruited Ferns, having the indu- 
 
 sium obsolete, and the sori hidden among densely 
 imbricated, rust-coloured, chaffy scales. 
 
 10. Scolopendrium = Dorsal-fruited Perns, having the 
 
 sori elongate, and proximate in parallel pairs, the 
 indusium opening along the centre of the twin 
 sorus. 
 
 D. PTERIDE,E = Perns, the margin of whose fronds is 
 either soriferous, and continuously or interruptedly 
 changed into a special indusium, or whose spore- 
 cases are in lines parallel with the margin. It con- 
 tains the genera Pteris, Adiantum, and Blecknum. 
 
 11. Pteris = Dorsal -fruited Perns, having the spore- 
 
 cases in a continuous line at the edge of the 
 frond, beneath an indusium formed of the altered 
 margin. 
 
 12. Adiantum = Dorsal -fruited Perns, having the 
 
 spore-cases in patches, on the reflexed, altered 
 apices of the lobes of the fronds. 
 
46 HISTORY OF BRITISH FE11NS. 
 
 1 3 . BlecJmwm = Dorsal-fruited Ferns, having the spore- 
 
 cases in a continuous line between the midrib and 
 margin of the divisions of the frond. 
 E. DICKSONIE^ = Perns whose sori are (in the British 
 species) produced around the ends of veins project- 
 ing from the margin, and surrounded by an urn- 
 shaped or two-valved membrane. It contains the 
 genera Trickomanes and Hymenopkyllum. 
 
 14. Trichomanes = Marginal-fruited Terns, having the 
 sori surrounded by urn-shaped expansions of the 
 frond. 
 
 15. Hymenophyllum = Marginal-fruited Perns, having 
 the sori surrounded by two-valved expansions of 
 the frond. 
 
 ii. OSMUND ACE^E= Perns having the young leaves circinate, 
 the spore-cases destitute of an elastic ring, and burst- 
 ing by two regular valves. It contains the genus 
 Osmunda. 
 
 16. Osmunda = Marginal-fruited Perns, having the 
 regular valved spore-cases in irregular, dense, 
 branching clusters, terminating the fronds. 
 
 iii. OPHIOGLOSSACE.E = Perns having the young leaves folded 
 up straight, the spore-cases destitute of an elastic ring, 
 
TABLE OF GENEEA. 47 
 
 and two-valved. It contains the genera BoUyckwm 
 and Oplnoglossum. 
 
 1 7 . OpJdoglossum = Marginal-fruited Ferns, having the 
 spore-cases sessile in two-ranked simple spikes 
 terminating a separate branch of the frond. 
 
 18. Botn/chium = Marginal-fruited Ferns, having the 
 
 spore- cases in irregularly branched clusters, on a 
 separate branch of the frond. 
 
 II. CLUB-MOSSES LYCOPODIACES& 
 
 Plowerless plants, bearing spore-cases in the axils of 
 their leaves, and having reproductive bodies of two 
 different kinds, but of a similar nature. They con- 
 sist of the genus Lycopodium. 
 
 19. Lycopodmm = Moss-like plants, with leafy stems, 
 having the fructifications elevated in terminal 
 spikes, or in the axils of the leaves. 
 
 III. PEPPEKWOETS MARSILEACEJE. 
 
 Flowerless plants, bearing axillary or radical spore- 
 cases, and reproductive bodies of two dissimilar 
 sorts. They comprise the genera Isoetes and 
 Pilularia. 
 
48 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 20. Tsoetes = Stemless, quill-leaved, aquatic plants, 
 
 with the fructifications at the base, enclosed within 
 the bases of the leaves. 
 
 21. Pilularia = Creeping, slender -leaved, aquatic 
 plants, with the fructification in globular, sessile, 
 four-celled spore-cases. 
 
 IY. HOESETAILS EQUISETACE^. 
 
 Elowerless plants, with peltate spore-cases, arranged in 
 terminal cones. This group consists of the genus 
 Equisetum. 
 
 22. Equisetum = Jointed, tubular-stemmed .plants, with 
 
 terminal cones of fructification. 
 
A TABLE OF THE SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF BRITISH 
 
 FERNS, &c. 
 
 * 
 
 I. FILICES. 
 
 A. POLYPODIACE^S POLYPODIES. 
 
 i. POLYPODIUM, Linnaus. 
 
 1. P. vulgare, Lmnczus. Fronds pinnatifid. Plate I. 
 
 fig. 2. 
 d. cambricum. Fronds twice pinnatifid. 
 
 2. P. Phegopteris, Linnceus. Fronds sub-pinnate. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 2. 
 
 3. P. Dryopteris, Linnaus* Fronds ternate, glabrous. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 1. 
 
 4. P. calcareum, Smith. Fronds ternate, glandular- 
 
 mealy. Plate III. fig. 1. 
 ii. ALLOSOEUS, Bernhardi. 
 
 1. A. crispus, BernJiardi. The only species. Plate Y. 
 
 %. i. 
 
 B. POLYPODIACE^ ASPIDIE^3. 
 
 iii. WOODSIA, R. Brown. 
 
 E 
 
50 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 1. W. ilvensis, R. Brown. Pinnse oblong, deeply 
 
 lobed. Plate III. fig. 2. 
 
 2. W. hyperborea, R. Brown. Pinnse bluntly triangu- 
 
 lar, lobed. Plate IY. fig. 1. 
 iv. LASTREA, PresL 
 
 1. L. Thelypteris, PresL Fronds pinnate, not glan- 
 
 dular ; sori sub-marginal on sub-contracted fronds. 
 Plate VI. fig. 1. 
 
 2. L. Oreopteris, PresL Fronds pinnate, glandular 
 
 beneath. Plate VII. 
 
 3. L. Filix-mas, PresL Fronds sub-bipinnate or bi- 
 
 pinnate, broadly lanceolate. Plate VIII. 
 
 b. incisa. Larger, pinnules elongate, with deep 
 
 serrated incisions. 
 
 c. abbreviata. Smaller, pinnules contracted or 
 obsolete. 
 
 d. multifida. Pinnse tasselled at the end. Plate 
 
 VIII. upper figure. 
 
 4. L. rigida, PresL Fronds bipinnate, without spinu- 
 
 lose serratures, glandular. Plate IX. fig. 1. 
 
 5. L. cristata, PresL Fronds pinnate or sub-bipin- 
 
 nate, narrow linear, pinnules oblong. Plate VI. 
 fig. 2. 
 
TABLE OF SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 51 
 
 b. uliginosa. Fronds (fertile) bipixmate at the base, 
 pinnules oblong, acute. 
 
 6. L. spinulosa, Presl. Fronds linear, bipinnate, with 
 
 spinulose serratures, scales ovate. 
 
 7. L. dilatata, Presl. Fronds oblong- or ovate-lan- 
 
 ceolate, bi-tri-pinnate, with spinulose serratures, 
 scales lanceolate. Plate IX. fig. 2. 
 b. collina. Pinnules ovate, blunt, bluntly mucro- 
 nate-serrate. 
 
 8. L. fo3nisecii, Watson. Fronds triangular, bipinnate, 
 
 pinnules concave above. 
 
 V. POLYSTICHUM, Roth. 
 
 1. P. Lonchitis, Roth. Fronds pinnate. Plate IV. 
 
 fig. 2. 
 
 2. P. aculeatum, Roth. Frond bipinnate, pinnules 
 
 acutely wedge-shaped at the base. 
 b. lobatum. Fronds narrower, pinnules nearly all 
 decurrent. Plate IV. fig. 3. 
 
 3. P. angulare, Newman. Fronds bipinnate, pinnules 
 
 obtusely angled at the base, stalked. PI. V. fig. 2. 
 b. subtripinnatum. Pinnules pinnatifid. 
 vi. CYSTOPTEEIS, Bernhardi. 
 
 1. C. fragilis, Bernhardi. Fronds lanceolate, bipin- 
 
52 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 nate, pinnules ovate, acute; sori central. Plate X. 
 fig. 1. 
 
 b. dentata. Pinnules ovate, obtuse, distinct; sori 
 marginal. 
 
 c. Dickieana. Pinnules broad, obtuse, overlapping ; 
 
 sori marginal. 
 
 2. C. alpina, Desvaux. Fronds sub-tripinnate, seg- 
 
 ments linear. Plate X. fig. 2. 
 
 3. C. montana, Link. Fronds triangular. Plate XIV. 
 
 fig. 2. 
 
 C. POLYPODIACE^ ASPLENIE^}. 
 
 vii. ATHYEIUM, Both. 
 
 1. A. Filix-foemina, Both. The only species. Pinnules 
 flat, linear-oblong. Plate XI. 
 
 d. convexum. Pinnules narrow, distinct, linear, 
 convex. 
 
 c. latifolium. Pinnules broad ovate, crowded, irre- 
 
 gularly lobed. 
 
 d. molle. Pinnules oblong, flat, decurrent. 
 
 e. multifidum. Pinnae and frond tasselled at the 
 
 apex. Plate XI. 
 
 f. crispum Dwarf, irregularly branched, with the 
 ends tasselled. 
 
TABLE OP SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 53 
 
 g. marinum. Fronds narrowed to the base, decum- 
 bent, pinnules oblong, rachis winged, 
 viii. ASPLENIUM, Linn&us. 
 
 1. A. septentrionale, Hull. Frond linear-lanceolate, 
 
 two-three-cleft. Plate XII. fig. 3. 
 . A. germanicum, Weiss. Fronds linear, alternately 
 pinnate, pinnae narrow wedge-shaped ; indusium 
 entire. Plate XIII. fig. 3. 
 
 3. A. Ruta-inuraria, Lwntew. Fronds bipinnate, pin- 
 
 nules wedge-shaped at the base ; indusium jagged. 
 Plate XIII. fig. 1. 
 
 4. A. viride, Hudson. Fronds linear, pinnate, rachis 
 
 green above. Plate XIII. fig. 4. 
 
 5. A. Trichomanes, Linnteus. Fronds linear, pinnate, 
 
 rachis black throughout. Plate XIII. fig. 5. 
 b. incisum. Pinnse deeply lobed. 
 
 6. A. marinum, Lmnaus. Fronds pinnate, rachis 
 
 winged. Plate XI Y. fig. 1. 
 
 7. A. fontanum, R. Brown. Fronds bipinnate, narrow 
 
 lanceolate, rachis winged, smooth. Plate XIII. 
 fig. 2. 
 
 8. A. lanceolatum, Hudson. Fronds bipinnate, broad 
 
 lanceolate, rachis not winged, scaly. PL XII. fig. 1. 
 
54 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 9. A. Adiantum-nigrum, Linnaus. Frond bipinnate, 
 
 triangular. Plate XII. fig. 2. 
 ix. CETERACH, Wittdenow. 
 
 1. C. officinaruin, Willdenow. The only species. 
 
 Plate I. fig. 1. 
 x. SCOLOPENDRIUM, Smith. 
 
 1. S. vulgare, Symons. The only species. Fronds 
 strap-shaped, entire. Plate XV. fig. 1. 
 
 b. polyschides. Fronds narrow, irregularly lobed, 
 fertile. 
 
 c. crispum. Fronds much undulated at the margin, 
 usually barren. 
 
 d. multifidum. Fronds multifid at the apex. 
 D. POLYPODIACE^ PTERIDE^E. 
 
 xi. PTERIS, Linnteus. 
 
 1. P. aquilina, Linnmis. The only species. 
 
 a. vera. Inferior pinnules pinnatifid. 
 
 b. integerrima. All the pinnules entire. Plate 
 XVII. fig. 1. 
 
 xii. ADIANTUM, Linnaeus. 
 
 1. A. Capillus-Veneris, Linnaus. The only species. 
 Plate XVI. fig. 1. 
 
TABLE OF SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 55 
 
 xiii. BLECHNTTM, Linnceus. 
 
 1. B. Spicant, Both. The only species. Plate XYI. 
 fig. 2. 
 
 E. POLYPODIACE^ DlCKSONIEJS. 
 
 xiv. TRICHOMANES, Linnaus. 
 
 1. T. radicans, Swartz. The only species. Plate 
 
 XVIII. fig. 1. 
 
 xv. HYMENOPHYLLUM, Smith. 
 
 1. II. tunbridgense, $^7*. Pinnae vertical, involucres 
 
 compressed, serrate. Plate XY. fig. 2. 
 
 2. H. unilateral Willdenow. Pinnse unilateral, in- 
 
 volucres inflated, entire. Plate XV. fig. 3. 
 
 F. OSMUNDACE^E. 
 
 xvi. OSMTJNDA, Linnaus. 
 
 1. O. regalis, I/innteus. The only species. Plate 
 
 XIX. fig. 2. 
 
 G. OPHIOGLOSSACE^E. 
 
 xvii. OPHIOGLOSSUM, Linnaus. 
 
 1. 0. vulgatum, Linnceus. The only species. Plate 
 
 XVIII. fig. 3. 
 xviii. BOTRYCHIUM, Linnteus. 
 
 1. B. Lunaria, Linnaeus. The only species. Plate 
 XVIII. fig. 2. 
 
56 HISTOKY OF BRITISH PEENS. 
 
 II. LYCOPODIACE.E. 
 
 xix. LYCOPODIUM, Linn&us. 
 
 1. L. alpinum, Linnam. Leaves in four rows, ap- 
 
 pressed ; spikes solitary, sessile. 
 
 2. L. Selago, Linnceus. Leaves in eight rows, imbri- 
 
 cated on the usually erect stems ; fructifications 
 in the axils of leaves, not spiked. PL XX. fig. 5. 
 
 3. L. annotinum, Zfinnceus. Leaves indistinctly five- 
 
 rowed, linear-lanceolate, patent; spikes solitary, 
 sessile. 
 
 4. L. clavatuin, Itinnteus. Leaves scattered, incurved, 
 
 hair-pointed; spikes two or more on a stalk. 
 Plate XX. fig. 6. 
 
 5. L. inundatum, Linntzus. Leaves scattered, curved 
 
 upwards, linear; spikes solitary, sessile. Plate 
 XX. fig. 4. 
 
 6. L. selaginoides, Linnaus. Leaves scattered, half- 
 
 spreading, lanceolate; spikes solitary, sessile. 
 
 III. MAESILEACE.E. 
 
 xx. ISOETES, I/inntem. 
 
 1. I. lacustris, Linnteus. The only species. Plate 
 XIX. fig. 1. 
 
TABLE OP SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 57 
 
 xxi. PILTJLAKIA, Jjinnteus. 
 
 1. P. globulifera ; Linnaus. The only species. Plate 
 XYIL fig. 2. 
 
 IV. EQUISETACE^. 
 
 xxii. EQUISETUM, Linnceus. 
 
 1. E. Telmateia, Ekrhart. Stems dissimilar, the sterile 
 
 branched, smooth, with about thirty ridges, the 
 fertile simple, short, with large crowded sheaths, 
 and subulate two-ribbed teeth. Plate XX. fig. 2. 
 
 2. E. umbrosum, Willdenow. Stems dissimilar, the 
 
 sterile branched, rough, with about twenty ridges, 
 the fertile simple, with approximate appressed 
 sheaths, having subulate one-ribbed teeth. 
 8. E. arvense, Linn&us. Stems dissimilar, the sterile 
 branched, slightly rough, with from ten to 
 sixteen ridges, the fertile simple, with distant, 
 loose sheaths, having long pointed teeth. 
 
 4. E. sylvaticum, Linnceus. Stems similar, with about 
 
 twelve ridges, and having loose sheaths termi- 
 nating in three or four large blunt lobes; 
 branches deflexed. Plate XX. fig. 3. . 
 
 5. E. limosum, Linnaus. Stems similar, smooth, with 
 
58 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 numerous slight ridges, the sheaths green, close, 
 with from sixteen to twenty sharp-pointed dark- 
 coloured teeth; branches short, few, often wanting. 
 
 6. E. palustre, Linn&us. Stems similar, slightly 
 
 rough, with from six to eight broad prominent 
 ridges, the sheaths pale, loose, with acute wedge- 
 shaped, brown-tipped teeth; branches erect. 
 
 7. E. Mackaii, Newman. Stems similar, very rough, 
 
 with from eight to twelve ridges, and having close 
 sheaths, which alternately become wholly black, 
 and have narrow subulate teeth ; almost branchless. 
 
 8. E. hyemale, Linnatts. Stems similar, very rough, 
 
 with from fourteen to twenty ridges, and having 
 close whitish sheaths banded with black at the top 
 and bottom ; the teeth slender, deciduous ; almost 
 branchless. Plate XX. fig. 1. 
 
 9. E. variegatum, Weber et Mokr. Stems similar, very 
 
 rough, with from four to ten ridges, and having 
 slightly enlarged sheaths, green below, black 
 above, with obtuse teeth tipped by a deciduous 
 bristle ; almost branchless. 
 b. Wilsoni. Stems less rough, taller. 
 
59 
 
 THE BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 " Sweet to muse upon His skill display'd 
 (Infinite skill) in all that He has made ! 
 To trace in Nature's most minute design 
 The signature and stamp of power Divine ; 
 Contrivance intricate, express'd with ease, 
 Where uninstructed sight no beauty sees ! " 
 
 Genus XII. ADIANTUM,* Linnaus. 
 
 THE Adiantum, or Maiden-hair, may be known among the 
 British Ferns by its almost fan-shaped leaflets or pinnules, 
 which are attached by their narrow end, to the little black 
 hair-like stalks. This, however, though sufficient by which 
 to recognize it, among the very limited number of kinds 
 which are found in a wild state in Britain, is not its proper 
 distinctive mark. The real characteristics lie in the veins 
 and in the sori : the former may be readily seen by holding 
 a pinnule between the eye and a strong light, and the latter 
 by lifting up the little reflexed lobes which occur here and 
 
 * The Genera are arranged for facility of reference in alphabetical order. 
 Their place in the systematic arrangement is denoted by their No., which 
 agrees with the preceding Table. 
 
60 HISTORY Or BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 there at the margin on the under surface. The veins will 
 be seen to be dichotornously forked, that is, separating into 
 two equal branches, beginning from the base upwards, the 
 forking being several times repeated, producing close pa- 
 rallel radiating venules which extend to the margin. The 
 sori are produced on the reflexed (or bent under) membra- 
 nous expansions of the margin of the fronds which form the 
 indusia, these indusia being traversed by veins which bear 
 the sori. There is only one native species, which possesses 
 these characteristics, and this is certainly one of the most 
 beautiful, as it is also one of the rarer of our indigenous 
 Ferns ; and being of small size and of evergreen habit, it is 
 one of the most desirable of all for culture in a Wardian case. 
 
 The name of the genus comes from the Greek adiantos, 
 which signifies dry, or unmoistened ; and is applicable to 
 these plants, from their possessing in a remarkable degree 
 the property of repelling water. It is, in fact, impossible to 
 wet the surface of their pinnules, when the fronds are in a 
 fresh state and in good health, the water being cast off as 
 though from an oily surface. 
 
 ADIANTUM CAPILLUS-VENEEIS, Linnteus. The Maiden- 
 hair Pern. (Plate XYI. fig. 1.) 
 
 A small evergreen species, furnished with a very short 
 
ADIANTUM. 61 
 
 creeping stem, which is clothed with small black scales, and 
 bears delicate, graceful, somewhat drooping fronds, of six 
 inches to a foot high. These fronds are usually of an 
 irregularly ovate form, sometimes elongate, occasionally 
 approaching to linear. Finely developed fronds are about 
 thrice pinnate; but the less vigorous fronds are usually 
 only twice pinnate, with alternate pinnae and pinnules ; and 
 sometimes fronds are found which are only once pinnate. 
 The ultimate pinnules, or leaflets, are very irregular in shape, 
 but for the most part have a wedge-shaped or tapering 
 base, and a more or less rounded and oblique apex, and 
 they have generally some variation of a fan-shaped or rhom- 
 boidal outline. The margin is more or less deeply lobed, 
 the apices of the lobes in the fertile pinnules being reflexed 
 and changed into membranous indusia, whilst the lobes of 
 the barren fronds are serrated ; their texture is thin and 
 membranaceous, their surface smooth, their colour a 
 cheerful green. The stipes, which is about half as long as 
 the frond, and furnished with a few small scales at the base, 
 is black and shining, as also are the raches, the ultimate 
 ramifications of which are small and hair-like. 
 
 The veins throughout the pinnules are forked on a di- 
 chotomous or two-branched plan, from the base upwards, 
 
62 HISTOllY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 the venules lying parallel, and extending in straight lines 
 towards the margins, terminating in the barren fronds 'in 
 the serratures of the margin, but in the fertile fronds 
 extending into the indusium, there forming the receptacles 
 to which the spore-cases are attached. The sori are oblong, 
 covered by indusia of the same form, each consisting of the 
 apex of one of the lobes of the frond, changed to a mem- 
 branous texture, and folded under. The sori are, as already 
 mentioned, seated on this membranous reflexed lobe, and 
 by this circumstance the genus may at once be detected by 
 those who are not conversant with its easily recognized 
 prima facie appearances. 
 
 The Maiden-hair is a local plant, though it has a wide 
 geographical range. It is found here and there in the 
 warmer parts of Great Britain and Ireland, evidently pre- 
 ferring cavernous and rocky situations within the influence 
 of the sea. What is believed to be the same species is 
 found in the warmer parts of Europe, in Asia, in the north 
 of Africa, and in the Canaries arid Cape de Yerd Islands. 
 
 It is, moreover, a tender plant, and does not thrive under 
 cultivation in the climate even of the south of England, 
 unless sheltered in a frame or green-house, or by being 
 covered with a glass. In a Wardian case it grows well ; 
 
ALLOSOEUS. 63 
 
 and attains great luxuriance in a damp hot-house. The 
 proper soil for it is very light turfy peat, mixed with a con- 
 siderable proportion of silver sand, and it is beneficial to 
 plant it on or around a small lump of free sandstone. 
 
 Genus IT. ALLOSOEUS, Bernhardi. 
 
 OF this family we have but one British species, the Allo- 
 sorus crispus. It is known from all its fellow-country-ferns 
 by the coincidence of the following features. It bears fronds 
 of two kinds, one being leafy and barren, or without sori, 
 the other contracted, and bearing sori, and hence called 
 fertile. The edges of the lobes of the fertile fronds are 
 rolled under (which is what gives them the contracted ap- 
 pearance), and covers the sori in the stead of a special in- 
 dusium ; the sori when young form distinct circular clusters 
 beneath this recurved margin, but as they grow they join 
 laterally (in technical language, they become confluent), 
 forming two lines of fructification lengthwise the segments 
 of the fronds. 
 
 The name Allosorus is compounded from the Greek, and 
 comes from alias, which means various, and sorus, which 
 
64 HISTORI OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 means a heap ; the intention being to indicate the variation 
 or change which occurs in the apparent arrangement of the 
 sori, from the distinct patches to the continuous lines in 
 which they are seen to be disposed, if examined at different 
 stages of development the change, after all, being only 
 apparent, and not real. 
 
 ALLOSORUS CRISPUS, Bernhardi. The Rock Brakes, or 
 Mountain Parsley. (Plate V. fig. 1.) 
 
 This elegant little plant, which has considerable first-sight 
 resemblance to a tuft of parsley, and is hence sometimes 
 called Mountain Parsley, grows in a dense tuft, throwing up 
 its fronds in May or June, and losing them in the course 
 of the autumn. The fronds average about six inches in 
 height, and are generally almost triangular, with a longish, 
 slender, smooth stalk. They are of two kinds ; both kinds 
 twice or thrice pinnate, and of a pale green colour. The 
 segments into which the fruitless fronds are cut, are more 
 or less wedge-shaped, and notched or cleft at the end. The 
 fertile fronds have the segments df an oval or oblong or 
 linear form. 
 
 The divisions of the fertile frond have a slightly tor- 
 tuous midvein, producing simple or forked venules which 
 extend nearly to the margin, each, for the most part, bearing 
 
Plate V. 
 
ASPLENIUM. 65 
 
 near its extremity a circular sorus. There is no true indu- 
 sium, but the sori are covered by the reflexed and partially 
 bleached margins which almost meet behind, and by which 
 they are quite concealed. These patches are at first distinct, 
 but ultimately meet laterally. 
 
 The Eock Brakes is a mountain Fern, choosing to grow in 
 stony situations. It is comparatively rare and local ; most 
 abundant in the north of England and Wales, and less 
 plentiful in Scotland and Ireland. It grows readily in pots, 
 and also in a Wardian case, for either of which modes of 
 cultivation its small size and elegant aspect render it a very 
 desirable object. 
 
 This Eern has been called by several other names, of 
 which the principal are Cryptogramma crispa, Pier is 
 crispa, and Osmunda crispa. The two latter are now quite 
 obsolete. 
 
 Genus VIII. ASPLENIUM, Linnaus. 
 
 THE British Aspleniums are small evergreen Eerns, with 
 long narrow single sori lying in the direction of the veins 
 which traverse them; and by these marks they may be 
 
66 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 known from all other indigenous Ferns, excepting the Ce- 
 terach, which latter is readily distinguished from them by 
 having the back of its fronds coated with brown scales, 
 among which the sori are hidden. They are the types of 
 the tribe A-Spleniece, which consists of Ferns having the 
 elongate masses of fructification attached along the side of 
 the veins, and covered by an indusium of the same elongated 
 form as the sori themselves. The Aspleniums are known 
 from their nearest allies, the Atliyriums, by the latter having 
 the free margin of the indusium fringed with capillary or 
 hair-like segments, while the margin of the indusium of As- 
 plenium is either quite entire or very slightly jagged. There 
 are nine species of Asplenlum indigenous to Britain, and all 
 of them are interesting to the cultivators of Ferns. 
 
 The word Asplenium comes from the Greek asplenon ; a 
 name applied by old authors to some kind of Fern possessed 
 of supposed virtues in curing diseases of the spleen. 
 
 ASPLENIUM ADIANTUM-NIGRUM, Linnceus. The Black 
 Spleenwort. (Plate XII. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is a rather common evergreen Fern, and a very con- 
 spicuous ornament of the situations where it occurs in a 
 vigorous state. The fronds grow in tufts, and vary much 
 in size, from a height of three or four inches when it occurs 
 
ASPLENIUM. 67 
 
 on walls, to a foot and a half and even two feet including 
 the stipes, when it occurs on shady hedge-banks in con- 
 genial soil. The fronds are triangular, more or less elon- 
 gated at the point, the shining dark purple stipes being 
 often as long as, or longer than, the leafy portion, but in 
 stunted plants growing in sterile situations very much 
 shorter; they grow erect or drooping, according to the 
 situations in which they occur. They are bipinnate, or some- 
 times tripinnate ; the pinnse pinnate, triangular- ovate, drawn 
 out at the point, the lower pair always longer than the next 
 above them. The pinnules, especially those on the larger 
 pinna3, are again pinnate; the alternate pinnules being 
 deeply lobed, and the margins sharply serrate. 
 
 The fronds are of a thick leathery texture, with numerous 
 veins. To each pinnule there is a distinct midvein or prin- 
 cipal vein, bearing simple or branched veuules, on which 
 the sori are produced. All the ultimate divisions of the 
 fronds, as well as all the larger lobes, have midveins pro- 
 ducing these simple or branched venules, and these bear the 
 sori near their junction with the midvein, so that the sori 
 are placed near the centre of every pinnule or lobe. At 
 first the sori are distinct, and have the elongate narrow 
 form common to this genus, but as they become older they 
 
68 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 often spread and become confluent, so that almost the 
 entire under-surface of the frond is covered with the spore- 
 cases. The indusium is narrow, with its free margin entire ; 
 this soon becomes pushed away by the growing sori, and 
 is lost. 
 
 This species is very variable. In dry and exposed places 
 it is small, and obtuse in its parts, whilst in sheltered, 
 shady places it is much drawn out or elongated. The ex- 
 treme states have been considered as varieties ; and it is 
 true that occasionally there occur plants of which this blunt- 
 ness seems characteristic, and to these the name of obtusum 
 is sometimes given ; while on the other hand, sometimes, 
 but rarely, the form in which all the parts are much nar- 
 rowed and very acute is met with, and this is called acutum. 
 These differences become less marked in the cultivated plants 
 than in those which occur in a wild state, and hence they 
 seem hardly to deserve to be considered as permanent 
 varieties. The species has also been met with having the 
 fronds variegated with white. 
 
 The ordinary forms of the plant are very commonly met 
 with growing on rocks or old walls, and on hedge-banks in 
 a sandy soil. The latter situations, where they grow most 
 vigorously, are often beautifully adorned by the drooping 
 
ASPUENIUM. 69 
 
 tufts in which they occur. The extreme forms are more 
 rare. 
 
 This is one of the more useful evergreen Terns for shady 
 rockwork, as it will grow with freedom if planted in sandy 
 soil, which is just kept moistened either by natural or artifi- 
 cial means. As a pot plant it is easily manageable. 
 
 The blunt-leaved variety alluded to above, is believed to 
 be the A. obtusum, and the narrowed form the A. acutum, 
 of continental authors. 
 
 ASPLENIUM FONTANUM, R, Brown. The Smooth Eock 
 Spleenwort. (Plate XIII. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is a small tufted-growing species, seldom seen more 
 than three or four inches high under ordinary circumstances ; 
 in a hot-house, where its parts become more lengthened, it 
 sometimes reaches six or eight inches high, but we never 
 saw this stature exceeded in cultivated plants, and it is but 
 rarely attained. The small fronds are evergreen, and mostly 
 grow nearly upright ; they are of a narrow, lanceolate form, 
 rather rigid in texture, of a deep green above, paler beneath, 
 and supported on a very short stipes, which has a few 
 narrow, pointed scales at the base. In division they are 
 bipinnate, the pinnse being oblong-ovate, and the pinnules 
 obovate, tapering to the base, the superior basal pinnule of 
 
70 HISTORY OF BRITISH TERNS. 
 
 each pinna having the margin divided by four or five deep, 
 sharp teeth, the rest of the pinnules and lobes having from 
 one to three similar teeth. The main rachis of the frond, 
 as well as the partial rachis of each pinna, have a narrow 
 winged margin, that is to say, a very narrow leafy expansion 
 along their sides, throughout their length ; and this is per- 
 haps the most obvious technical point, except size, by which 
 to distinguish the present plant from A. lanceolatum. In 
 structural details they very much resemble each other, so 
 that in description they appear very similar, although to the 
 eye they are at all times distinct. 
 
 The fronds being rigid and opake, the venation is less 
 evident than is usual in Ferns. It consists, in each pinnule, 
 of a central or principal vein, which throws off a venule 
 towards each lobe or serrature, and in the larger pinnules 
 some of these venules become divided, so that a veinlet is 
 directed towards each of the serratures into which the mar- 
 gin is divided. On two or more of these veins a sorus is 
 produced, which in form is short compared with those pro- 
 duced by most of the genus ; the actual form is oblong, 
 rather flat on the side by which they are attached; and they 
 are covered by an indusium of similar form, which is waved 
 and indented on the free margin. Sometimes the sori keep 
 
ASPLENIUM. 71 
 
 quite distinct, but it is not uncommon for them to become 
 confluent so as to cover nearly all the under-surface of the 
 whole of the little pinnules. 
 
 There are some who doubt this species being really a 
 native of Britain, on the ground that it is not now to be 
 found in the places where it is said to have been originally 
 met with. We have been favoured by Mr. Shepherd, of 
 Liverpool, for many years a cultivator of Ferns, with a frond 
 gathered at Matlock, in Derbyshire. It has, moreover, been 
 met with on a very old wall at Tooting, and also on rocks 
 near Stonehaven ; and considering that it is a very small 
 plant, and that the places where it would be most likely 
 to occur are generally the most inaccessible, and, therefore, 
 the least likely to be searched considering, moreover, 
 the many probable localities which exist, and have not 
 been carefully explored by any keen botanical eye, we 
 think the probability is that it is really indigenous, though 
 from these causes it is overlooked. While so many pro- 
 babilities exist in favour of its being native, we are not 
 justified in rejecting the statements which the older bota- 
 nists have left us. 
 
 This species is too rare to be often trusted on rock-work, 
 unless where every provision, such as shade, shelter, and 
 
72 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 moisture, has been made for it ; but planted in a well- drained 
 pot, and kept in a close, cold frame, or in a damp hot-house, 
 it grows freely, becoming much more vigorous under the in- 
 fluence of heat. 
 
 The other names which have been given to this Fern, 
 besides that here adopted, are these : Aspidium fontanum, 
 Athyrium fontannm, Polypodium fontanum, and Aspidium 
 Halleri. 
 
 ASPLENIUM GERMANICUM, Weiss. The Alternate Spleen- 
 wort. (Plate XIII. fig. 3.) 
 
 One of the rarest of our native Ferns, and perfectly dis- 
 tinct from A. Ruta-mtraria, of which some botanists have 
 thought it to be a variety. It grows in little tufts, the 
 fronds being from three to six inches high, sub-evergreen, 
 narrow-linear in form, pinnate, divided into distant, alternate, 
 wedge-shaped pinnse, one or two of the lowest having gene- 
 rally a pair of very deeply divided lobes, the upper ones 
 more and more slightly lobed, all having their upper ends 
 toothed or notched. 
 
 The whole fronds are quite small, arid the parts narrow, 
 which, added to their opacity, renders the venation indis- 
 tinct ; there is no midvein, but each pinna or lobe has a 
 vein entering from the base, which becomes two or three 
 
ASPLENIUM. 73 
 
 times branched as it reaches the broader parts upwards, six 
 or eight veins generally lying close together, in a narrow fan- 
 shaped manner, in each of the larger pinnae, the smaller 
 ones having a proportionately less number. Two or three 
 linear sori are produced on a pinna, and these are covered 
 by membranous indusia, the free margin of which is entire, 
 or slightly sinuous, but not jagged ; the sori at length be- 
 come confluent. 
 
 Yery rarely met with in Scotland, but nowhere else in the 
 United Kingdom. It is found, but very sparingly, in other 
 parts of Europe. 
 
 This kind is not only rare, but one of those which does 
 not freely yield to artificial culture. It grows tolerably 
 freely if potted in well-drained, sandy peat-soil, and kept 
 under a bell-glass in a shaded frame or better in a hot- 
 house ; but the plants are very liable to die in winter. The 
 safeguard is, not to allow any water to lodge about their 
 crowns, nor to keep the bell-glass too closely or too con- 
 stantly over them. 
 
 This species is often named A. alternifolium by British 
 authors ; but the name we have adopted claims precedence. 
 It has also been called Asplenmm Breynii, Amesium germa- 
 nicum, and Scolopendrium alternifolium. 
 
HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 ASPLENIUM LANCEOLATUM, ffu&on. The Lanceolate 
 Spleenwort. (Plate XII. fig. 1.) 
 
 We have here an evergreen Eern of variable size, seldom 
 in cultivation having the vigour which it exhibits near the 
 coast in our south-western counties, and especially in the 
 Channel Islands. As might be expected, it evidently re- 
 quires a mild and sheltered climate, so that in a hot-house, 
 where the temperature is not kept too high, it grows freely, 
 which can seldom be said of plants kept in a cold frame in 
 the climate of London, and never of plants fully exposed. 
 Under the least favourable circumstances its fronds are 
 from four to six inches long; but under the most favourable 
 conditions they reach the length of a foot, or even a foot 
 and a half. The fronds are of a lanceolate form, supported 
 on a brownish-coloured stipes of about a third of their 
 entire length, the stipes as well as the rachis having, scat- 
 tered throughout their length, numerous small bristle-like 
 scales. In the more vigorous wild plants the habit seems 
 to be erect, but the cultivated plants mostly assume a 
 spreading or even decumbent mode of growth. This species 
 is very closely related to the common Asplenium Adiantum- 
 nigrum, which, in some of its states, very much resembles 
 it; but the outline of the fronds will, we believe, always 
 
Rate HI. 
 
 a 
 
ASPLENIUM. 75 
 
 separate them, those of lanceolatum being lance-shaped, or 
 tapering from near the middle towards the base, while those 
 of Adiantum-mgrum are always triangular, or broadest at 
 the base. The pinnse spread at nearly right angles with the 
 rachis, often, but not always, opposite, and have an ovate- 
 lanceolate form ; they are again pinnate, so that the frond 
 is bipinnate. The pinnules are of irregular form, often 
 obovate, or nearly so, sometimes unequally quadrate, but 
 always indented on the margin with deep, sharp teeth, the 
 larger pinnules being first lobed, and the lobes toothed, 
 the smaller ones simply toothed. 
 
 The venation is tolerably distinct; the pinnules each 
 having a tortuous midvein, which produces forked venules, 
 one of the veinlets of which extends towards each serrature. 
 The sori have no very definite order ; they are at first ob- 
 long, and covered by an indusium of the same form, having 
 a lacerated free margin ; but as they become old the sides 
 become bulged out so as to give them a roundish form, and 
 the indusium becomes obliterated. 
 
 This is rather a local species, being found only in the 
 southern and western parts of England, and in Wales, almost 
 always near the coast. It is found very luxuriant in the 
 Channel Islands, 
 
76 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 ASPLENIUM MARINUM, TAwfUKU*. The Sea Spleenwort. 
 (Plate XIY. fig. 1.) 
 
 This very handsome evergreen Pern, like the Lanceolate 
 Spleenwort, is a maritime species, occurring profusely on our 
 south-western rocky coasts and in the Channel Isles, and 
 extending to Prance and Spain, to Madeira and the Canaries. 
 In cultivation it thrives most luxuriantly in the atmosphere 
 of a damp hot-house, where it forms, in a comparatively 
 short time, a dense mass of the deepest green, and often 
 reaching a foot and a half in height. In a cold frame, if 
 kept closed, well-established plants will continue in health, 
 progressing slowly, and never acquiring half the size of those 
 grown in heat. In the climate of London it does not pros- 
 per, nor, as far as we know, survive, if planted on exposed 
 rock-work. It is a tufted-growing species, with linear or 
 linear-lanceolate fronds, usually six or eight inches long, of 
 the deepest glossy green, with a smooth, rather short, dark 
 brown stipes. The fronds are simply pinnate, with stalked 
 pinnse, connected at their base by a narrow wing which 
 extends along the rachis ; their form is either obtusely 
 ovate or oblong, unequal at the base, the anterior base being 
 much developed, while the posterior is, as it were, cut away, 
 the margin being either serrated or crenated. 
 
ASPLENIUM. 77 
 
 They are of leathery texture, but the veins are neverthe- 
 less tolerably evident, each pinna having a midvein, from 
 which venules are given off alternately on either side, there 
 again producing a series of veinlets. The sori are produced 
 on the anterior side of each venule, lying obliquely, and 
 forming two rows on each side the centre ; they are oblong 
 or linear, covered by a persistent indusium, which opens 
 along the anterior margin as the spore-cases grow towards 
 maturity. 
 
 The chief variation to which this Tern appears subject is 
 that of the elongation of its parts. Sometimes the pinnae are 
 much elongated, tapering to a narrow point; sometimes, 
 besides being narrowed, they are auricled at the base, and 
 deeply lobed. 
 
 This species, with the Lanceolate Spleenwort and the 
 Maiden-hair, are exceedingly well adapted for Wardian cases 
 in warm sitting-rooms. All of them enjoy the warmth ; and 
 being all evergreens of moderate size, and very elegant in 
 structure, they supply just what is wanted in such situations. 
 They should be planted on elevated rock-work, in sandy 
 peat-soil, lying in the interstices between the fragments of 
 stone ; and when once established will grow freely, provided 
 they are not much exposed to the sun, which they do not 
 like. 
 
78 HISTOHY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 ASPLENIUM RUTA-MURARIA, Linntfus. The Eue-leaved 
 Spleen wort, or Wall Hue. 
 
 Very diminutive, and not very attractive, occurring abun- 
 dantly on old walls, often in such situations little more than 
 an inch high. It grows in tufts, insinuating its wiry roots, 
 as is the case with all the mural species, into the crevices 
 and joints of the masonry, and is not easily removed from 
 such places in a condition suitable for planting. The fronds 
 are numerous, of a glaucous-green, varying between one 
 and six inches long, with a stipes about half the entire 
 length, the leafy part usually triangular in outline, and bi- 
 pinnate. The pinnce are alternate, with rhomboidal, or 
 roundish- ovate, or obovate pinnules, sometimes wedge-shaped 
 with the apex abruptly cut off. The more luxuriant fronds 
 are once more divided, so as to become almost tripinnate, 
 the pinnules being deeply pinnatifid, and the lobes of the 
 form of the ordinary pinnules. Occasionally in immature 
 specimens the fronds are only once pinnate, with pinnatifid 
 pinnae. The upper margins of the pinnules are irregularly 
 toothed. 
 
 The veins are rather indistinct, and there is no inidvein, 
 but a series of veins arise from the base, becoming branched 
 in the progress towards the apex, the number of ultimate 
 
Plate HIT. 
 
ASPLENIUM. 79 
 
 branches usually corresponding with that of the marginal 
 teeth. Several sori are produced near the centre of the 
 pinna, covered by indusia which open inwardly with a 
 jagged or irregularly sinuated margin. 
 
 A very common species, confined to rocks and walls, and 
 occurring throughout Europe and in many parts of North 
 America. 
 
 Synonymous with the name we employ, are the following : 
 Amesium Ruta-mwraria, Scolopendrium Ruta-muraria. 
 
 ASPLENIUM SEPTENTKIONALE, HM. The Forked Spleen- 
 wort. (Plate XII. fig. 3.) 
 
 A rare and diminutive Fern. The habit is tufted, com- 
 paratively large masses being sometimes formed ; the fronds 
 themselves are very small, from two four inches long, slender, 
 dull green, with a long stipes, which is dark purple at the 
 base. The leafy part if, indeed, it can here be called leafy 
 is of a narrow elongate lance-shaped form, split near the 
 end into two or sometimes three alternate divisions, or in 
 the smaller fronds merely toothed ; each of these fronds, or 
 divisions of the frond, has its margin cut into two or more 
 sharp-pointed teeth, the points of the larger teeth being 
 very frequently bifid. 
 
 The veins are reduced to a minimum ; one vein enters 
 
80 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 each lobe, or if the frond is not lobed the stipes is continued 
 upwards in the form of a vein ; this becomes forked so as 
 to send up one vein to each of the teeth into which the 
 part is divided ; and three or four linear sori are produced 
 in a very crowded manner within this small space, so that 
 when from age the sori burst open the indusiurn, the spore- 
 cases form a confluent mass over the whole under- surface. 
 
 The confluent mass of spore-cases arising from the 
 crowded position of the sori, has led some authors to consider 
 this plant an Acrostichum, the mark of which is to have the 
 whole under-surface thus covered. Some of the sori being 
 face to face, and almost in juxtaposition, has again led other 
 botanists to think it a Scolopendrium, the mark of which is 
 to have the sori confluent in pairs face to face ; but if the 
 plant is examined while young, it will be seen that these 
 resemblances are unreal, and that it is really an Asplenium. 
 It is thus that it has been called by the names of Aero- 
 sticjium septentrionale and Scolopendrium septentrionale ; to 
 which Amesium septentrionale has to be added as another 
 synonyme. 
 
 In cultivation it requires sandy peat-soil, and the shelter 
 of a close frame, or bell-glass. 
 
 ASPLENIUM TRICHOMANES, Linnaw. The Common 
 Spleen-wort. (Plate XIII. fig. 5.) 
 
ASPLENIUM. 81 
 
 This is rather a diminutive plant, but, when in a vigorous 
 state, has a very interesting appearance, from the contrast 
 between its black stipes and rachis, and the bright green 
 pinnae, and from the regularity with which the latter are 
 disposed. It grows in tufts, naturally introducing itself 
 into the joints of old masonry and among the crevices of 
 rocks, and producing numerous small slender fronds, of a 
 linear form, in its most vigorous state nearly a foot long, 
 but generally from three to six inches. They are evergreen, 
 simply pinnate, on a rather short stipes, which is of a 
 purplish-black, the rachis also being of the same dark 
 colour. The pinnae are dull green, small and numerous, 
 equal-sized, of a roundish-oblong figure, attached to the 
 rachis by a stalk-like projection of their posterior base ; 
 the margin is rather entire or crenated. The pinnae are 
 jointed to the rachis, and when old are readily displaced, so 
 that eventually the black rachis is left denuded among the 
 tuft of fronds. 
 
 A distinct midvein passes through each pinna, giving off 
 on each side a series of venules bearing veinlets, the an- 
 terior of these producing the linear sorus just within the 
 margin of the pinnae. The sori, which in the young state 
 are covered by a thin indusium having a somewhat crenu- 
 
 G 
 
8 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 lated free margin, very frequently in a later stage become 
 confluent/ and cover the whole of the under surface. 
 
 A very rare and very curious variety of this species has 
 the pinnae deeply pinnatifid, with linear notched segments ; 
 this is sometimes distinguished by the name of incisum. 
 
 The ordinary form of the species occurs rather plentifully 
 growing on rocks, old walls, and ruins, and less frequently 
 on hedge-row banks. It is pretty generally distributed 
 throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland ; and also 
 occurs throughout Europe, and in each of the other divisions 
 of the globe. 
 
 This is one of the species of Ferns which has enjoyed a 
 medicinal reputation, a tea and a syrup prepared from it 
 being a country remedy for coughs and colds. 
 
 When once established this plant grows readily either in 
 pots or on rock- work ; but its roots being wiry, and gene- 
 rally inserted into the crevices of the walls or rocks on 
 which it grows, it is sometimes found to be difficult to 
 transplant. In general the smaller and younger plants may 
 be removed with greater success than the larger and older 
 ones. The newly transplanted roots should be kept rather 
 close, if possible, for a short time ; but after they are esta- 
 blished, shade is not so essential to this species as to most 
 
ASPLENIUM. 83 
 
 other Perns,, although it grows most vigorously under the 
 influence of shade and shelter. In a Wardian case, for 
 which its size is suitable, it should have the upper and drier 
 parts of the rock -work. 
 
 Asplenium melanocaulon is another name which has been 
 given to the common Spleen wort. 
 
 ASPLENIUM VIEIDE, Hudson. The Green Spleenwort. \ 
 (Plate XIII. fig. 4.) 
 
 This Fern has such a general resemblance to A. Tric/w- 
 manes as to have been mistaken for it by casual observers. 
 It is, however, quite distinct, and is most readily known 
 from A. TricJiomanes by the colour of its rachis, which, is 
 green in the upper part, while in the latter it is black 
 throughout. It is an evergreen tufted species, producing 
 narrow, linear, simply pinnate, bright pale green fronds, 
 ranging from two to eight or ten inches in length, supported 
 by a short stipes, which is dark -coloured at the very base, 
 but otherwise green, the rachis being entirely green. The 
 pinnse are small, generally roundish- ovate, rather tapered 
 towards the base, and attached to the rachis by the narrowed 
 stalk-like part, the margin being deeply crenated. 
 
 The venation is distinct : the midvein sends off alternately 
 a series of venules, which are either simple or forked, bearing 
 
84 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 the sori on their anterior side. The sori are oblong, covered 
 at first by membranous indusia, which are soon pushed aside ; 
 the free margin is jagged or crenate. 
 
 A native of moist,, rocky, mountainous districts in Eng- 
 land, Scotland, and Wales ; occurring, also, though less 
 frequently, in Ireland, and throughout Europe. 
 
 It is not difficult to cultivate in pots in a close, damp, 
 cold frame ; or on moist, shady rock-work, if covered over 
 by a bell-glass. If exposed, it is apt to suffer from occasional 
 excessive wet, which often does not properly drain away ; and 
 also from the dry hot air of our summers. The object of 
 covering it with a glass is to avoid both these casualties, and 
 provided it is not kept too close it will then thrive well. 
 The proper bell-glasses for these half-hardy Perns are those 
 with a small opening in the crown, which may be closed or 
 not at pleasure, but, in general, are best left open. In pots 
 it should have a gritty, porous soil. 
 
 Genus VII. ATHYEIUM, Both. 
 
 IN the Athyrium we have perhaps the most variable of all 
 our native Perns; though the varieties it presents, and 
 
ATHYRIUM. 85 
 
 which have been from time to time looked upon as affording 
 so many distinct kinds, are now almost universally considered 
 as different phases of one species. Viewed in this light, the 
 species is certainly not a very constant one, which fact seems 
 all the more inappropriate, inasmuch as the species itself is 
 that to which the name of Lady Pern is applied. All the 
 various forms are plants with delicate and beautiful fronds 
 of annual duration, varying in size from tufts of a few inches 
 high, to plumy masses of the height of three or four feet. 
 The texture is thin, and almost transparent, on which account 
 the nature of the venation and of the connection of the parts 
 of fructification may be here very well seen and studied. 
 They serve to connect the Aspidium-like and the Asplenium- 
 like groups, differing, however, obviously from the former in 
 having the sori elongate instead of round ; although from the 
 circumstance that in age the sori here become somewhat 
 curved or reniform, thus approaching the rounded form, this 
 very species, the Lady Pern, has, by many writers of dis- 
 crimination, been placed in the old genus Aspidmm. If, 
 however, the fructification is examined while young, imme- 
 diately before or after the indusium has burst, its true cha- 
 racter will readily be seen. We have here an illustration of 
 the inconvenience which arises from the preservation only of 
 
86 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 herbarium specimens in wlu'ch the fructification is quite 
 mature ; for this, without doubt, was the cause of the Lady 
 Fern having been referred to the family of Aspidium } with 
 which it has no real affinity. The affinity of the Lady Fern 
 is properly with the Aspleniums, and there is less reason to 
 dispute the conclusions of those who actually place it as a 
 species of Asplenium ; although, as there is a difference be- 
 tween them, and the genus Asplenium is rather a crowded 
 one, it is a convenience to have them separated. The mark 
 by which the Aspleniums and their allies are known, in 
 addition to the elongated form of the sorus, is its position 
 on the side, not the back, of the veins ; the receptacle being 
 lateral, as it is said. From Asplenium itself, the Athynum 
 is known by having its indusium fringed on the free margin 
 with capillary segments, while in Asplenium proper the 
 margin of the indusium is without this membranous fringe. 
 There is, as already mentioned, only one indigenous species 
 of AtJiyrium. The Asplenium fontanum is sometimes ad- 
 mitted, but we think it does not properly belong to this 
 genus. 
 
 The name is derived from the Greek, and comes from 
 atliyros, opened ; the allusion being to the position assumed 
 by the indusium, which stands out from the surface of the 
 
Plate XL 
 
 ^I/VYA. l/V U\ ^ tC V/ .^VVA, 
 
ATHYRIUM. 87 
 
 frond like an opened door, after the growth of the spore- 
 cases has disrupted its anterior margin, and eventually is 
 quite turned back. 
 
 ATHYRIUM FILIX-FCEMINA, Roth. The Lady Pern. 
 (Plate XI.) v 
 
 The Lady Pern, on account of the exquisite grace of its 
 habit of growth, the elegance of its form, and the delicacy 
 of its hue, claims precedence over every other British species ; 
 and this is more or less true of every one of its variable con- 
 ditions. The habit of the plant is tufted, the caudex of the 
 larger varieties often with age acquiring some length, and 
 elevating the circlet of fronds on a low, rude pedestal ; this 
 stem, however, never acquires more than a few inches in 
 length. In winter, the summit of this stem, whether a tuft 
 seated close to the ground, or elevated a few inches above 
 the surface, is occupied by a mass of incipient fronds, each 
 rolled up separately, and nestling in a bed of chaffy scales. 
 About May these fronds become developed, and from the 
 strong old roots a score or upwards are usually produced ; 
 they reach maturity early in the summer, during which time 
 a few additional fronds are generally developed from the 
 centre ; and the whole of them are destroyed by the autumn 
 frosts under ordinary circumstances. The form of the fronds 
 
55 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 is lanceolate, more or less broad ; and they are supported 
 On stipes which are scaly at the base, and usually about a 
 third of the entire length of the fronds. The division of the 
 fronds is what is called bipinnate; the pinnae are always 
 lanceolate, more or less drawn out at the point, and they are 
 always again pinnate, though sometimes with the bases of 
 the pinnules connected by a narrow leafy wing, but not so 
 much so as to render them merely pinnatifid. The pinnules, 
 however, are more or less lobed or pinnatifid, the lobes being 
 sharply toothed in a varying manner. 
 
 Prom the delicate herbaceous texture of the fronds the 
 venation is very distinct; and is seen to consist, in each 
 pinnule, of a wavy midvein, from which proceed alternate 
 venules, which again produce alternate veinlets, and on the 
 anterior side of this series of veins, at some distance from 
 the margin, is borne an oblong sorus ; in the larger and 
 more divided pinnules the veining is more compound, and 
 more than one sorus is produced from each primary venule, 
 which thus becomes a midvein, with branches on a smaller 
 scale. The sori are themselves oblong, a little curved, and 
 they are covered by indusia of the same form. Both the 
 sorus and the indusium, on the development of the spore- 
 cases, become bulged in the centre and contracted at the 
 
ATHYRIUM. 89 
 
 ends, appearing more curved than before, and the sorns 
 thus becomes finally roundish in outline, and the indusinm 
 apparently almost circular with a lateral notch; in this 
 state it somewhat resembles a Lastrea. On one side the in- 
 dusium is fixed longitudinally to the side of the vein which 
 forms the receptacle ; its other margin, the anterior one, or 
 that towards the midvein of the pinnule, becomes free, and 
 is then seen to be fringed, or split into a number of hair -like 
 segments. This description applies to the commoner forms 
 of the Lady Pern, which, however, are very variable in size, 
 according to the situation and circumstances which influence 
 their development, sometimes scarcely exceeding a foot in 
 height, and at other times reaching the height of four or 
 five feet, the latter being the result of growth in a damp, 
 shady situation, the former the consequence of a more exposed 
 and drier locality. 
 
 Of the varieties we shall notice only the most striking, 
 and of these convexum is botanically the most distinct, and 
 probably should be regarded as a distinct species. It differs 
 from the commoner Lady Perns in its more lady-like pro- 
 portions, both its fronds, its pinnse, and its pinnules being 
 smaller and more slender than in them. The fronds seldom 
 exceed two feet in height, and are often less ; they are more 
 
90 HISTORY OP BRITISH FEIINS. 
 
 erect, and their form is narrow-lanceolate ; the pinnae are 
 taper-pointed ; the pinnules set quite clear of each other, 
 very narrow, that is, linear, with sharp points, the margins 
 bluntly toothed, but rolled under so that very little of the 
 toothing is seen; the sori are very often confluent. It oc- 
 curs sparingly in boggy places. 
 
 The variety latifolmm of Mr. JBabington, which appears 
 to be the Mhyrium latifolmm of Presl, a German writer on 
 Perns, is probably also a distinct species. This differs from the 
 common forms in the elongate or oblong-lanceolate outline 
 of its fronds, and in the broad, leafy, crowded development 
 of its pinnules, which are somewhat irregularly lobed, as well 
 as deeply toothed at the margin, with the curved sori lying 
 near the sinus of the lobes. This is a strong- growing form. 
 It has been recently found near, Keswick, in Cumberland. 
 
 The variety nolle has ovate-lanceolate fronds, growing 
 nearly erect, the lower pair of pinnse being short and de- 
 flexed ; it has flat, toothed pinnules, connected at their base 
 by a slender wing to the midrib, and produces its sori dis- 
 tinct. This is a small form, often not more than about a 
 foot in height. 
 
 Besides these, there are three varieties of horticultural in- 
 terest. One called multifidum, which has the habit of con- 
 
ATHYBIUM. 91 
 
 vexum, but is more vigorous, has the tips of all the pinnae, 
 as well as of the frond itself, multifid or tasselled, which 
 gives it a very elegant appearance. Another, which we call 
 crispum, is a dwarf tufted plant, no larger than a bunch of 
 curled parsley, which it much resembles, its fronds being 
 curiously crisped and tasselled. These two are, strictly 
 speaking, monstrosities, but they have retained their cha- 
 racteristics for many years in cultivation, and are very elegant. 
 
 Another curious form we propose to call marinum : it 
 was found by Dr. Dickie growing along with Cystopteris 
 DicJcieana, in a cave near the sea at Aberdeen, and has now 
 for five or six years been cultivated along with other hardy 
 Perns, and retains its distinct appearance and characteristics. 
 It has small fronds about a foot long, lanceolate, and re- 
 markable for the manner in which they taper from their 
 broad centre, equally towards the base and apex; these 
 fronds, moreover, have a spreading or horizontal mode of 
 growth ; their pinnules are oblong and bluntly toothed, and 
 attached closely together, at right angles with the continu- 
 ously winged rachis of the pinnae. The sori are very short, 
 often curved in a horse-shoe form, and crowded on the small 
 pinnules. 
 
 The common Lady Pern is abundant in warm moist woods 
 
92 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 and hedge-rows throughout Great Britain, and especially so 
 in Ireland ; it also occurs throughout Europe, and in Asia, 
 Africa, and North America. The monstrous varieties are of 
 Irish origin; though the parsley-like one has also been 
 found in Scotland. 
 
 Pew of our native Ferns are more easily cultivated than 
 this. A rather boggy soil suits it best, and it loves shade 
 and moisture ; indeed, these latter conditions being fulfilled, 
 soil becomes a secondary consideration. The moisture, 
 however, though abundant, should not be stagnant. The 
 Lady Pern is occasionally seen planted in the mouth of a 
 cave or recess by water among shady rock-work ; nothing is 
 so lovely as a finely-grown plant of it so situated. 
 
 " Supreme in her beauty, beside the full urn, 
 In the shade of the rock, stands the tall Lady Fern." 
 
 As a pot plant it requires plenty of room, both for its 
 roots and fronds, and must be liberally watered. 
 
 By the older botanists this plant was called Polypodium 
 Filix-fcemina. It was then transferred to Aspidium, under 
 the name of Aspidmm Filix-foemina ; and subsequently by 
 other botanists it has been called Asplenium Filix-fcemina, 
 which latter name is still given to it by those who do not 
 adopt the genus Atliyrium. 
 
93 
 
 Genus XIII. BLECHNUM, Linnam. 
 
 IT is not quite agreed among botanists, whether the English 
 plant should be considered a member of the genus or family 
 called BlecJmum, or that which bears the name of Lomaria. 
 We think it most nearly related to the former, although 
 in the contraction of its fertile fronds it approaches very 
 near the latter. Among the British species the plant under 
 notice for there is only one native species of the genus 
 is known by having its fructification extended longitudinally 
 on the pinnse, so as to form a linear or continuous sorus on 
 each side the midvein, and about midway between it and 
 the margin. The only other British Pern which has its 
 fructification in extended lines lying parallel with the mid- 
 rib, is the Pteris, or Bracken, in which, however, the sorus 
 is on the margin, and not within the margin and near the 
 mid vein, as in Bleehnim. The BlecJmum may, however, 
 be at once known from the Pteris, by the division of its 
 fronds, which are merely pinnate, while those of Pteris are 
 decompound. 
 
 The name BlecJmum is an adaptation of the Greek blech- 
 non, which signifies, a Fern. There is but one native 
 species, . Spicant; and we take the opportunity to state 
 
94 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 here, why we prefer this specific name to that of boreale, 
 which is now more commonly used. The name of Blechnum 
 Spicant was applied to this plant by Both, Relhan, With- 
 ering, Symons, and Hull, before that of B. loreale was 
 given to it by Swartz ; it has, therefore, unquestionably the 
 right of priority. Besides this, the specific name Spicant 
 has been used to distinguish this plant by nearly all the 
 older botanists, though they have held very conflicting views 
 as to the genus to which it belonged, referring it, for ex- 
 ample, among others, to Osmunda, to Onoclea, to Acrosti- 
 chum, and to Asplenmm. Thus all the evidence is in favour 
 of the name we adopt. 
 
 BLECHNUM SPICANT, Both. The Hard Fern. (Plate 
 XVI. fig. 2.) 
 
 The common name of this species is very appropriate, 
 from the rigid harshness of its texture. It is one of the few 
 native kinds which produce two distinct-looking kinds of 
 frond fertile and barren. The fertile ones have their 
 pinnae much narrowed, or contracted, as it is called, while 
 the fronds themselves are considerably taller than the bar- 
 ren ones. These fronds grow in large tufts, and being 
 very gracefully disposed, the plant becomes one of the most 
 ornamental of our wild species during the summer season, 
 
BLECHNUM. 95 
 
 when its fronds are in a fresh state. Both kinds of fronds 
 are of a narrow lanceolate form ; the barren ones being only 
 deeply pinnatifid, while the fertile ones are pinnate ; but the 
 segments in both are long and narrow, like the teeth of a 
 comb. The barren fronds, which are from one-half to two- 
 thirds the height of the fertile ones, assume a spreading or 
 horizontal position, and are attached to the caudex by a 
 very short scaly stipes. The fertile ones, which are situated 
 in the centre of the tufts, are erect, from one to two feet 
 high, the stipes, which is sparingly furnished with long 
 pointed scales, being nearly half the length, and of a dark 
 brown colour. 
 
 The veins are not very evident in the fertile fronds, on 
 account of the contraction of the parts, but they resemble 
 those of the barren ones, except in having a longitudinal 
 venule on each side the midvein, forming the recep- 
 tacle to which the spore-cases are attached. The midvein is 
 prominent, and produces a series of venules on each side, 
 these becoming forked, and extending almost to the 
 margin, terminating in a club-shaped head. In the fertile 
 fronds the veinlets are necessarily shorter, and connected, as 
 already mentioned, by the longitudinal venules which bear 
 the fructification. The spore-cases are thus arranged in 
 
96 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 two linear sori, one on each side the midvein ; these are dis- 
 tinct while young, but soon become confluent, covering the 
 whole under-surface of the pinnse. The indusia, by which 
 they are at first covered,, burst along that side towards the 
 midrib, and eventually become split across here and there, 
 at points opposite some of the venules. 
 
 The Hard Fern is a rather common plant, occurring in 
 heathy and stony places, and preferring localities which are 
 rather damp than otherwise. It is found in various parts 
 of Europe. In cultivation, it is a very suitable plant for 
 damp shady rock-work, and in such situations, planted 
 in peaty soil, it grows freely, and without requiring any 
 special attention. 
 
 The principal of its synonyms are Lomaria Spicant, 
 Blechnum boreale, Osmunda Spicani, Asplenium Spicant, 
 Onoclea Spicant, Acrostickum Spicant, Struthiopteris Spicant, 
 and Osmunda borealis. 
 
 Genus XVIII. BOTEYCHIUM, Swartz. 
 
 THIS is called Moonwort, and is a small and very distinct 
 plant, easily known by two circumstances, first, it has two 
 
BOTRYCHIUM. 97 
 
 fronds, or rather two branches of its frond, the one of which 
 is leafy, the other seedy ; and secondly, the pinnae of the 
 leafy branch are crescent- shaped, with the outer margin 
 jagged. There is no other native plant which has these 
 peculiar features, and hence the Moonwort is a plant very 
 easily recognized when it is met with. It is rather local in 
 its range, but not scarce in the localities where it is found, 
 which are open heaths and pastures, rather dry than 
 otherwise. The spore-cases are collected into branched 
 clusters at the end of the fertile branch ; the little branches 
 of the cluster are all turned one way, and the spore-cases 
 themselves are numerous and globular, and somewhat re- 
 semble in the aggregate a miniature erect bunch of grapes. 
 
 There is a peculiarity in this Pern which also serves to 
 distinguish it, and its near ally the Opkioglossum, or Ad- 
 der's-tongue, from all other native species the venation 
 is straight, not circinate; that is, the fronds, before they 
 are developed, are not rolled up spirally, unrolling as they 
 expand, but in the incipient state the parts are merely 
 folded together by a flat surface. Only one species of 
 Botrychium is indigenous. 
 
 BOTRYCHIUM LUNARIA, Swartz. The Moonwort. (Plate 
 XVIII. fig. 2.) 
 
 H 
 
98 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 This is a very peculiar plant, exceedingly interesting to 
 the student of Perns,, from the differences of structure and 
 development it exhibits as compared with the majority of 
 Ferns. It is an almost stemless plant, furnished with a few 
 coarse brittle fibres, and a bud springing from the perma- 
 nent point which represents the stem. Within this bud, 
 before the season at which the fronds are developed, they 
 may be found in an embryo condition, perfectly formed, the 
 two branches of the frond placed face to face, the fertile 
 being clasped by the barren one. This new frond springs 
 up annually, and perishes before winter, and in the majority 
 of cases is not very conspicuous. The size varies from 
 three to eight or ten inches in height, the lower half con- 
 sisting of a smooth, erect, cylindrical, hollow stipes, the 
 base of which is invested by a brown membranous sheath, 
 which had covered it while in the bud. 
 
 Above, the frond is separated into two branches, one of 
 which is spreading, pinnate, leafy, lance-shaped ; the pinnae 
 crescent-shaped, or somewhat fan-shaped approaching to 
 lunate, filled with a radiating series of two or three times 
 forked veins, such as occur in Adiantum, one vein extending 
 into each of the crenatures into which the margin is divided. 
 The other branch is erect, fertile, compoundly branched, 
 
CETEEACH. 99 
 
 that is, it is first divided into branches corresponding with 
 the pinnae, and these again into another series of branches, 
 on which, distinct, but clustered, the globose stalkless spore- 
 cases are produced. The spore-cases are two-valved, and 
 open transversely when ripe ; the valves are concave. 
 
 Occasionally, though very rarely, two fertile branches are 
 produced, and there is a variety in which the pinnae are 
 pinnatifid. 
 
 This species is widely distributed, but local, occurring in 
 open heaths and pastures, where the soil is peaty, and not 
 very wet. The same plant occurs in other parts of Europe, 
 and also in North America. 
 
 The Moonwort is not very easily cultivated. It may, 
 however, be preserved in pots in a cold frame, if transplanted 
 while dormant into rather unctuous peaty soil, and kept 
 from either of the extremes of drought or saturation. The 
 roots should not often be disturbed when once established. 
 
 The Moonwort is the Osmimda Lunaria of Linnaeus. 
 
 Genus IX. CETERACH, Willdenow. 
 
 THE genus Ceterach furnishes only one British species ; and 
 this is so different from all others as to be distinctly re- 
 
100 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 cognized at a glance. The mark by which it is known is 
 this : the back of every frond is covered by densely- 
 packed, brown, pointed, chaffy scales. Among these scales, 
 and concealed by them, lie the elongate sori, which are 
 anomalous, in regard to their relationship, in having no 
 indusium. The affinity of Ceterach is without doubt with the 
 Asplenium-like Perns, and this being the case they ought 
 to have an indusium ; the Polypody-like and Acrostichum- 
 like Perns only, among the dorsal groups, wanting this 
 cover to the sori. No indusium, however, exists here, 
 unless it be represented by a kind of membranous ridge, 
 which exists on the receptacles just behind the sori, and is 
 the part which has been called an indusium. The proba- 
 bility is, that it does represent that organ, which is not 
 largely developed in consequence of the presence of so 
 dense a covering of scales, these not only serving the pur- 
 pose of a cover to the sori, but perhaps, from their crowded 
 position, preventing its proper formation. 
 
 The name Ceterack is an alteration of the word Chetkerak, 
 which was applied to this plant by Persian and Arabian 
 medical writers. 
 
 CETERACH OFFICINARUM, Willdenow. The Scaly Spleen- 
 wort. (Plate I. fig. 1.) 
 
Plate 1 . 
 
CETEEACH. 101 
 
 A downy, evergreen, distinct-looking, and very pretty 
 Fern, growing in tufts. The fronds when fresh are thick 
 and rather fleshy, and from this cause, as well as the 
 densely- packed scaly covering of the under surface, they 
 are perfectly opake when dry. Their size is variable, ac- 
 cording to the circumstances of their growth : they are 
 found from two to six inches in length, rarely exceeding the 
 latter. They grow on a short scaly stipes, and are either 
 pinnatifid, as is commonly the case, or more rarely pinnate, 
 the difference being, that in the latter the fronds are 
 divided rather more deeply than in the former. The upper 
 surface is a deep opake green, prettily contrasting with the 
 rust-coloured brown of the scales on the under surface, 
 these being just seen projecting from the margin, and still 
 more fully in the exposed under surface of the young par- 
 tially-developed fronds. The pinnse or lobes are of an ovate 
 form, and either entire or lobed on the margin. 
 
 The opacity of the fronds renders the venation indistinct, 
 and indeed it is only to be made out by examining young 
 fronds, removing the covering of scales, and the outer skin 
 of the frond itself. It is then seen, that from the lower 
 corner the principal vein enters, taking a sinuous course 
 towards the upper side of the apex; it branches alter- 
 
10 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 nately, the venules being again branched, and the veinlets 
 anastomosing more or less near the margin. The sori are 
 borne along the sides of the venules in a very irregular 
 manner, the majority of them being directed towards the 
 apex of the pinna ; at first the sori are quite concealed by 
 the scales, but the spore-cases ultimately protrude between 
 them, although, being very similar in colour, the latter are 
 never very obvious. 
 
 The Ceteracli is a mural species, occurring on the walls 
 of old buildings and ruins, and in rocky places. It is 
 pretty generally distributed in the United Kingdom, but is 
 considered somewhat rare in Scotland. It occurs also 
 throughout central and southern Europe, and in the north 
 of Africa. 
 
 Like other wall Ferns, this is often difficult to establish 
 in cultivation when first transplanted ; but when once this 
 is overcome its cultivation is not difficult. It is best grown 
 in a cold frame, potted rather high, among loam mixed with 
 a large proportion of brick -rubbish, and not over- watered. 
 Though generally found in exposed and rather sunny situa- 
 tions, the finest examples we have seen were found in a 
 shaded, moist situation, under trees, where sunshine never 
 visited them. 
 
CYSTOPTEEIS. 103 
 
 
 
 Among other names, this plant has borne those of Asple- 
 nium Ceterack, Scolopendrium Ceterach, Grammitis Ceterach, 
 Notolepeum Ceterach, and Gymnogramma Ceterach. 
 
 Genus VI. CYSTOPTERIS, Bernhardi. 
 
 THE species of Cystopteris are all small, fragile Ferns, yet, 
 notwithstanding, they are very beautiful and very interesting, 
 and furnish some remarkable differences of form. They are 
 much more delicate and herbaceous in their texture than the 
 majority of our native species, and hence are well adapted 
 for the purpose of minute investigation into the nature of 
 their venation and fructification. Their texture alone almost 
 suffices to tell a practised eye their family position, but the 
 tyro needs a more precise characteristic, and this is found in 
 the structure of the scale or indusium which covers the sori. 
 The sori in these plants are round, as in Lastrea and Poly- 
 stichum, all, equally with Cystopteris, once included under 
 the old family name of Aspldmm ; but here, instead of being 
 almost flat and circular, the indusium is inflated or bulged 
 out like a hood, and is attached at the back (towards the 
 base of the pinnule) of the sori by its broad base, covering 
 
104 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 the sori while in a young state, but becoming ultimately 
 reflexed at the point, which is more or less jagged or fringed. 
 Hence these plants are called Bladder Terns. There are 
 three native species, of one of which numerous distinct 
 forms or varieties occur. 
 
 The technical name comes from two Greek words, kystos, 
 and pteris, which respectively mean bladder, and fern ; so 
 that in this case the English appellation is a literal trans- 
 lation of the scientific name. 
 
 CYSTOPTERIS ALPINA, Desvaux. The Alpine Bladder- 
 Fern. (Plate X. fig. 2.) 
 
 A diminutive but very elegant plant, quite a gem. It 
 has a close tufted stem, producing from its crown numerous 
 bright green fronds, usually four to six inches, but some- 
 times as much as ten inches high. These grow up in May, 
 and die away in autumn. Their form is lanceolate, the 
 mode of division bipinnate, with the pinnules so deeply pin- 
 natifid as to render them almost tripinnate. The stipes is 
 short, smooth, and scaly at the base. The pinnse are nearly 
 opposite, with a winged rachis, ovate, divided into bluntly 
 ovate pinnules, these latter being deeply cleft, almost down 
 to their mid vein, into short, blunt, linear lobes, which are 
 either entire, or have two or three blunt teeth. 
 
CYSTOPTERIS. 105 
 
 The midveiii of the pinnules is nearly straight, with a 
 venule, simple or divided, branching off to each lobe, one 
 branch extending to the point of each marginal tooth. The 
 small roundish sori are rather numerous, but not confluent, 
 borne near the margin, and covered by a concave mem- 
 branous indusium. 
 
 This species, which is cultivated like the other species of 
 Cystopteris without difficulty, has been found (formerly in 
 abundance, now, we believe, almost exterminated) on an old 
 wall at Leyton, in Essex. Indeed, its claim to aboriginality 
 is strongly suspected, a small, much-divided form of Cysto- 
 pteris fragilis being supposed to have been mistaken for it. 
 The Scotch and Welsh plants which have been called Cysto- 
 pteris atpina are probably open to this objection, but there is 
 reason to believe the Essex plant to have been genuine ; and 
 I have fronds of the true plant, communicated by a Eern 
 cultivator, Mr. Shepherd, of Liverpool, which, he informs 
 me, were gathered in Derbyshire and Yorkshire. It occurs 
 in the alpine parts of southern Europe. 
 
 Cystopteris regia is another name for this elegant plant, 
 which has also been called Cyatliea regia and Cyathea incisa, 
 Cystea regia, Polypodium alpinum, Aspidium regium, and 
 Polypodium trifidum. 
 
106 HISTORY OF BRITISH FEIINS. 
 
 CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS, Bernhardi. The Brittle Bladder- 
 Pern. (Plate X. fig. 1.) 
 
 This is a tufted-growing plant, spreading, if undisturbed 
 under congenial circumstances, into large patches of nume- 
 rous crowns, each of which throws up a tuft of several 
 fronds, growing from six inches to a foot, sometimes more, 
 in height. The stipes, which is very brittle, dark-coloured, 
 and shining, with a few small scales at the base, is usually 
 rather more than a third of the length of the frond, and 
 generally erect. The form of the frond is lanceolate ; it is 
 bipinnate, the pinnse lanceolate, the pinnules ovate acute, 
 cut more or less deeply on the margin, the lobes furnished 
 with a few pointed teeth. In some of the plants, and 
 usually owing to their vigour, the pinnules are so very 
 deeply cut as to become pinnatifid, almost pinnate, the lobes 
 themselves then resembling the smaller pinnules nearer the 
 apex of the pinnse and frond. 
 
 The venation is very readily seen, owing to the delicate 
 texture of the frond. In the ordinary-sized pinnules there 
 is a somewhat tortuous midvein, which gives off a lateral 
 branch or venule to each of the lobes into which the margin 
 is cut, these venules branching again into two, three, four, 
 or more veinlets, according to the size of the lobes, and each 
 
FlateX. 
 
 
CYSTOPTERIS. 107 
 
 branch generally bearing a sorus at about midway its length. 
 The sori are thus generally numerous, and rather irregularly 
 disposed; and it often occurs that they are so numerous as, 
 when fully grown, to become confluent into a mass of fructi- 
 fication covering the whole under surface of the frond. The 
 number of sori produced, and consequently the sparse or 
 crowded disposition of the fructification, is a matter alto- 
 gether dependent upon the circumstances of growth, and 
 hence exceedingly liable to vary even in the same plant, and 
 within the same year, as heat or cold, drought or moisture, 
 may preponderate. The sori, which are nearly circular, are 
 covered while young by a concave or hood-shaped indusium, 
 which is attached by its broad base on one side beneath the 
 sori, and has its apex ultimately free; this part usually be- 
 comes torn or split into narrow segments, and the whole soon 
 becomes pushed back or cast off by the growing spore- cases. 
 There are many forms or varieties of this species. Two 
 of them, called cynapifotia and antliriscifolia, do not seem 
 to need any distinct description. Another, called angustata, 
 is rather larger, generally, than the typical form, but differs 
 more by having the points of its pinnae and the apex of the 
 frond itself drawn out considerably into very narrow r points 
 than in any other circumstance readily pointed out. 
 
108 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Another distinct variety, called dentata, is generally 
 smaller, and almost always blunter in the form of its parts ; 
 this grows from six to eight inches high, and has ovate-lan- 
 ceolate pinnae, with ovate, obtuse, pointless pinnules, which 
 are again divided on the margin into a series of short blunt 
 notches or teeth ; the venation is more simple, and the fructi- 
 fication is more marginal, than in any of the preceding forms. 
 
 The most distinct of all the varieties, however, is one 
 which we have called Dickieana, after Dr. Dickie, its dis- 
 coverer ; it has a more compact frond than any of the pre- 
 ceding, grows from four to six inches in height, in outline 
 almost ovate, terminating in a point, the pinnse ovate-lanceo- 
 late, overlapping each other, the pinnules decurrent, broad, 
 obtuse, with a few shallow, marginal notches ; the texture is 
 very delicate and herbaceous, and the fructification marginal. 
 It is of a deep green, and has often a degree of translucency 
 which makes it very interesting ; it is a constant variety 
 under cultivation. 
 
 The usual forms of this species occur abundantly in moist 
 mountainous districts, and also on walls, but generally in 
 moist rocky situations throughout the United Kingdom, 
 Ireland excepted, where it is comparatively rare. The same 
 species is very widely dispersed in various parts of the world. 
 
CYSTOPTERIS. 109 
 
 The varieties are more rare, and we know of only one locality, 
 a sea-cave, near Aberdeen, in which Dickieana has been 
 found. Cystopteris fragilis may be said to have rather a 
 preference to limestone. Under cultivation it is one of the 
 most manageable of the smaller sorts, growing freely on 
 rock -work or in pots. Its fronds are produced very early in 
 spring, are often renewed during summer, and continue to 
 grow up in succession until the frost cuts them off. Being 
 so very delicate in texture, the first frosts which have access 
 to them do this. 
 
 The names of Cyathea fragilis, C. cynapifolia, C.anthris- 
 cifolia, C. dentata ; Cystea fragilis, C. angustata, C. dentata ; 
 Poly podium fragile, P. cynapifolium, P. antJiriscifolium, P. 
 dentatum, P. rh&ticum ; Aspidium fragile, A. dentatum, and 
 A, rhaticum have been given by various authors to the dif- 
 ferent forms of this variable species. 
 
 CYSTOPTERIS MONTANA, Link. The Mountain Bladder- 
 Fern. (Plate XIV, fig. 2.) 
 
 This is the rarest of our native Ferns, and hence is a 
 plant of great interest. It is a small species, growing with 
 a slender creeping scaly stem, by the division of which it is 
 increased. The fronds, which grow up from this caudex, are 
 from four to six or eight inches high, triangular in outline, 
 
110 HISTORY OF BEITISH FERNS. 
 
 from the great development of the lowest pair of pinnae ; and 
 they are remarkable for the comparative length of the 
 slender stipes, which is about twice as long as the leafy 
 portion. The fronds are tripinnate in the lower part, and 
 bipinnate upwards, the pinnae spreading, and standing op- 
 posite in pairs, the lowest pair considerably larger than the 
 next above, and unequally developed, the inferior side being 
 very much larger than the superior ; this disproportion is 
 not maintained to the same extent in the upper portions of 
 the frond. The lower pinnae, on the inferior side, are first 
 divided into ovate or lanceolate pinnules, and these are 
 again cut into a second series of pinnules, of an ovate or 
 oblong form, these ultimate pinnules being coarsely and 
 irregularly notched or toothed; on the upper side, the 
 pinnules correspond with the secondary pinnules of the 
 lower side. The inferior pinnules of the next pair of pinnae 
 also correspond in size, outline, and subdivision with the 
 secondary pinnules of the lower pimi83; and above this 
 the parts become gradually smaller and less divided up to 
 the apex of the frond. 
 
 The whole texture of the fronds is delicate and herba- 
 ceous, as in the more common species, and hence the veins 
 show very distinctly. In the ultimate pinnules the central 
 
Ill 
 
 vein is somewhat flexuous, and gives off alternate lateral 
 veins, one of which is directed toward the sinus or margi- 
 nal indentation between two serratures. The sori have the 
 usual roundish form common in this genus, and, being 
 numerous, they become very conspicuous when fall-grown ; 
 but though crowded they do not appear often to become 
 confluent. These sori are covered, in the young state, by 
 a blunt, concave, jagged-edged indusium. 
 
 This rare species occurs wild in the United Kingdom only, 
 as far as is known, among the Breadalbane mountains of 
 Scotland, on one of which, Ben Lawers, it was originally 
 found by Mr. Wilson, in company with Sir W. J. Hooker 
 and Professor Graham ; this was in August 1836. Subse- 
 quently, in 1841, Messrs. Gourlie and Adamson again met 
 with it, on the "mountains between Glen Dochart and 
 Glen Lochey." Mr. Gourlie again, we believe, as well as 
 Dr. Arnott and Mr. Borrer, met with it in 1850. In the 
 European Alps this Fern is met with, most abundantly 
 northwards ; and it also occurs on the Eocky Mountains of 
 the New World, occurring for the most part in its wild 
 haunts, on rough stony ground in sub-alpine regions, but 
 sometimes also in woods. 
 
 The synonyms of this species are Polypodium montanum, 
 Aspidium montanum, and CyatJiea montana. 
 

 112 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Genus XY. HYMENOPHYLLUM, Smith. 
 
 THE British Hymenophyllwm*, or Filmy Ferns, are small 
 moss-like plants, with pellucid fronds, distinguished, along 
 with Trichomanes, by having the fructifications at the edge, 
 not on the back of the fronds ; and known from that 
 genus by having the involucres which surround the clusters 
 of spore-cases, two-valved instead of urn-shaped or entire. 
 So far as our native species go, these distinctions serve, but 
 they become puzzling in some exotic forms, which it is not 
 easy to refer to their proper genus. They are the smallest 
 of all our native Ferns, and, being somewhat rare, or at 
 least local in their distribution, they have always been re- 
 garded with much interest. Two native species are recog- 
 nized, much like each other in general aspect, and distin- 
 guished by one or two rather minute technicalities, which, 
 however, are sufficiently obvious to those who have learned 
 how to look for them. These peculiarities will be presently 
 explained. 
 
 The name Hymenopliyllum is compounded from the two 
 Greek words hymen and phyllon, which mean a membrane, 
 and a leaf; and is applied to those plants with much pro- 
 priety, from the membranous texture of their fronds. 
 
HYMENOPHYLLTJM. 113 
 
 HYMENOPHYLLUM TUNBRIDGENSE, Smith. The Tun- 
 bridge Filmy Eern. (Plate- XY. fig. 2.) f^\ 
 
 This is so named in consequence of its having been 
 found in the neighbourhood of Tunbridge, though occurring 
 also in many other parts of the United Kingdom. It grows 
 in the form of matted tufts, on the surface of damp rocks, 
 in the sheltered, humid localities which are congenial to 
 it; the black, wire-like, creeping stems being entangled 
 together, and interlaced with the mosses and allied plants 
 which are often found in its company. The fronds are very 
 short, from one to three or four inches long, membranous 
 and semitransparent, almost erect, and of a dull brownish- 
 green even when fresh, which gives them in some measure 
 the appearance of being dead. These fronds are lanceolate, 
 or somewhat ovate; they are pinnate, with the pinnae pin- 
 natifid or bipinnatifid, and having their branches mostly 
 produced on the upper side, though sometimes alternately 
 on each side the pinna. 
 
 The fronds are virtually, as is the case with the TricJw- 
 manes, a branched series of rigid veins, winged throughout, 
 except on the lower part of the short stipes, by a narrow, 
 membranous, leafy margin. The clusters of spore-cases are 
 here produced around the axis of a vein, which is continued 
 
 i 
 
114 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 beyond the margin of the fronds, this vein or receptacle 
 being enclosed within an urn-shaped involucre, consisting 
 of two nearly orbicular compressed valves, which are spi- 
 nosely serrate on the upper margin. 
 
 It is a species widely distributed throughout the United 
 Kingdom, and is found in many other parts of the world. 
 It requires the same conditions for its successful cultiva- 
 tion as does the Trichomanes, to which genus the reader is 
 referred. ; ... 
 
 It is the TricJwmanes turibndgense of Linnaeus. 
 
 HYMENOPHYLLUM IJNILATERALE, Willdenow. Wilson's 
 Filmy Fern. (Plate XV. fig. 3.) 
 
 This plant is by English botanists most commonly called 
 Hymenopkyllum Wilsoni, but there is no ground to doubt 
 that it is identical with H. imilaterale, a name published 
 by Willdenow long before that of Wilsoni ; we have, there- 
 fore, adopted Willdenow' s name on the ground of priority. 
 The species is a small moss-like plant, with numerous 
 creeping filiform stems, generally growing in dense tufts, 
 and producing a crowded mass of semi- drooping, brown- 
 green, half -transparent fronds, averaging three or four 
 inches in height. The fronds are of a linear-lanceolate 
 form, and pinnate ; the rachis is usually somewhat curved, 
 
H YMENOPHYLLUM. 115 
 
 and the pinnae are convex above, all turned one way, so 
 that the fronds become more or less unilateral ; the outline 
 of the pinnae is wedge-shaped, cut in a digitate-pinnatifid 
 way, the lobes being linear-obtuse with a spinulose-serrate 
 margin. 
 
 The rigid veins, branching from the principal rachis, 
 which is very slightly winged in the upper part, become 
 themselves branched so as to produce one venule to each 
 segment ; or, in other words, the veins are twice branched, 
 and throughout their entire length after they leave the 
 primary rachis they are furnished with a narrow membra- 
 nous leafy wing or border, the primary rachis itself being 
 almost quite without any such border. The clusters of spore- 
 cases are collected around the free ends of veins, which 
 usually occupy the place of the lowest anterior segment, and 
 are included within an urceolate involucre, which is divided 
 into two oblong convex inflected valves, which are quite 
 entire at the flattened edges where they meet. 
 
 This Filmy Fern seems equally diffused with its allied 
 species, and they are often found in company. This, 
 however, seems to be the more common of the two in some 
 parts of Scotland, and in Ireland. It is widely distributed 
 in other parts of the world. 
 
116 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Genus IV. LASTKEA, Presl. 
 
 ONE group of the Ferns were formerly called Aspidiums, 
 or Shield-Ferns. This group, so far as English species are 
 concerned, is now divided into three, bearing the names of 
 Lastrea, Polystichum, and Cystopteris. The Lastreas are 
 known among these by having the indusium, or seed-cover, 
 round in outline with a lateral notch, thus becoming 
 kidney-shaped; they are attached to the frond by the 
 notched part. This group includes some of the largest and 
 most common of our native species, and nearly all of them 
 are remarkable for their elegance. Several of them retain 
 their fronds through the winter in sheltered situations, but 
 they are not strictly evergreen, and in exposed situations are 
 always bare during winter. 
 
 Of the Lastreas eight British species are usually recog- 
 nized, but the number varies according to the value put 
 upon certain differences in the plants, by different authors. 
 
 The name Lastrea commemorates a zealous botanist and 
 microscopical observer, M. Delastre of Chatelleraut. 
 
 LASTREA CRISTATA, Presl. The Crested Fern. (Plate 
 VI. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is the simplest of the British forms of a group of 
 
LASTREA. 117 
 
 species intimately related to each other, and which are some- 
 times in the aggregate called Crested Perns; the latter 
 name is, however, more usually applied only to L. cristata, 
 of which we have used it as the equivalent. The group 
 alluded to consists of L. cristata, uliginosa, spinulosa,dilatata 
 in its many forms, and fcenisecii or recurva, plants whicli 
 form a closely connected series, so close, indeed, that some 
 very eminent botanists consider them as all belonging to 
 two^species only, cristata and dilatata, the other forms being 
 considered as mere varieties. This view of the subject is, we 
 believe, almost exclusively confined to those whose lot it has 
 been to study the Terns in a general way ; and the magnitude 
 of the subject in such a form necessarily leads to generaliza- 
 tions, and the acknowledgment only of such differences as are 
 the most obvious. It is, in fact, often inconvenient for the 
 general botanist to search after or take cognizance of very 
 minute differences. Those, on the other hand, who study 
 a smaller series, confined to certain geographical limits 
 our own country, for example being unperplexed by the 
 magnitude of their subject, as necessarily search for and 
 find differences of another kind, less obvious at the first 
 glance, but to be found if looked for ; and these, when 
 proved to be constant and unvarying, are relied on as proper 
 
118 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 marks of distinction. As this book is intended for the use 
 of those who are only likely at least whilst they require its 
 aid to study the smaller group, we shall endeavour to show 
 them how to understand the minuter differences which serve 
 to separate this series of Crested Perns into several recog- 
 nizable species ; and for this purpose shall first enumerate 
 the leading features of distinction : 
 
 Lastrea cristata grows with very erect, narrow, oblong 
 fronds, whose deltoid pinnae are not quite divided down to 
 the central rib, and the lobes into which they are separated 
 are attached by the whole width of their base, and are oblong 
 with a rounded apex. The stipes is sparingly furnished 
 with broad, obtuse, membranous, whole-coloured scales. 
 
 Lastrea uligmosa has two or three sorts of fronds ; one 
 set, the earlier ones, having much resemblance to those of 
 the preceding, the other sets producing fructification, being 
 bipinnate at the bases of the pinnee, the fronds narrow- 
 oblong, the lobes tapering to a point, and the scales of the 
 stipes broad, blunt, and whole-coloured. This connects 
 cristata with spinulosa. 
 
 Lastrea spmulosa grows erect, has narrow, lance-shaped, 
 bipinnate fronds, and whole-coloured blunt scales to the 
 stipes. It is broader and more divided than the foregoing. 
 
LASTREA. 119 
 
 Lastrea dilatata grows more spreading, has still broader 
 or ovate lance-shaped fronds, and the stipes is clothed with 
 lance-shaped scales, which are darker-coloured in the centre 
 than at the margins. This is a very variable plant. 
 
 Lastrea fcenisecii grows spreading, and has fronds smaller 
 than the last ; they are triangular, bipinnate, and the seg- 
 ments have their edge curved back so as to present a hollow 
 surface to the eye; the scales of the stem are narrow, 
 pointed, and jagged. 
 
 Lastrea cristata itself, the Crested Fern, is not very ele- 
 gant, but of considerable interest on account of its rarity. 
 It forms a thick stem or root-stock, from which a limited 
 number of narrow, very upright fronds arise early in May, 
 and attain the average height of a couple of feet. The 
 fronds are destroyed in autumn by the frosts. Their out- 
 line is linear- oblong, that is, from a narrow width at the 
 base of the leafy portion say two and a half or three inches 
 in the case of fronds of the average height the margins 
 run nearly parallel almost to the apex, where they narrow 
 into a blunt point ; they are supported by a stipes which 
 rather exceeds a third the length of the entire frond, is pro- 
 portionally stout, and maintains this proportion upwards 
 through the leafy portion of the frond ; on the lower part it 
 
120 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 has a few scales of a blunt, ovate form, a membranous tex- 
 ture, and an uniform light brown colour. The pinnae are 
 elongate-triangular in their outline, the broadest occurring 
 at the base of the frond, the upper ones becoming gradually 
 narrower, but all of the same general form, namely, widest 
 at the base, gradually tapering to the apex. They are not, 
 in the usual form of the species, divided quite down to their 
 midrib, so as to become, in technical terms, pinnate, but 
 each segment is attached by the entire width of its base, and 
 connected by a narrow extension of its base with the seg- 
 ment next behind it ; all the segments having their apices 
 inclined rather towards the apex of the pinna. The lobes 
 of the pinnae are themselves oblong, with a rounded apex, 
 and a crenately toothed margin. 
 
 The midvein of the lobes takes a tortuous course, and 
 gives off lateral branches which divide into several secondary 
 branches, one only of which, that nearest the apex of the 
 lobe, bears a sorus. The fructification is confined to the 
 upper portion of the frond, and often remarkably so ; less 
 frequently it extends downwards to the pair of pinnae next 
 above the basal ones. The spots of spore-cases are covered 
 by a kidney-shaped scale or iudusium, having an entire 
 margin, and become mature in August and September. 
 
LASTREA. 121 
 
 This species occurs only on boggy heaths, and that in but 
 few places in Britain, confined, we believe, to the counties 
 of Nottinghamshire, Cheshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk. It is 
 easily cultivated, either in a pot, or planted in a damp, some- 
 what shady situation, and preferring a peaty soil. 
 
 A Eern which has, within the last year or two, attracted 
 some attention, and which Mr. Newman has called Lastrea 
 uliginosa, we notice here as a variety of Lastrea cristata. 
 It is exactly intermediate in its general appearance and cha- 
 racters between that species and Lastrea spinulosa, and 
 would perhaps, at first sight, be rather considered a state of 
 the latter than of the former. In the mode in which its 
 young fronds are rolled up, and in the arrangement of its 
 veins, it however agrees best with cristata, and for this rea- 
 son we prefer to consider it a variety of that species approach- 
 ing spinulosa, with which latter it agrees most closely in the 
 form of its pinnules. 
 
 This Pern forms a stout crown or root-stock, having a 
 tendency to multiply by lateral off-shoots. From the crown 
 the fronds spring up in a circle, and grow nearly erect to 
 the height of from two to three feet ; these bear the fructifi- 
 cation. Other fronds, however, are produced, which are 
 barren, and these do not grow so erect, nor put on the same 
 
122 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 form as the fertile ones. The barren fronds closely resemble 
 those of cristata, while the fertile ones have much the ap- 
 pearance of those of spinulosa, only they are narrower, and 
 have narrow pinnae. The outline of these latter is narrow 
 lance-shaped, drawn out at the apex, the pinnae having a nar- 
 row tapering form, and the pinnules being oblong-pointed, 
 with rather deep, serrated, marginal notches, the serratures 
 terminating in a fine, somewhat hardened point. 
 
 The midvein of the pinnules is somewhat tortuous, giving 
 off branched lateral veins, the anterior of which bears a sorus, 
 so that these latter are placed in two regular lines lengthwise 
 on each pinna ; the sori are produced from the base to the 
 apex of the frond. The barren fronds are broader, usually 
 shorter, less erect, and their pinnules are of a broader, 
 blunter form, and more closely placed, than those which are 
 fertile. The stipes has ovate, pale-coloured scales, rather 
 sparingly distributed, and most numerous at the lower part ; 
 and the sori are covered by even-margined, kidney-shaped 
 scales or indusia. 
 
 This plant is found on boggy heaths, generally in company 
 with cristata and spmulosa; it has, however, we are in- 
 formed, been detected where cristata is unknown to exist. 
 As far as we yet know, it is comparatively rare. 
 
LASTKEA. 123 
 
 Sometimes after the growth of the first set of fertile fronds 
 others will spring up which are also fertile, but have the 
 appearance described above as peculiar to the barren ones. 
 These fronds are undistinguishable from cultivated fronds 
 of L. cristata, and furnish another reason for considering 
 uliginosa as a state of that species. 
 
 LASTREA DILATATA, Presl. The Broad Prickly-toothed, 
 or Crested Pern. (Plate IX. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is one of the most compound of our native species. 
 It forms a large tufted stock or stem, and has broad arched 
 fronds, which average about a couple of feet in height, 
 though it is sometimes met with smaller, and often, when 
 luxuriant, reaches a height of five feet. They are always 
 more or less drooping or curved, and never grow erect as 
 those of cristata, uliginosa, and spimdosa do. The general 
 outline is ovate-lanceolate, though in this, one of the most 
 variable of Perns, the form varies considerably, becoming 
 sometimes narrow elongate lanceolate on the one hand, and 
 short broad almost triangular on the other. It is not im- 
 probable that among these various forms, the most distinct 
 of which are sometimes regarded as varieties, two or three 
 distinct species may be associated under the name of 
 tata. We shall describe the more usual form. 
 
124 HISTORY OF BEITISH TEENS. 
 
 The fronds are ovate, lance-shaped in outline, on a stipes 
 of moderate length, which stipes is much thickened at the 
 base, and densely clothed with entire, lance-shaped, pointed 
 scales, of a very dark brown colour in the centre, but nearly 
 transparent at the margins. They are bipinnate, with elon- 
 gate-triangular or tapering pinnse, placed nearly opposite, 
 and having more or less of obliquity from the larger deve- 
 lopment of the inferior side. The pinnse are pinnate, and 
 the pinnules near their base often so deeply divided as to be 
 again almost pinnate; the rest are pinnatifid, or in the 
 upper parts merely deeply toothed, but the margins, whether 
 deeply or shallowly lobed, are set with teeth, which end in 
 short spinous points. 
 
 The veining is very similar to the more compound parts 
 of the allied species spinulosa ; and the fructification is pro- 
 duced in great abundance, the sori being ranged in two 
 lines crosswise the pinnse on the larger lobes, or lengthwise 
 on the less divided parts ; so that they have apparently a 
 less regular distribution than occurs in spinulosa. The 
 sori are covered by kidney-shaped scales or indusia, which 
 are fringed around the margin with projecting glandular 
 bodies. 
 
 One of the varieties of this Fern has the fronds shorter, 
 
LASTREA. 125 
 
 almost triangular in outline,, and remarkably convex ; it has, 
 moreover, usually a dark green colour, often with a brownish 
 tinge. It is found in more exposed places than the normal 
 form, and. is not uncommon. 
 
 Another is met with on the hills of the north of England ; 
 and this, which it has been proposed to call Lastrea collina, 
 is probably a distinct species. The form of its fronds is 
 ovate, drawn out to a long narrow point, and the pinnules, 
 which are obtusely ovate and have a broad attachment at 
 the base, have the serratures on their margin less spinulose 
 than in the common form. It was first noticed by the 
 Eev. Mr. Pindar in Westmoreland. 
 
 Mr. Newman proposes to separate a form of this plant, 
 which differs in having its surface covered with glands, and 
 in the scales of the stipes being broader, under the name of 
 Lastrea glandulosa. Of its distinctness as a species we are, 
 as yet, unprepared to decide. It appears, however, to con- 
 nect L. spinulosa with dilatata, and is apparently the same 
 as had been previously named I/, maculata by Dr. Deakin. 
 
 This species, though found in drier places than its near 
 ally spinulosa, is nevertheless partial to moisture, being 
 found in damp, shady hedge-banks and woodlands. It is 
 hardy, and easily cultivated. 
 
126 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 LASTREA PILIX-MAS, PresL The Male Pern. (Plate 
 VIII.) 
 
 The Male Pern is so called from its robust appearance in 
 contrast with the more delicate, though similar, Lady Pern 
 or FUiiV-fcemina. It is one of the species which grow up 
 annually, the fronds being destroyed by the frosts of winter, 
 unless the situation be very sheltered, when the old fronds 
 often remain green until the young ones are produced in 
 spring. It is a robust-growing plant, producing its fronds 
 in a tuft around a central crown, and when vigorous and 
 perfectly developed is a very striking object, though its 
 ornamental qualities are often unheeded, we suppose, on ac- 
 count of its commonness. Surely, however, it is not wise 
 that objects imbued with that mystery vitality, and being 
 intrinsically graceful and beautiful, should be despised be- 
 cause a beneficent Creator has scattered them about our path 
 with a lavish hand ; they ought the rather, one would think, 
 to lead us to admire and adore ! 
 
 The stipes of this Pern is densely scaly. The fronds 
 average about a couple of feet in height, and are of a broad 
 lance-shaped figure, and what is called bipinnate, though 
 less decidedly so than occurs in some other species, for here 
 it is those pinnules only which are nearest to the main rachis 
 
ZLa,te VEL. 
 
LASTREA. 127 
 
 which are separate from each other. The pinnae are narrow 
 and tapering, with a few of the lowest pinnules distinct, the 
 rest united at the base ; these pinnules are of an obtusely 
 oblong form, and serrated on the margin. The fructification 
 of this plant is generally very copious, and is usually con- 
 fined to the lower half of the pinnules, where it is crowded. 
 
 This is one of the best species to study with the view of 
 understanding the fructification of Ferns, for here the indu- 
 sium, a very important organ, is seen to be remarkably pro- 
 minent in fronds which have about reached their full deve- 
 opment. In that state the indusium is as yet closed over 
 the clusters of spore-cases, and will be seen to consist of a 
 lead -coloured, tumid, kidney -shaped, conspicuous scale, 
 which, at the proper time, becomes elevated on one side to 
 allow the dispersion of the spores. This may readily be seen 
 by closely watching the progress of the fronds after they 
 have reached the stage just adverted to; or if they are 
 gathered in that state for preservation in the herbarium they 
 are almost certain to burst, more or less, in the process of 
 drying, before they yield up their vitality. These covers are 
 at first little white scales. 
 
 The veins of this species are also readily seen, and each 
 pinnule will be found to have a flexuous midvein, with 
 
128 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 alternate venules, which are simple or forked, or sometimes 
 three-branched in different parts of the pinnule, the three- 
 branched ones, if present, occurring at the base, and the 
 unbranched ones at the apex. The sori are borne on that 
 branch which is towards the apex of the pinnule, and jointly 
 they form a line at a little distance from and on each side 
 of the mid vein. 
 
 One variety of this Fern we have called Lastrea Filix-mas 
 incisa in the ( Hand-book of British Ferns/ and it has been 
 named Lastrea erosa, and I/. Filix-mas erosa, by others, in 
 the belief of its being identical with a plant called Aspidium 
 erosmn by an old author named Schkuhr which we think 
 it is not. However this may be, it is a magnificent variety, 
 much larger than the commoner form of the plant, attaining 
 four or five feet in height, and possessing the same general 
 features as that which has been already described, but 
 larger in every part, and having the pinnules more elongated 
 and tapering towards the point, more deeply cut along 
 the margin, the branches of the venules more numerous, 
 and the sori produced over a larger proportion of the sur- 
 face of the pinnule, in fact, usually almost reaching to its 
 apex. 
 
 Another variety or starved form of this common plant 
 
LASTREA. 129 
 
 has the pinnules changed into small rounded lobes, and the 
 fructification reduced to a single row of spore-cases on each 
 side the rib of the pinnae. This has been called Lastrea 
 Filix-mas abbreviata. 
 
 A third curious form of the Male Fern has the points of 
 the frond and of the pinnae dilated into a fringe or tassel a 
 very curious transformation, which, it is curious to remark, 
 occurs only, as far as we know, among British species, in 
 this the Male Fern and in the Lady Fern. 
 
 The Male Fern is found abundantly all over the country 
 in shady situations : the larger variety is met with here and 
 there in similar places ; the other varieties are rare. It is 
 one of the most easy to cultivate, and is very suitable for 
 cool, shady rock-work, or for shady walks in woody scenery. 
 
 Like its allies, this species has been called Pofypodium, or 
 Aspidium, or Polystichum, besides Lastrea, but the specific 
 name Filix-mas seems to have been always preserved to it. 
 
 LASTEEA FCENISECII, Watson. The Triangular Prickly- 
 toothed, or Eecurved Fern. 
 
 This is a moderate- sized and very elegant plant, of droop- 
 ing habit, and possessing a crisped appearance from the 
 recurving of the margins of all the segments of fronds. It 
 grows from one to two feet high, and from its tufted stem 
 
 K 
 
130 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 produces a spreading circle of triangular fronds, the stipes 
 of which, of about the same length as the leafy part, are 
 thickly clothed with small, narrow, jagged, pale-coloured 
 scales. The fronds are bipinnate, the lowest pair of pinnae 
 always longer and larger than the rest, and the pinnules on 
 the inferior side of the pinnae larger than those on the supe- 
 rior side. The pinnules are of an oblong- ovate figure, and 
 the lowest of them often divided again into a series of oblong 
 lobes, for the most part decurrent, but sometimes slightly 
 stalked ; the margin is cut into short spinous-pointed teeth. 
 
 The veins of the pinnules are alternately branched from a 
 sinuous midvein, and these venules give off two or three 
 alternate veinlets, the lowest anterior one being the sorus. 
 The exact ramification of the veins depends upon the degree 
 in which the pinnules or lobes are divided. The fructifica- 
 tion is distributed over the whole under surface, the sori 
 being pretty evenly distributed in two lines along each pin- 
 nule or lobe ; they are covered by small reniform indusia, 
 which have their margin uneven, and fringed with small, 
 round, stalkless glands. The whole frond is covered with 
 similar glandular bodies. 
 
 This Fern, which is most abundant in Ireland and the 
 western parts of England, occurs in damp, sheltered woods, 
 
Tla.te Vll. 
 
 \sugmi 
 
 ^ Imtitii 
 
 . 
 
 e>~t\,a_V v ( ^ 
 
 
LASTREA. 131 
 
 and on shady banks and rocks. It is of an elegant drooping 
 aspect, and is cultivated without difficulty. It is the more 
 valuable as a pot plant from its moderate size and its ever- 
 green character. 
 
 This species is the Lastrea recurva of some writers, and 
 the Nephrodium fcenisecii of others. 
 
 LASTEEA OEEOPTEKIS, Presl. The Mountain Fern; 
 sometimes called Heath Pern. (Plate VII.) 
 
 This is a very elegant species, growing shuttle-cock fashion 
 around the central crown of the stem, to the height of from 
 two to three feet; and it is, moreover, so fragrant when 
 drawn through the hand as to be recognized from its kindred 
 by this circumstance alone. The fragrance is due to the 
 presence of numerous minute glandular bodies on the lower 
 surface, which, being bruised when the plant is handled, 
 give out strongly that peculiar odour which many Ferns 
 possess a sort of earthy, starchy smell, by no means dis- 
 agreeable. The fronds are annual, springing up about May, 
 and enduring through the summer : they are erect, lance- 
 shaped in their outline, pinnately divided ; and there is this 
 about them remarkable, that the stipes is unusually short, 
 the leafy part being continued nearly down to the ground, 
 and the lower pinnse are so short that the frond tapers 
 
132 HISTORY OF BRITISH TERNS. 
 
 downwards as much or perhaps more than it does towards 
 the point. The pinnse generally stand opposite, and are 
 narrow, tapering, and pinnatifidly divided, bearing their 
 fructification almost close to the margins of the segments, 
 and generally very abundantly. 
 
 In this species the divisions of the fronds are flat, not 
 revolute, as in L. Thelypteris, which most resembles it. Each 
 segment or lobe has a distinct and slightly sinuous midvein, 
 which is alternately branched, the branches simple or divided, 
 and bearing the spore-cases in clusters near their extremity. 
 
 This plant loves shade, and is found most luxuriant in 
 woods, occurring also on mountainous heaths. It may be 
 considered a common plant in England, Wales, and Scot- 
 land ; but in Ireland is much more rare. It is an effective 
 plant for shady rock-work, and, when established, grows 
 freely. 
 
 Besides the name we have here adopted, this Fern has 
 borne the following titles : AspiMum Oreopteris, Polypo- 
 dmm Oreopteris, Poly podium montanum, Polystichum mon- 
 tanum. 
 
 LASTREA RIGIDA, Presl. The Rigid Fern. (Plate IX. 
 
 % i.) 
 
 This very elegant Fern is of moderate size, growing nearly 
 
Plate IX. 
 
 1 1 b 
 
LAST11EA. 133 
 
 upright, and from one to two feet in height. It is perhaps 
 the most elegantly divided member of its family, the pin- 
 nules being all doubly and very evenly toothed. The fronds 
 issue from the crown of a comparatively thick stem, and are 
 annual in their duration, greeting the approach of summer 
 with the fresh green of youth, and shrinking dead and 
 shrivelled from the icy touch of winter. There are two 
 forms of frond the one narrowly triangular, the other lan- 
 ceolate, and they are bipinnate, with narrow tapering pinnse, 
 and oblong blunt pinnules, which are cut into broad rounded 
 segments, again notched into a varying number of pointed 
 but not spinulose teeth. The stipes is densely scaly. 
 
 The veining is very similar to that of the large variety of 
 Filix-maSj the pinnules having a flexuous midvein, with 
 alternate venules again pinnately branched. The clusters 
 of spore-cases are borne on the lowest anterior branch of each 
 venule, that is, on the lowest veinlet on the side towards the 
 apex of the pinnule, and they are covered by a kidney- 
 shaped indusium, which does not soon fall away. Over the 
 fronds are scattered numerous small sessile glands, which, 
 when slightly bruised, give out a faint and not unpleasant 
 odour. 
 
 This Fern seems confined to the limestone districts of the 
 
134 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 north of England, growing at considerable elevations. It 
 was first found at Ingleborough, in Yorkshire, and has been 
 since met with on the limestone ranges of Westmoreland 
 and Lancashire. In cultivation it is usually a free-growing 
 plant, more lax than in the wild state, and one of the most 
 elegant of the larger kinds. 
 
 LASTREA SPINULOSA, PresL The Narrow Prickly - 
 toothed, or Crested Pern. 
 
 This is a rather erect-growing kind, with a stout stem or 
 root-stock, which becomes branched, so that several crowns 
 are generally found together forming one mass. The crowns 
 may readily be separated, and in this way the species may 
 be increased with much facility. The fronds grow from one 
 o three feet high, and are bipinnate, the pinnse having an 
 obliquely tapering form from the inferior pinnules being 
 larger than the superior ones : this is most obvious at the 
 base of the fronds, where the pinnae are broader than they 
 are towards the apex. The pinnules are of an oblong form, 
 somewhat narrowing upwards, the margins deeply incised, 
 the lobes being serrated, and the teeth somewhat spinulose; 
 this description, it should be remembered, applies to the 
 lowest pinnules on the lowest pinnse ; those towards the 
 apex of each pinna, as well as the basal ones of the pinnse 
 
LASTREA. 135 
 
 nearer the apex of the frond, become gradually less and less 
 compound, so that, although the margins are still furnished 
 with spinulose teeth, they gradually lose the deep lobes 
 which are found on the lowest pinnse. In all the more com- 
 pound Ferns there is a similar difference of form according 
 to the position of the pinnules, and in all such cases it is 
 usual to describe only those which are the most complete, 
 namely, such as are situated at the base of a few of the 
 lowermost pinnse. The stipes of Lastrea spinulosa is rather 
 sparingly furnished with semitransparent scales of a broad 
 or bluntly ovate form, in which particular it agrees with cris- 
 tata and uligintxa, but differs from dilatata an&famsecii. 
 
 The venation of all these allied species is so very similar, 
 .that it is unnecessary to repeat the description in detail. In 
 the less divided pinnules there is a midrib, less tortuous 
 than in cristata, which gives off branched venules, the lower 
 anterior veinlets proceeding from which bear the sori, about 
 midway between the rib and the margin ; the clusters of 
 spore-cases thus forming an even double row on each pinnule. 
 "When the pinnule is more divided, the same arrangement 
 of the sori occurs on the lobes, the branches of the lateral 
 veins or venules being then more numerous. The sori are 
 covered by kidney-shaped indusia, having the margin entire. 
 
136 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 Marshy places and damp woods are the situations in which 
 this Fern is met with ; and in such places it does not appear 
 to be uncommon. It is very easily cultivated on damp 
 banks or rock-work, and, when grown in pots, requires to be 
 plentifully supplied with water. 
 
 LASTREA THELYPTERIS, Presl. The Marsh Fern. (Plate 
 VI. fig. 1.) 
 
 This is called the Marsh Fern from its growing in marshes 
 and boggy situations. It has a slender, extensively creeping 
 stem, which is usually smooth and of a dark colour, pro- 
 ducing matted fibrous roots. The annual fronds are pro- 
 duced about May, and later, and perish in the autumn : they 
 usually grow about a foot high, the fertile ones taller ; some- 
 times, when the plant is very vigorous, they reach the height 
 of three feet* Their texture is delicate, their colour pale 
 green, their outline lanceolate, their mode of division pin- 
 nate, the pinna3 mostly opposite, a short distance apart, and 
 pinnatifidly divided into numerous crowded, entire, rounded 
 lobes ; the lobes in the fertile fronds appear narrower and 
 more pointed that those of the barren, on account of their 
 margin being revolutely bent under. 
 
 The venation of the lobes of this Fern consists of a 
 distinct, somewhat tortuous midvein, from which alternate 
 
Plate VI. 
 
OPHIOGLOSSUM. 137 
 
 venules branch out, these being usually forked, and both 
 branches bearing a sorus half-way between the margin and 
 the midvein. The sori, which are thus pretty numerous, 
 often become confluent, and are partially concealed by the 
 bent-back margin. The indusium, or cover of the spore- 
 cases, is in this species small and thin, and is soon thrown 
 off, and lost. 
 
 The Marsh Pern has a wide geographical range, and in 
 England and Wales occurs in numerous localities ; in Scot- 
 land and Ireland it is rather uncommon. 
 
 Not a very attractive species for cultivation. It has 
 been severally referred, under the individual name of TJiely- 
 pteris, to the families of Aspidiwm, Poly podium, Acrostichum, 
 and Polystic/mm, by various botanical writers. 
 
 Genus XVII. OPHIOGLOSSUM, Linnaus. 
 
 THIS is very nearly related to the Moouwort, though at first 
 sight having a very different aspect. The points in which 
 it agrees, are, that the parts are folded up straight in the 
 incipient state, and the fronds are two-branched, one branch 
 being leafy, the other fertile. OpJiwglossum differs from 
 
138 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Botrychium, most obviously, in its parts being all simple, 
 while those of Botrychium are compound. Its habit of 
 growth is precisely the same, but the fructification is very 
 different, consisting of a distichous spike of imbedded spore- 
 cases. There is but one native species. 
 
 The name Opliwglossum literally means Adders-tongue, 
 which is the English name borne by this plant. It is 
 derived from the Greek ophios, a serpent, and glossa, a 
 tongue ; and is applied in consequence of the resemblance 
 of the fertile fronds to the tongue of a serpent. 
 
 OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM, Linnaus. The Common 
 Adders-tongue. (Plate XVIII. fig. 3.) 
 
 A small stemless plant, producing a few coarse brittle 
 roots from a central crown which represents the stem, and 
 which annually produces a bud from which the new frond 
 arises. The young fronds are produced about May, and 
 perish by the end of the summer. They grow from three 
 inches to ten or twelve inches in height, with a smooth, 
 round, hollow, succulent stipes of variable length. In the 
 upper part this becomes divided into two branches, the one 
 branch leafy, entire, smooth, ovate-obtuse, traversed by 
 irregularly anastomosing veins, forming elongated meshes. 
 
 The fertile branch is erect, contracted, about half its 
 
OSMUNDA. 139 
 
 length being soriferous, forming a linear slightly tapering 
 spike, which consists of two lines of crowded spore-cases 
 imbedded in the substance of the spike, and occupying its 
 two opposite sides. The spore-cases are, therefore, con- 
 sidered as being produced on the margins of a contracted 
 frond. "When mature, the margin splits across at intervals 
 corresponding with the centre of each spore-case, so that 
 eventually the spike resembles a double row of gaping 
 spherical cavities. 
 
 The Adder' s-tongue is very abundant in the localities 
 where it is found, which are damp meadows and pastures, 
 on a loamy soil. It is generally distributed over England, 
 but is less abundant in Wales, and the other parts of the 
 United Kingdom. The species is a common European 
 plant, and is found in North America as well as in Africa. 
 
 There is no difficulty in cultivating the Adders-tongue, 
 whether in pots, or among an out-door collection of Ferns ; 
 the essentials are a stiff loamy soil, and the constant pre- 
 sence of water enough to prevent drought. 
 
 Genus XYI. OSMUNDA, Linnaus. 
 THE Osmunda is called the Eoyal Fern, and well it deserves 
 
140 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 the regal honours, for it is the most majestic of our indi- 
 genous Perns. It is known by its large size, by having its 
 fronds entirely leafy in the lower part, and entirely fertile 
 at the top. In other words, the pinnae or branches at the 
 apex of the fronds are changed from the ordinary leafy form, 
 into dense masses of spore-cases, arranged in the aggregate 
 in the same way as the leafy pinnules would have been. 
 This mode of bearing the fructification renders it so 
 strikingly obvious at first sight, and gives the plant an 
 aspect so entirely different from that of those in which 
 the fructification is more or less concealed by its position 
 on the under surface, that the Oamunda, though classified 
 as one of the Cryptogamous or flowerless plants, is often 
 anomalously called the Flowering Fern. In truth, the 
 contracted chocolate-coloured apex looks not unlike a 
 dense panicle of small brown flowers crowning the tall 
 straight stem, whose lower pinnse have much the appearance 
 of broad green leaves. There is but one native species. 
 
 The name of the genus has given rise to some speculation 
 as to its derivation, and the question is still open. Some 
 derive it from the Saxon muncl y which they say signifies 
 strength. Others consider the word expressive of domestic 
 peace, and derive it from the Saxon os, house, and mund, 
 
OSMUNDA. 141 
 
 peace. Others,, again, have thought it commemorative, as 
 the following legendary passage bears evidence. The point 
 involved, however, we must leave antiquarians and philolo- 
 gists to settle. 
 
 At Loch Tyne dwelt the waterman old Osmund. Fairest 
 among maidens was the daughter of Osmund the waterman. 
 Her light brown hair and glowing cheek told of her Saxon 
 origin, and her light steps bounded over the green turf like 
 a young fawn in his native glades. Often, in the stillness 
 of a summer's even, did the mother and her fair-haired 
 child sit beside the lake, to watch the dripping and the 
 flashing of the father's oars, as he skimmed right merrily 
 towards them over the deep blue waters. Sounds, as of 
 hasty steps, were heard one day, and presently a company 
 of fugitives told with breathless haste that the cruel Danes 
 were making way towards the ferry. Osmund heard them 
 with fear. Suddenly the shouts of furious men came 
 remotely on the ear. The fugitives rushed on ; and 
 Osmund stood for a moment, when snatching up his oars 
 he rowed his trembling wife and fair child to a small island 
 covered with the great Osmund Eoyal, and assisting them 
 to land, enjoined them to lie down beneath the tall Perns. 
 Scarcely had the ferryman returned to his cottage, than a 
 
HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 company of Danes rushed in ; but they hurt him not, for 
 they knew he could do them service. During the day and 
 night did Osmund row backwards and forwards across the 
 river, ferrying troops of those fierce men ; and when the 
 last company was put on shore,, you might have seen Os- 
 mund kneeling beside the river's bank, and returning heart- 
 felt thanks to heaven for the preservation of his wife and 
 child. Often in after years did Osmund speak of that day's 
 peril ; and his fair child, grown up to womanhood, called 
 the tall Fern by her father's name. 
 
 OSMUNDA REGALIS, Limirtus. The Osmund Royal, or 
 Flowering Fern. (Plate XIX. fig. 2.) 
 
 ' L&*J ^i s P^ ant has a verv stately aspect, growing to the 
 average height of three or four feet, but sometimes found 
 eight or ten feet high. It has what is called a tufted habit 
 of growth, and its stem by degrees acquires height, so that 
 in very old and luxuriant plants there is a trunk formed 
 of from a foot to two feet high. From the crown of this 
 trunk (whether that is seated close to the ground, or whether 
 it is elevated) grow the fronds, which are seldom, less than 
 two feet high in very weak and starved plants ; more usually 
 from three to four feet, and forming a mass of a couple of 
 yards across; or sometimes, as upon the margins of the 
 
OSMUNDA. 143 
 
 Irish lakes, eight, ten, or twelve feet high, noble and 
 majestic almost beyond conception. In the lovely lake 
 scenery of Killarney this plant is very prominent ; and we 
 need not be surprised at the rapturous descriptions which 
 have been given of its arching fronds, dipping in the crystal 
 lakes, and sheltering, with its broad green pinnse, the nu- 
 merous aquatic birds which seek its canopy from the prying 
 eyes of pleasure-hunting tourists. When young the fronds 
 have generally a reddish stipes, and a glaucous surface, 
 which at a later period becomes lost. These fronds are 
 annual, growing up in spring, and perishing in the autumn. 
 The form of the mature fronds is lanceolate ; they are bi- 
 pinnate, the pinnse lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, with pin- 
 nules of an oblong-ovate form, somewhat auricled at the 
 base especially on the posterior side, bluntish at the apex, 
 and saw-edged along the margin. Some fronds are en- 
 tirely barren, and these differ from the fertile ones only in 
 having the leafy pinnules continued all the way to the apex, 
 instead of having the apex contracted, and bearing the 
 spore-cases. It is not always, however, that the spore- 
 cases when present are produced at the apex of the frond ; 
 abnormal developments are not uncommon, and in these 
 cases any portion of the pinnules may be seen converted 
 
144 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 into spore- cases sometimes a few pinnae at the middle of 
 the frond, while the apex is leafy, sometimes the base of 
 a pinna., while its apex retains the leafy form, sometimes the 
 base of a pinnule here and there, just its apex too, being 
 broad and leafy ; but the usual condition is to find a few 
 of the shortened pinnse, which form the apex of the frond, 
 contracted and soriferous throughout. 
 
 The venation, as seen in the barren fronds, consists of 
 a prominent midvein, bearing once or twice forked venules 
 proceeding to the margin in direct lines. In the fertile 
 parts of the frond, only the midrib of the pinnules is fully 
 developed, and the spore-cases are attached to a small por- 
 tion of the venules which becomes developed just to serve 
 as a receptacle. The spore-cases are subglobose, shortly 
 stalked, reticulated, and two-valved, opening vertically. 
 
 The Osmund Eoyal is a widely-distributed plant, oc- 
 curring in favourable localities, that is, marshy and boggy 
 situations, throughout the United Kingdom, and, as already 
 mentioned, extremely abundant and luxuriant in some parts 
 of Ireland. It is common throughout Europe, and occurs 
 in the United States of America. 
 
 This plant is especially suited, in cultivation, to occupy the 
 base of rock-work abutting upon a piece of water, where its 
 
POLYPODIUM. 145 
 
 roots may be placed within the reach of the water. For 
 the margins of ponds or lakes, or for any other damp loca- 
 lities, it is also well adapted ; and in such situations only 
 does it acquire anything like its natural vigour. It should 
 have peat earth for its roots. The best way to establish 
 it is, to procure strong vigorous patches from localities 
 where it abounds, and these, if removed carefully any time 
 before growth commences or even after it is considerably 
 advanced will succeed perfectly. This course is far more 
 satisfactory than to make use of weaker plants in the hope 
 of their eventually gaining the requisite vigour to produce 
 the effect desired. 
 
 Genus I. POLYPODIUM, Zinnaws. 
 
 THE Polypodies, which botanists call by the Latin name of 
 Polypodium, are known from all the other British Perns, 
 by their having the spore-cases arranged in little round 
 patches here and there on the back of the frond, these 
 patches not being at any time, or at any stage of their 
 development, covered by the membranous film which, it 
 has been explained, is called an indusium ; hence they are 
 said to be naked, or non-indusiate. This family includes 
 
 L 
 
146 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 four distinct kinds, with some variations of the common 
 sort; some of these have the fronds persistent, and so 
 become evergreen, while in others they last but from spring 
 to autumn. 
 
 The Polypodies derive their name Polypodinm, which 
 literally means, many-footed, from the branching of their 
 creeping stems, the tubercular protuberances on which, in 
 the earlier stages of development, have some supposed re- 
 semblance to those on the feelers of Polypes. 
 
 POLYPODIUM CALCAREUM, Smith. The Limestone Poly- 
 pody. (Plate III. fig. 1.) 
 
 This Pern is known from P. Dryopteris to which it is 
 so nearly related that some botanists do not consider it dis- 
 tinct by having its fronds less decidedly, though somewhat 
 three-branched, and by having its surface covered with small 
 stalked glands, which give a mealy appearance to every part 
 of the fronds. To us these two plants appear quite dis- 
 tinct, for, in addition to the points of difference already re- 
 ferred to, the fronds of this are of a dull deep green, more 
 rigid, and without the marked deflexure of the rachis so 
 obvious in its ally ; and the young fronds, instead of being 
 rolled up in three little balls, have their pinnae all rolled up 
 separately. The glandular surface of the whole frond is 
 
Plate III. 
 
POLYPODIUM. 147 
 
 very readily seen with a pocket-lens, a necessary aid, by 
 the bye, to the study of Ferns. 
 
 The fronds grow from six inches to a foot in height, 
 nearly triangular, with the base shorter than the sides, the 
 stipes about equalling the leafy portion in length. They 
 are partially three-branched, but the lateral branches are 
 much smaller than the central one, and attached to the 
 stipes by a more slender rachis. The lower branches are 
 pinnate, with pinnatifid pinnse ; the upper branch pinnate, 
 with its lower pinnse again pinnate, and the upper ones pin- 
 natifid, as also is the apex of the frond and of the lower 
 branches. The pinnules or lobes have a distinct midvein, 
 with simple or slightly branched venules, near the termina- 
 tion of which, in a marginal series, the sori are produced. 
 
 This is one of the few Eerns which are found in calca- 
 reous or chalky soils. It is rare, and local in its distribu- 
 tion, being, we believe, almost confined to rocky limestone 
 districts, and occurring chiefly in the northern and western 
 parts of the island. In cultivation it does not require so 
 much moisture and shade as most other Ferns, but a lime- 
 stone soil is not at all essential to its well-being. 
 
 The names of Poly podium Robertianum and of Lastrea 
 Robertiana have been given to this species ; and the former 
 
148 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 of these seems to have the precedence on the ground of 
 priority, but it has not as yet been adopted in this country. 
 POLYPODITJM DRYOPTERIS, Linnaus. The Tender Three- 
 branched Polypody, sometimes called the Oak Pern. (Plate 
 
 ii. % i.) 
 
 This is at once known among the Polypodies by having 
 its quite smooth fronds divided into three branches; and 
 when the fronds are but partially developed this latter cha- 
 racteristic is available, for the three branches are rolled up 
 separately, and the fronds in the stage alluded to resemble 
 three little balls set on short slender wires, and supported 
 by one which is longer and stouter. It is, however, alto- 
 gether a slender and delicate plant, its height being com- 
 monly not more than six inches, often less, arid sometimes 
 more, its colour a pale bright green, and its texture fragile. 
 Hence it is at once destroyed by frost, and soon becomes 
 rusty and withered by exposure to heat and drought. When 
 growing in a cool, shady situation, however, it continues 
 fresh and cheerful-looking from April, when it usually starts 
 into growth, onwards until it is affected by autumnal cold. 
 In pots, in Wardian cases, or on sheltered, shady rock -work, 
 it is alike desirable for cultivation. 
 
 The fronds of this delicate little Pern grow from a slender 
 
Plate II. 
 
POLYPODIUM. 149 
 
 creeping stem, which often forms densely matted tufts. 
 They are quite smooth, and of a bright light green colour, 
 supported by stipes which are usually about twice as long as 
 the leafy part, and are slender, brittle, and dark -coloured. 
 The outline is almost pentagonal, the frond being divided 
 into three branches, each of which is of a triangular form. 
 One peculiarity about this species, which is in a slight degree 
 shared by its near ally, P. calcareum, is the deflexion of the 
 rachis at the point where the lateral branches of the frond 
 take their rise, but this feature is greatly more obvious in 
 P. Dryopteris. The fronds are divided thus : each branch 
 is pinnate at the base, and pinnatifid towards its point ; the 
 pinnae are also pinnate at their base, then pinnatifid, becom- 
 ing acute and nearly entire at the point ; the pinnules and 
 ultimate lobes are oblong and obtuse. The pair of pinnules 
 at the base of each pinna, close to the principal rachis, are 
 placed so that when the pinnae are exactly opposite they 
 stand in the form of a cross ; the two towards the apex of 
 the branch being smaller than the opposite pair, and more 
 nearly parallel with the rachis. 
 
 The pinnules or lobes have a rather tortuous midvein, 
 from which the venules branch out alternately, being, in 
 those of moderate size, simple, with a sorus near their ex- 
 
150 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 tremity, and in those which are larger and more compound, 
 branched, with a sorus on the lower branch. The fructifi- 
 cation is very unequally produced in different seasons and 
 localities, being sometimes crowded, and at other times very 
 sparingly scattered over the fronds. 
 
 P. Dryopieris is not an uncommon species, but it occurs 
 only in mountainous situations and the drier parts of damp 
 woods : in England mostly in the north ; in Scotland dis- 
 tributed pretty generally; very rare in Ireland. 
 
 This species has been called Polystichum Dryopteris and 
 Lastrea Dryopteris. 
 
 POLYPODIUM PHEGOPTERIS, Lwnaus. The Beech Poly- 
 pody, sometimes called Mountain Pern. (Plate II. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is a somewhat fragile plant, enduring no longer than 
 till autumn, or the appearance of the first frosts. It grows 
 wild in moist mountainous situations and in damp woods, 
 often common enough where present, but rather limited in 
 its range, occurring, however, in England to the southward, 
 westward, and northward; pretty generally distributed in 
 Scotland ; but rarely met with in Ireland. It has a slender 
 but extensively creeping and slightly scaly stem, producing 
 black fibrous roots, and, about May, throwing up delicate 
 hairy pale green fronds, which, when full grown, measure 
 
POLYPODIUM. 151 
 
 from six inches to a foot in height. The stipes, which is 
 fleshy and very brittle, is generally twice as long as the 
 leafy part of the frond ; near its base are a few small almost 
 colourless scales. The fronds are triangular, extended into 
 a long narrow point. In the lower part they are pinnate ; 
 but this distinction of the parts is seldom carried beyond 
 the two lowest pairs of branches, those of the upper por- 
 tions of the frond being connected at the base, in what 
 is technically called a pinnatifid manner : hence this Fern 
 is said to be subpinnate, which, in this case, means par- 
 tially pinnate, or pinnate at the very base only. The 
 pinnse have a narrow and acutely lance-shaped outline, and 
 are deeply pinnatifid; they usually stand opposite each 
 other in pairs, the lowest pair being directed downwards, 
 towards the root, and set on at a short distance from the 
 rest. The united base of the pairs of the other pinnse, 
 when they stand exactly opposite each other, exhibits a 
 cruciform figure more or less strikingly obvious ; and by 
 this mark, in conjunction with the subpinnate mode of divi- 
 sion, this species may be known from the other British Poly- 
 podies. The veins in the lobes of the pinnse are pinnate ; 
 that is to say, there is a slender midvein, from which al- 
 ternate venules mostly unbranched extend to the margin ; 
 
152 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 those near the base of the lobes bearing each one small 
 circular sorus near their extremity the fructification thus 
 becoming almost marginal. 
 
 This is a very delicate and graceful Pern for pot-culture 
 or for a Wardian case, and requires plenty of percolating 
 moisture. On the damp, shady sides of sheltered artificial 
 rock-work, in the open air, it grows with tolerable vigour. 
 
 Polystickum Pkegopleris and Lastrea Phegopteris are 
 names which have been proposed for the Beech Fern. 
 
 POLYPODIUM VULGARE, I<inn<zus. The Common Poly- 
 pody. (Plate I. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is an evergreen Pern, growing abundantly on pol- 
 lard trunks, mossy banks, moist rocks and walls, and old 
 thatched roofs ; and pretty generally distributed over the 
 United Kingdom. When sheltered the fronds are of a 
 lively green, and it may be then recognized by the com- 
 paratively large circular patches of golden spore-cases; 
 indeed, it may generally be known by this feature alone, no 
 other native sort having the fructification at all similar in 
 appearance. It grows with a creeping stem as thick as 
 one's finger, which is covered over with pale brown chaffy 
 taper-pointed scales. From its upper side spring the 
 fronds, and from its lower side chiefly the branching fibrous 
 
POLYPODIUM. 153 
 
 roots by which it clings to its support. The fronds, if ex- 
 posed to frost, perish ; but if at all sheltered they remain 
 green during winter, and until after young ones have been 
 produced, which happens generally towards the end of 
 May. The stipes or stalk of the full-grown fronds is usually 
 nearly equal in length to the leafy portion; the entire frond 
 measuring from six to eighteen inches in length. The 
 frond itself, that is, the leafy part, is lance-shaped in outline, 
 but cut in from the margin along both sides nearly as far 
 as the midrib or rachis, and thus becomes what is called 
 pinnatifid. The portions into which it is divided are 
 called the lobes, or segments, or divisions of the frond ; and 
 in this case, they are usually oblong in form, generally 
 rounded at the end, but sometimes tapering to a blunt 
 point, and occasionally notched along the margin. 
 
 Each lobe has a slightly tortuous midvein, producing al- 
 ternate lateral veins (venules), which generally have about 
 four veinlets or little veins disposed alternately ; it is the 
 lowest of these veinlets, on the sides towards the apex of 
 the frond, which produces the sorus when it is present ; the 
 rest, which are barren, terminate in club-shaped apices, 
 which are very conspicuously seen when a fresh frond is 
 held up between the eye and a strong light. Most of the 
 
HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 fronds of this kind of Pern produce fructification, which, 
 however, is usually confined to the upper half of the fronds, 
 and has generally become mature by the end of September. 
 
 The most important variety is the Welsh Polypody, called 
 Polypodium camdricum by Linnseus. In' this the lobes of 
 the frond are broader, and, instead of being simple, are 
 deeply and irregularly lobed a second time, the segments 
 being rather sharply toothed. This form, which is cer- 
 tainly only a variety of the common Polypody, is almost 
 always found without fructification. Under slight shelter, 
 where its fronds are persistent, it is one of the most beautiful 
 of what are called hardy Perns. 
 
 Other varieties which have been proposed are bifidum, 
 in which the lobes are more or less regularly two-cleft at 
 the apex; serratum, in which they are deeply saw-edged; 
 and acutum, in which they are drawn out to a long narrow 
 point. The forms, however, are not constant, and are hence 
 of but small importance. 
 
 The species and its varieties grow freely under culti- 
 vation, either planted in pots, or on rock-work in a shady 
 situation. 
 
155 
 
 Genus V. POLYSTICHUM, Both. 
 
 THE Polystichums form a small and very distinct group of 
 evergreen Ferns, some forms of which rank among the most 
 beautiful of our native species. They once formed part of 
 the genus Aspidium, the token of admission to which, was 
 the presence of round seed-patches covered by a scale. 
 From the allied genus Lastrea, the PolysticJiums are known 
 by their having the scale-like cover of the sori circular, 
 without a lateral notch, its attachment being by a little 
 stalk in the centre : this form is called peltate. To a prac- 
 tised eye they are also known by a more rigid texture, and 
 by having altogether a more spiny appearance than even the 
 spinulose species of Lastrea ; but these means of recognition 
 the novice can turn to but little account. The alpine form 
 of the genus is strictly evergreen, and the others acquire this 
 character when in a sheltered situation, but if they are much 
 exposed, the fronds will be killed by a sharp frost. In 
 general, however, they retain their fronds without much dis- 
 figurement from frost, quite through the autumnal quarter, 
 and often far into winter. The British species of Pofysti- 
 chum are three in number. 
 
 The name Polystichum is compounded of two Greek 
 
156 HISTORY OF BEITISH FERNS. 
 
 words -poly, and stichos, signifying many, and order ; .and it 
 is applied to these plants in allusion to the numerous re- 
 gular lines of sori, which are seen distributed over the fronds. 
 
 POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM, Roth. The Common Prickly 
 Fern. 
 
 This is a species almost evergreen in a sheltered situation, 
 and one of those which are well suited by boldness of cha- 
 racter for the decoration of rocky scenery. It is a stout 
 plant, having the fronds a couple of feet long, and springing 
 from a stout tufted stem or crown, whence they grow up 
 in a circle, about the month of April, and take, a somewhat 
 erect position. Their form is lanceolate, in the most perfect 
 state of the species broadly lanceolate, but in a variety 
 presently to be referred to, very narrowly lanceolate. The 
 texture is harsh and rigid, the upper surface dark green and 
 shining, and the short stipes densely enveloped in rust- 
 coloured membranous pointed scales. The fronds are bi- 
 pinnate, with alternate pinnse, these pinnae being again more 
 or less perfectly divided into a series of pinnules, which are 
 either decurrent, that is, insensibly merging in the substance 
 of the rachis which supports them, or else, are tapered to 
 a wedge-shaped base, and attached to the rachis by the 
 cuneate point. The general form of these pinnules is some- 
 
POLYSTICHUM. 157 
 
 what crescent-shaped, for they have, as is universal in the 
 British forms at least of this genus, the upper base extended 
 into a small auricle, or enlarged lobe, and the lower base as 
 it were abscised ; while the apex is tapered off to an acute 
 point, and the margin is serrated, with spiny teeth. 
 
 The veins are alternately branched, and do not join 
 together or anastomose, but extend free to the margin ; and 
 the fructification, which is generally abundant, and often 
 crowded, is ranged in a line on each side the midrib of the 
 pinnules, and also on the larger pinnules on each side the 
 midvein of the basal lobes or auricles. The indusium is 
 circular, and attached by a little depression or stalk in its 
 centre. 
 
 A variety called lobatum, and considered a distinct species 
 by some botanists, differs chiefly in the narrow outline of 
 the frond, the pinnules of which are much more decidedly 
 decurrent ; indeed, every possible variation in the consolida- 
 tion of the pinnules is to be met with, between the ordinary 
 bipinnate form of PolysticJium aculeatwm, and a simply 
 pinnate form of the species, which, from its resemblance to 
 P. Lonckitis, has been called lonchitidioides. This latter 
 form, however, owing its origin to the peculiar circumstances 
 of growth only, cannot properly be recognized as a variety, 
 
158 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 but the intermediate state, which is the most common of 
 these abnormal forms, is at least sufficiently different to be 
 considered distinct. 
 
 This common and free-growing Pern is found in hedge- 
 banks, and similar situations; and being abundant, easily 
 cultivated, nearly evergreen, and withal possessing consi- 
 derable elegance of growth, has much to recommend its 
 admission to a prominent position in the Pern garden. 
 
 This plant is often, even now, referred to the genus Aspi- 
 dium, and was formerly included under that of Poly podium. 
 
 POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE, PresL The Angular-lobed 
 Prickly Pern. (Plate Y. fig. 2.) 
 
 A strong- growing, tufted- stemmed species, sometimes 
 forming large masses. The fronds are lanceolate, from two 
 to four or five feet high, persistent through ordinary winters, 
 and in sheltered situations retaining their verdure unim- 
 paired until the new fronds are produced. It is one of the 
 most graceful of all the native species. The stipes, which 
 varies from a third to a fourth of the length of the entire 
 frond, is very shaggy, with reddish chaffy scales, which scales, 
 though of smaller size, are continued throughout the upper 
 parts of the frond. The fronds are bipinnate, with numerous 
 tapering, distinct pinnse, having their pinnules flat, some- 
 
POLYSTICHUM. 159 
 
 what crescent-shaped, as already explained, often bluntish at 
 the apex, but sometimes acute, always with spinulose mar - 
 ginal serratures, and sometimes, in a few of the lower pin- 
 nules, with deep lobes, so that the pinnules become pimia- 
 tifid. The pinnules are tapered to a broad-angled base, the 
 lines of which usually exceed a right angle, and they are 
 attached to the rachis of the pinna by a short, distinct, 
 slender stalk, which does not form a line with either margin. 
 
 The pinnules have branched free veins ; and the sori are 
 generally ranged in a row on each side the midrib, and are 
 covered by a peltate scale or indusium. 
 
 A form sufficiently distinct to be regarded as a variety is 
 that to which allusion has been made, as having its basal 
 pinnules deeply lobed ; this we call sub-tripinnatum. It 
 does not differ in any other particular, but, being rather more 
 lax than the other forms, is the most elegant of them all. 
 There are many other slight variations, some with narrow 
 acute pinnules, some with blunt rounded pinnules, others 
 with the pinnules deeply serrated, and some very conspicu- 
 ously spinulose, but these differences probably do not point 
 to any permanently distinctive characters. We find the 
 sub-tripinnate form constant in a cultivated state. 
 
 This is a not uncommon Pern, growing in hedge-banks 
 
160 HISTORY OF BRITISH FEBNS. 
 
 and in lowland woods, preferring, as do most if not all the 
 larger Ferns, the presence of plenty of free (not stagnant) 
 water. As a cultivated plant, either for pots or rock-work, 
 it is most desirable, and acquiring, as it does, considerable 
 size, it may be made to produce some striking effects in 
 ornamental scenery. 
 
 Like its congeners, this was formerly, and now is by 
 some, considered to be an Aspidium. 
 
 POLYSTICHUM LONCHITIS, Eoth. The Holly Pern. (Plate 
 IV. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is a rigid and prickly-looking species, whence comes 
 the English name. It has a scaly tufted stem, from the 
 crown terminating which, the young fronds are produced 
 early in each spring ; these fronds remain fresh and vigorous 
 until after those of the succeeding year are developed, so 
 that the species is truly evergreen in its habit of growth. 
 The size of the fronds is very variable ; sometimes they are 
 not more than six inches long, and cultivated plants do not 
 often much exceed this stature. In damp and but slightly 
 elevated situations it becomes more luxuriant, the fronds 
 sometimes attaining a foot and a half in length, and then 
 having a vigour and robustness of aspect never acquired, as 
 far as we know, in cultivation, at least in England. The 
 
POLYSTICHUM. 1G1 
 
 climate of Ireland seems more congenial to it, and we un- 
 derstand it is there cultivated with facility. The fronds 
 are narrow in outline, their figure being linear-lanceolate ; 
 they are once pinnate, the pinnae being short, crowded, and 
 somewhat crescent-shaped, the upper side at the base having 
 an ear-shaped projection, the lower side being, as it were, 
 cut away. The margin is set with spinous teeth. 
 
 The veins are twice branched, the branches extending to 
 the margin without joining with others. The clusters of 
 spore-cases form a line parallel with, and on each side of the 
 midrib, and are covered each by a membranous circular scale, 
 which is attached by a short central stalk. 
 
 A true rock-Pern, occurring on the bleak mountains of 
 Scotland and in the milder climate of Ireland, as well as 
 rarely in the north of England and in Wales. It is a very 
 distinct, and, when vigorous, a not inelegant species, but 
 exceedingly difficult of cultivation, and seldom seen thriving 
 under artificial treatment. 
 
 The Holly Pern has been at different times called Aspi- 
 dium Lonchitis and Polypodmm Lonchitis. 
 
162 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Genus XL PTERIS, Lmnaus. 
 
 Pteris is the most common of all our Perns. It is that 
 which occurs almost everywhere in woods and in sandy 
 wastes, often appropriating to itself the whole surface of the 
 ground, but seeming to possess the peculiarity of avoiding 
 chalky soil. It is a very variable plant in its appearance, 
 owing to differences in its size and development dependent 
 on the circumstances in which it grows. Sometimes in dry, 
 very sandy soil, the plant becomes a pigmy, not reaching a 
 foot in height, and being merely bipinnate. The opposite 
 extreme occurs when the plant is growing on a damp hedge- 
 bank in a warm, shady lane, where it attains eight or ten 
 feet in height, and is proportionately compound in its de- 
 velopment. Its more usual size is from three to four feet in 
 height. Under circumstances which favour the most luxu- 
 riant development, this common and usually vulgar- looking 
 plant combines the most noble and graceful aspect, perhaps, 
 which is borne by any of our indigenous species, its fronds 
 scrambling up among the bushes which sustain them at the 
 base, while their graceful feathery-looking tops form, over- 
 head, a living arch of the tenderest green. The Pteris, or 
 Bracken, is known among the native Ferns by having the 
 

 Uf ' fl 
 
 uvi/ud/juuuAA. , }T|rl/i VK ^ 
 
PTEUIS. 163 
 
 edges of all the little divisions of its fronds furnished with 
 a line of spore-cases. No other of our native species has 
 the fructification arranged in continuous lines except this 
 and the Blechnum and the Pteris may be readily known 
 from that by the lines being in it confined to the margin, 
 leaving the centre unoccupied, while in Blechnum the mar- 
 gin is unoccupied by the sori. 
 
 Pteris is a Greek name for a Fern, and is derived from, 
 the word pteron, which signifies a feather ; and, of course, 
 is here applied in reference to the graceful feather-like 
 aspect which the fronds of Perns generally possess. When 
 the plant is luxuriant this name is quite as applicable to the 
 Bracken as to any other known Fern. This consideration 
 is perhaps enough to justify the application to this species, 
 by the older writers, of the name of Female Fern, which 
 scarcely seems appropriate to the commoner uncouth-look- 
 ing form which the plant more usually bears. 
 
 PTERIS AQTJILINA, Linn&w. The Common Brakes, or 
 Bracken. (Plate XVII. fig. 1.) 
 
 This Fern has a creeping caudex, and one that creeps 
 very extensively too, just beneath the surface of the soil, 
 though in some cases descending to a great depth perpen- 
 dicularly ; it is recorded by Mr. Newman that he has found 
 
164 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 the steins thus penetrating to a depth of fifteen feet. This 
 caudex is thickish, black-looking, and succulent, containing 
 a good deal of starch. Prom it are produced, at intervals, 
 the annual fronds, which generally make their appearance 
 about the latter end of May, when there is little risk of 
 frosts, for the least frost would destroy them, and, indeed, 
 it is not uncommon for the earlier growth to be destroyed 
 in exposed places by the very slight frosts which occur at 
 that season of the year. The fronds themselves have been 
 variously described, and often erroneously, for they are not 
 unfrequently said to be three- branched, a form which really 
 occurs in one of the smaller Polypodies (P. Dryopteris). 
 Now, they are not properly three-branched, and except when 
 very much starved and stunted, do not approach that form 
 very nearly. They are, in reality, bipinnate, or when very 
 luxuriant tripinnate, the pinnae standing opposite in pairs, 
 each pair in succession becoming fully developed, while the 
 main rachis is extending upwards, and the next pair is be- 
 ginning to unfold. The mature fronds are thus truly bi- or 
 tri-pinnate, with the pairs of pinna3 standing opposite. 
 When the fronds are much diminished in size by the sterility 
 of the soil which sustains them, they become almost trian- 
 gular, and then have somewhat the appearance of a three- 
 
PTEEIS. 165 
 
 branched frond, the development of the lower pair of 
 branches not leaving the plant energy enough to carry up 
 its rachis, and produce the other pairs of pinnae which it 
 would normally possess. That this is the true habit of the 
 species is still more clearly exhibited when it attains its 
 greatest luxuriance, for the full-grown fronds then consist 
 merely of a series of pairs of branches from the bottom to 
 the top. The unrolled young fronds are very curious ob- 
 jects, and the watching of their development will be found 
 full of interest. 
 
 The stipes is downy while young, and furnished with 
 sharp angles when mature, which, if it be incautiously 
 pulled, will wound the hand severely. The part under 
 ground is black, like the creeping stem itself, and is spindle- 
 shaped just at the base, where it permanently retains the 
 downy or velvety surface which was present in the upper 
 portions while young. 
 
 Average specimens of the fronds are tripinnate, that is, 
 they produce a certain number of pairs of branch-like pinnoe, 
 which branches are bipinnate. We must confine our fur- 
 ther description to one of these branches, selected from the 
 lower part of the frond, where they are more perfectly deve- 
 loped than in the upper parts such a branch, in fact, as is 
 
166 HISTORY OF BRITISH ERNS. 
 
 represented in Plate XVII. The general form is ovate, a 
 little elongated; that of its pinnae (the secondary pinnae) 
 narrow lanceolate. These latter are placed rather closely 
 together, and are again divided into a series of pinnules. 
 Two forms will be met with, one apparently equally common 
 with the other : in one the pinnules are undivided, and at- 
 tached to the rachis by their base without the intervention 
 of any stalk, and these bear a line of spore-cases along each 
 margin ; in the other the pinnules are larger, more elongated, 
 and deeply pinnatifid or sinuate, the margins of these lobes 
 bearing the lines of spore-cases. The apices of the primary 
 and secondary pinnae, and of the pinnatifid pinnules, become 
 less and less divided, until at last the extreme points form 
 an entire lobe, more or less elongated. 
 
 In its venation there is some variety, dependent on the 
 differences of structure and development which we have 
 already pointed out. We shall be most intelligible by ex- 
 plaining the form represented in Plate XYIL, which shows 
 the least divided form of the plant. Each pinnule, as is 
 there shown, has a distinct midvein, producing alternate 
 lateral venules, which become twice forked, and extend to 
 the margin, where they meet a longitudinal marginal vein 
 which forms the receptacle. The indusium consists of a 
 
PTEEIS. 167 
 
 bleached, membranous, fringed expansion of the upper skin 
 or epidermis of the fronds, which reflexes so as to cover the 
 spore-cases, but there is here another membrane which lies 
 beneath the spore-cases, and is no doubt a similar expansion 
 of the skin of the under surface. 
 
 It has been already remarked that there are two forms of 
 this plant commonly met with. These are so very dissimilar 
 that we have elsewhere* proposed to distinguish them as 
 varieties, applying to the pinnatifid form the name ver a, and 
 to the more entire form that of integerrima. 
 
 This, which is the most abundant of our indigenous 
 species, is also widely distributed in other parts of the world, 
 and bears a variety of names, from having been supposed to 
 be distinct by those who have met with it from such widely 
 separated localities. 
 
 Being so common, and in an ordinary state uncouth- 
 looking, it is not a plant for cultivation to any extent. In 
 warm, damp wilderness- scenery, however, where it would 
 attain great luxuriance, and the situation is such as would 
 enable it to develope the arching character already men- 
 tioned, it might very properly be introduced. 
 
 * Handbook of British Ferns : p. 134. 
 
168 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Genus X. SCOLOPENDRIUM, Smith. 
 
 THIS genus is botanically very distinct from all our other 
 native .Ferns ; and from other points of view is exceedingly 
 interesting. There is only one British species, but of this 
 there are several varieties, which have a perfectly distinct 
 aspect, owing to peculiarities in their development. They 
 are all evergreen, and on this account, as well as by reason 
 of their ornamental appearance and hardiness, they are 
 among the best of all Perns for out-door rock-work. The 
 genus is known from all others by the peculiarities of its 
 sori, which, though forming parallel oblique lines at intervals 
 on each side the midvein, and having the appearance of 
 being single if seen when mature, are in reality composed 
 of two sori, set face to face, and so close together as to be- 
 come laterally confluent. This is best seen just at the stage 
 when the indusia are bursting ; indeed, at a later stage of 
 development an unpractised eye would probably fail to ob- 
 serve any evidence that such was really the structure. 
 Nevertheless it is so; and the fructification, technically 
 speaking, consists of sori confluent in pairs, the two sori 
 forming each pair being placed face to face. 
 
 Scolopendrium is merely an alteration of Scolopendra, the 
 
Plate IT. 
 

 SCOLOPENDRITJM. 169 
 
 scientific name of the insect better known as the centipede ; 
 and the name is applied from a fancied resemblance (in the 
 position, we suppose) between the feet of a centipede and 
 the lines of fructification produced on the fronds of the Fern. 
 
 SCOLOPENDRITJM vuLGARE, Symons. The Common 
 Hart's-tongue. (Plate XV. fig. 1.) 
 
 This is a common plant, nevertheless its shining bright 
 green, though simple fronds, contrasting so beautifully with 
 the feathery aspect much more common among the Ferns, 
 procure for it admirers whether seen in a wild or cultivated 
 state. It grows in tufts ; the fronds, which are evergreen, 
 vary in length from six inches to a foot and a half, and even 
 more, and are either stiff and erectish when growing under 
 circumstances which render them dwarf, or more or less 
 spreading and drooping when in situations which are favour- 
 able to enlarged development : in the former case the fronds 
 are thicker and more leathery in texture; in the latter, 
 thinner and less rigid, from being produced in very damp 
 shady situations. The usual form of the fronds is what is 
 called strap-shaped, that is, narrow oblong-lanceolate, much 
 elongated; they taper towards, and are acute at, the apex, 
 narrowing a little downwards, and becoming cordate at the 
 base ; the margin is entire, or very slightly wavy, and they 
 
170 HISTORY OE BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 are supported on shaggy stipes of about a third of their 
 entire length. 
 
 The fronds have a strong midrib or costa, extending 
 throughout their whole length, from which are produced 
 forked veins, the branches of which (venules) lie parallel, 
 and proceed direct towards the margin, terminating just 
 within the edge in a club-shaped apex. The veins are usually 
 forked twice, but they are not constant to any exact num- 
 ber of divisions. The sori, which are oblong patches of 
 unequal length, lying in the direction of the veins at short 
 intervals along the upper two-thirds of the length of the 
 frond, are each composed of two proximate lines of fructi- 
 fication laterally united ; each of these lines, however, consist- 
 ing of a complete sorus, so that the two united are properly 
 called a twin sorus. This is the mark of the genus Scolo- 
 pendrium. This twin sorus is always produced between two 
 fascicles of veins ; that is, the lowermost venule produced by 
 one vein, and the uppermost venule produced by the vein 
 next below these two venules lying, of course, contiguous, 
 each become the receptacle upon which a line of spore-cases 
 is produced. The indusia which cover these two lines of 
 spore-cases have their attachment respectively on the upper 
 and lower sides of their venules, the other edges overlapping 
 
SCOLOPENDRIUM. 171 
 
 one the other ; the free margin, therefore, is exterior with 
 reference to the fascicle of venules to which it belongs. 
 When very young there is no evident trace of separation at 
 the part where they overlap, but as they advance towards 
 maturity the separation becomes apparent, and they even- 
 tually open down the centre, one indusium turning upwards 
 and the other downwards, the two lines of spore-cases 
 they had covered becoming confluent and undistinguishable 
 without manipulation. 
 
 This is the ordinary form of Scolopendrium ; but there are 
 some very curious and distinct varieties, differing only, 
 however, in the form of the fronds, and not in the fructifi- 
 cation, where it is present. Of these varieties it is deserving 
 of especial mention that they are perfectly constant under 
 cultivation, although they have, no doubt, originated in 
 aberrations, that is to say, accidental variations of the ori- 
 ginal species, which have been perpetuated either naturally 
 or by art. 
 
 The most beautiful of these varieties is that called cris- 
 pum, in which, while the same outline of frond prevails, 
 yet the leafy portion is so much more developed than the 
 midrib, that the margin becomes excessively undulated, 
 giving the fronds a very elegant curled or crisped ap- 
 
172 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 pearance. This sort is usually barren, though we have 
 seen it, when somewhat less curled, produce the usual fruc- 
 tification. 
 
 Another variety is called polysckides, or angustifolium 
 by some. The fronds of this are linear, and blunt at the 
 apex, much narrower than in the common sort, and the 
 margin is deeply and irregularly lobed, and crenated. This 
 sort is fertile, and its sori are short, and instead of being 
 ranged in a single series on each side the midrib, as is 
 usual in the common sort, they form two irregular lines 
 on each side. A very curious form, lobed in the same 
 manner as this variety, but having more the outline of the 
 common sort, has been found by Sir W. C. Trevelyan, in 
 Somersetshire; it is remarkable in having a longitudinal 
 ridge on each side between the midrib and margin, on the 
 exterior of which ridge the short interrupted sori are pro- 
 duced. 
 
 A third variety is multifidum. This has the fronds forked 
 either near the apex or sometimes near the base; each 
 branch is again more or less repeatedly forked, and the 
 apices of all the forks are developed into irregular fan- 
 shaped leafy expansions, to which the term multifid is ap- 
 plied. Sometimes the fronds are merely forked once or 
 
SCOLOPENDKIUM . 173 
 
 twice, without being multifid, and this state has been called 
 lobatum; in other cases the stipes itself becomes forked, 
 bearing multifid branches, and this has been called ramosum ; 
 but it may be doubted whether these are more than ac- 
 cidental variations of the form called multifidum. This 
 multifid sort is fertile. 
 
 The common HartVtongue is an inhabitant of hedge- 
 banks, of old walls, and sometimes of the interior of wells, 
 in which latter situation it acquires great luxuriance. It 
 is one of the more commonly distributed species in England 
 and in Ireland, less abundant in Scotland; and also found 
 all over Europe. The varieties are rare in a wild state, and 
 are now better known as cultivated plants. 
 
 Being an evergreen, and a plant of free growth, the Hart' s- 
 tongue is one of the most desirable hardy Ferns we possess 
 for open rock- work. Its broad simple fronds serve to con- 
 trast with the more divided or compound forms ; and its 
 varieties all have a different aspect, combined with the 
 same good qualities of hardiness and endurance. Shady 
 and rather humid places are those in which this plant most 
 delights, although, as is evident from its sometimes growing 
 on walls, it will live in more exposed and arid situations. 
 The plants, however, never acquire much vigour under such 
 
174 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 circumstances, and have mostly a starved and stunted aspect. 
 They are not particular as to soil, excepting that such as 
 contains fibrous or half- decayed vegetable matter, or the 
 damp surface of some porous stone, is much preferable to 
 soil which is much spent and comminuted, as indeed is the 
 case with respect to all Ferns. 
 
 The HartVtongue is sometimes called Scolopendrium offi- 
 cinarum, and has been named Scolopendrium P/iyllitidis, 
 Asplenium Scolopendrium, or Pkyllitis Scolopendrium. 
 
 Genus XIY. TEICHOMANES, Linnaus. , 
 
 THE Trichomanes is the most rare genus among our native 
 Eerns; the indigenous species, of which only one occurs, 
 being among the few which are met with very rarely indeed, 
 and within a very narrow range. It, however, is not the 
 most rare species, although very unfrequent, and local. 
 Unlike in texture all the other native kinds excepting the 
 Hymenophyllums, being quite pellucid, and of the most 
 delicately crisped appearance imaginable, it is soon distin- 
 guished by this mark alone. The fructification, too, is here 
 totally unlike that of all others, except the Hymenophyllums, 
 
TEICHOMANES. 175 
 
 from which in the native species it is easily distinguishable, 
 although in some exotic kinds the differences almost vanish. 
 The sure technical mark by which to distinguish Trichomanes 
 and Hymenophyttum among the British Ferns, lies in the 
 fact of their spore-cases being contained within deep urn- 
 shaped pits or recesses at the margin : in these two families 
 the fructification is at the margin instead of being situated 
 at the back of the fronds. Trichomanes is known from Ey- 
 menopJiyllum by its urns, or involucres as they are called, 
 being entire, while those of Hymenophyllum are split length- 
 wise into two valves. In both cases the spore-cases are 
 clustered around hair-like receptacles, which are, in fact, 
 the ends of the veins of the fronds projecting into the urns. 
 In Hymenophyllum these hairs are always shorter than the 
 urn, but in Trichomanes it is usual for them to project more 
 or less, so that the fronds become somewhat bristly when 
 very full of fructification ; and hence has arisen the com- 
 mon name of Bristle Fern, which is applied to the group. 
 
 The name Trichomanes itself has the same signification : 
 it comes from two Greek words, meaning hair, and excess, 
 in reference to these projecting hair-like receptacles. 
 
 TEICHOMANES RADICALS, Swartz. The Bristle Fern. 
 (Plate XVIII. fig. 1.) 
 
176 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 This very beautiful plant exists only in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of waterfalls,, and in situations where a con- 
 stant moisture is maintained. This is, indeed, quite neces- 
 sary to it, on account of its semi-membranous texture, 
 which shrinks before an arid atmosphere ; and hence it can 
 only be successfully cultivated when kept quite close, and 
 constantly wetted over-head. This species has a creeping 
 stem, smallish, wiry, and black-looking, clothed with 
 pointed scales. The fronds are three or four times pinnatifid, 
 cut up into small linear segments, which are entire or bifid 
 at the apex, and have a stout nerve or vein running up their 
 centre, and rendered very conspicuous in consequence of the 
 thin pellucid texture of the leafy expansions which surround 
 it. Or the frond may be described as consisting of a series 
 of three or four times branched rigid veins, margined 
 throughout by a thin, pellucid, cellular expansion, or wing, 
 a greater or less number of the apices of the veins becoming 
 surrounded by the cellular membrane in the form of an urn 
 or vase, and within them bearing the fructification. 
 
 The fronds are pendulous, and vary from an angular- 
 ovate to a lanceolate form, the divisions being considerably 
 undulated, so that they acquire a crisped appearance. The 
 first series of lobes are usually of an ovate-lanceolate form ; 
 
TEICHOMANES. 177 
 
 the next series shorter, more ovate, and the third series of 
 divisions narrow, more or less linear. The ultimate branches 
 of the veins which extend into the divisions of this third 
 series, end just at or within the apex of the lobes if they are 
 barren; but if they are fertile, they are produced beyond 
 the margin, and surrounded at the base by the urn-shaped 
 involucre, within which the spore-cases are placed. Some- 
 times the involucre is so placed as to appear immersed 
 within the margin, but it more frequently projects beyond 
 the margin. There is also considerable variation as to the 
 length to which the bristle-like receptacle is extended 
 beyond the involucre ; sometimes scarcely exceeding it in 
 length, and sometimes being four or five times as long. 
 
 The lanceolate form of this plant has been sometimes 
 thought distinct from the broader form, but the general 
 opinion is, that it is an extreme variety of the same species ; 
 to this the name of Andrewsii is applied, in compliment 
 to the gentleman by whom it was first discovered. 
 
 The Sister Isle now claims, so far as the British Isles are 
 concerned, sole parentage of this lovely, half-transparent 
 species. There, amidst dripping rocks, it thrives with a 
 degree of luxuriance which charms every one who has seen 
 it creeping over their shelving ledges. It is said to have 
 
 N 
 
178 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 been formerly found in Yorkshire. The same species is 
 widely distributed in the warmer parts of the world. 
 
 The variety and elegance of this plant make it a favourite 
 species for cultivation. The conditions of success are, a 
 close atmosphere, shade, moderate warmth, constant but 
 not stagnant moisture, and a porous surface to which the 
 roots may cling. 
 
 Among the many names which have been applied to this 
 plant, the following are the most likely to occur in English 
 books : Trichomanes speciosum, Trichomanes brevisetum, Tri- 
 chomanes alatum, and HymenopJiyllum alatum. 
 
 Genus III. WOODSIA, R. Brown. 
 
 THE Woodsias form a family group consisting of two di- 
 minutive kinds, which, however, possess much interest 
 among the British species on account of their extreme rarity. 
 These Perns are furnished with indusia, and by their peculiar 
 construction and position they may readily be known. The 
 peculiarities consist in their being not placed as a cover to 
 the sori, but attached underneath them ; when very young 
 they indeed enclose them, but subsequently in each case 
 
Plate IV, 
 
 
WOODSIA. 179 
 
 they split from above into narrow scale-like segments not 
 easily distinguished, at least without optical assistance, from 
 the hairs which occur with them on the fronds. In the full- 
 grown state, the sori are consequently seated in the centre 
 of a spreading tuft of hair-like scales, which are formed of 
 the lacerated margins of the indusium the latter being 
 attached to the frond at the point beneath the capsules. 
 No other native Ferns possess a structure at all approaching 
 to this. 
 
 These Perns were formerly ranked with the Polypodies and 
 AcrosticJmms, but when the structure of this race of plants 
 became better understood, they'were very properly separated, 
 and they now, in conjunction with some few foreign kinds, 
 form a distinct family circle. The name Woodsia was given 
 in compliment to a clever veteran English botanist, Joseph 
 Woods, Esq., whose name has been recently before the 
 public as the author of a very useful ' Tourist's Flora/ 
 
 WOODSIA HYPERBOREA, R. Brown. The Blunt-leaved or 
 Alpine Woodsia. (Plate IV. fig. 1.) 
 
 This is a diminutive species, never exceeding a few inches 
 in stature, and renewing its fronds annually in the spring, 
 the older ones being destroyed by the frosts and cold of 
 winter : when this influence is felt by the plants, the fronds 
 
180 HISTORY OF BRITISH TERNS. 
 
 quickly lose their vitality,, and are cast off at the articulation 
 or joint near the base of the stipes, which occurs in this 
 family. The Alpine Woodsia, like its congener, grows in a 
 tufted manner, sending up several fronds from the crown, 
 from the base of which the dark-coloured wiry roots are 
 protruded. In form these fronds are longish and compara- 
 tively very narrow, almost linear, as it is termed ; and they 
 are pinnately divided into several roundish triangular pinnae, 
 which are shallowly lobed on the margin, and are usually 
 set on alternately along the opposite sides of the stalk or 
 rachis ; those towards the lower part are usually placed at a 
 greater distance apart than those near the upper end. They 
 are nearly smooth on the surface, and, in this respect, unlike 
 those of the kindred species, which have a much more hairy 
 appearance; small hair-like scales, in company with hairs, 
 are, however, present in both species. 
 
 The midvein of the pinnae is indistinct, and throws out 
 venules into each lobe, these venules being more or less 
 branched according to the size of the lobes. The sori are 
 placed near the extremity of the venules, and are often 
 abundantly produced, so as to become crowded on the 
 pinnse. 
 
 The Alpine "Woodsia is named W. alpina, by Mr. New- 
 
WOODSIA. 181 
 
 man; and has formerly been called Acrostichum alpinum, 
 Acrostickum hyperboreum, Polypodium liyperboreum, and 
 Polypodium arvonicum. 
 
 The two English Woodsias are in Great Britain found 
 only in high mountain regions, where they grow from the 
 crevices of the moistened rocks. They are both rare, though, 
 from the inaccessible localities in which only they occur, 
 they may really be more abundant than is generally sup- 
 posed. Both also appear to be confined to the northern 
 parts of our hemisphere. 
 
 From their rarity rather than their beauty these form 
 interesting pot-plants. They require to be kept in a cold 
 shady frame, to be potted in very porous soil, and to be 
 carefully guarded against drought or stagnant moisture. 
 
 WOODSIA ILYENSIS, R. Brown. The Oblong Woodsia. 
 (Plate III. fig. 2.) 
 
 A deciduous species, dying down to the ground annually 
 in winter, and reviving with the returning spring. Its very 
 short stems form tufts, which, if not disturbed, and are 
 situated under favourable circumstances, grow into large 
 masses, speaking comparatively with its diminutive stature. 
 The fronds average about four inches in height, and are less 
 frequently found larger than smaller than this. Their form 
 
182 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS, 
 
 is lanceolate, more or less broad, and in their mode of divi- 
 sion they are pinnate, the pinnae usually set on nearly or 
 quite opposite in pairs, and having an obtusely oblong out- 
 line, with a deeply -lobed or pinnatifid margin. They are of 
 a thick dull-looking texture, and are more or less clothed on 
 both surfaces, but especially on the veins beneath, with 
 minute bristle-like scales, and shining jointed hairs, among 
 which the sori are almost concealed. The stipes is also 
 scaly, and, as occurs in a whole group of these Woodsias, 
 has a joint or articulation at a short distance from its base, 
 at which point separation takes place if the fronds are left 
 on to attain a good old age, the lower part remaining at- 
 tached to the caudex, while the upper part falls away. 
 
 The veining of the segments of the pinnse consists of a 
 rather indistinct midvein, from which the ven tiles, either 
 simple or branched, proceed towards the margin, near to 
 which the sori are produced. 
 
 There seems no reasonable doubt that the Fern which 
 Linnaeus called AcrosticJium Uvense is that now under notice. 
 It has also been called PoJ/ypodium Uvense. 
 
183 
 
 THE BRITISH CLUB-MOSSES. 
 
 Genus XIX. LYCOPODIUM, Lwnaw. 
 
 THE Lycopodiums, commonly called Club-mosses, are moss- 
 like plants, mostly of creeping or decumbent habit ; and 
 their stems, which consist of annular or spiral vessels inter- 
 mixed with cellular matter, are clothed with cellular leaves, 
 so placed that they overlie each other like the tiling of a 
 roof. The fructification is produced in the axils of the 
 leaves, and is in most of the species confined to the apices 
 of the branches, where it forms a cone-like head. 
 
 The organs of reproduction at once distinguish the Club- 
 mosses from all other plants. They consist of kidney- shaped 
 spore-cases, one- to three-valved, and containing bodies 
 of two distinct kinds. One kind consists of minute pow- 
 dery matter, in the shape of smooth resinous grains, which, 
 by reason of lateral pressure, acquire the form of irregular 
 polygons. These bodies have been called antheridia by 
 some botanists, and their granular contents have been con- 
 
184 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 sidered as pollen by some, and as abortive spores by others. 
 The other kind of spore-case contains three or four roundish 
 fleshy bodies, which are marked at the apex by a three- 
 branched line, and are many times as large as the granular 
 bodies which have been already mentioned. These larger 
 bodies have been called spores or oophoridia, and by some 
 observers anthers. 
 
 The true explanation of these parts is a matter of doubt. 
 All that is certainly known is, that the larger bodies do 
 germinate, or at least vegetate, and according to a statement 
 of Willdenow the smaller ones germinate also. , It seems 
 probable that the suggestion made by Dr. Lindley is correct, 
 namely, that the powder-like grains are true spores, while 
 the large ones are buds or viviparous organs. This view is 
 supported by the descriptions which have been given of the 
 supposed germination of these larger bodies, in which a 
 process quite analogous to the vegetation of a bud is clearly 
 pointed out. 
 
 The granular matter is produced by all the species of 
 Lycopodmm, but the large fleshy bodies are found only in a 
 few of the species. It has been usual to regard both sets 
 of organs, when present, as axillary to the leaves or bracts, 
 and so they may be considered for all practical purposes. 
 
LYCOPODITJAi. 185 
 
 A different theoretical explanation has, however, been given 
 by Muller, a German writer, who considers the oophoridiutn 
 as the entire metamorphosed terminal bud of a main axis ; 
 and he supports this opinion by the statement that in the 
 early condition this oophoridium is opposite the spike in 
 which the granular bodies are produced. The spike and 
 the oophoridium are by him regarded as two metamorphosed 
 branches into which a main axis has become divided, and it 
 is only at a later period of growth that they both appear to 
 belong to the same axis. The smaller granules, or antheridia, 
 he regards as lateral buds, or twig buds, only to be dis- 
 tinguished from the terminal bud which is developed into 
 the oophoridium, by the circumstance that the latter is a 
 principal branch, possibly capable of a more extensive de- 
 velopment into branch and foliaceous organs, while the 
 twig, which is developed into an antheridium, is but a small 
 particle of such a main branch. 
 
 These plants, like the Ferns, are most abundant in hot, 
 humid, and especially insular, situations in the tropics, be- 
 coming scarcer northwards, but often even in very northerly 
 regions covering large tracts of land. Our native species, 
 with one exception, have a boreal and alpine tendency, being 
 found most abundantly on the high lands of the north, and 
 
186 HISTORY OP BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 decreasing in quantity as they advance southwards. Many 
 of the tropical Lycopodium* are extremely beautiful : some 
 are of scandent habit, and many of them attain considerable 
 size. 
 
 Though of humble growth, and altogether unattractive 
 in appearance, the Club-mosses are not without their use. 
 More than one species is used in dying operations, and 
 several have a medicinal reputation. The powdery matter 
 called pollen, which is produced in considerable quantities 
 by our common species, is highly imflammable, and is used 
 in pyrotechny under the name of vegetable brimstone. 
 Being of a drying and healing nature, it is also used to pre- 
 vent excoriation in infants ; and in pharmacy is also used 
 sometimes for coating pills, as it is with difficulty wetted. 
 The common Club-moss is emetic, and the Fir Club-moss 
 is a cathartic and a powerful irritant; the former is also 
 used in the treatment of cutaneous disorders, and is a re- 
 puted remedy for the plica polonica. 
 
 The tiny species of Lycopods now known to botanists have 
 been thought to be the direct representatives of the vast 
 tree-like Lepidodendra met with in a fossil state, and which 
 in former ages must have rivalled our coniferous trees. The 
 evidence in support of this view has been questioned ; but 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 187 
 
 there seems no good reason to doubt, at least, that there is 
 a very close affinity between the two races; and, indeed, 
 some of the most skilful investigators of this subject find an 
 almost complete agreement between them. 
 
 The British species of this order are all included in the 
 genus LyQopodmm, the name of which comes from lycos, a 
 wolf, and podos, a foot, and is given in allusion to the sup- 
 posed resemblance of its forked fertile stems to the claw of 
 some animal, as of the wolf. Hence one species, and that 
 which probably suggested the name, has been called Wolf s- 
 claw. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM ALPINUM, Linnaus. Savin-leaved Club- 
 moss. 
 
 This kind of Club-moss gets its trivial name from the 
 resemblance between its branches clothed with the closely- 
 pressed leaves, and those of the Savin, Juniperus Sabina. 
 It is a pretty little evergreen plant, forming thick wide- 
 spreading patches of round, tough, creeping, sparingly leafy 
 stems, bearing numerous other erect stems which are re- 
 peatedly branched in a dichotomous manner, growing erect, 
 from three to six inches high. The colour of the plant is 
 a bright pleasant green. The smaller branches are set 
 more or less closely with the small smooth sessile leaves, 
 
188 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 whose form is lance-shaped, ending in a point; they are of 
 a thickish texture, and are rounded off at the back and 
 hollowed out in front where they fit against the stem. On 
 the dichotomous branches just mentioned the leaves are 
 closely placed, the lower ones lying over the bases of those 
 next above them, but they are arranged in four tolerably 
 regular lines, so as to give a squarish form to their branches. 
 The little fascicles of branches are for the most part level- 
 topped, those which bear spikes of fructification being 
 somewhat longer than the barren ones and twice dichoto- 
 mous ; the fruit spikes, which exceed half an inch in length, 
 are rather thicker than the branch. 
 
 The fructifications consist of the little spikes just men- 
 tioned, which terminate a portion of the branches, and are 
 erect, close, cylindrical, of a yellowish-green colour, and 
 sessile on the branches, that is, joined to the leafy portion 
 below, without any intermediate stalk-like contracted part. 
 The spike consists of a number of bracts closely packed 
 together, each having in its axil a capsule containing nu- 
 merous very minute pale yellowish spores. The bracts are 
 ovate, dilated at the base, drawn out into a longish point 
 at the apex, and having the margins toothed. The cap- 
 sules themselves, seated quite at the base of the bracts and 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 189 
 
 close to the axis of the spike, are roundish kidney- shaped, 
 and of a yellow colour. The bracts become reflexed after 
 the spores have been dispersed. The plants are firmly fixed 
 to the soil, by means of tough strong wiry branched roots, 
 produced at intervals along the prostrate stems. 
 
 The head-quarters of this species is in elevated mountainous 
 tracts. It occurs very abundantly in Scotland and "Wales ; 
 frequently in the hills of the north of England ; and is less 
 common in Ireland. It also occurs throughout the alpine 
 districts of Europe and Northern Asia. 
 
 The Savin-leaved Club -moss is a bitter plant, with a 
 somewhat aromatic flavour, and possesses emetic properties ; 
 it is, however, seldom applied to any use. Sir W. J. 
 Hooker mentions having seen it used in Iceland as a dye 
 for woollen cloths, to which it gives a pale and pleasant but 
 not brilliant yellow. The process is simply that of boiling 
 the cloth in water, along with a quantity of the Lycopodium, 
 and some leaves of the Bog Whortleberry. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM ANNOTINUM, Linnceus. Interrupted Club- 
 moss. 
 
 A very distinct plant, easily recognized by the inter- 
 rupted leafing of its stems, the leaves being at intervals 
 much diminished in size and less spreading in their direc- 
 
190 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 tion, showing the points where annual growths have com- 
 menced and terminated. It is also known by its narrow 
 leaves spreading out from the stem on all sides, and ar- 
 ranged in five indistinct rows. It is a large-growing 
 species, often a foot high, with irregularly branched stems, 
 which, after they have produced fruit-spikes, or have reached 
 an equivalent age, become depressed, rooting at intervals, and 
 throw up another series of upright branches. Mr. Newman, 
 in his account of these plants, states that the spike is 
 usually on the sixth or seventh joint or annual growth of 
 the branches ; and this appears to be pretty, generally the 
 case, though the branches are by no means all fertile. The 
 annual increase of the stems is well marked by the closer 
 pressed and shorter leaves which occur at the upper part 
 of each growth, and this is what gives the interrupted ap- 
 pearance to the stems. The leaves, which do not decay for 
 several years, are linear-lanceolate in form, and have their 
 margins minutely serrulate, and their apex drawn out and 
 terminating in a rigid point ; they are attached directly to 
 the stems without stalks, and are arranged in an indistinctly 
 spiral or somewhat five- ranked order. The lower leaves, 
 that is to say, those remaining on the older portions of the 
 stem, are more spreading than those on the younger 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 191 
 
 growth, and indeed on the oldest portions often become 
 somewhat deflexed; they have a yellowish-green colour, 
 and are of a hard rigid texture; they have moreover a 
 stout midrib, prominent at the back. 
 
 The spike of fructification is in this species perfectly 
 stalkless, being seated directly on the termination of the 
 leafy branch. It is about an inch long, of an oblong form, 
 and consists of closely overlapping bracts, of a roundish- 
 ovate form, having a long narrow point and jagged mem- 
 branous margins. In the axil of the bracts is produced a 
 large reniform capsule, containing numerous minute pale 
 yellowish spores. The bracts become reflexed when these 
 spores have escaped from the burst capsule. 
 
 This a rare species, confined to wild mountainous locali- 
 ties, occurring in the Scottish Highlands, and formerly, if 
 not now, plentiful on Glyder, in Caernarvonshire. It is 
 not known to occur in England or Ireland, but is plenti- 
 ful in the pine-forests of the north of Europe, and in some 
 parts of North America. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM CLAVATUM, Linnaeus. Common Club-moss. 
 (Plate XX. fig. 6.) 
 
 This sort of Club-moss is of procumbent habit, having 
 vigorous creeping stems often many feet in length, much 
 
192 HISTOllY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 branched, and attached to the soil here and there by means 
 of tough pale-coloured wiry-looking roots. The young 
 branches, which are very thickly clothed with leaves, grow 
 rather upwards at first, but soon all become prostrate, and 
 cross and interlace, forming a close matted tuft, whence 
 comes, in fact, the name it bears in Sweden Matte-grass, 
 or mat-grass. 
 
 These stems are densely clothed with small, narrow lan- 
 ceolate, flattish leaves, which remain fresh through the 
 winter; they are smooth on the margin, or very slightly 
 toothed, and terminate in a long white filamentous point, 
 which gives the branches a somewhat hoary appearance. 
 The upright stalks supporting the spikes are bare of leaves, 
 but have at intervals whorls of smaller bodies closely pressed 
 to the stalk, and tipped with shorter but broader membra- 
 nous chaffy processes; they are also of a pale yellowish- 
 green colour. 
 
 The spikes of fructification are usually over an inch in 
 length, and are supported by a stalk of about twice their 
 own length. They are commonly produced in pairs, though 
 sometimes singly, and occasionally three together on the 
 same stalk. These spikes are cylindrical, and supported 
 on a short pedicel at the top of the common stalk ; they are 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 193 
 
 erect, white in front, but afterwards become more or less 
 curved. The spikes themselves consist of crowded trian- 
 gular-ovate acuminate bracts of a pale yellow colour, and 
 having membranous serrated margins; in their axils the 
 spore-cases are produced, and these are subreniform, 
 two-valved, and filled with innumerable sulphur-coloured 
 powdery spores. The bracts become reflexed after the 
 spore-cases have shed their contents. 
 
 This is a common species, growing in moors and heathy 
 places in mountainous and hilly tracts of country through- 
 out England, Wales, and Scotland ; and frequent, though 
 less abundant, in Ireland. 
 
 The leafy stems of this species are used for dyeing pur- 
 poses, as well as to fix colours in the stead of alum. The 
 long slender stems, used under the name of Stages-horn 
 Moss, are formed into pretty ornaments for the decoration 
 of the houses of rustics, and for filling their fire-grates 
 during summer. Linnseus relates that in Lapland the boys 
 have their heads decorated with chaplets formed of it, 
 which the twin spikes projecting on all sides have the 
 effect of calling up the idea of groups of fauns and satyrs. 
 Indeed, the long flexible stems are not badly adapted 
 for various decorative purposes. 
 
 o 
 
194 HISTORY OF BRITISH EERNS. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM INUNDATUM, Unnaus. Marsh Club-moss. 
 (Plate XX. fig. 4.) 
 
 This is a diminutive and common plant, very frequent 
 on moist heaths and commons in the southern parts of 
 England, less common northwards, comparatively rare in 
 Wales and Scotland, and not found in Ireland. It prefers 
 to grow on spots from which the turf has been pared. 
 
 It is of prostrate habit, with simple stems two or three 
 inches long, growing close to the surface of the ground, to 
 which they are firmly attached by a few short stout roots. 
 They are thickly clothed with narrow linear-lanceolate 
 leaves, which have an acute point, and are entire on the 
 margin ; those on the barren horizontal stems being curved 
 upwards. The plant extends itself at the point throughout 
 the growing season, the other end meanwhile undergoing 
 a process of decay, so that in winter, when the growth is 
 arrested, the decay still going on, the living stem is mucli 
 reduced, and a small portion only remains over to produce 
 new foliage the following season. The direction of the older 
 portions may often be traced by means of a black Hue, 
 caused by the decayed matter left on the surface of the 
 soil where the stem has perished. 
 
 The spike of fructification, which is produced towards 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 195 
 
 autumn, is seated at the top of an erect branch-like peduncle, 
 clothed throughout with leaves of the same shape as those 
 on the horizontal stems ; the peduncle and spike are nearly 
 of equal thickness throughout, the spike about an inch 
 long, the peduncle rather more. The spike is green, and 
 is formed of narrow linear-lanceolate bracts, rather dilated 
 at the base, and sometimes having one or two shallow teeth 
 on each side. The spore-cases are in the axils of these 
 bracts, and are nearly spherical, of a pale yellowish-green, 
 containing numerous minute pale yellow sporules. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM SELAGINOIDES, Linnaus. Prickly Club- 
 moss. 
 
 This interesting species has a slender, procumbent, often 
 branched stem, the barren branches short and sinuous, the 
 fertile ones ascending or erect, and from two to three inches 
 high. They are clothed with lance-shaped leaves, of a deli- 
 cate texture, jagged along the margins with spiny teeth ; 
 those on the decumbent stems being shorter, as well as more 
 distant and spreading, than those of the fertile branches. 
 
 The inflorescence, as in the other species, is a terminal 
 spike of about an inch in length, consisting of lance-shaped 
 jagged-edged bracts, larger and more closely pressed than 
 the leaves of the stem. These bracts produce from their 
 
196 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 axils two kinds of fructification. The lower bracts bear in 
 their axils large three-celled spore-cases, containing three 
 globular oophoridia, or four-celled cases containing four of 
 these bodies. The upper bracts bear subreniform spore- 
 cases, containing the minute pulverulent pollen-like sporules. 
 This is the only native species which produces the two sepa- 
 rate kinds of spore-cases. 
 
 Though hardly to be considered a rare species, this is one 
 of the less common ; it is found in the north of England, 
 Wales, and Scotland, in which latter country it is pretty 
 generally distributed. In Ireland it is more common. The 
 localities which it prefers are wet boggy places by the side 
 of mountain rills. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM SELAGO, Lmnam. Pir Club-moss. (Plate 
 XX. fig. 5.) 
 
 The Fir Club -moss is one of our commoner kinds, and 
 in its parts is the most massive of any. It is, moreover, 
 usually of upright growth, the others being decumbent, 
 though of this there is a variety or mountain form some- 
 times met with, in which the stems are constantly prostrate. 
 Indeed, in the commoner forms the upright habit, which is 
 evidently natural to it, often gives way before the force of 
 gravity, and in such cases the lower part of the stems is 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 197 
 
 found to be somewhat recumbent, while the upper parts 
 retain their upright position. The stems vary from three or 
 four to six or eight inches high, and are branched two or 
 three times in a two-forked manner ; they are stout, tough, 
 rigid, nearly level-topped, and thickly clothed with imbri- 
 cated leaves arranged in eight rows. These leaves are lance- 
 shaped and acute, of a shining green, rigid and leathery in 
 texture, and smooth on the margin ; in plants which have 
 grown in exposed places they are shorter and more closely 
 pressed to the stem ; while in plants developed in more 
 confined and humid situations they are longer, less rigid, 
 and more spreading. 
 
 The fructification is in this species not borne in terminal 
 spikes as in the other kinds, but is produced in the axils of 
 the leaves along the upper branches of the stem. The spore- 
 cases are rather large, sessile, kidney-shaped, two-valved, and 
 filled with minute pale yellow sporules. 
 
 Besides the ordinary sporules, the plant is furnished with 
 other means of propagation in the shape of deciduous buds, 
 produced for the most part in the axils of the leaves, about 
 the apices of the branches. These buds separate spontane- 
 ously, fall to the ground, and there vegetate, first producing 
 roots, and then elongating into a leafy stem. They are 
 
198 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 formed by an altered leaf, which, becoming somewhat 
 swollen on the outside, protrudes from its inner margin five 
 smaller lanceolate leaves or teeth, the whole being elevated 
 on a short hardened footstalk. Mr. Newman describes 
 these changed leaves as becoming transformed into irregular 
 six-cleft calyces or cups, the outermost lobe of the six being 
 longer and larger than the rest, and of the pair on each side, 
 one being generally incumbent on the other so as to nearly 
 conceal it. Within this is a whorl of five parts representing 
 a gemma, or bud; the three inner lobes of this series are 
 large and prominent, and of an ovate oblong acute form, 
 the two outer lobes are very small, scale-like, one closely 
 appressed to the anterior, the other to the posterior surface 
 of the bud. In the centre of the three inner lobes, in due 
 time, appears a thickish oblong body, which is in reality the 
 undeveloped stem, and eventually elongates, puts out small 
 leaflets, and becomes a plant. 
 
 These buds are capable of growth either while attached to 
 their parent stem or when detached and in contact with the 
 soil ; and they appear to be the chief means of propagation 
 possessed by this species, for the statements which have 
 been made respecting the germination of the sporules of the 
 Fir Club-moss are open to much doubt. Probably it was 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 199 
 
 these buds which were caused to germinate. The buds 
 themselves offer much analogy to the larger spores or oopho- 
 ridia produced by some other species, and afford an addi- 
 tional argument in support of the view which regards these 
 oophoridia as gemmse, or buds. 
 
 There is no doubt this plant possesses some medicinal 
 properties, though it is not now used in regular practice. 
 It is powerfully irritant, and is used by country people, in 
 the form of an ointment, as a counter-irritant in parts near 
 the eye, as a remedy for diseases of that organ ; it appears 
 to be also sometimes employed as an emetic and cathartic, 
 but not without danger. A decoction is, on the authority 
 of Linnseus, used in Sweden to destroy vermin on cattle. 
 It is also employed for dyeing purposes, and to fix the colour 
 of woollen cloths. 
 
 The Lycopodiums are not frequently seen in cultivation, but 
 they nevertheless, equally with the Ferns, would become a 
 source of much interest if brought constantly under the eye 
 in a living state ; and in an equal degree the study of them 
 in this condition the watching of their progress and deve- 
 
200 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 lopment day by day would contribute to the thorough 
 understanding of them and their differences. 
 
 We venture to hope, therefore, that some of our readers 
 may be induced to fit up a Wardian case for the Club- 
 mosses ; and with a view to assist them in so doing we offer 
 a few suggestions and hints as to their cultivation. 
 
 A small Wardian case, a northern aspect, a few blocks 
 of sandstone, and some peat soil, are the materials that 
 would be required. 
 
 No contrivance could be better adapted to their wants 
 than a Wardian case, which, while it would protect them 
 from the changes of temperature incidental to a lowland 
 climate, would secure to them a calm and moist atmosphere, 
 which they all prefer. The interior should be fitted up with 
 an artificial mound of " rock-work," made of lumps of soft 
 sandstone, in the disposal of which there will be an oppor- 
 tunity for the display of much taste. At the base of the 
 " rock- work " there should be a little pond of water, in 
 which Isoetes and Pilularia might be cultivated. A por- 
 tion of the peaty soil should be introduced into the inter- 
 stices of the rock-work, and about its base on the margins 
 of the water. In the former situations the smaller and 
 alpine species, such as alpinum, annotinum, and selagi- 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 201 
 
 noides, should be planted ; while on the lower and damper 
 parts should be placed such as inundation and clavatum. 
 
 The soil employed should be peat earth intermediate in 
 texture between the spongy and the unctuous kinds ; that 
 used among the rock-work may have in addition a portion 
 of the sandstone pounded and intermixed with it. That used 
 for inundatum in the lower part of the case will not require 
 this intermixture, and, in fact, will be the better as it ap- 
 proaches the unctuous texture just referred to, which the 
 presence of a good supply of water will soon give to it. 
 
 All parts of the soil should be kept rather moist than 
 otherwise, by the application of fresh water occasionally ; 
 but as the confinement of the atmosphere in the damp 
 state, in a close case, might tend to produce decay in some 
 parts of the vegetable tissues, the little door or hinged sash 
 may from time to time be left open for a few hours, in 
 order that the stagnant moisture may be carried off, when 
 a fresh supply will be doubly grateful to the plants. 
 
 It must be recollected, that the soil will be exposed to 
 very slight drying influences, and can, therefore, never re- 
 quire to be very copiously supplied at any one time ; the 
 proper course being, rather to ventilate frequently, say 
 once a week, in order to carry off the accumulated damp- 
 
202 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 ness, and then by a moderate fresh supply to produce a 
 continued change of the watery element. For the same 
 reason, and to prevent the souring of the soil, which always 
 takes place more or less when it is in contact with stagnant 
 water, an outlet at the bottom of the case should be care- 
 fully provided, by which all the free water at least, which 
 drains through after the soil has been irrigated, may be 
 removed as it accumulates. 
 
 As to aspect, the northern is decidedly the best, princi- 
 pally for the reason, that in such a situation the sun has 
 less influence on the temperature of the interior of the 
 case ; and extremes of confined heat would be anything but 
 favourable to these plants. 
 
 The appearance of the case would, no doubt, be improved 
 by covering the soil entirely with living green Sphagnum 
 moss, which, if neatly packed on the surface with the tops 
 of its stems uppermost, would continue to grow and retain 
 its verdure. Most of the species of Club-moss would prefer 
 to grow amongst the Sphagnum, which, as it made fresh 
 growth, should, to prevent its being drawn up and smother- 
 ing the plants, be neatly clipped down occasionally with a 
 pair of scissors. 
 
 The interest of such a collection, so far as their appear- 
 
LYCOPODIUM. 203 
 
 ance is concerned, would depend of course upon the taste 
 with which the rock-work was designed and executed, and 
 the plants distributed about it ; but whatever the result as 
 a matter of taste, the study of the living plant might be 
 prosecuted without inconvenience, and which could never 
 happen in their wild localities all the species might be 
 brought under the eye at one time, for the purpose of con- 
 trasting them, and studying their differences. 
 
204 
 
 THE BRITISH PEPPERWORTS. 
 
 THE group of plants to which the name of Pepperworts has 
 been given, is technically called Marsileac&z, and contains 
 but a few genera, these being of very curious structure. It 
 has only two representatives in the British flora. These two 
 plants belong to different genera, and are both submerged 
 aquatic plants of small size, agreeing in having grassy or 
 quill-like foliage, but differing materially in habit, the one 
 being a creeping grower and the other tufted; the fruc- 
 tification also presenting some material differences. Isoetes 
 is sometimes classed with the Club -mosses instead of the 
 Pepperworts. 
 
 Genus XX. ISOETES. 
 
 Isoetes, which takes its scientific name from the Greek 
 words isos, equal, and etos, the year, from its retaining its 
 fronds throughout the year, is commonly called Quillwort. 
 The genus differs from Pilularia, its nearest ally, and with 
 which it is associated in the order of Pepperworts, in having 
 
ISOETES. 205 
 
 its spore-cases enveloped by the dilated bases of its hollow 
 leaves ; some of the spore-cases containing large, and some 
 much smaller pollen-like sporules. It may also be known 
 by its hollow leaves being composed of four rows of elon- 
 gated cells, which give it a bluntly quadrangular section; 
 but this peculiar construction of the stems is not always 
 to be observed, except in fresh specimens, the pressure to 
 which they are subjected in the process of drying breaking 
 up the partitions of the cells, so that the stem appears to 
 be composed of one series of large elongated cells. There 
 is but one species, the I. lacustris, a stemless quill-leaved 
 submerged plant, which gives the appearance of a green 
 turf to the bottom of the water where it occurs. 
 
 ISOETES LACUSTRIS, Linnaeus. The European Quillwort, 
 or Merlin's Grass. (Plate XIX. fig. 1.) 
 
 This is a very curious plant, growing at the bottom of 
 our mountain lakes, and having, as has been remarked, 
 the appearance of a submerged grass, so that the unexpe- 
 rienced eye would probably pass it by unnoticed. It has a 
 fleshy tuber, of a nearly globular form, white, and of compact 
 texture internally, but spongy and of a dark brown colour 
 externally. In the centre is a small nearly pellucid part, 
 which appears to be the growing point, since it is from this 
 
206 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 point that the leaves appear to have their origin. Some 
 botanists have held the opinion that it continues to die at 
 the circumference while it grows in the interior, and the 
 appearances presented by the exterior and interior of the 
 tuber seem rather to confirm this view. Prom these tubers 
 are produced the long semipellucid tubular roots, which are 
 either simple or forked near their extremity, and naturally 
 strike downwards almost perpendicularly. Mr. Newman 
 describes the taste of the tubers as being earthy, but not 
 otherwise remarkable. 
 
 The leaves spring from the crown of the tuber, and grow 
 erect to the height of four or six inches, or more. They 
 are persistent, and of an olive-green colour, and their gene- 
 ral form is awl-shaped. The basal portion is dilated and 
 furnished with membranous margins; above this dilated 
 base they are nearly round, or, more exactly, bluntly qua- 
 drangular, being formed of four parallel hollow tubes, which 
 tubes are subdivided at irregular distances by transverse 
 partitions : towards the apex they taper off and terminate 
 in a sharp point. The transverse partitions above men- 
 tioned, being visible through the texture of the leaf, give 
 it a jointed appearance. Owing to their brittleness, they 
 not unfrequently break off at one of these joint-like points, 
 
ISOETES. 207 
 
 their basal parts and the decaying remains of the older 
 leaves continuing to encircle the base of the young vigorous 
 leaves springing from the centre. 
 
 The fructification is contained within the dilated bases of 
 the leaves, and consists of roundish, hard, membranous spore- 
 cases. Some of these spore-cases contain roundish bodies 
 or spores, marked with a triangular suture on the top, and 
 a transverse annular one in addition ; these spores separate 
 at the sutures into three triangular valves, exposing an 
 interior subglobose semi-gelatinous substance; externally 
 they are opake, whitish, and rough with minute prominent 
 points. The other set of spore-cases usually said to occur 
 at the base of the inner leaves, while the former occupy the 
 bases of the outer ones, but, according to Mr. Newman, not 
 following any law in their relative position contain minute 
 angular sporules, which are very numerous, and of a pale 
 yellow colour. These different kinds of spores have been 
 sometimes called anthers and ovules, as have the similar 
 bodies in the Club-mosses ; but it is rather to be considered 
 that the smaller grains are the imperfect representatives of 
 the larger ones, since as yet we possess no good evidence of 
 the sexuality of this race of plants. 
 
 Two distinct-looking forms of the Quillwort have been 
 
208 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 observed, the one having thicker, shorter, and more spreading 
 leaves than the other ; in the latter they are more slender and 
 erect. These have been thought distinct varieties or even 
 distinct species by some botanists, but are more probably 
 mere conditions of the plants brought about by external cir- 
 cumstances. Several theories have been propounded as ex- 
 planatory of the way in which this occurs. Sir J. E. Smith 
 says, the taller, more slender variety may, perhaps, be caused 
 by those sudden risings of the waters so frequent in moun- 
 tainous countries, which will account for all its peculiar 
 characters. Mr. Wilson believes the solitary plants with 
 short spreading leaves to be the first full development after 
 the seedling state, and before any lateral extension of the 
 rhizome has taken place ; and argues, that when the plants 
 become crowded, either by lateral increase or offsets, or by a 
 multitude of individuals in close contact, the fronds can only 
 grow erect. Mr. Newman thinks, that when the seeds arrive 
 at maturity, the leaf in whose base the spore-case is situated 
 decays and becomes torn or broken off, allowing free egress 
 to some of the spores, which become dispersed, and produce 
 the isolated dwarf spreading plants. Others and by far the 
 larger number of the spores do not become thus disengaged, 
 and are compelled to germinate in the capsule, throwing up 
 
ISOETES. 209 
 
 most dense tufts of slender leaves, Without having made 
 any critical observations on this point, we decidedly prefer 
 Mr. Newman's explanation, which, as would be at once re- 
 cognized by horticulturists, is quite sufficient to account for 
 the observed differences in habit among the plants. 
 
 It is said that fish feed on the Isoetes ; and that, when 
 brought within the reach of cattle, it is greedily eaten by 
 them, and proves fattening. 
 
 The cultivation of the Quillwort presents few difficulties ; 
 in fact, water and a little soil are the only requisites. In 
 such a miniature lake as has been recommended to be in- 
 troduced in a Wardian case fitted up for Club-mosses, this 
 plant and the Pilularia might be made to thrive ; but the 
 most interesting way in which it could be grown would be 
 in an aquatic plant-case, with transparent sides, or in any 
 substitute for such a structure, such as a glass jar of suffi- 
 cient depth. Planted in this way, its growth could be 
 watched, and many interesting points of its economy could 
 not fail to reward a careful observer. 
 
 The aquatic plant-case, like the Wardian case, admits of 
 much variety of detail. The most useful form is probably 
 that of a rectangular glass cistern of the requisite size, held 
 together by a light metal frame, and closed in by a glass lid. 
 
210 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 This is to be supported in the usual way on a mahogany or 
 other stand. On the bottom, or projecting from the sides, 
 proportionate-sized masses of coral or other rocks should be 
 introduced, among which a little soil introduced would serve 
 to fix and nourish the plants ; and these being planted, and 
 the case supplied with water, might, though in their proper 
 element, be examined without difficulty, and at all times. 
 
 Such a case might be placed in the inside of any con- 
 venient window, provided it were not too much exposed 
 to direct sun; for if placed where the sun would have 
 much influence on the temperature of the water, the plants 
 would probably suffer. Indeed, the best aspect would be 
 the north ; and in that case, by carrying a ledge of rock just 
 above the water surface, a situation would be provided 
 which would of all others suit the beautiful Bristle Fern and 
 the Eilmy Eerns (Trickomane* and Hymenopliyllurti) . Some 
 of the very small kinds of fish and the small aquatic mol- 
 lusks might be introduced with advantage, and they would 
 impart something like animation to the water. 
 
 A miniature Aquarium of this kind, planted with the Pal- 
 lisneria and other aquatics, and the TricJiomanes and other 
 Perns, and stocked with miniature fish, is no ideal thing, 
 but has been already constructed, and proves to be of the 
 
PILULARIA. 211 
 
 deepest interest to those who are truly observers of nature. 
 The merit of the adaptation is entirely due to Mr. Waring- 
 ton, of the Apothecaries' Hall. 
 
 Genus XXI. PILULABIA, Linnaus. 
 
 OF this genus, there is one British species, Pilularia globu- 
 lifera, the Pillwort, or Pepper-grass, a creeping-stemmed 
 species, with filiform grass-like leaves, growing in clusters 
 at intervals along the thread-like stems, and bearing the 
 almost sessile fructification at their base. The parts of 
 fructification differ considerably in position from those of 
 the allied genus Isoetes, in which the spore-cases are en- 
 veloped in the thickened bases of the leaves, those of the 
 Pilularia being quite free, and attached directly to the 
 stem, though seated at the base of a small tuft of leaves. 
 They also differ in structure, the fructification of Isoetes con- 
 sisting of two different kinds of bodies, namely granular and 
 pulverulent bodies, occupying separate spore-cases ; while in 
 Pilularia the two kinds are produced within each spore-case, 
 the larger bodies occupying the lower, and the smaller ones 
 the upper parts. 
 
212 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 The name comes from pilula, signifying a little pill, the 
 spore-cases having a nearly globular form. 
 
 PILULARIA GLOBULIFERA, Linncem. The Pillwort, or 
 Pepper-grass. (Plate XYII. fig. 2.) 
 
 Pepper-grass is a small creeping plant with grassy leaves, 
 growing usually in the shallow margins of lakes and pools, 
 where it is occasionally overflowed ; but sometimes occurring 
 entirely submerged. The stem, or caudex, is thread-like, 
 composed of several longitudinal rows of hollow cells, rough 
 externally on the younger portions with hair-like scales, but 
 otherwise smooth, occasionally branched, and producing on 
 the lower side at intervals of about half an inch, less or 
 more, small tufts of fibrous roots, which are slender, simple 
 or slightly branched, hollow, being divided longitudinally, 
 and descending almost perpendicularly into the soil in which 
 they become fixed. On the upper part of the stem, opposite 
 the tufts of roots, occur tufts of about a similar number of 
 erect leaves, which are curled up in the incipient state, like 
 those of a Pern, but on unrolling assume the erect position. 
 
 These leaves are bristle- shaped, and of a bright green, 
 smooth externally, hollow within, but unlike those of Isoetes, 
 which are composed of four parallel lines of cells, the leaves 
 of the Pillwort are divided longitudinally into various cells, 
 
PILULAEIA. 213 
 
 separated by partitions radiating from the centre ; they are 
 from one to four inches long. 
 
 The fructifications consist of small globular spore-cases, 
 attached by a very short stalk to the stem at the points 
 whence the leaves and roots proceed, being in fact seated at 
 the base, or in the axils of the leaves. They are densely 
 covered externally with pale brown jointed hairs, and are 
 about the size of a small pea or pepper-corn. These spore- 
 cases are typically four-celled,, and when quite mature, open 
 at the apex, and divide into quarters, the four parts re- 
 maining attached to the footstalk by their base. The spores 
 are attached to the interior of these valves along their centre, 
 forming four lines, the lower part of the spore-case being 
 occupied by the large, and the upper part by the small 
 powdery bodies already mentioned; the former are of a 
 greyish colour, and have a roundish-oblong form, with a con- 
 traction in the middle, and a terminal nipple-like point, the 
 latter consist of oblong pale yellow bodies filled with a 
 powdery matter resembling pollen; both are contained in 
 transparent gelatinous bags. 
 
 The larger spores have been regarded as pistils, and the 
 smaller ones as anthers, by those who have maintained the 
 sexuality of these plants ; but there is no evidence whatever 
 
HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 to support the application of such names to the parts, at 
 least in their ordinary signification. It seems more pro- 
 bable that the larger bodies are the perfect spores, while the 
 smaller ones are merely abortive spores ; at least this is the 
 most reasonable explanation which has been offered. There 
 is, indeed, no doubt of the larger bodies being spores, since 
 they have been caused to germinate by different persons, 
 and a very detailed record of some experiments and observa- 
 tions on this subject has been given by Mr. Valentine. 
 
 According to Mr. Valentine's observations, the first ex- 
 ternal sign of germination is either the appearance of four 
 cells projecting through the apex of the nipple-like point of 
 the spore, or a gradual swelling of that part, in which case 
 the enlarging cellular mass distends the conical point, and 
 at length appears externally with four of its cells projecting 
 beyond the general mass, and compressed into a quadran- 
 gular form. Soon after the exposure of the entire germ, 
 little rootlets shoot out from one side ; they are simply ar- 
 ticulated tubes, or elongated cells applied end to end. The 
 germ now gradually points in two places, which points gra- 
 dually lengthen, and each on dissection is found to consist 
 of a closed sheath, one containing a leaf, the other a root. 
 The young leaf, when rather longer than the spore, bursts 
 
PILTJLAEIA. 215 
 
 through its sheath, and the root protrudes before it is as 
 long as the spore. After this first leaf has grown to about 
 the length of a couple of lines,- another issues from the 
 germ close to the former, and then a bud begins to be de- 
 veloped from some indefinite part of the germ, but, like the 
 leaves and root, from within the sheath. Sometimes this 
 bud appears immediately after the first leaf, and without the 
 production of a second. The bud is the rudimentary stem, 
 the first growth from it being a leaf exhibiting, though 
 slightly, evidence of gyration, and this is followed by a root 
 furnished with its own sheath, 
 
 It is one of the doctrines of botanists, that in what are 
 called Acrogenous plants a group including Mosses, Club- 
 mosses, Scale-mosses, Horsetails, and Perns germination 
 takes place at no fixed point, but from any part of the 
 surface of the spores; indeed this is one of the leading dif- 
 ferences between what are called spores, and the reproduc- 
 tive organs of flowering plants, called seeds. But Mr. 
 Valentine maintains, that it is incorrect to say this of the 
 germination of Pilularia, for he is quite certain that in this 
 instance germination invariably takes place at a fixed 
 spot, which may be pointed out before germination has com- 
 menced. It is at a part of the spore, indicated by three ra- 
 
216 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 diating lines, which appear to have been produced by the 
 pressure of the three other spores that originally helped to 
 constitute the quaternary union. The spores of some of 
 the other tribes being apparently developed in similar unions, 
 it is probable that similar lines, indicating a mode of 
 opening by valves, also exist on them, and this is certainly 
 the case in some instances, as in Isoetes, Lycopodium, and 
 Osmunda ; and in those cases in which such a structure is 
 not visible, it is probably owing to a thickening of the mem- 
 brane, or a deposition of opake matter on its surface, as in 
 Pilularia, in the mature spores of which they can only be 
 discovered by dissection, and in the abortive ones they can- 
 not be discovered at all after the earlier stages of growth. 
 It, however, does appear that in these plants, after the pro- 
 trusion of the germ, it is immaterial from what part of that 
 body the first leaves, root, or stem shall arise. 
 
 The Pillwort is widely distributed throughout the United 
 Kingdom, but is apparently more abundant in England and 
 Wales, than in Scotland and Ireland. It usually grows on 
 the margins of lakes or pools, where it is covered by the 
 water in winter, and more or less exposed during the sum- 
 mer; but it is also sometimes, though rarely, met with 
 entirely submerged. 
 
217 
 
 THE BRITISH HORSETAILS. 
 
 THIS race of plants bears an aspect altogether different from 
 that of the groups in whose company they are placed in 
 books, and indeed they have no very obvious affinity to any 
 existing order of plants. In their mode of growth they 
 have a certain resemblance to a small group of plants known 
 by the name of Ephedra, and belonging to the order Gneta- 
 cecEj and also to another limited set called Casuarina ; but 
 this resemblance is confined to their general aspect, and is 
 in great measure owing to the peculiar jointing of the stems 
 and branches. With Perns and Club-mosses they have 
 little in common, though so frequently associated with them 
 in books. Their most direct relationship is probably with 
 a small group called Liverworts (Marchantiac&z) ; and they 
 have also some analogy with the aquatic group, Characece. 
 
 The Horsetails are distinguished from other plants by the 
 following characteristics. They are leafless, branching plants, 
 with fistular jointed stems, separable at the joints, where 
 they are solid, and at these points surrounded by membranous 
 
218 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 toothed sheaths : each joint in fact terminates above in one 
 of these sheaths, into which the base of the next joint fits. 
 The sheaths seem to represent abortive leaves. The fruc- 
 tification consists of terminal cone-like heads, made up of 
 peltate, usually hexagonal scales, to the lower face of which 
 the spore-cases are attached in a series around the margin. 
 
 The stems consist chiefly of cellular matter, but towards 
 the circumference there is a layer of woody fibre, from 
 which a series of plates of a similar nature project towards 
 the centre. The centre, as already mentioned, presents a 
 hollow cavity ; and between the outer and inner cuticle of 
 the cylinder-like stem, occur one or more circles of hollow 
 tubes, or air-cavities, differing in size and position, and in 
 fact affording, by their comparative size, number, and ar- 
 rangement, excellent auxiliary marks for the recognition of 
 the species. Around these cavities, especially towards the 
 exterior surface of the stem, occur numerous spiral vessels of 
 small size. 
 
 The cuticle abounds in siliceous particles secreted in the 
 form of more or less prominent little warts, which impart to 
 the surface a greater or less degree of roughness in proportion 
 to their prominence. In some species this deposit of siliceous 
 matter is so great, that it is said, the whole of the vegetable 
 
HORSETAILS. 219 
 
 substance may be destroyed by maceration, the form of the 
 plant being preserved entire in the flinty coating. It has 
 been found that the ashes contain half their weight of silica. 
 Some very interesting observations of Dr. Brewster, on the 
 microscopic structure of this siliceous coating in K hyemale, 
 first published by Dr. Greville, we may quote. 
 
 " On subjecting a portion of the cuticle to the analysis of 
 polarized light under a high magnifying power/' writes Dr. 
 Greville, " Dr. Brewster detected a beautiful arrangement 
 of the siliceous particles, which are distributed in two lines 
 parallel to the axis of the stem, and extending over the 
 whole surface. The greater number of the particles form 
 simple straight lines, but the rest are grouped into oval 
 forms, connected together like the jewels of a necklace by a 
 chain of particles forming a sort of curvilinear quadrangle ; 
 these rows of oval combinations being arranged in pairs. 
 Many of those particles which form the straight lines, do 
 not exceed the five-hundredth part of an inch in diameter. 
 Dr. Brewster also observed the remarkable fact, that each 
 particle has a regular axis of double refraction. In the straw 
 and chaff of wheat, barley, oats, and rye, he noticed analo- 
 gous phenomena, but the particles were arranged in a dif- 
 ferent manner and displayed figures of singular beauty. 
 
220 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS, 
 
 Prom these data Dr. Brewster concludes that the crystalline 
 portions of silex and other earths which are found in vege- 
 table films are not foreign substances of accidental occur- 
 rence, but are integral parts of the plant itself, and probably 
 perform some important function in the processes of vege- 
 table life." 
 
 Numerous stomates exist in the hollows of the fluted sur- 
 face of the stems, the depressed part of each channel having 
 two longitudinal series of these minute openings. 
 
 Beyond their employment in the arts, the Equisetums are 
 of little importance in an economical point of view. They 
 are useless as fodder, and exploded as physic, though they 
 have had some reputed astringent virtues. The underground 
 stems, however, contain in winter, when the plants are in- 
 active, a considerable quantity of starch, and they may be 
 occasionally eaten by animals. In the cells of these under- 
 ground stems, during the month of October, the particles of 
 starch may be seen in active motion, passing up one side and 
 down the other, as is observed in the stems of Cham. Dr. 
 Lindley mentions having often noticed this phenomenon in 
 the stems of the great Water Horsetail. 
 
 The order of Horsetails consists of the one genus Equise- 
 tum, of which nine species are recognized as British. 
 
221 
 
 Genus XXII. EQUISETUM, Linnaus. 
 
 THE jointed tubular stems, and terminal cones of fructifica- 
 tion, are marks by which the Eguisetums may always be 
 readily distinguished from all other plants. The species are, 
 however, not so easily recognized among themselves, owing 
 to the great sameness which occurs among certain groups of 
 them. The chief features relied on for their discrimination, 
 are the similarity or otherwise of the fertile and barren stems, 
 the number of ridges or striae which occur on the exterior 
 surface of these sterns, and the structure of the sheaths 
 which surround the joints. By means of the peculiarities 
 which these parts present, the species may be certainly iden- 
 tified, and after a little experience has been had, several of 
 them may be at once known by means of those jprima facie 
 appearances, which it is probable will become associated 
 with the plants, in the mind of the attentive student. One 
 peculiarity of the Equisetums is, that they have no leaves, 
 these organs being represented by the tubular sheaths which 
 are produced at every joint. 
 
 The name Equisetum is compounded from equus, a horse, 
 and seta, a hair or bristle ; whence comes the English name 
 
222 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 of Horsetail, a not inapt comparison with the barren fronds 
 of some of the species. 
 
 EQUISETUM ARVENSE, Linncsus. The Corn-field Horsetail. 
 
 This is the most common of the species, and in many 
 places is an injurious weed, very difficult to eradicate. It 
 occurs, here and there, almost everywhere in fields and 
 waste places, especially where the soil is inclined to be 
 sandy, and more abundant in moist than in dry places. 
 It has long, creeping, underground stems, which are a good 
 deal branched, and are cylindrical and jointed in the same 
 way as the stems which rise above ground. At the joints 
 they throw out whorls of tough, branching, fibrous roots. 
 The aerial stems are of two kinds, the one simple and 
 bearing the fructification only, the other branched and per- 
 fectly barren. 
 
 The fertile stems are quite without branches, and grow 
 up early in spring, arriving at maturity and perishing long 
 before the barren ones have completed their growth. They 
 reach maturity in April and May. The stems vary, ac- 
 cording to the locality where they grow, from three to eight 
 or ten inches in height. They are hollow, succulent when 
 fresh, and of a light brown colour, nearly smooth, and ap- 
 parently without the siliceous coating common to the stems 
 
EQUISETUM. 223 
 
 of this race of plants. They are divided at intervals into 
 joints of variable length, the number of joints being also 
 variable, from six on stems of about four inches in length, 
 to eight on those which measure eight inches, though some- 
 times specimens of equal length have but five or six joints. 
 From this cause they are much more distant on some stems 
 than on others ; a space measuring three-quarters of an 
 inch being sometimes interposed between the top of one 
 sheath and the base of the next above it. On the other 
 hand, they are sometimes so close as nearly to touch ; but 
 we have seen no instance in which the base of a sheath is 
 covered by the sheath below it, except at the very lowest 
 part of the stem, where they become much reduced in size, 
 and are sometimes crowded. It is usual for each succeeding 
 joint upwards to be somewhat more distant than the one 
 beneath it. The sheaths are large and loose, widening up- 
 wards ; they are pale-coloured, somewhat yellowish at the 
 base, and are divided above into about ten dark brown teeth, 
 which often adhere together in twos and threes. The teeth 
 are very narrowly lance-shaped and sharp-pointed, and are 
 the terminations of the ribs, about ten in number, by which 
 the sheaths are marked. 
 
 These stems are terminated by cone-like heads, bearing 
 
224 HISTOIIY or BRITISH TEENS. 
 
 the spore-cases, attached to peltate scales, arranged in 
 crowded whorls, the cones being rather more than an inch 
 long, tapering somewhat above and below, and terminating 
 in a blunt point. Below this is a bare portion of the stem, 
 seldom less than an inch in length in fully developed speci- 
 mens, but sometimes measuring as much as two inches. 
 The peltate scales are arranged in whorls around the axis of 
 the cone, as is the case generally in this family. The scales 
 in one of these cones, according to Mr. Newman's computa- 
 tion, vary in number from one hundred to two hundred and 
 fifty. At a right angle with their margin are ranged the 
 spore-cases, four to seven in number, oblong, membranous, 
 parallel, white cells, bursting finally into two longitudinal 
 valves, and discharging an abundance of very minute glo- 
 bular spores, of a beautiful blue-green colour. 
 
 The barren stems are either erect or decumbent in their 
 mode of growth, and are from one to two feet or more in 
 height; they are often branched from the bottom to the 
 top, but sometimes only the central and upper parts are 
 branched. They spring up after the fertile stems have 
 withered, and are of a pale green colour ; at first crowded 
 with short appressed branches, which, by degrees, become 
 elongated, and assume a spreading or somewhat drooping 
 
EQUISETUM. 225 
 
 position, sometimes becoming again branched. The main 
 stem has from ten to sixteen distinct shallow furrows, with 
 corresponding ridges, and is, as well as the branches, studded 
 over with minute siliceous warty particles. The sheaths, 
 which fit somewhat closely to the stem, are furrowed like it, 
 and terminate in an equal number of acute wedge-shaped 
 dark-coloured teeth, which are often margined by a narrow 
 brown membrane. Immediately below these sheaths spring 
 out, from other short sheaths with obtuse brown segments, the 
 whorls of branches, which are of variable number and length; 
 they are four-ribbed, and their sheaths are four-toothed, the 
 teeth being long and acute, of one colour, with a single rib 
 extending to the extreme point of each tooth. The branches 
 are four-angled. 
 
 The section of the stem often affords a good mark of recog- 
 nition among the species of Equisetum. In that of E. arvense 
 it is seen that the interior cavity occupies only about one- 
 third of the diameter. The exterior surface is varied by 
 about a dozen blunt ridges, having corresponding shallow 
 depressions ; within this, occupying about the centre of the 
 ring, and alternating with the ridges, are a series of large 
 roundish-oblong or obovate cavities, the narrow end of which 
 is turned inwards ; alternating again with them, and conse- 
 
 Q 
 
226 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 quently opposite to the external ridges, occurs an annular 
 series of small circular cavities, which are placed near the 
 inner surface of the tube. 
 
 This plant is not, as far as we are aware, applied to any 
 use ; and the harshness of its stems renders it by no means 
 agreeable to cattle, although it often occurs abundantly 
 among their pasturage ; and in cultivated ground becomes 
 a troublesome weed. 
 
 EQUISETUM HYEMALE, Linnaus. The Great Bough 
 Horsetail. (Plate XX. fig. 1.) 
 
 The underground stems of this species of Horsetail are 
 branched, and creeping to a considerable extent ; they are 
 black, and furnished with whorls of branched, black, fibrous 
 roots. The aerial stems are in this species all alike in 
 structure, those which bear fructification differing in no 
 other particular from those which do not. They grow up- 
 right, and are scarcely ever branched : when this does occur 
 a solitary branch is produced, and this protrudes from below 
 the base of one of the sheaths of the stem. Their colour is 
 a deep glaucous green. 
 
 These stems, which grow from two to three feet high, are 
 cylindrical, tapering off at the apex, and marked on the 
 thicker parts with from fourteen to twenty ridges, formed 
 
EQUISETUM. 227 
 
 of a double row of elevated points. Their surface is very 
 rough from the presence of these points, which consist of a 
 coating of crystallized siliceous particles. In this species 
 the sheaths fit closely around the stems, so that they are 
 nearly cylindrical ; they are marked by ridges of the same 
 number as those on the stem, but less prominent, and they 
 terminate in a series of teeth equal in number to the ridges, 
 the teeth being black, membranous, and bristle-shaped, soon 
 falling off, and leaving the margin crenated. The sheath 
 immediately below the cone of fructification has, however, 
 its teeth persistent, and it is somewhat funnel-shaped. The 
 sheaths are at first pale green with a black margin ; from 
 this they change to be entirely black ; and finally they be- 
 come whitish in the middle, leaving a narrow ring of black 
 at the base and margin. 
 
 In this species a section of the stem shows on the exterior 
 a series of distinct ridges, formed of twin projections, and 
 varying in number, as has been already explained ; opposite 
 to the furrows, between them, and occupying about the cen- 
 tre of the solid cylinder, is a ring of moderate-sized cavities. 
 The central cavity is comparatively large. 
 
 The cones of fructification are comparatively small, and 
 are seated on the apices of a number of the stems ; they are 
 
228 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 at first ovate and apiculate, subsequently becoming elliptical ; 
 when young sessile in the sheath, but afterwards acquiring 
 a short footstalk. They are dark-coloured, consisting of 
 about forty to fifty scales, and abounding in light-coloured 
 powdery spores. Each of the scales is impressed with two 
 or three vertical lines. 
 
 This plant is found naturally growing in boggy shady 
 places, and is much more abundant northwards than south- 
 wards, where it is rarely met with. Though distributed 
 sparingly over the United Kingdom, its occurrence is strictly 
 local. 
 
 The stems of this Equisetum are now and have been long 
 employed in the arts as a material for polishing, the im- 
 ported stems being known under the names of Dutch Eush 
 and Shave-grass. They are obtained from Holland, where 
 this species is planted to support the embankments, which 
 it does by means of its branching underground stems. It 
 has been suggested that our own sandy sea-coasts might be 
 profitably planted with it. 
 
 The property which gains for it its commercial value is 
 due to the presence of a very hard coating of silex, which is 
 deposited in the form of little crystals, rendering the surface 
 rough like a rasp or file, and hence not only woods, but 
 
EQUISETUM. 229 
 
 metals and stones may be polished by it. This siliceous 
 coating is so entire, and of such density, that it is stated the 
 whole of the vegetable matter may be removed by macera- 
 tion, or, according to others, by burning, without destroy- 
 ing the form of the plant. The minute crystals of silex, of 
 which the flinty coating consists, are arranged with a degree 
 of regularity which, under a microscope, has a very beauti- 
 ful appearance ; they form a series of longitudinal elevated 
 points, and in the furrows between them are cup-shaped 
 depressions, at the bottom of each of which is placed a 
 stomate or pore. 
 
 All the species of Equisetum have a flinty coating to their 
 stems, and may be, and are, more or less employed in polish- 
 ing ; but the stems of the E. Jiyemale are much preferable 
 to those of the other kinds, in consequence of their rougher 
 and more hardened surface. 
 
 EQUISETUM LIMOSUM, Linnaeus. The Water Horsetail, 
 or Smooth Naked Horsetail. 
 
 This is a common species and generally distributed, 
 occurring principally in pools, ditches, and marshy places, 
 though occasionally in running streams. It is rather a 
 tall-growing plant, the stems rising from two to three feet 
 or more in height, springing from the joints of the dark 
 
230 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 brown underground stems, which also produce whorls of 
 black fibrous roots. 
 
 The stems are, though firmly ribbed, very smooth to the 
 touch, their furrows being very shallow ; their smoothness 
 no doubt arising from the presence of a very slight coating 
 of the siliceous particles, which, when more abundant, give 
 their peculiar harshness to some of the species ; probably, 
 also, the particles themselves are in this species much 
 finer and less prominent. Sometimes the stems are quite 
 unbranched ; sometimes furnished with irregular whorls of 
 branches along all their central portion ; and between these 
 two extremes there occurs every conceivable degree of 
 branching, from the single shoot produced here and there, 
 through every gradation of imperfect whorls up to whorls 
 of short branches almost complete. The branches, which 
 are simple, nearly erect, and never acquire much length, 
 are smooth like the stem. There is no material difference 
 between the barren and fertile stems, except the presence 
 of the fructification in the one case and not in the other ; 
 they are, therefore, said to be similar in structure. 
 
 The surface of the stem is marked with from sixteen to 
 twenty very slight ridges, and the sheaths, which are short, 
 rather closely fitted to the stem, and of the same colour in 
 
EQTJISETUM. 231 
 
 the lower part, terminate in an equal number of dark- 
 coloured awl-shaped teeth, which sometimes have a pale 
 membranous margin. The branches are four- to eight- 
 angled. 
 
 Owing to the shallowness of the ridges and furrows, the 
 section of the stem shows a nearly smooth exterior outline, 
 and the cylinder of the stem is furnished only with a row 
 of minute cavities near the inner margin ; this cylinder is 
 very thin, compared with the diameter of the stem, the cen- 
 tral cavity being unusually large. The present plant, there- 
 fore, though it has been considered a variety of K palustre, 
 is most strikingly distinct from that species in the structure 
 of its stem. 
 
 The fructification is produced by a portion of the 
 branches, in cones, at their apex; these cones are ovate 
 obtuse, and very frequently sessile in the uppermost sheath. 
 The scales are black, exceeding a hundred in number ; the 
 spore-cases are pale-coloured. Usually only the termina- 
 tion of the central stem bears fructification, but it some- 
 times happens, though rarely, that some of the uppermost 
 branches are also fertile. 
 
 This plant is the most fodder-like of any of the Equise- 
 -Sj owing to its less flinty cuticle, but in this point of 
 
232 HISTOEY OF BRITISH FEENS. 
 
 view, it is, at least in this country, of very small importance. 
 It is, however, stated to be used in Sweden as food for 
 cattle, "in order that the cows may give more milk;" and 
 in Lapland, it is, even when dry, eaten with avidity by the 
 rein-deer, though they will not touch common hay. Linnaeus 
 censures the improvidence of the Laplanders, in not pro- 
 viding during summer a supply of this plant and of the 
 Rein- deer Moss, for winter use; thus making some provision 
 for their herds at a. time when the ground is covered with 
 frost-bound snow, so as not to risk the loss of their most 
 valuable or entire possessions. An instance is related by Mr. 
 Knapp, in which a colony of the short-tailed water-rats 
 made this plant their food, and in the evening might be 
 heard champing it at many yards' distance. 
 
 EQUISETUM MACKAYI, Newman. Dr. Mackay's Eough 
 Horsetail. 
 
 This plant, on its discovery in the United Kingdom 
 being first make known, was named K elongatum by Sir 
 W. J. Hooker. Mr. Newman has, however, since shown 
 that it is not the species to which that name belongs, and 
 he has given it that which we employ, it being applied in 
 compliment to one of the original discoverers of the plant. 
 
 It is one of those species in which the stems that pro- 
 
EQUISETUM. 233 
 
 duce the fructification, and those which are barren, do not 
 differ in any other respect, and are, therefore, said to be 
 similar ; and in which, also, the stems are almost branchless, 
 the branching being mostly confined to the production of 
 one or two erect lateral stems from near the base, and this 
 lateral branching is by no means common. Sometimes, 
 indeed, the upper part of the stem is also sparingly 
 branched, but the branches are produced singly from the 
 whorls ; in very luxuriant plants, the branches are now and 
 then themselves branched upon a similar plan. 
 
 Like the other species, this has a branching underground 
 creeping stem, which is black, and produces whorls of 
 branched fibrous roots from its joints. The above-ground 
 stems are slender, and erect in their mode of growth ; from 
 two to three or four feet high ; deeply furrowed, with a 
 double row of elevated points along the ridges, which are 
 usually from eight to twelve, but sometimes fourteen in 
 number. The sheaths are close, cylindrical, and striated 
 like the stem, terminating in a number of teeth equalling 
 the striae ; these teeth are long, slender, awl-shaped, black 
 with pale membranous margins, and usually, but not al- 
 ways, persistent. The sheaths are, for the most part, 
 entirely black, but here and there they occur with a narrow 
 
234 HISTORY OF BRITISH TERNS. 
 
 greyish ring, variable in position, being sometimes central, 
 arid at other times near the base or near the margin ; it 
 is, however, we believe always, much less decided and 
 clearly defined than the pale-coloured band on the sheaths 
 of E. hyemale. 
 
 The section of the stem differs from that of E. hyemale, 
 to which it presents a general resemblance, in being smaller, 
 showing fewer ridges, and having the cavities placed rather 
 nearer the inner margin ; the central cavity is also propor- 
 tionally smaller. It has, consequently, on the exterior, a 
 series of ridges formed of twin projections representing the 
 double row of siliceous particles which extends along each 
 ridge ; and a series of cavities rather nearer the inner than 
 the exterior surface of the ring. 
 
 The fructification consists of small black cone-like heads, 
 of an oblong form, terminating in an apiculus. In our 
 specimens they appear sessile in the upper sheath, but they 
 are said to become elevated on a short pedicel. The scales, 
 in one of these cones, number about thirty. 
 
 Equisetum Mackayi is found on the moist banks of the 
 mountain glens of Scotland and the north of Ireland. It 
 was first found in Ireland, and apparently by two botanists 
 in company, Mr. (now Dr.) Mackay, and Mr. Whitla ; this 
 
EQUISETUM. 235 
 
 was in 1833. It lias subsequently been met with in other 
 parts of Ireland,, as well as in Scotland, 
 
 EQUISETUM PALUSTRE, Linnaus. The Marsh Horsetail. 
 
 A common species in boggy places and by the sides of 
 ditches and water-courses. It has a creeping underground 
 stem, which is black and shining, and from the joints of 
 this are produced whorls of slender roots. The part of the 
 stem which rises above ground is erect, growing from a 
 foot to a foot and a half in height. The presence of fructi- 
 fication alone distinguishes the fertile stems from those 
 which are unfruitful ; both being erect, and bearing whorls 
 of numerous branches. 
 
 The stems are somewhat rough on the surface, but less 
 so than in many of the other kinds. They are marked on 
 the exterior by prominent ribs, with intervening broad 
 deep furrows, the number being variable, from six to eight. 
 The joints are invested with nearly cylindrical sheaths, 
 which are quite loose, being almost twice the diameter of 
 the stem in the upper parts of the plant ; the lower sheaths 
 are smaller and rather more funnel-shaped. The sheaths 
 terminate in as many acute wedge-shaped teeth as there 
 are ridges on the stem ; they are pale-coloured, tipped with 
 black or dark brown, and have membranous margins. 
 
236 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 The stems are usually, except at the base, furnished with 
 whorls of numerous simple branches, the number of the 
 branches generally corresponding with the furrows of the 
 stem. These are slender, four- or five-ribbed, and their 
 sheaths set nearly close, and terminate in pale brown lance- 
 shaped teeth, having a membranous border. 
 
 In this species, when a section of the stem is examined, 
 it shows a series of prominent ridges on the outer face; 
 just within these, and over against the furrows, occur a 
 circle of moderate sized cavities; and alternating with 
 these, and near the inner margin, is a series of much 
 smaller circular cavities. The central cavity of the stem 
 is comparatively very small, not very much larger than the 
 series of openings near the outer surface. The resemblance 
 is considerable between its section and that of E. arvense. 
 
 The fructification is a blunt oblong cone, more than an 
 inch long, terminating the main stem, and supported on a 
 stalk about equal to its own length above the uppermost 
 sheath. The whorls of scales in the mature cone are quite 
 separated, and expose the white spore-cases attached to the 
 margin. The scales in this species exceed a hundred in 
 number. The fructification is mature about June. 
 
 Besides the more usual form just described, there are 
 
EQUISETUM. 237 
 
 some curious variations to which this plant is liable. One 
 of the most remarkable has been called the variety poly- 
 stackion. It is remarkable in having more or less of the 
 branches of the two upper whorls terminating in cones of 
 fructification; the usual habit of the plant being to pro- 
 duce only one cone, and that on the central stem. The 
 cones produced by the branches are, we believe, always 
 much smaller than the ordinary cone of fructification pro- 
 duced by the main stem, and they are darker-coloured and 
 more compact. It has been suggested, that the production 
 of these lateral fructifications is accidental, owing to the 
 destruction of the top of the main stem, but this explana- 
 tion is quite insufficient, since they are sometimes produced 
 along with the central head, which moreover varies when 
 accompanied by them, being sometimes of the usual size, 
 and sometimes reduced in size like the lateral heads. The 
 lateral heads are usually later in their appearance than the 
 central ones. Occasionally we have seen some of the 
 branches of the lowest whorl become elongated, and termi- 
 nate in one of these small cones. 
 
 Another form is called nudum, and a very similar variety 
 is sometimes called alpinum. There appears to be no ad- 
 vantage in attempting to distinguish these, both being de- 
 
238 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 pauperated forms, depending, no doubt, on the circumstances 
 of their growth. They differ from the ordinary plant in 
 being altogether smaller, the height ranging from two to 
 four or five inches, the lower part of the stems being de- 
 cumbent, and the whole stem almost devoid of branches ; 
 a few being developed only at their very base. In some 
 states, this form has much resemblance to the prostrate 
 E. variegatum, but is distinguishable by means of its 
 sheaths and fructification. 
 
 The variety, or form, called polystachion, is probably 
 rather accidental than constant, and is to be regarded as 
 the result of peculiar and changeable circumstances which 
 may influence its growth. The variety nudum, or aljsinum, 
 seems clearly a depauperization of the plant, either through 
 elevation or lack of food, both producing the result of a 
 dwarf stunted growth. "We have had no opportunity of 
 testing their constancy in cultivation, neither are we aware 
 of any experiments having been made on this point, but 
 we should expect they would both revert to the common 
 form under the influences of domestication. 
 
 EQUISETUM SYLVATICUM, Linn&us. The Wood Horsetail. 
 (Plate XX. fig. 3.) 
 
 Perhaps this may be called the most beautiful of the 
 
EQUISETUM. 239 
 
 Equisetums ; certainly it is extremely elegant in almost 
 all stages of its growth, and perhaps never more so than 
 shortly after the fertile stems, with their fructification still 
 perfect, have begun to develope their lateral branches. 
 Later in the season, these branches, which have from the 
 first a pendent tendency, droop around with exquisite grace 
 on all sides. Mr. Newman, in recording his impressions on 
 seeing it growing luxuriantly on a wooded hill-side near 
 Loch Tyne, observes : " Each stem had attained its full 
 development, and every pendulous branch its full length 
 and elegance. Altogether I could have fancied it a magic 
 scene, created by the fairies for their especial use and plea- 
 sure, and sacred to the solemnization of their moon-lit 
 revels. It was a forest in miniature, and a forest of sur- 
 passing beauty. It is impossible to give an adequate idea 
 of such a scene, either by language or illustration." 
 
 But descending to sober realities. The creeping under- 
 ground stem of this Wood Horsetail is, like that of the 
 others, dark-coloured and branched, and produces from 
 its joints the slender fibrous roots which draw up nourish- 
 ment to the plant. The above-ground stems are erect, 
 and, in a certain sense, those of them which produce fructi- 
 fication, and those which are barren, are similar, except as 
 
240 HISTORY OP BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 regards this one point. Their resemblance consists in both 
 growing up at the same time, and both putting out whorls 
 of deflexed branches, less numerous certainly on the fertile 
 stems ; but in other respects they differ, as, for instance, 
 in the growth of the apices of the fronds. The fertile ones, 
 terminating in a catkin which soon perishes, become blunt- 
 topped, while the barren ones continue to elongate at the 
 point and so become somewhat pyramidal. The barren 
 stems are also more slender than the fertile ones, and have 
 less inflated sheaths. It will thus appear, that this species, 
 in its habit of growth, holds a middle rank between that 
 group in which the fertile and barren stems are successive 
 and quite dissimilar, and that group in which they are 
 simultaneous and present no appreciable difference of struc- 
 ture. Something of the same kind occurs in E. umbrosum, 
 as will be found noticed under that species. 
 
 The fertile stems, when they first shoot up, are almost quite 
 simple, and a few of them remain so, perfecting their cone- 
 like head, and then perishing. More usually, by the time 
 the catkin has become fully grown, the whorls of branches 
 from the upper joints will be seen protruded to the length of 
 from half an inch to an inch or rather more. Two, three, 
 or four, rarely more, whorls of branches are thus produced 
 
ra. 241 
 
 from the uppermost joints of the stem, and above these the 
 oblong-ovate blunt cone is seated on a bare stalk-like portion 
 of the stem, one to two inches long. The stems are round, 
 succulent, pale-coloured, with about twelve slender ridges, 
 and corresponding shallow furrows, nearly smooth, the 
 siliceous particles which coat the surface being too minute 
 to impart much roughness. The sheaths are large and loose, 
 and are divided at the margin into three or four bluntish 
 lobes; their lower half or tubular portion is pale green, 
 their upper half or lobes bright russet ; they have an equal 
 number of ribs, with the ribs on the stem. The slender 
 branches, which are deflexed, grow to about a couple of 
 inches in length, and produce from their joints a series of 
 secondary branches, which grow from about half an inch to 
 an inch in length. The average height of the fertile stems 
 is about one foot. 
 
 The barren stems are more slender and less succulent 
 than the others ; they also produce more numerous whorls 
 of branches. These grow from fifteen to eighteen inches 
 high, and are ribbed like the others, only somewhat more 
 prominently. The sheaths fit closer than those of the 
 fertile stems, but in colour and in the division of their 
 margin they resemble them exactly. The whorls of branches 
 
242 HISTORY OF BRITISH FEKNS. 
 
 are very dense, being compouridly branched. The side 
 branches, which measure about four inches in length, are 
 constantly branched at every joint with a whorl of branch- 
 lets averaging two inches in length, and sometimes these 
 branchlets put out another series of short branches. The 
 outline of the frond would be nearly pyramidal, were it not 
 that the extreme point becomes so slender as to be unable 
 to retain itself erect ; the lateral branches are all droop- 
 ing or deflexed, and hence the elegant appearance of the full- 
 grown fronds. The ultimate branches are three-ribbed, 
 which gives them a triangular form ; their joints terminate 
 in three long pointed teeth, one of the ribs extending undi- 
 vided to the apex of each tooth. The teeth are of the same 
 colour as the branch. 
 
 The section of the stem shows a series of shallow ridges 
 and furrows ; opposite the latter a ring of largish cavities ; 
 and alternating with these on the inner side, another ring of 
 very minute cavities, these latter again alternating with a 
 circle of angular cavities close to the inner margin of the 
 tube. The central cavity measures about half the diameter. 
 
 The fructification is an oblong-ovate cone-like head, con- 
 sisting of eighty or more pale brown peltate scales ranged 
 in whorls, and to which white spore-cases are attached. 
 
EQUISETUM. 243 
 
 These, on bursting, disperse a great number of greenish-co- 
 loured spores. 
 
 This species grows naturally in moist shady woods ; and 
 though local, owing apparently to the conditions necessary 
 to its growth, namely, shade and moisture combined in a 
 peculiar way, it is, nevertheless, a widely distributed plant, 
 and can hardly be considered as uncommon throughout the 
 United Kingdom. Its fertile stems are in perfection about 
 the middle of April, and its barren stems in June. 
 
 EQUISETUM TELMATEIA, Ehrkart. The Great Horsetail, 
 or Great Water Horsetail, of some ; Great Mud Horsetail 
 of others. (Plate XX. fig. 2.) 
 
 This is one of those species in which the ordinary fertile 
 and the barren stems are perfectly dissimilar, the former 
 being short and quite simple, the latter tall and compoundly 
 branched. Occasionally a third sort of stem is produced, 
 late in the season, which may be called a kind of com- 
 promise between the two. Mr. Newman describes such 
 steins as reaching maturity about August, and bearing a 
 very small proportion to the exclusively barren or fertile 
 steins. They are smaller, though with longer joints, have 
 shorter, less spreading sheaths, and bear catkins which 
 f<re smaller than usual. This state of the plant has been 
 
244 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 attributed to drought ; and seems to be one of those occa- 
 sional and inconstant variations to which plants are liable, 
 as they are influenced by the external circumstances of soil 
 or climate, or the peculiarities of the seasons. 
 
 The barren stems of this species are very stately objects 
 when in a luxuriant condition of growth. They grow erect, 
 and are from six to seven feet or more in height, clothed 
 nearly to the bottom with spreading proximate whorls, those 
 on the stouter parts consisting of thirty to forty branches, 
 which are sometimes again branched. The upper whorls 
 have many fewer branches. The whorls are most crowded 
 towards the top of the stem, and there also the branches 
 are about the full length six or eight inches ; lower down 
 the stem the branches become shorter, and the whorls more 
 distant. The stems measure about an inch and a half in 
 diameter at the stoutest part, and from this point decrease 
 upwards, becoming very slender at the point. The surface 
 is smooth, with mere indications of about thirty faint lines 
 extending into the sheaths, and there becoming more appa- 
 rent. The sheaths set close to the stem, or nearly so, and 
 are half an inch long, green below, with a dark brown ring 
 at top, and divided at the margin into slender bristly teeth, 
 about half an inch long, dark brown, with paler membranous 
 
EQTJISETUM. 245 
 
 edges ; the teeth frequently adhere together at the summit 
 in twos and threes. The branches have eight or ten ribs 
 united in pairs, and their sheaths terminate in four or five 
 teeth, each extended into a slender black bristle, and having 
 two denticulated ribs. The branches very frequently pro- 
 duce a series of two to five secondary branches at their 
 second joints. The colour of the main stem is very pale, 
 scarcely tinged with green, that of the branches a delicate 
 green. The sheaths of the branches, in this and some other 
 species, furnish excellent marks for discrimination. 
 
 The fertile stem is erect, simple, from nine inches to a foot 
 or more high, succulent, pale brown, and smooth. From 
 each of the numerous joints arises a large loose funnel- 
 shaped sheath, the upper ones being largest ; they are dis- 
 tinctly striated, and terminate in thirty to forty long, slen- 
 der, and, according to Hooker, two-ribbed, teeth. The 
 sheaths are pale greenish-brown below, darker brown above. 
 The catkins are large, between two and three inches long ; 
 the scales, often numbering four hundred, are arranged in 
 whorls, of which the lower ones are usually very distinct. 
 The scales and spore-cases resemble those of the allied kinds. 
 
 A section of the barren stem of this species shows an outer 
 surface without ridges and furrows, and in the very narrow 
 
HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 cylinder of the stem occur two circles of cavities, the outer 
 one consisting of large openings, those of the inner minute, 
 and alternating with the larger. The central cavity is very 
 large, the tissue of the stem being reduced to a very narrow 
 ring. 
 
 This is a widely-dispersed and rather common plant, oc- 
 curring on moist banks and in muddy places, by the sides 
 of streams and the margins of muddy pools. The nature of 
 the soil would seem to be of small importance provided it 
 has its necessary degree of moisture, for it is recorded as 
 occurring both in sandy and in clayey soils, as well as in 
 muddy pools. It is frequent in Ireland ; and is found both 
 in Scotland and Wales. 
 
 EQUISETUM UMBROSUM, Willdenow. The Shady Horsetail. 
 
 This species of Horsetail was formerly named E. Drum- 
 mondii by Sir W. J. Hooker, after Mr. T. Drummond, who 
 first discovered it as a native of Britain, but it proves to be 
 the same which Willdenow had previously called E. urn- 
 brosum. It is a very interesting and distinct plant, inter- 
 mediate in its general characteristics between E. arvense and 
 E. sylvaticum, but perfectly distinct from both. 
 
 Prom its long, dark-coloured, creeping, underground stem 
 are produced, at the joints, whorls of slender fibrous roots, 
 
EQUISETUM. 247 
 
 and from buds organized at the same points arise the aerial 
 stems. These are quite dissimilar in their appearance, some 
 being short, quite simple, and terminating in a cone-like 
 head of spore-cases; others being without fructification, 
 taller, and producing several whorls of long, crowded, slen- 
 der branches ; whilst a third kind, of ' common though not 
 constant occurrence/ produce whorls of branches and cones 
 also. In the production of these three kinds of stems it 
 serves to connect, through E. sylvaticum, that group in 
 which the fertile and barren stems are successive and alto- 
 gether unlike, with that in which any of the stems indif- 
 ferently at least as to external appearances bear the fruc- 
 tification, all being of similar habit. 
 
 The fertile stems grow about six inches high, and are 
 quite branchless ; they are of a pale yellowish-green, having 
 numerous joints, the large loose funnel-shaped sheaths pro- 
 duced at these points, almost covering the stem, as usually 
 described and figured, but in our specimens they are much 
 less crowded, a space of from half an inch to an inch oc- 
 curring between the adjoining sheaths. These sheaths are 
 still paler- coloured than the stem, often almost white, with a 
 dark ring below the teeth, which are awl-shaped, pale brown, 
 with pale-coloured membranous margins; the teeth are 
 
48 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 about twenty from twelve to twenty in number, equalling 
 the ribs on the sheath. These fertile stems are very slightly 
 striated. 
 
 The barren stems grow erect to the height of eighteen 
 inches or more, and have their surface disposed in about 
 twenty sharp ridges, with corresponding furrows, the ridges 
 being coated with prominent siliceous warty particles, so 
 that the stems become very rough. The few lower joints 
 are without branches, but in all the upper part of the stem 
 they produce whorls of from ten to sixteen branches, which 
 are simple, and at first drooping, but eventually take a spread- 
 ing or slightly ascending direction. The sheaths of these 
 barren stems are much smaller than those of the fertile, less 
 funnel-shaped, and more closely set to the stem, and their 
 teeth are also fewer, shorter, and blunter ; but in respect of 
 colour they do not materially differ. The branches, which are 
 slender, and about four inches long, are three- or four-ribbed, 
 and have loose sheaths, which terminate in three or four short, 
 acute, membranous- edged, faintly brown-tipped teeth; the 
 ribs of the stem extend upwards into the teeth, one entering 
 each, but they do not quite reach the apex. 
 
 The fructification forms a moderate-sized, terminal, oval, 
 cone-like head; at first sessile in the uppermost sheath, but 
 
EQUISETTJM. 249 
 
 becoming elevated on a short stalk. The scales are from 
 forty to fifty in number, and are of a pale brown colour, 
 bearing numerous whitish spore- cases. 
 
 The branched fertile stems have their sheaths smaller 
 than the simple fertile ones, but larger than the barren ones. 
 Several of the uppermost joints produce whorls of branches, 
 and the stem is terminated by a cone of fructification. In 
 these cases, however, the number of branches is less than 
 that produced by the ordinary barren stems, and the cone is 
 smaller than those produced by the ordinary fertile stems. 
 In fact, the parts seem intermediate. 
 
 The section of the stem of this species is very different 
 from that of any other, though having most resemblance to 
 those of JE. arvense and K sylvaticum. The exterior shows 
 a series of sharp ridges with angular furrows ; the central 
 cavity rather exceeds a third of the whole diameter; the 
 cylinder of the stem is then pierced by three circles of ca- 
 vities one of longish oblong openings opposite the furrows, 
 one of minute pores exterior to these and opposite the ridges, 
 and another of minute pores on their inner side also oppo- 
 site the ridges. 
 
 Probably this species is tolerably plentiful in moist shady 
 woods, which are the situations it affects, but it has as yet 
 
250 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 been met with only in a limited number of localities in 
 Ireland, Scotland, and the north of England. 
 
 EQUISETUM VARIEGATTJM, Weber and Mohr. The Va- 
 riegated Bough Horsetail. 
 
 This species is found on the banks of rivers and lakes, and 
 in sandy places near the sea. There is considerable variation 
 among the plants classed under this name, and met with in 
 these different localities, the differences appearing to be 
 permanent under cultivation, but we have not yet sufficient 
 evidence to treat them as distinct species. We, therefore, 
 include as varieties or forms of variegatum,'$\Q dwarf pro- 
 cumbent plant sometimes called JEJ. arenarium, and the tall 
 stout erect form which has been named E. Wilsoni. 
 
 This is one of the species whose stems are all similar, and 
 almost quite unbranched. It extends by means of a widely 
 creeping underground stem, rooting in whorls like the other 
 species, and producing numerous above-ground stems, often 
 springing from joints in such close proximity, that they 
 appear in dense tufts. Though so numerously branched 
 just beneath or at the surface of the soil, it is not usual that 
 any branches are produced on the exposed part of the stems, 
 but this sometimes does occur, such branches not growing 
 in whorls, but springing singly from the joints, and having 
 
EQUISETUM. 251 
 
 much similarity to the stem itself; it is the erect form of 
 the species, chiefly, which thus becomes branched. The 
 stems grow about a foot high, and, in what is taken as the 
 typical plant, their surface is very rough, and impressed 
 with from four to ten furrows, with alternating, rather pro- 
 minent ridges, each ridge margined on both sides, with a 
 line of minute siliceous points, which give it the appearance 
 of being grooved, and impart the peculiar roughness to the 
 steins. The sheaths are slightly enlarged towards their 
 margin, ribbed like the stem, green in the lower part, black 
 above, and terminating in a fringe of black teeth, equalling 
 the ribs in number ; in form ovate, with a broad white 
 membranous border, and tipped by a deciduous bristle. 
 Sometimes the contrast between the black ring and teeth, 
 and the white border to the latter, is very conspicuous. 
 
 A certain number of the stems, usually the most vigorous, 
 terminate in a cone of fructification. This is small, elliptic, 
 crowned by a prominent point or apiculus. It is usually 
 black, and sessile in the uppermost sheath, but sometimes 
 elevated on a short stalk. All the stalked cones we have 
 seen have been much paler in colour than the sessile ones. 
 The scales are about twenty in number, and the spore-cases 
 are whitish. 
 
252 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS, 
 
 The section of the stem shows a small central cavity, an 
 exterior surface of rather prominent ridges, each channelled 
 so as to form two projecting angles, and a circle of moderate- 
 sized cavities occurring about the centre of the tissues. 
 
 Insensibly merging into the form just described appears 
 to be another, that sometimes called U. arenarium, which, 
 in its extreme state, is smaller and more slender, its stems 
 always procumbent, and not having more than six furrows ; 
 in this form the teeth of the sheaths are said to be wedge- 
 shaped, but we do not detect any differences in respect to the 
 teeth between specimens having the erect and the prostrate 
 habit of growth. 
 
 Another form, which is perhaps at least a permanent 
 variety, and may prove to be specifically distinct, is the 
 plant called K Wilsoni by Mr. Newman. With this we 
 are entirely unacquainted, except through books, in which 
 it is described as being stouter, taller three feet high and 
 smoother than the larger form of E. variegatum. The sec- 
 tion of its stem also differs materially; the central cavity 
 and the ring of cavities occurring in the cylinder of the stern 
 being much larger, and the latter differing in form from 
 those of E. variegatum. This variety grows in water, at 
 Mucruss, in the immediate vicinity of the Lakes of Kil- 
 
EQUISETUM, 253 
 
 larney. The stems are generally simple, but sometimes 
 sparingly branched; they have about ten furrows, with 
 broad intermediate ridges, on which the siliceous particles 
 are far less prominent, so that the stems are not nearly so 
 rough as in the allied E. variegatum, Mackayi, &c. The 
 sheaths are scarcely larger than the stem, and are entirely 
 green, except a narrow, black, sinuous ring at the margin ; 
 the teeth are short, generally blunt, and have obscure mem- 
 branous margins. No mention is made of the deciduous 
 bristle which occurs in the allied plants. The cone is 
 small, black, terminal, and apiculate, and, as occurs in the 
 allied kinds, its sheath is larger and looser than the rest, 
 the teeth also longer, and their membranous edges dilated 
 and conspicuous. Such is the substance of Mr. Newman's 
 account of it in his ' History of British Perns/ 
 
 The present species is rather a local plant, but is widely 
 dispersed in the three kingdoms, the larger forms growing 
 on the margins of lakes, canals, rivers, ditches, &c., the 
 smaller prostrate examples occurring on the sandy sea-coasts. 
 
 The Equisetums appear to submit readily to cultivation ; 
 at least we have found no difficulty in inducing those of 
 
254 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 which we have from time to time procured the subterranean 
 stems, to grow with freedom. The plan we have adopted 
 has been to pot them in loamy soil, and simply to place the 
 pots in a cold frame, among a collection of hardy Ferns ; 
 or, in the case of some of the aquatic species, to sink the 
 pots just beneath the surface of a tank of water. 
 
 There are, it should be remarked, two sets of Equise- 
 tumSy which may be called the evergreen and the deciduous 
 groups ; and this is a distinction of some importance in re- 
 ference to their cultivation. Under the head of evergreen 
 should be classed the " rough " group, consisting of K 
 hyemale, Mackayi, and variegatum. All the remaining 
 species come under the head of deciduous, by which is 
 meant that the fronds die down annually in autumn, and 
 are renewed from the underground stems in spring. 
 
 The evergreen species are desirable plants for damp, 
 shady rock-work, requiring no peculiar care or culture ; and 
 though they cannot lay claim to any considerable elegance 
 of growth or habit, yet, from their peculiar form and cha- 
 racter, they must be looked upon as interesting plants, no 
 less for their own sakes, than for the mere pictorial effect 
 which their distinct appearance may help to bring out in 
 such situations. ' . 
 
EQUISETIJM. 255 
 
 Of the deciduous kinds most desirable for a similar pur- 
 pose, we should select E. sylvaticum and E. umbrosum ; 
 these being among the most elegant of the race, and of mode- 
 rate size. Both of them would require shade, but nothing 
 else beyond what well constructed rock-work would supply. 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting way of cultivating these 
 plants would be as a group on a shady border, or in a 
 separate bed. In damp cool soil they would be certain to 
 succeed. The smaller delicate sorts, such as the procum- 
 bent E. variegatwiij should be rather elevated between three 
 or four rough stones, over which it would hang ; and for 
 the aquatic species, earthenware pans might be sunk, and 
 these, half-filled with mud, and the remainder with water, 
 would provide all that would be necessary for their well- 
 being. 
 
 All the other species would grow in the ordinary soil, 
 provided it were sufficiently moist and cool in summer ; 
 but the rambling propensities of the underground sterns 
 should be checked by planting them in pots sunk in the 
 ground. 
 
 The raising of the Eqnwetum* from the spores, too, would 
 be very interesting employment, and withal very instructive. 
 The spores are very curious bodies, of roundish or somewhat 
 
256 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 oval form, having four elastic filaments, thickened at the ends, 
 coiled around them. These, when the spore has become 
 ripe, unroll; and their elasticity, no doubt, contributes to 
 burst the case in which the spores are contained, as well as to 
 assist in the dispersion of these minute reproductive bodies. 
 They are, indeed, so irritable, that a change of temperature 
 or moisture, such as that produced by breathing on the 
 spores, is sufficient to produce this forcible uncoiling. The 
 spores themselves are very interesting microscopic objects ; 
 indeed, it is only under a high magnifying power that their 
 nature can be examined. 
 
 The germination of the spores has been made the sub- 
 ject of experiment by several inquirers, whose observations 
 have been published. Agardh states, that from three to 
 fourteen days after the spores are sown, they send down a 
 thread-like transparent root somewhat thickened at the end, 
 and protrude a confervoid, cylindrical, obtuse, articulated, 
 torulose thread, which is either two-lobed or simple at the 
 apex. Some days after this, several branches are produced, 
 and become agglutinated together, forming a body resem- 
 bling a bundle of confervoid threads, each of which pushes 
 out its own root. Bischoff finds these confervoid threads 
 go on growing and combining until a considerable cellular 
 
EQTJISETUM. 257 
 
 mass is formed. Then, this mode of development ceases, 
 and a young bud is formed, which produces the stem of an 
 Equisetum, at once completely organized, with its air-cells, 
 its central cavity, and its sheaths, the first of which is formed 
 before the elongation of the stem, out of the original cel- 
 lular matter. 
 
 To watch the minute atoms thus springing into life, de- 
 veloping by degrees their tiny stems, and gaining strength 
 and bulk day by day until they reach maturity, could hardly 
 fail, one would think, to lead a sensitive mind to pure and 
 wholesome thought, and to call up the contemplation of 
 the wise and beneficent plans and the all-sufficiency of the 
 Creator, by whose ordaining providence life interminably re- 
 newable had thus been made to spring from the dust-like 
 spore, as well as to produce a just appreciation of the un- 
 certainty and insufficiency of human agency; for though 
 man may plant and water, yet it is God alone that giveth 
 the increase. 
 
258 
 
 LOCAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE BRITISH FERNS, CLUB-MOSSES, 
 PEPPERWORTS, AND HORSETAILS. 
 
 THE limits of this little volume will neither allow of a very 
 complete nor very detailed record of the situations in which 
 the various Perns and Pern allies are severally found to 
 grow ; nor is it indeed necessary that their habitats should 
 be so fully and minutely stated in a book such as the pre- 
 sent. Instead, therefore, of attempting a full enumeration 
 of the localities where they have been found, we shall make 
 a selection, with the special view of indicating the districts 
 in which the various kinds have been known to occur, and 
 to which those who may desire to find them should more 
 especially direct their attention. The facts thus selected 
 will also afford some insight into the geographical range of 
 the species in the British Isles. 
 
 Such a record of facts, even though thus abridged, would, 
 however, have a very chaotic character if it were not sys- 
 tematized in some way. The most obvious modes of arrange- 
 ment seem to be the alphabetical and the geographical ; and 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 259 
 
 of these we prefer the latter, under the impression that the 
 former would be far less suggestive and useful. 
 
 In reference to this subject it has been well remarked by 
 Mr. Watson, in his 'Cybele Britannica/ that the county 
 divisions are too numerous, and the ancient political divi- 
 sions too few, to express, with anything like completeness 
 and precision, the actual distribution of species ; the first, 
 because our information is imperfect ; the second, because 
 the areas are too extensive. He has, therefore, in treating 
 of the more extended subject of the distribution of the 
 flowering plants, proposed another set of divisions, of in- 
 termediate extent, which he calls provinces; and as Mr. 
 Watson is to be considered our standard authority on this 
 question, we shall give his provinces, adding, however, 
 Ireland, which he has omitted, to our list, and severing the 
 western from the northern isles, as a connecting link with 
 that country. We shall thus have the United Kingdom and 
 Ireland divided in the following manner : 
 
 Commencing at the south coast of England, a mesial line 
 is traced northwards, into the Highlands of Scotland, the 
 line corresponding with the boundaries of counties, and 
 being traced in that course which best divides the counties 
 whose rivers flow to the east coast, from those whose waters 
 
260 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 are emptied into the western ocean. These two longitu- 
 dinal divisions are subdivided transversely into provinces or 
 groups of counties, which together constitute the basin of 
 a principal river, or have some other physical peculiarity in 
 common. The mesial line is not continued northward of 
 Inverness, where Scotland becomes very narrow ; and the 
 portion of Inverness itself, eastward^ of Loch Erricht, is 
 united with the East Highland province. In like manner, 
 the extreme north of Lancashire is united with the Lake 
 province. The accessible information with reference to 
 Ireland is very imperfect. 
 
 The facts embodied in the following pages are derived 
 from the principal published lists of localities (among which 
 it is hardly needful to say that the ' Phytologist' and Mr. 
 Newman's ' History ' stand pre-eminent in this respect) ; 
 from the habitats preserved in the herbariums of the Bo- 
 tanical Societies of Edinburgh and London (the contents of 
 the former having been obligingly communicated by Mr. 
 Lawson) ; from our own herbarium and observations ; and 
 from several local lists kindly furnished by the gentlemen 
 whose names are quoted. We are also indebted to H. C. 
 Watson, Esq., for many valuable notes, corrections, and 
 suggestions, by the aid of which our list is rendered much 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 261 
 
 more complete and perfect than it would otherwise have 
 been. 
 
 Our space would not permit the insertion of authorities, 
 except in a few rare instances, for habitats which have been 
 previously published. B. S. E. refers to the Herbarium of 
 the Edinburgh Botanical Society ; B. S. L. to that of the 
 London Society. The use of the signs [ ] implies some 
 doubt as to the correctness of the enclosed statements. 
 
 The names given to the Provinces, and the counties they 
 severally include, are shown below. The arrangement of 
 the Eerns is alphabetical, as in the preceding descriptions ; 
 and they are followed by the Club-Mosses, &c. 
 
 1. PENINSULA. Cornwall, Devon, Somerset. 
 
 2. CHANNEL. Hants, Sussex, Dorset, Wilts. 
 
 3. THAMES. Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Berks, Ox- 
 
 ford, Bucks, Essex. 
 
 4. OUSE. Huntingdon, Bedford, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cam- 
 
 bridge, Northampton. 
 
 5. SEVERN. Warwick, Gloucester, Monmouth, Hereford, 
 
 Worcester, Stafford, Salop. 
 
 6. S. WALES. Eadnor, Brecon, Glamorgan, Carmarthen, 
 
 Pembroke, Cardigan. 
 
262 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 7. N. WALES. Anglesea, Denbigh, Flint, Montgomery, 
 
 Merioneth, Carnarvon. 
 
 8. TRENT. Leicester, Eutland, Lincoln, Notts, Derby. 
 
 9. MERSEY. Cheshire, Lancashire. 
 
 10. HUMBER. York. 
 
 11. TYNE. Durham, Northumberland. 
 
 12. LAKES. Westmoreland, Cumberland, and N. of Lan- 
 
 cashire. Isle of Man. 
 
 13. W. LOWLANDS. Dumfries, Kircudbright, Wigton, Ayr, 
 
 Renfrew, Lanark. 
 
 14. E. LOWLANDS. Peebles, Selkirk, Roxburgh, Berwick, 
 
 Haddington, Edinburgh, Linlithgow. 
 
 15. E. HIGHLANDS. Stirling, Clackmannan, Kinross, Fife, 
 Perth, Porfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Banff, Nairn, 
 Elgin or Moray including^' the N. E. of Inverness or 
 that part E. of Loch Erricht. 
 
 16. W. HIGHLANDS. Inverness W. of Loch Erricht, 
 Argyle, Dumbarton, and the Isles adjacent from Bute 
 and Arran to Skye. 
 
 17. N. HIGHLANDS. Ross, Cromarty, Sutherland, Caith- 
 
 ness. 
 
 18. N.. ISLES. Orkney, Shetland. 
 
 19. W. ISLES. Outer Hebrides. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 263 
 
 20. ULSTER (N.). Antrim, Londonderry, Donegal, Tyrone, 
 Down, Armagh, Monaghan, Fermanagh, Cavan. 
 
 21. CONNAUGHT (W.). Leitrim, Sligo, Galway, Boscom- 
 
 mon. 
 
 22. LEINSTER (E.). Longford, Westmeath, Meath, Louth, 
 Dublin, Kildare, King's, Queen's, Wicklow, Wexford, 
 Carlow, Kilkenny. 
 
 23. MUNSTER (S.). Waterford, Tipperary, Clare, Limerick, 
 
 Cork, Kerry. 
 
 24. CHANNEL ISLES. Guernsey, Jersey. 
 
 ADIANTUM CAPILLUS-VENEBIS, linnaw. 
 
 PENINSULA. Carclevv; on the east side of Carrach Gladden, 
 between St. Ives and Hayle, in low dripping caves and on 
 rocks by the coast, Cornwall. Ilfracombe ; Watermouth ; 
 Brinham ; Mewstone Bay, Devonshire. [Clevedon, Somer- 
 setshire.] 
 
 SEVERN . [Staffordshire.] 
 
 S.WALES. Dunraven; East Aberthaw, F. Brent; Swansea, 
 J. Eiley, B.S.E. (probably an error) ; Port Kirig ; Barry 
 Island, Glamorganshire. 
 
264 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 TRENT. [Derbyshire.] 
 
 HUMBER. [Yorkshire.] 
 
 LAKES. Isle of Man. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. [Banks of the Carron, Kincardineshire, accord- 
 ing to Professor Beattie, but probably erroneous.] 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. [Argyleshire. Arran.] 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Lough Bulard, near Urisbeg ; Roundstone, Con- 
 nemara, Galway ; Arran Isles. 
 
 MUNSTER. Cahir Conree, near Tralee, Kerry. 
 
 ALLOSORUS CEISPUS, Bernhardi. 
 
 PENINSULA. Exmoor near Challicombe, Devonshire, N. TFard, 
 B.S.E. Simmonsbath, Somersetshire. (Perhaps these 
 two descriptions refer to one locality.) 
 
 SEVERN. Titterstone Glee hill, Shropshire. Malvern hills, 
 Worcestershire. [" Stowe " (? Staffordshire), B.S.E.} 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Cardiganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Cerig-y-Druidion, Denbighshire. Dolgelly ; Cader- 
 Idris, Merionethshire. Breiddin hills, Montgomeryshire. 
 Cwm-Idwal ; Clogwyn-du-Yrarddu, Snowdon ; Glyder- 
 vawr ; Mynidd-Mawr ; Llanberis ; and elsewhere in Carnar- 
 vonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Fairfield ; Chinley Hills, Derbyshire. [Rutland.] 
 
 MERSEY. Tag's Ness near Macclesfield, Cheshire. Lancaster ; 
 Ch'viger near Todmorden ; !Fo-edge near Bury, Lancashire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 265 
 
 HUMBEB. Settle; Saddleworth; Fountain's Tell; Halifax; 
 Wensley Dale ; Cronkley Scar ; Ingleborough, &c., York- 
 shire. 
 
 TYNE. Falcon Glints, Teesdale, Durham. Cheviot above Lang- 
 ley Ford ; Crag Lake ; Haltwhistle, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Ambleside; Casterton; Morland; and the hill-sides 
 of Westmoreland, abundant. Borrowdale ; Winlatta, W. 
 Christy, B.S.E. ; Keswick ; Skiddaw ; Helvellyn ; Grass- 
 mere ; Scawfell ; Martindale, &c. 5 Cumberland. Conistone, 
 Lancashire. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfries ; Jardine Hall ; George Town ; 
 Queensbury hill ; Eae hill ; hills above Loch Skew ; Mor- 
 ton hills ; MofFat-dale, P. Gray ; Dumfriesshire. Sandy 
 hills and Douglass hall, Colvend ; Carsethorn, P. Gray ; 
 Criffel, Kircudbrightshire. Cuif-hill and Beith, Ayrshire. 
 Eenfrewshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Eildon hills; Winchope, Walter Scott, B.S.E., 
 Roxburghshire. South bank of the Whiteadder, Berwick- 
 shire. [Edinburghshire.] 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Fifeshire, T. B. Bell, B.S.E. Ben Lawers; 
 Killin; Glen Tilt; Blair Athol, &c., Perthshire. Clova 
 mountains ; Debris on the Sidlaw hills, G. Lawson, B.S.E. ; 
 Glen Isla, W. Brand, B.S.E., Forfarshire. Glen CaUater, 
 W. Christy, B.S.E. ; Castleton ; Loch-na-garr, H. M. Sal- 
 four, Aberdeenshire. Kingussie, A. Rutherford, B.S.E. ; 
 
266 HISTOEY OF BEITISH PERNS. 
 
 Stone walls near Dalwhinnie, and on the neighbouring 
 mountains, Morayshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Ben Nevis; Gnarrow; Ben Aulder, Western 
 Inverness-shire. Argyleshire. Loch Lomond, Dumbarton- 
 shire. Ben-na-Caillich, Skye. Isle of Mull. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Eoss-shire. Sutherlandshire. 
 
 W. ISLES. Eoddal, Harris. 
 
 ULSTEE.- Carrickfergus, Antrim. Sleive Bignian; Mourne 
 mountains, Down. 
 
 LEINSTEE. Carlingford mountain, Louth. 
 
 ASPLENIUM ADIANTUM-NIGEUM, Linnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. 
 Wiltshire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Middlesex. Kent. Surrey. Berk- 
 shire. Buckinghamshire. Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Bedfordshire. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. 
 Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVEEN. Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. Wor- 
 cestershire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Carmarthenshire. Pembrokeshire. 
 Cardiganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Merionethshire. Flint- 
 shire. Carnarvonshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 267 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Eutland. Nottinghamshire, Derby- 
 shire. 
 
 MERSEY. Cheshire. Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Durham. Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Westmoreland. Cumberland. North Lancashire. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Earcudbright shire. Ayrshire. 
 Lanarkshire. Eenfrewshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Eoxburgh shire. Berwickshire. Edinburgh- 
 shire. Linlithgowshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Fifeshire. 
 Perthshire. Forfarshire. Kincardine shire. Aberdeenshire. 
 Banffshire. Moray shire. Nairn shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Inverness-shire. Argyleshire. Dumbarton- 
 shire. Isles of Islay, Cantyre, Arran, and lona. Ailsa 
 Craig. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Cromarty. Sutherlandshire. Caithness. 
 
 N. ISLES. Orkney. 
 
 W. ISLES. Tarbet, Harris. 
 
 ULSTER. Antrim. Down (the acute form). 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Galway. Arran Isles. 
 
 LEINSTER. Meath. 
 
 MUNSTER. Kerry (the acute form). Cork (also the acute form 
 at Tralee). 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
268 HISTORY OP BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 ASPLENIUM FONTANUM, E. Brown. 
 
 THAMES. On an old garden-wall at Tooting, Surrey, D. Haigh. 
 (The wall has recently been cleaned, and the plants 
 perhaps destroyed.) 
 
 TRENT. Matlock, Derbyshire, H. Shepherd. 
 
 LAKES. [Formerly at Wybourn, Westmoreland; or Wiborn, 
 Cumberland.] 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Shady rocks near Stonehaven, Kincardine- 
 shire, D. Hutcheson. 
 
 ASPLENIUM GEEMANICUM, TFeiss. 
 
 N. WALES. Bocks near Llanrwst (Bwlch-y-Bhyn), Denbigh- 
 shire, H. Wilson. 
 
 LAKES. Borrowdale, Cumberland, ZT. E. Smith. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Eocks near Kelso on the Tweed, Eoxburgh- 
 shire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Dr. Dewar. Sten- 
 ton rock near Dunkeld, Perthshire. 
 
 ASPLENIUM LANCEOLATUM, Hudson. 
 
 PENINSULA. St. Michael's mount, and other places about Pen- 
 zance, abundant; very fine on rocks at Hot Point, and 
 other stations near the Land's End; St. Ives, Cornwall. 
 Morwell rocks, by the Tamar ; by the Tavy ; by the Plym ; 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 269 
 
 near Cann Quarry; Brickland Monachorum; Tavistock; 
 
 Salcombe ; Torquay ; Bickleigh vale, W. S. Hore, -B.S.E. ; 
 
 Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 CHANNEL. High rocks, Tunbridge Wells, Sussex. 
 THAMES. [Near Tunbridge Wells, Kent.] [Oxfordshire.] 
 SEVERN. Pennant rocks, near Stapleton; Beechly; Oldbury 
 
 and Court woods, Gloucestershire. [Shropshire.] 
 S. WALES. Ramsay Island, Pembrokeshire. Glamorganshire. 
 N. WALES. About Barmouth, Merionethshire. Tremadoc ; 
 
 Pwlheli ; Beddgelert ; about Aberglaslyu, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 Near Llanrwst, Denbighshire. 
 HUMBER. [Yorkshire.] 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Guernsey. Jersey. 
 
 ASPLENIUM MARINUM, Unnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornish coast generally, very fine at Lamorna. 
 Dawlish ; Ilfracombe ; Salcombe ; Torquay ; Babbicombe ; 
 Teignmoilth; Lynton, N. B. Ward; and other parts of 
 Devonshire. Clevedon; Portishead, Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Isle of Portland ; Purbeck ; Lyme Regis, Dorset- 
 shire. Isle of Wight, beyond Knowle towards Blackgang. 
 Castle rock at Hastings, Sussex. 
 
 S. WALES. Rocks by the Mumbles Lighthouse, Swansea ; 
 Dunraven ; Neath ; Oystermouth ; Barry Island, &c., 
 Glamorganshire. CliiFs between Tenby and Saundersfoot ; 
 
270 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Fishguard ; St. Davids ; St. Catherine's Island, &c., Pem- 
 brokeshire. Aberystwith and elsewhere, Cardiganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Llanddwyn ; South Stack Lighthouse, Holy head, 
 &c., Angiesea. Towyn, Merionethshire. Carnarvon Castle ; 
 Orme's head ; Bangor, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 MERSEY. -Eed Noses rocks, New Brighton, at the mouth of 
 the Mersey ; Hilbre island, mouth of the Dee, Cheshire. 
 Win wick stone-quarry near Warrington ; Newton ; near 
 Liverpool ; rocks near Hey sham, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Cliffs north of Scarborough, Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE, Marsden rocks ; Black-hall dean, west of Hartlepool ; 
 Teesdale, Durham. Howick, Northumberland, T. Wilcke. 
 Holy Island, B.S.E. N. Durham. 
 
 LAKES. Sea cave near Silverdale, Westmoreland. Whitehaven ; 
 St. Bee's head, Cumberland. Head of Morecambe bay, 
 North Lancashire. Isle of Man. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Colvend cliffs, Kircudbrightshire, P. Gray. 
 Port Patrick, Wigtonshire. Ayrshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Near Eyemouth, and elsewhere on the Ber- 
 wickshire coast. Near Queensferry, Edinburghshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Weems, and elsewhere on the coast of Fife- 
 shire. Eed Head, A. Croall, B.S.E. ; east of Auchmithie, 
 G. Lawson ; Montrose ; Dysart, Forfarshire. Kincardine- 
 shire. Coast of Aberdeenshire. Morayshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Isles of Bute, Islay, Cantyre, Arran, Staffa, 
 Ion a, and Skye ; Ailsa Craig. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 271 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Nigg, Ross-shire. rarr,Satheiiandshire,J5.-S'.J^. 
 
 Eocks near Wick ; near Thurso, Caithness, T. Anderson. 
 N. ISLES. Hoy and Mainland, Orkney, T. Anderson, who found 
 
 it growing on the inside of St. Magnus 3 Cathedral, from 
 
 whence it is now eradicated by repairs. 
 W. ISLES. Little Barve, Harris ; Sheant Isles. 
 ULSTER. Newcastle, Down. Isle of Eathlin. Mullaghmore, 
 
 Cavan. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Abundant along the coast. 
 LEINSTER. Howth ; Killiney bay, G. Lloyd, B.S.L., Dublin co. 
 MUNSTER. Killarney ; Derrynane, &c., Kerry. Eocks on the 
 
 south coast, Clonmel, Cork, /. Sibbald. Abundant along 
 
 the coast. 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Guernsey. Jersey. 
 
 ASPLENIUM EUTA-MUEAEIA, Lmnceus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL, Dorsetshire. Wiltshire. Isle of Wight. Hamp- 
 shire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Middlesex. Kent. Surrey. Berk- 
 shire. Buckinghamshire. Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 Northamptonshire . 
 
 SEVERN. Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. Shrop- 
 shire. Worcestershire. Staffordshire. 
 
272 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Carmarthenshire. Pembrokeshire. 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Merionethshire. Car- 
 narvonshire. 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Nottinghamshire. Derbyshire. Eut- 
 
 land. 
 
 MERSEY. Cheshire. Lancashire. 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire. 
 TYNE. Durham. Northumberland. 
 LAKES. Cumberland. Westmoreland. 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kircudbright shire. Eenfrew- 
 
 shire. Lanarkshire. 
 E. LOWLANDS. Berwickshire. Edinburghshire. Linlithgow- 
 
 shire. 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Clackmannanshire. Fifeshire. 
 
 Perthshire. Porfarshire. Kincardineshire. Aberdeen shire. 
 
 Banffshire. Morayshire. Nairnshire. 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Argyleshire. Dumbartonshire. Ailsa Craig ; 
 
 Isles of Islay and Cantyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Cromarty. Sutherlandshire. * Caithness. 
 N. ISLES. Orkney. 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 CONNAUGHT. Arran Isles. Galway. 
 MUNSTER. Cork. 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 273 
 
 ASPLENIUM SEPTENTBIONALE, Hull. 
 
 PENINSULA. Near Culbone on the borders of Somersetshire, 
 N. Ward. 
 
 THAMES. [Kent.] 
 
 N. WALES. Llan Delhyla, near Llanrwst, Denbighshire. Craig 
 Du near Llanberis ; Llyn-y-cwm ; Capel Curig ; Carnedd 
 Llewellyn, &c., Carnarvonshire. 
 
 HUMBER. Ingleborough, Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Kyloe crags, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Honister crags ; Scaw-fell; Patterdale ; Keswick; ra- 
 vine near Wastwater ; Borrowdale ; vale of Newlands, 
 Cumberland. Ambleside, Westmoreland. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Minto crags; Jedburgh, Eoxburghshire. Ar- 
 thur's Seat and other places in the neighbourhood of Edin- 
 burgh. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stenton rocks, near Dunkeld, Perthshire, 
 where occurs a variety with wedge-shaped pinnules some- 
 times mistaken for A.germanicum. [Forfarshire.] 
 
 N. ISLES. [Orkney.] 
 
 ASPLENIUM TEICHOMANES, TAnnem. 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall ; very fine in Baven's Hugo, C. A. Johns. 
 
 Devonshire; the incised form is also found. Somersetshire. 
 CHANNEL. Isle of Wight. Hampshire. Wiltshire. Dorset- 
 shire. Sussex. 
 
 T 
 
274 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Kent. Isle of Sheppey. Surrey. 
 Buckinghamshire. Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. Wor- 
 cestershire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Carmarthenshire. Pembroke. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Montgomeryshire. Me- 
 rionethshire. Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Nottinghamshire. Derbyshire. Eut- 
 land. 
 
 MERSEY. Cheshire. Lancashire. The var. incisum is found at 
 Kant Clough near Burnley. 
 
 HUMBER. -Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE . Durham . Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Westmoreland. Cumberland. Isle of Man. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire, P. Gray. Kircudbrightshire, 
 P. Gray. Eenfrewshire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Eoxburghshire. Berwickshire. Edinburgh- 
 shire. Linlithgowshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Clackmannanshire. Pifeshire. 
 Perthshire. Eorfar shire. Kincardineshire. Aberdeenshire. 
 Morayshire. Nairnshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Argyleshire. Dumbartonshire. Isles of 
 Islay and Cantyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Eoss-shire. Cromarty. Sutheiiandshire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Orkney, T. Anderson. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 275 
 
 W. ISLES. Tarbet, Harris. 
 ULSTER. -Antrim. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Arran Isles. Galway. 
 
 Common in Ireland. 
 LEINSTER. 
 
 MUNSTER. Cork. Kerry. 
 CHANNEL ISLES, Jersey. 
 
 ASPLENIUM VIRIDE, Hudson. 
 
 SEVERN. Ham Bridge, Worcestershire. Staffordshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Brecon Beacon and Trecastle Beacon, near Brecon; 
 Chapel-y-Fin ; rocks near Capel Colbren, Brecknockshire. 
 Merthyr-Tydvil ; Cilhepste waterfall, near Pont Nedd 
 Vechn ; Darran yr Ogof near Ystradgunlais, Glamor- 
 ganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Cader Idris, Merionethshire. Cwm Idwal ; Twll- 
 du; Llyn-y-cwm; Clogwyn-du-Yrarddu ; Clogwyn-y-Gar- 
 nedd, T. Butler-, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Buxton ; Cavedale ; Castleton, Derbyshire. Charley 
 forest, Beacon hill, Leicestershire. 
 
 MERSEY. Carr-edge, Cheshire. Dulesgate ; Staley, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Settle ; Craven ; Ingleborough ; Gordale ; Widdal 
 Fell, Wensley Dale ; Ogden Clough, near Halifax ; Beeth 
 Moor, Swaledale ; and other parts of Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Falcon Glints, Teesdale ; Weardale, TF. C. Tremlyan, 
 Durham. Banks of the Irthing, Northumberland. 
 
276 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 LAKES. Bocks above Patterdale; Kendall Tell, W. Christy, 
 
 B.S.E. ; Hutton Boof ; Farlton ; Arnside ; Casterton 
 
 Fell ; Mazebeck Scar, Westmoreland. Ashness Gill ; 
 
 Borrow Force ; Gilsland, Cumberland. 
 W. LOWLANDS. Bold Craig, near Moffat, W. A. Little; Grey 
 
 Mare's Tail, W. Stevens, Dumfriesshire. Palls of the 
 
 Clyde, Lanarkshire. 
 E. HIGHLANDS.- Stiiiingshire. Ben Chonzie, near Crieff ; 
 
 Blair Athol ; Ben Lawers, Perthshire. Canlochen; 
 
 Clova, Porfarshire, A. Croall, B.S.E. Cawdor woods, 
 
 Nairnshire. Aberdeenshire. 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Inverness-shire. Dunoon, and other parts of 
 
 Argyleshire. Ben Yoirlich, Dumbartonshire. Ben More, 
 
 Isle of Mull. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Assynt, Sutherlandshire. Boss-shire. 
 ULSTER. Near Lough Eask, Donegal. 
 CONN AUGHT. Ben Bulben, Sligo. 
 MUNSTER. Bandon, Cork. Turk mountain, Killarney, Kerry. 
 
 ATHYBIUM PILIX-PCEMINA, Roth. 
 
 A common species, the distribution of which is very imperfectly 
 
 recorded. 
 
 PENINSULA. Trevenna (var. convemm as rTiaeticum)^ &c., Corn- 
 wall. Devonshire ; also Salterton (a monstrous state, 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 277 
 
 approaching latifolium), H. B. M. Harris, B.S.E. So- 
 mersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Isle of Wight. Hampshire. Dorsetshire. Wilt- 
 shire. Tunbridge Wells (var. convexum), Miss Bower, 
 and elsewhere, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Kent. Portnall Park Virginia 
 Water and Shirley (var. convexum) ; Mayford (var. molle), 
 and other parts of Surrey. Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suifolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Arbury Park (with the vars. convexum and molle), 
 and in other parts of Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. 
 Newport, Monmouthshire. Worcestershire. Staffordshire. 
 Shrewsbury, &c., Shropshire (var. convexum as irriguum). 
 
 S. WALES. Brecknockshire. Glamorganshire. Carmarthen- 
 shire. Pembrokeshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Flintshire. Aber (var. 
 convexum as irriguum) , &c., Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Nottinghamshire. Derbyshire. Rutland. 
 
 MERSEY. Cheshire. Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire ; also Mickley Barrows (var. convexum). 
 
 TYNE. Northumberland. Durham. 
 
 LAKES. Keswick, Cumberland (with var. latifolium), Miss 
 Wright. Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kircudbrightshire. Ren- 
 frewshire. Lanarkshire. 
 
278 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Edinburghshire. Jedburgh, Koxburghshire 
 (var. convexum as irriguum). Berwickshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Fifeshire. Ben Lomond, 
 Stirlingshire. Sidlaw hills, and other parts of Eorfarshire. 
 Near Dalnacardoch (var. convexum as irriguum), Dr. Graham, 
 B.S.E., &c., Perthshire. Corymulzie Linn, Braemar (var. 
 crispum), W. C. Trevelyan ; also sea-cave near Aberdeen (var. 
 marinum), Dr. Dickie ; and elsewhere, Aberdeenshire. 
 Banffshire. Morayshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Inverness-shire. Argyleshire. Dumbarton- 
 shire. Isles of Islay, Canty re ; Arran (var. convexum) ; 
 Brodick (var. molle). 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Cromarty. Sutherlandshire. Caithness. 
 
 N. ISLES. Orkney, common, T. Anderson. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 ULSTER. The hill "Orah," Antrim^ 
 (var. crispum), A. Smith. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. 
 
 LEINSTER. Wicklow (var. multifldum -r 7 
 
 Yery common in Ireland. 
 oicfurcatum), D. Moore. 
 
 MUNSTER. Cork. Kerry; also Mu- 
 
 cruss, Killarney (var. convexum as 
 
 irriguum) . 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION . 279 
 
 BLECHNUM SPICANT, Both. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. Wilt- 
 shire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Kent. Surrey. Middlesex. Berk- 
 shire. Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Warwickshire. Gloucestershire ; Nailsworth (fronds 
 partially fertile), G. F. Playne. Monmouthshire. Here- 
 fordshire. Worcestershire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Brecknockshire. Glamorganshire. Carmarthen- 
 shire. Pembrokeshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Flintshire. Merio- 
 nethshire. Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Eutland. Lincolnshire. Notting- 
 hamshire. Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Cheshire. Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. TanfieldDean (segments of barren frond cut), T. Wilcke. 
 Blaydon Burn (segments bifid), T. WilcJce, Durham. 
 Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Westmoreland. Cumberland. Conistone, Lancashir 
 (fronds partially fertile), Miss Beever. 
 
280 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kir cudbright shire. Renfrew- 
 shire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Roxburghshire. Berwickshire. Edinburgh- 
 shire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Fifeshire. Kinross-shire. 
 Perthshire. Forfarshire. Kincardineshire. Aberdeen- 
 shire. Banffshire. Morayshire. Inverness-shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. W. Inverness-shire. Argyleshire. Dum- 
 bartonshire. Isles of Islay and Cantyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire. Cromarty. Sutherlandshire. 
 Caithness. 
 
 N. ISLES. Orkney. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 ULSTER. Not likely to be absent from this province, but we do 
 not find its occurrence mentioned. 
 
 CON NAUGHT. Arran Isles. 
 
 LEINSTER. Wicklow. 
 
 MUNSTER. Cork. Clare. 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 BOTRYCHIUM LUNARIA, Linnceus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cardynham, Cornwall. Near Barnstaple ; by the 
 Dart ; Haldown hill, Devonshire. Bath ; King's Weston ; 
 Hampton Cliffs, &c., Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Titchborne ; New Alresford ; Petersfield ; Somborne 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 281 
 
 near Winton ; Hinton, &c., Hampshire. Luccomb ; Shank- 
 lin, Sec., Isle of Wight. Patching ; Storrington ; Croboro' 
 Warren, &c., Sussex. Alderbury common ; near Bath, 
 within Wiltshire. Sturminster Newton, Dorsetshire. 
 
 THAMES. Dartford; Chiselhurst; Foot's Cray, and the south 
 part of Kent. Beigate; Shere; Albury; Dorking; Shirley; 
 Highdown heath near Godalming ; Farnham Park, Surrey. 
 Shotover hill ; Winchwood forest, Oxfordshire. 
 
 OUSE. Oakley Westfield, Bedfordshire. Bury, Suffolk. He- 
 veringham heath; Stratton heath; Seething, Norfolk. 
 Little Linton; Balsham; Chippenham, Cambridgeshire. 
 Halston heath ; Would field, &c., Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Moxhall ; near Coleshill Pool, Warwickshire. Glou- 
 cestershire. Duncumb and elsewhere, Herefordshire. Ab- 
 berly hill; Oversley hill near Ancester; Stourbridge, 
 Worcestershire. Cheadle ; Farley, Staffordshire. Stollerton ; 
 Titterstone Clee hill ; Ludlow, Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Wrexham, Denbighshire. Near Eod- 
 ney's Pillar, Montgomeryshire. Penmaen Mawr, Carnar- 
 vonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Rutland. Loughborough ; Market Harborough ; Ashby 
 de la Zouch ; Twycross, &c., Leicestershire. Lincolnshire. 
 Sutton on Trent ; Newstead ; Clifton; Paplewick; Norton; 
 Sherwood Forest, Nottingham. Buxton; Masson near 
 Matlock, Derbyshire. 
 
282 HISTORY OF BRITISH TERNS. 
 
 MERSEY. Near Over ; between Egremont and New Brighton ; 
 Macclesfield, &c., Cheshire. Chilburn, near Todmorden; 
 Newton ; Oldham ; Bootle, &c., Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Teesdale; Cronckley Fell; Hambleton hills; Hali- 
 fax ; Eichmond ; Settle ; Sheffield, and various other parts 
 of Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Near Shewing Shields; Hexham; Horsley, /. Bigge; 
 Tynemonth; Newcastle Town Moor, Northumberland. 
 Near Marsden rocks ; Beamish, Durham. 
 
 LAKES. Keswick; Castle Sowerby; Daleton; Flimby; As- 
 patria, &c., Cumberland. Eigmaden, and elsewhere, West- 
 moreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. About Dumfries; Drumlanrig; Barhill, Tin- 
 wald, P. Gray, Dumfriesshire. Dalscarith ; Glen of Ter- 
 regles; Douglas Hall, Colvend; and elsewhere, Kircud- 
 brightshire, P. Gray. Portpatrick, Wigtonshire. Ayr- 
 shire. Cathkin hills, Lanarkshire. Gourock, Eenfrew- 
 shire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Bernerside hill; Blackburnrigg Dean; Col- 
 dingham Moor, Berwickshire. Pentland hills and else- 
 where, Edinburghshire. Linlithgowshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Fifeshire. 
 Ben Lawers ; S. of Loch Tay ; Blair Athol ; Craig Chal- 
 liach, Perthshire. Kingoldrum, G. Lawson; Clova moun- 
 tains ; Sands of Barry ; Montrose ; Arbroath, 8cc., Forfar- 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 283 
 
 shire. Kincardineshire. Belhelvie Links ; Corsehill, &c., 
 
 Aberdeenshire. Mortlock, Banffshire, B.S.E. Morayshire. 
 
 Auldean, Nairnshire. 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Glen Croe, Argyleshire, B.S.L. Mugdock, 
 
 Dumbartonshire. Eothesay, Bute. Breeze hill, Skye. 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Eoss-shire. Wick, Caithness, rare, I 7 . Anderson. 
 N. ISLES. Orkney. Shetland. 
 ULSTER. Eoughfort ; Belfast ; Altmore glen near Cushendall ; 
 
 Black mountain, Antrim. Benyvena mountains near Ma- 
 
 gelligan, Londonderry. Scrabo, Down. 
 LEINSTER. Luggelaw, Wicklow. 
 MUNSTER. Clonmel, Cork, J.Sibbald. 
 
 CETEEACH OmCINAEUM, Willdenow. 
 
 PENINSULA. Trevenna; Truro; Newlyn; Calstock; Pentillie 
 Castle, Cornwall. Topsham ; Torquay ; Babbicombe ; 
 Plymouth, &c., Devonshire. Bristol ; Bream down ; 
 Clevedon ; Cheddar ; Weston-super-mare, &c., Somerset- 
 shire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Winchester Cathedral; Pitt near Winchester ; Netley 
 Abbey; Selborne; Botley, &c., Hampshire. Brading; 
 Carisbrooke Castle, &c., Isle of Wight, Sherborne, Dor- 
 setshire. Corsham, B.S.E., and other parts of Wiltshire. 
 Pulborough; Enfield; Hurstpierpont ; Stopham; Harden; 
 Chailey, &c., Sussex. 
 
284 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. [Middlesex.] Biverhead; Maidstone, 
 and various parts of Kent. Westbrook and Catteshall near 
 Godalming; Haslemere; Farnhain, Surrey. [Berkshire.] 
 Cowley, Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Heveringham church ; Heydon church, Norfolk. North- 
 amptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Tachebrook; Coventry, Warwickshire. Stapleton; 
 Chepstow; Cheltenham; Cirencester, &c., Gloucestershire. 
 Tintern Abbey ; Pont-y-pool, &c., Monmouthshire. Here- 
 ford; about Boss; Leominster, &c., Herefordshire. Mal- 
 vern ; Badsey near Evesham ; Wychwood forest, Worces- 
 tershire. Wetton ; Berresford ; Beeston-tor, &c., Stafford- 
 shire. Ludlow, Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Brecon; Talgarth; Crickhowel, Brecknockshire. 
 Aberdare ; Cardiff, F. Brent ; Swansea ; Gower ; Pennard 
 Castle, &c.j Glamorganshire. Carmarthenshire. Tenby; 
 Pembroke and Manorbeer castles ; Haverfordwest priory, 
 Pembrokeshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Holyhead, Anglesea. Denbighshire. Barmouth, 
 Merionethshire. Trebroth ; Bangor ; near Carnarvon, 
 Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Colwick park; Paplewick, Nottinghamshire. Dove- 
 dale ; Newton near Melbourne ; Lath-kill dale, Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Carr-edge, Cheshire. Lancaster; Club-moor near 
 Liverpool ; West Houghton ; Kellet north of Manchester, 
 Lancashire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 285 
 
 HUMBER. Eocks behind Malharn ; Kirklees park near Halifax ; 
 about Settle, Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. ArnsideKnot; Milnthorpe; Kendal; Castleton; Am- 
 bleside, Sec., Westmoreland. Sandwith ; St. Bees ; Gow- 
 barrow park, Ulswater, Cumberland. Silverdale, N. Lan- 
 cashire, T. Simpson, B.S.E. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Drumlanrig, Dumfriesshire. Orchardton Buit, 
 Kircudbrightshire, /. Fraser. Paisley, Eenfrewshire. Glas- 
 gow, Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Kinnoul hill; near Annat Cottage, G.Lawson; 
 Dens of Balthayock and Pitroddie, Perthshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Kilfinnan, Argyleshire. 
 
 ULSTER. Galgorm; Cave-hill, Antrim. Bryansford, Down. 
 Florence Court, Fermanagh. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Drumahore, Friarstown Abbey near Sligo, /. T. 
 Syme, B.S.E. Eound tower of Eoscommon between Gal- 
 way and Oughterard ; near Mohir ; Oughterard ; and many 
 other parts of Galway. Arran Isles. 
 
 LEINSTER. Marlay, co. Dublin (on granite), S. Foot, B.S.E. 
 Glendalough, Wicklow. Marble quarries at Kilkenny. 
 
 MUNSTER. Between Clonmel and Waterford, and many parts 
 of Waterford. Castle-Connel and elsewhere, Clare. Cork ; 
 Clonmel, &c., Cork. Limerick. About Killarney, Kerry. 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
286 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 CYSTOPTEBIS ALPINA, Desvaux. 
 THAMES. Wall at Low Lay ton, Essex. 
 
 TRENT. Derbyshire, Mr. H. Shepherd, | who tas sent speci . 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire, Mr. H. Shepherd, / mens thus located. 
 
 CYSTOPTEEIS FRAGILIS, Bernhardi. 
 
 PENINSULA. Exwich near Exeter, Devonshire. Cheddar cliffs 
 (with var. dentata) ; Hampton cliffs, Bath, R. Withers, 
 &c., Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Dorsetshire. Box, Wiltshire, Dr. Alexander, B.S.E. 
 (var. dentata). Tunbridge Wells, Sussex, Miss Bower (var. 
 dentata). 
 
 THAMES. Albury, Surrey. 
 
 OUSE. Yoxford ; Bungay, Suffolk. Norfolk. [Northampton- 
 shire.] 
 
 SEVERN. Near Arbury Hall (var. dentata) ; Compton Yerney, 
 Warwickshire. Near Bristol, &c., Gloucestershire. Skirrid 
 Vawr, near Abergavenny (with var. dentata) ; Wyndcliff 
 woods, TF. H. Purchas, Monmouthshire. Downton (var. 
 angustatd) ; The Dowards on the Wye (var. dentata), Here- 
 fordshire. Breedon hill ; Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. 
 Staffordshire (with var. dentata). Whitcliff near Ludlow, 
 Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Radnorshire. Brecknockshire. Pont-nedd-Vechn, 
 &c., Glamorganshire (with var. dentata). Cardiganshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 287 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea (var. dentatd). Llangollen (var. dentatd) ; 
 near Wrexham (with var. dentatd}, Denbighshire. Castle 
 Dinas, Flintshire (var. dentatd). Craig Breiddin, Mont- 
 gomeryshire (var. dentatd), W. A. Leighton, B.S.E. Bar- 
 mouth, Merionethshire. Llanberis (vars. dentata and an- 
 gustatd) ; Cwm-Idwal, Clogwyn-y-Garnedd, Penmaen Mawr 
 (var. dentata\ and elsewhere, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Oxton and Bulwell churches ; Work- 
 sop, Nottinghamshire. Fairfield (with var. dentatd) ; Dove- 
 dale (var. dentatd) Matlock baths (with vars. dentata and 
 angustatd) ; Castleton ; Lover's leap near Buxton, Derby- 
 shire. 
 
 MERSEY. Eostherne church, Cheshire. Lancashire. Var. 
 dentata in both counties. 
 
 HUMBER. About Settle (with vars. dentata and angustatd) ; Rei- 
 vaulx Abbey, Helmsley ; Egglestone bridge on the Greta ; 
 Dropping well, Knaresborough ; Castle Howard Park ; 
 Halifax ; Ayrsgarth bridge, Wensley dale (var. angustatd), 
 and many other parts of Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Cauldron snout (var. dentatd), &c., Durham. Halt- 
 whistle ; Mitford church near Morpeth (with var. dentatd), 
 . B.S.E., Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Lamplugh, /. Dickinson, B.S.E. ; and elsewhere, Cum- 
 berland. Kendal (with var. dentatd), and other parts of 
 Westmoreland. Silverdale, -N. Lancashire (var. dentata). 
 
288 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Near Hobb's Linn, Moffat dale, Dumfriesshire 
 (var. dentatd), P. Gray. [Formerly on Cluden hills, Kir- 
 cudbrightshire (var. dentatd), P. Gray.'] Calderwood, 
 Lanarkshire, T. B. Sell, B.S.E. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Coldstream; near Mains, Berwickshire. Pent- 
 land hills (var. angustatd), and elsewhere, Edinburghshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Banks of Loch Lomond, Stirlingshire (var. 
 dentatd). Castle Campbell near Dollar, Clackmannanshire. 
 Den of Balthayoch ; Glen Queich in the Ochils ; Pass of 
 Killiecrankie ; Killin, Perthshire. Glen Clova and Glen 
 Isla, Eorfarshire. Kincardineshire coast. Sea cave-near 
 Aberdeen (var. Dickieana) ; and elsewhere, .Aberdeenshire. 
 Cawdor Castle, Nairnshire. Kingussie (var. dentatd), Mo- 
 ray shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Ben Nevis, Inverness-shire (var. dentatd). 
 Dunoon, Argyleshire. Dumbartonshire. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Coul, Eoss-shire, J. Fraser, B.S.E. Suther- 
 laudshire. Morven, Caithness (var. dentatd), T. Anderson. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy, Orkney (with var. dentatd), T. Anderson. 
 
 W. ISLES. Langa, Harris, Dr. Balfour. 
 
 ULSTER. Eocks at Carrickfergus, Antrim (vox.dentata). Black 
 mountain, Down. 
 
 CONN AUGHT. Leitrim. Connemara, Galway. Sligo, near the 
 town. 
 
 MUNSTER. Brandon hill ; cliifs above Mangerton, Kerry. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 289 
 
 CYSTOPTEEIS MONTANA, Link. 
 
 N. WALES. [Found in this province (Plukenet), H. 0. Stephens.] 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Ben Lawers, W. Wilson, 1836 ; Corrach 
 
 Dh J Oufillach, in the Mhiel Oufillach mountains, between 
 
 Glen Dochart and Glen Lochay, W. Gourlie and others 
 
 in 1840, and subsequently, Perthshire. 
 
 HYMENOPHYLLTJM TUNBBIDGENSE, Smith. 
 
 PENINSULA. Bough tor near Camelford ; near Penryn, Corn- 
 wall. Bickleigh Vale ; Vixen tor, Staple tor, and Shaugh, 
 Dartmoor, Devonshire. Shepton Mallett, Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Kent. Tunbridge Wells ; Cockbush near Chi- 
 chester ; West Hoathly ; Ardingley ; Handcross ; Tilgate 
 forest, J.A. Brewer, Sussex. 
 
 SEVERN . [Staffordshire .] 
 
 S. WALES. Melincourt waterfall; Pont-nedd-Vechn, Glamor- 
 ganshire. Brecknockshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Crofnant near Harlech; Dolgelly ; Barmouth; 
 vale of Eestiniog, Merionethshire. [Anglesea.] [Car- 
 narvonshire.] 
 
 MERSEY. Near Croyden brook ; hills from Macclesfield to 
 Buxton, Cheshire. Cliviger ; Greenfield near Saddleworth ; 
 Eake Hey common near Todmorden, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER, Eskdale near Whitby; near Halifax, &c., Yorkshire. 
 
 u 
 
290 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 LAKES. Ennerdale, Cumberland, J. Dickinson, B.S.E. West- 
 moreland. Conistone, North Lancashire. 
 W. LOWLANDS. Drumlanrig, Dumfriesshire. Banks of the 
 
 Clyde, Lanarkshire. 
 E. LOWLANDS. Peeblesshire. 
 E. HIGHLANDS. [Stirlingshire.] [Perthshire.] 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Bullwood; Dunoon, Argyleshire. Banks of 
 
 Loch Lomond, Dumbartonshire. Isle of Bute, Dr. Balfour. 
 N. HIGHLANDS. [Ross-shire.] 
 CONNAUGHT. Connemara, Dr. Graham ; Ballynahinch, Dr. 
 
 Balfour, Galway. 
 LEINSTER. Dublin co., rare, B.S.E. Powerscourt ; Glencree, 
 
 and elsewhere, Wicklow. 
 MUNSTER. Clonmel, /. Sibbald-, Glengariff, Bantry, C. C. Ba- 
 
 Ungton, B.S.E., Cork. Glen Carnn, W. Andrews, B.S.E. ; 
 
 about Killarney, and elsewhere in the co. of Kerry. 
 
 HYMENOPHYLLUM UNILATEEALE, Willdenow. 
 
 PENINSULA. Bodmin; Carn Brea near Eedruth; Eough tor 
 near Camelford ; Granite tor, Cornwall. Moreton, R. J. 
 Gray, West Lynn, N. R. Ward; Vixen tor, Westman's 
 wood, and Shaugh bridge, Dartmoor; Tynemouth; Bick- 
 leigh wood, Devonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Gradbitch near Flash, Staffordshire. Treflach wood, 
 - Shropshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 291 
 
 S. WALES. Mountains of Brecknockshire. Pont Breu ; Devil's 
 bridge; Hafod, Cardiganshire. Carmarthenshire. 
 
 N.WALES. Dolgelly ; Ehaidr Du near Maentwrog; Ehaidr- 
 y-Mawddach ; Festiniog, Merionethshire. Cwm Idwal and 
 throughout the Snowdon district ; Ehaidr Mawr, near 
 Llanberis, &c., Carnarvonshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Near Bury ; Lancaster ; Greenfield ; Thevilly near 
 Burnley, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Tamer Clough, Eishworth ; Hawl Gill near Mickle- 
 ton ; Lower Harrowgate, Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Jurionside, Northumberland, B.S.E. 
 
 LAKES. Patterdale; Stock Gill force; Langdale Pikes, Amble- 
 side, Sec., Westmoreland. Keswick ; Bow Fell ; Scaw-Fell ; 
 Borrowdale ; Ennerdale, J. Dickinson ; Scale force near 
 Buttermere ; Honister Crag, &c., Cumberland. Xear 
 Conistone, Miss Beever ; Old Man mountain ; Silverdale, 
 N. Lancashire. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dalvene Pass ; Nithside ; near Penpont ; Grey 
 Mare's Tail, Moffat dale, P. Gray, Dumfriesshire. Kircud- 
 brightshire. Glen Ness, W. Dalmellington, Ayrshire, 
 Dr. M'Nab, B.S.E. Eocks above Gourock, Renfrewshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Peeblesshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. By the Eeeky Linn on the Isla, Forfarshire. 
 Dollar, Clackmannanshire. Glen Queich in the Ochils ; 
 Ben Lawers ; Pass of Loney, B.S.E. ; Finlarig Burn, near 
 
292 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Killin; rocks in the Trosachs; shores of Loch Katrine, 
 
 Perthshire. 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Crinnan; Glen Moray; Dunoon ; Glen Fin- 
 
 nart, Argyleshire. Banks of Loch Lomond ; Bowling 
 
 hills, Dumbartonshire. Ben More; Loch Spelire; Taber- 
 
 morey, Isle of Mull. Isles of Islay and Arran. 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Sutherlandshire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy, Orkney, E. Heddell. Near Ska, Unst, Shetland. 
 W. ISLES. Langa, Harris. 
 LTLSTER. By the Glenarve river near Cushendall ; Colin Glen, 
 
 Belfast, Antrim. Londonderry. Ennishowen mountains. 
 
 Donegal. Tullaghmore park ; Mourne mountains, Down. 
 
 Florence Court, Fermanagh. 
 CONNAUGHT. Connemara, Oughterard, &c., Galway. Mountains 
 
 of Mayo, J. Ball, B.S.L. 
 LEINSTER. Dublin, S. loot, B.S.E. Glendalough ; Hermitage 
 
 Glen ; Powerscourt waterfall, and other parts of Wicklow. 
 MUNSTER. Glens near Youghal, Cork. Great Blanket Island ; 
 
 Killarney, and among the mountains of Kerry. 
 
 LASTEEA CEISTATA, PresL 
 PENINSULA. [Devonshire.] 
 
 THAMES. Epping forest, Essex (uliginosa), E. Newman. [Ox- 
 fordshire.] 
 OUSE. Westleton; Bexley decoy near Ipswich, H. Bidwell, 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 293 
 
 Suffolk. Bawsey heath near Lynn (with uliginosd) ; Der- 
 singham ; Edgefield near Holt (with uliginosd) ; Eritton 
 near Yarmouth ; Surlingham broad near Norwich (appa- 
 rently with uliginosd), TT. S. Hore ; Wymondham (uliginosd), 
 Norfolk. Huntingdonshire. Bedfordshire.] 
 SEVETIN. Near Madeley, Staffordsmre. [Worcestershire.] 
 TRENT. Oxton bogs (with uliginosd) ; Bull well marshes, Not- 
 tinghamshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Wybunbury bog, Cheshire (with uliginosd). Wool- 
 ston moss near Warrington, Lancashire (uliginosd), W. 
 Wilson, B.S.L. 
 
 HUMBER. [Plumpton rocks near Knaresborough, Yorkshire, 
 according to Baines's Elora of Yorkshire, but there is 
 probably some mistake.] 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. [Aberdeenshire.] [Kincardineshire ; uliginosa.'] 
 MUNSTER. Mucruss, Killamey, Kerry (var. uliginosd), Dr. 
 Mackay. [The plant from Eathronan near Clonmel seems 
 to be rather a state of L. Filix-mas.~\ 
 
 LASTEEA DILATATA, Presl. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Lynmouth ; Torquay ; Walkhampton, 
 Sec., Devonshire. Inglishcombe wood, Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Ninham near Hyde, Isle of Wight. 
 Dorsetshire. Wiltshire. Hastings ; Tunbridge Wells, 
 Sussex. 
 
294 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 THAMES. Hertford heath; Broxbourne ; Aldenham; Hitchin, 
 &c., Hertfordshire. Eridge rocks, Kent. Chertsey ; Bag- 
 shot ; Virginia Water, and other parts of Surrey. Hamp- 
 stead, Middlesex. Epping, Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Norwich, Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Stoke heath; Stinchall; Whitley; and other parts of 
 Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. Howie hill, Eoss ; Col- 
 wall, Herefordshire. Worcestershire. Staffordshire. Shrop- 
 shire. 
 
 S. WALES. Brecknockshire. Glamorganshire. Cardiganshire. 
 Pembrokeshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Denbighshire. Flintshire. Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Black rock, Cromford moor, near 
 Matlock, Derbyshire (var. dumetorum). Lincolnshire. Not- 
 tinghamshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Lindon moss near Mobberley, Cheshire. Eisley moss 
 near Warrington ; Clough near Manchester, and elsewhere 
 on the hills (var. collina) of Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Leckby Carr ; Heckfall wood; Sheffield moor; 
 Settle ; Halifax ; Ingleborough (var. collina), and elsewhere, 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Morpeth, Northumberland. Durham. 
 
 LAKES. Near Elter water (var. collina), and elsewhere (var. 
 dumetorum), Westmoreland. Red house, Cumberland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Aryshire. Lanarkshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 295 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Roxburghshire. Berwickshire. Edinburgh- 
 shire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Clackmannan shire. Kinross- 
 shire. Eifeshire. Mountains near Crieff (as var. montana), 
 Dr. Balfour, &c., Perthshire. Eorfarshire. Kingcausie, 
 Kincardineshire, /. T. Syme. Ben-na-Baird, Aberdeenshire. 
 Banffshire. Morayshire. E. Inverriess-shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Appin, Argyleshire, /. T. Syme. Dumbarton- 
 shire. W. Inverness-shire. Goat-fell mountain, Arran (as 
 L. maculata). Dr. Deakin. Isles of Islay and Cantyre. 
 Ailsa Craig. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire. Sutherlandshire. Caithness, 
 T. Anderson. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy and other Islands of Orkney, T. Anderson. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 ULSTER. n 
 
 CONN AUGHT- !> Not likely to be absent from all these provinces. 
 
 LEINSTER. J 
 
 MUNSTER. Clonmel, Cork, /. Sibbald. 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 LASTKEA EILIX-MAS, Presl. 
 
 One of our most common Eerns, dispersed over the whole of 
 England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and found in the 
 Northern and Western Isles, and in Jersey. 
 
296 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS, 
 
 The var. incisa has been reported or seen from Combe Mar- 
 tin, Devonshire, C. C. Babington, B.S.E. ; Wiltshire ; Bridport, 
 Dorsetshire, B.S.L. ; Sturry, Kent ; Eeigate, Virginia Water, 
 Bagshot, May ford, St. Martha's near Guildford, and Button 
 Park, Surrey ; Barnet, Hertfordshire ; King's Cliffe, North- 
 amptonshire ; Cathcart hills near Glasgow, Lanarkshire ; Ben 
 Chonzie mountain near Crieff, Perthshire ; Kingcausie, Kincar- 
 dineshire, /. T. Syme. 
 
 The var. abbreviata is recorded from Ingleborough, Yorkshire, 
 6r. Pinder ; and Conistone, Lancashire, Miss Beever. 
 
 At Rathronan, Cork, occurs a small forked variety somewhat 
 resembling cristata. 
 
 LASTREA FCENISECII, Watson. 
 
 PENINSULA. Penzance ; St. Michael's mount ; Helston ; 
 Lostwithiel ; Truro, and throughout Cornwall. Chamber- 
 combe ; Ilfracombe ; Lynton ; Barristaple ; Clovelly, &c., 
 Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Tunbridge Wells ; West Hoathly, Sussex. 
 
 SEVERN . Herefordshire . 
 
 N. WALES. Merionethshire. 
 
 HUMBER. [Yorkshire.] 
 
 TYNE . [Northumberland.] 
 
 LAKES. St. Bee's head, Cumberland. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Baldovan, Kinnordy, Forfarshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 297 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Banks of Loch Lomond, Dumbartonshire. 
 Wooded rocks between Brodick and Corrie, and between 
 Lamlash and Whiting Bay, Arran, Dr. Balfour. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy, Orkney, rather common, T. Anderson. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist, Dr. Balfour. 
 
 ULSTER. Fairhead, Antrim. Near Coleraine ; Eushbrook ; 
 Garvagh, Londonderry. Banks of Lough Svvilly ; Milroy 
 bay ; Arregal hill near Donegal ; about Lough Derg, 
 Donegal. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Sligo. Foot of Nephin ; Coraan Achill ; New- 
 port ; Westport, &c., Mayo. About Clifden ; about Eound- 
 stone and Ballynahinch ; near Oughterard, Galway. 
 
 LEINSTER. Seven Churches, abundant, D. Moore, B. S. E. ; 
 Glendalough, abundant and luxuriant, Wicklow. 
 
 MUNSTER. Near Loop-head, Clare. Near Cork ; woods about 
 Glengarriff ; Clonmel, /. Sibbald, Cork. On the mountains 
 and in the woods of Kerry, especially about Killaraey, 
 Dinis Island, Cromauglan, and O'Sullivan's cascade. 
 
 LASTEEA OEEOPTEEIS, Presl. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Lynmouth, Devonshire. Near Keyn- 
 sham, &c., Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. New Forest near Lyndhurst; near Southampton, 
 Hampshire. Apse Castle, Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. 
 Wiltshire. Tilgate Forest ; Tunbridge Wells, and else- 
 where, Sussex. 
 
298 HISTOKY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 THAMES. Bell wood, Bayford ; Tring ; Broxbourne, &c., 
 Hertfordshire. Hampstead, Middlesex. Bexley ; Black- 
 heath ; Bailey's hill between Brasted and Tunbridge, Kent. 
 Witley ; Hindhead ; Cobham ; Wimbledon, and elsewhere, 
 Surrey. Shotover hill, Oxfordshire. Hartwell, Bucking- 
 hamshire. High Beech ; Little Baddow, A. Wallis, B.S.L., 
 Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Brad well, Suffolk, Near Crome, Norfolk, R. Wigliam, 
 B.S.L. Fulbourne, Teversham, &c., Cambridgeshire. Dal- 
 lington heath, Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Allesley; about Arbury Hall ; Coleshill heath; Cor- 
 ley, Warwickshire. Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, W. If. 
 Purckas. Herefordshire. Malvern hills, Worcestershire, 
 E. Lees, B.S.L. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Kadnorshire. Brecknockshire. Swansea. Glamor- 
 ganshire, T. B. Flower, B.S.E. Carmarthenshire. Cardi- 
 ganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Wrexham, Denbighshire. Flintshire. 
 Dolgelly, Merionethshire, B.S.L. Near Llanberis and 
 other parts of Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Near Twycross, Leicestershire. Kutland. Lincoln- 
 shire. Oxton and Eddingley bogs, Nottinghamshire. De- 
 thich moor ; Hiley, Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Birkenhead and Oxton, Cheshire. Near Warrington ; 
 Eochdale ; llainhill ; Gateacre, Lancashire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 299 
 
 HUMBER. Valley of the Don, near Doncaster ; Melton wood 
 near Adwick ; Escrick, near York ; Whitby ; Eichmond ; 
 Halifax ; Everley near Scarborough, Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Chapel Weardale ; Cawsey Dean near Newcastle ; by 
 the Tees, Durham. Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Keswick ; near Lodore waterfall ; Patterdale, Cumber- 
 land. Langdale and other parts of Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS, Moffat dale, Dumfriesshire, P. Gray. La- 
 narkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Ruberslaw, Roxburghshire. Pentland hills. 
 Edinburgh. Dye at Longformacus ; Banks of Whiteadder, 
 Berwickshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Ben Lomond, Stirlingshire. Clackmannan- 
 shire. Kinross-shire. Glen Isla ; Clova mountains ; Sid- 
 law hills, Eorfarshire. Craig Chailliach; by Loch Tay, 
 Perthshire. Aberdeenshire. Moray shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Argyleshire. Dumbartonshire. Isles of Islay 
 and Cantyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Sutherlandshire. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. 
 
 ULSTER. Milroy bay, Donegal. Deny. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Lough Corril, Galway. 
 
 LEINSTER. Glencree, 8. Foot, B.S.E. ; Seven Churches, D. 
 Moore, B.S.E. ; Glendalough ; and Powerscourt, Wicklow. 
 
 MUNSTER. Mangerton, Killarney, 8. P. Woodward, B.S.L., 
 Kerry. 
 
300 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 LASTEEA EIGIDA, Presl. 
 
 MERSEY. [Lancashire.] 
 
 HUMBER. Ingleborough ; Wharnside ; Attermine rocks near 
 
 Settle, Yorkshire. 
 LAKES. Arnside Knot ; Hutton Eoof crags ; Farlton Knot, 
 
 Westmoreland. Silverdale ; by the Lancaster and Kendal 
 
 Canal, N. Lancashire. 
 
 LASTEEA SPINULOSA, Presl. 
 
 The habitats of this species are not recorded sufficiently dis- 
 tinct from those of L. dilatata. 
 
 PENINSULA. About Penzance, Cornwall. Devonshire. Somer- 
 setshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Tinker's hole, Apse Castle, and else- 
 where in the Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. Tunbridge 
 Wells, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Ball's woods, Hertford ; N. Mimms ; Hatfield, &c., 
 Herts. Chiselhurst; Canterbury, Sec., Kent. Middlesex. 
 Wimbledon, * Portnall park, Virginia Water, &c., Surrey. 
 Fulmer, Buckinghamshire. Epping ; Danbury ; Cogges- 
 hall, Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Surlingham broad near Norwich, Sec., Nor- 
 folk. Eoulbourne, Cambridgeshire. Northamptonshire. 
 SEVERN. North wood, Arbury Hall ; Binley ; Eugby, War- 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 301 
 
 wickshire. Ankerberry hill, Forest of Dean (L. glandulosa), 
 W. H. PurcJias, &c., Gloucestershire. The Horls near 
 Boss, Herefordshire. Worcestershire. Needwood, Staf- 
 fordshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Brecknockshire. Glamorganshire. Carmarthen- 
 shire. 
 
 N. WALES. Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Paplewick ; Oxton bogs, Nottinghamshire. Nether- 
 scall, Leicestershire, A. Bloxam, B.S.L. Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Delamere Forest, Cheshire. Chat-moss ; Lowgill ; 
 Eisley moss near Warrington, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Sheffield ; Bichmond ; Ingleborough ; Doncaster ; 
 Leckby Carr ; Terrington Carr, Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. [?] 
 
 LAKES. Eed-house, Cumberland. Westmoreland. Isle of Man. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. [Dumfriesshire, P. Gray.] 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. [Edinburghshire.] 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. [Forfar shire.] 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. [Argyleshire.] 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Dingwall, Boss-shire, W. C. Trevelyan. 
 
 W. ISLES. North Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 LASTBEA THELYPTEBIS, Presl. 
 
 PENINSULA. Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Portsea ; Winchester, Hampshire. West Medina ; 
 
302 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Willderness ; Cridmore, &c., Isle of Wight. Tunbridge 
 Wells ; Albourne ; Amberley ; Waterdown forest ; Ore near 
 Hastings, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. North Cray; Bexley ; Ham ponds near Sandwich, 
 Kent. Leith hill ; near Godalming ; Wimbledon common ; 
 Pirbright common, Surrey. Windsor Park and Sonning- 
 hill Wells, Berkshire. Epping; Little Baddow, Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Belton; Bungay ; Hipton; Bradwell common, Suffolk. 
 Horning; St. Faith's; Upton; Filby; Holt; Edgefield, 
 Felthorpe ; Wroxham ; Dereham ; Lound near Yarmouth ; 
 about Norwich, Norfolk. Wicken and Whittlesea fens ; 
 Feversham moors ; Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire. Potton 
 marshes, Bedfordshire. Huntingdonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. [Formerly near Allesley, Warwickshire.] Hereford- 
 shire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Sketty bog; Cwmbola, Glamorganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Llwydiart lake, Pentraeth ; Beaumaris, Anglesea. 
 [Near Llanberis, Carnarvonshire.] 
 
 TRENT. Oxton and Bullwell bogs, Nottinghamshire. [Leices- 
 tershire.] 
 
 MERSEY. Newchurch bog ; Knutsford moor ; Over ; Wybun- 
 bury bog ; Harnicroft wood near Wernith, Cheshire. 
 
 HUMBER. Potterie Carr ; Askham bog ; Terrington Carr ; 
 Buttercrambe near York ; Heslington ; Doncaster ; Settle ; 
 Fens at Askern, Yorkshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 303 
 
 TYNE. Lear mouth bogs, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Keswick ; Ulleswater ; Glencoin, Cumberland. [Ha- 
 
 mersham bog, Westmoreland.] 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Eescobie ; Eestenet, Forfarshire. 
 N. ISLES. [Shetland.] 
 ULSTER. Portmore park by Lough Neagh, Antrim ; Boggy 
 
 wood at Portumna, Galway, I). Moore. 
 CONNAUGHT. Near Lough Carra, Mayo. 
 LEINSTER. Marshes at Glencree, Wicklow. 
 MUNSTEE. Marsh near Mucruss, Killarney, Kerry. 
 
 OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM, Linnceus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Slateford ; Barnstaple, Devonshire. 
 Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Strathfieldsaye ; Stoke ; Wanston, Hampshire. 
 Bembridge down ; Blackgang Chine ; West Cowes, &c., 
 Isle of Wight. Box, Dorsetshire. Long-leat, Wiltshire. 
 Highlands, Eramfield, &c., Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Bury woods, Hitchin; Elstree; Essenden, and 
 other parts of Hertfordshire. Hackney marshes ; Sion 
 lane, Isleworth ; Osterley Park, Brentford ; near Turnham 
 Green, Middlesex. West Farleigh ; Greenhithe, &c., Kent. 
 Compton ; Beddington ; Cobham ; Keigate ; Dorking, Sec., 
 Surrey. Banbury, Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Upton broad; Ellingham fen, &c., Norfolk. 
 
304 HISTORY OP BRITISH FEENS. 
 
 Wilburton ; Grant Chester ; Whit well, Cambridgeshire. 
 Bedfordshire. Huntingdonshire. 
 
 SEVEEN. Foleshill; Wellesbourne, &c., Warwickshire. Glou- 
 cestershire. Howie hill, Ross; West Hope hill; Upton 
 Bishop, &c., Herefordshire. Needwood, Staffordshire. 
 West Felton, Shropshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Wrexham, Denbighshire. 
 
 TRENT. Near Braunston ; Thringston ; Humberstone, Leices- 
 tershire. Paplewick ; Colwick, Nottinghamshire. Heanor ; 
 Breadsall, Derbyshire. 
 
 MEESEY. Alderley, Cheshire. Warrington ; Bidston marsh, 
 &c., Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBEE. Eichmond ; Settle ; Whitby ; Huddersfield, &c., 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Middleton, Durham. Hexham ; Hawthorn Dene ; 
 Halt whistle, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Westmoreland. Cumberland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Kircudbrightshire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Coldstream, Berwickshire. Dalmeny and Ar- 
 niston woods, Edinburgh. Linlithgowshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Dunfermline, Fifeshire, G. M'Nab, B.S.E. 
 Dunsinnane, Perthshire. Forfarshire. Burghead, Moray- 
 shire, G. Wilson, B.S.E. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Argyleshire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Orkney. Shetland. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 305 
 
 ULSTER. Knockagh, Carrickfergus ; near Belfast, Antrim. 
 
 CONN AUGHT. Arran Isles, Galway. 
 
 LEINSTER. Holly Park, Dublin, S. Foot, B.S.E. ; Dunsinsk, 
 
 Dublin. 
 MUNSTER. Clonmel, Cork, " found several years since by Mr. 
 
 R. Davis." 
 
 OSMUNDA KEGALIS, Linnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Common in the low boggy parts of Cornwall. 
 Dawlish ; Watermouth near Ilfracombe ; Holme Chase 
 near Ashburton, Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Frequent in the west of Hampshire. Isle of Wight. 
 Isle of Piirbeck, Dorsetshire, T. B. Salter, B.S.E. Wilt- 
 shire. Tunbridge ; U ckfield ; Buxton Park, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. [Formerly on Hampstead Heath, Middlesex.] 
 Thursley ; Hindhead ; Hambledon heath ; Ca?,sar's Camp, 
 Farnham ; Chobham ; Bagshot ; Frimley ; Esher ; Wim- 
 bledon ; Dorking ; Eeigate, //. M. Holmes, B.S.L., Sur- 
 rey. Berkshire. Buckinghamshire. Great Warley and 
 Little Warley ; Little Baddow ; Epping, Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Caistor near Yarmouth, D. Stock, B.S.L. ; 
 Horning ferry, W. J. West, B.S.L. [Gamlingay, Cam- 
 bridgeshire.] Bedfordshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Arbury ; Birmingham, and elsewhere, Warwickshire. 
 
 x 
 
306 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Worcestershire. Staffordshire. Ellesmere Lakes ; West 
 Felton, Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Swansea, Glamorganshire, G. Lawson ; Fishguard, 
 Pembrokeshire, E. Lees, B.S.L. Carmarthenshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Barmouth ; Tails of the 
 Cynvael near Festiniog, Merionethshire. Loughton bog, 
 Flintshire, Dr. Bidwell, B.S.K Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Mansfield ; Bullwell, Nottinghamshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Lindon moss near Mobberley, Cheshire. Speke 
 near Liverpool ; Chat moss ; Woolston moss, and else- 
 where near Warrington ; Poulton le Sand, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Pottery Carr, near Doncaster ; Leeds ; Askham bog ; 
 Whitby ; York, and other parts of Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Durham. Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Windermere, T. Hi/lands, B.S.L. ; Col with, H. Ford- 
 ham, B.S.L. , Westmoreland. Cumberland. Isle of Man. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. By the Manse, or White Loch, Colvend, Kir- 
 cudbrightshire, P. Gray. By the Clyde, Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Fifeshire. Kincardineshire. 
 Culross, Perthshire. Arbroath, G. Lawson ; Montrose ; 
 Kinnaird, &c., Forfarshire. Mill of Leys, G.Dickie, B.S.K, 
 and elsewhere, Aberdeenshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Glen Finnart; Dunoon; Loch Fine, N.E. of 
 Iriveravy, Argyleshire. By Loch Lomond, Dumbarton- 
 shire. Isles of Arran, Bute, Mull, and Islay. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 307 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Inchnedamff, Sutherlandshire. Boss-shire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Shetland. 
 
 W. TSLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Abundant in Connemara ; Oughterard, Galway. 
 
 Achill Island. Castlebar ; Mayo. 
 LEINSTER. Kelly's Glen, co. Dublin. 
 MUNSTER. Bandon ; Clonmel, frequent, /. Sibbald, Cork. 
 
 Letterfrack near Ballinaskellig's Bay ; Mucruss Abbey, 
 
 Killarney, Kerry. 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 POLYPODIUM ALPESTEE, Sprengel. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Mountains near Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire, 
 1841, H. C. Watson. Canlochen glen, Forfarshire, 1844, 
 H. C. Watson. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Great Corrie of Ben Aulder, Inverness-shire, 
 1841, H. C. 
 
 POLYPODIUM CALCAEEUM, Smith. 
 
 PENINSULA. Bath; Cheddar cliffs; Mendip hills; Friary 
 
 wood ; Hinton Abbey, Somersetshire. 
 CHANNEL. Box quarries; Corsham, Dr. Alexander, B.S.E. 
 
 Wiltshire. 
 
 THAMES. Oxfordshire. 
 SEVERN. Besborough common, W. H. Purckas; rocks by the 
 
308 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 Wye, near Symond's Yat, and Colwall near Whitchurch ; 
 Lydbrook in the Forest of Dean ; Windlass hill near Chel- 
 tenham ; Cleave-cloud ; Postlip hill on the Cotswolds ; 
 Cirencester, J. BucJcman ; English Bicknor, A. T. Willmot ; 
 Leigh wood near Bristol, Gloucestershire. Herefordshire 
 (planted). Worcestershire. Staffordshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Merthyr-Tydvil, Glamorganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Llanferris, Denbighshire. [Cwm-Idwal, Carnarvon- 
 shire.] 
 
 TRENT. Matlock ; Buxtori ; Bakewell, T. Butler, Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Lancaster; Shed din-dough near Barnley; Broad- 
 bank, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Ingleborough; near Settle; Anster rocks; Arncliffe; 
 Gordale; Ravenscar, Waldenhead, /. TFard, B.S.U., York- 
 shire. 
 
 TYNE. Falcon Glints, Durham, T. Simpson. 
 
 LAKES. Newbiggin wood; Gelt quarries ; Baron heath, Cum- 
 berland. Scout near Kendal ; Arnside knot ; Hutton roof; 
 Farlton knot ; Caskill kirk, Westmoreland. 
 
 POLYPODIUM DEYOPTEEIS, Unnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Mendip hills ; near Bristol ; near Bath, Somer- 
 setshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. [Petersfield, Hampshire, Dr. Bromfield.'] 
 THAMES. Cornbury quarry, Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 309 
 
 SEVERN. Berkswell, Warwickshire. Forest of Dean, Gloucester- 
 shire. Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire. Penyard park near 
 Boss; near Downton castle, by the Teme; Aymestree 
 quarry ; Shobden-hill woods, Herefordshire. Malvern hills ; 
 Shrawley wood, Worcestershire. Trentham park ; near Cot- 
 ton hall and Oakamoor ; Needwood, Staffordshire. Titter- 
 stone Glee hill ; Whitcliffe near Ludlow ; Froddesley hill, 
 Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Craig-Pwll-du, Eadnorshire. Brecon ; Trecastle ; 
 Pont Henryd, near Capel Colboen ; Ystrad Felltree, Breck- 
 nockshire, Pont Nedd-Vechn ; Scwd-y-Gladis ; Merthyr- 
 Tydvil, Glamorganshire. Ponterwyd ; Hafod, /". Riley, 
 B.S.E., &c., Cardiganshire. 
 
 N.WALES. Angiesea. Llangollen, Denbighshire. Craig- 
 Breidden ; Ph'nlymmon, Montgomeryshire. Merioneth- 
 shire. Near St. Asaph, Flintshire. Cwm-Idwal ; Llanberis ; 
 Bangor ; Ehaidr-y-Wenol, Twll-du, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Chinley hill near Chapel-le-Frith; Pleasley forges, 
 Derbyshire. Lincolnshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Hill Cliff, Cheshire. Warrington; Broadbank near 
 Colne; Dean-church Clough; Mere Clough; Cotteril Clough; 
 Lancaster; Ashworth wood, &c., Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Burley ; Brimham rocks ; Thirsk ; Ingleborough ; 
 Eeivaulx wood ; Teesdale ; Halifax ; Whitby ; Richmond ; 
 Settle, J.Talkam, B.S.L.; Brierley; Castle Howard park, 
 and many other parts of Yorkshire. 
 
310 HTSTOEY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 TYNE. Walbottle Dene; foot of the Cheviot, near Langley 
 ford, Durham. Morpeth ; Hexham ; Shewing Shields ; 
 Scotswood Dene, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Lodore near Keswick; Borrowdale; Calder bridge; 
 Wasdale; Scale force; Gillsland, Cumberland. Amble- 
 side, Hutton roof; Casterton, &c., Westmoreland. Coni- 
 stone, N. Lancashire. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Drumlanrig ; Maiden Bower craigs, &c., Dum- 
 friesshire. Cluden craigs ; hills above Dalscairth, Kircud- 
 brightshire, P. Gray. Tails of the Clyde; Calderwood, 
 T. B. Bell, B.S.E., Lanarkshire. Gourock, Eenfrewshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Wanchope, lloxburghshire, W. Scott, B.S.E. 
 Banks of the Whiteadder; Longformacus, Berwickshire. 
 Hosslyn and Auchindenny woods, and elsewhere about 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Garden den, 
 Eifeshire, R. MaugJian, B.S.E. Culross ; Ben Lawers ; 
 Killin; Dalnacardoch ; Killicrankie, H. B. M. Harris, 
 B.S.E. ; Perthshire. Sidlaw hills ; Clova mountains ; 
 Clack of the Ballock, L. Carnegie, B.S.E. Eorfarshire. 
 Inglies Maldie, Kincardineshire, A. Croall, B.S.E. Braemar, 
 Aberdeenshire. Cawdor woods, Nairnshire, /. M'Nab, 
 B.S.E. Dalwhinnie, Morayshire. 
 
 AY. HIGHLANDS. Ereuch Corrie, Strath Affarie, W. Inverness- 
 shire. By Loch Lomond ; Ben Voirlich, Dumbartonshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 311 
 
 Between Lochs Awe and Etive ; Brodick ; Dunoon, Argyle- 
 
 shire. Isle of Arran. Tobermorey, Isle of Mull, W. Christy, 
 
 B.S.E. 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire. Ferry house E. of Loch Erboll } 
 
 Sutherlandshire. 
 ULSTER, Knockleyd, Antrim, very rare. Mourne mountains, 
 
 Down. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Mam Turk, Galway. 
 MUNSTER. Mucruss, Killarney, Kerry. 
 
 POLYPODIUM PHEGOPTERIS, Linnau*. 
 
 PENINSULA. Near Tintagel, Cornwall. Sheep's tor ; Dartmoor ; 
 Ilfracombe ; Becky falls, &c., Devonshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Forest row, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. [Near Brentford, Middlesex.] [Norwood, Surrey.] 
 
 SEVERN. Forest of Dean; near Lydbrook, Gloucestershire. 
 Shobden hill woods ; Aymestree quarry, Herefordshire. 
 Ridge hill ; Madeley, &c., Staffordshire. Titterstone Glee 
 hill ; near Ludlow, Shropshire. 
 
 S.WALES. Craig-Pwll-du ; Rhayader, Radnorshire. Pont 
 Henryd near Capel Colboen ; Brecon beacon, Sec., Breck- 
 nockshire. Pont Nedd Vechn ; Scwd-y-Gladis ; Cilhepste, 
 Glamorganshire. Glynhir, near Llandebie, Camarthenshire. 
 Hafod, &c., Cardiganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Plinlymmon, Montgomeryshire. Falls of the Cyn- 
 
312 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 vael near Festiniog; Barmouth, &c., Merionethshire. 
 
 Llanrwst, Denbighshire. Cwm-Idvval; Llanberis; Aber- 
 
 glaslyn; Bangor, &c., Carnarvonshire, 
 TRENT. Buxton, Derbyshire. 
 MERSEY. Werneth, &c., Cheshire. Dean-church Clough, near 
 
 Bolton ; near Todmorden ; Philips wood, near Prestwich ; 
 
 Blackhay, Clitheroe, &c., Lancashire. 
 HUMBER. Halifax; Beckdale Helrasley; Buttercrambe moor 
 
 near York; Settle; Sheffield; Ingleborough ; and many 
 
 other parts of Yorkshire. 
 TYNE. By the Tees above Middleton ; rocks above Langley 
 
 ford ; Cawsey Dene, &c., Durham. Moors near Wallington ; 
 
 Shewing Shields ; Cheviot hills ; Hexham, Northumber- 
 land. 
 LAKES. Wardale; Borrowdale; Ennerdale; Scaw-fell; Kes- 
 
 wick ; Tindall fell, &c., Cumberland. Ambleside ; Gras- 
 
 mere; Casterton fell; Hutton roof, &c., Westmoreland. 
 
 Conistone, N. Lancashire. Isle of Man. , 
 W. LOWLANDS. Drumlanrig ; Rae hills ; Jardine hall, Dumfries- 
 shire. Dalscairth ; Mabie, Kircudbrightshire, P. Gray. 
 
 Gourock, Renfrewshire. Falls of the Clyde ; Calderwood ; 
 
 Crutherland ; Campsie near Glasgow ; Corra Lyn, &c., 
 
 Lanarkshire. 
 E, LOWLANDS. Berwickshire. Jedburgh ; Ruberslaw, Eox- 
 
 burghshire. Pentland hills ; Arniston ; Hosslyn, and Auch- 
 indenny woods, near Edinburgh. 
 
LOCAL DIST1UBUTION. 313 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Castle Campbell, near Dollar, Clackmannan- 
 shire, /. T. Syme, B.S.E. Dunfermline; Inverkeithing ; 
 Garden den, Fifeshire. Kincardineshire. Glen Queich in 
 the Ochils ; Ben Lawers ; Dalnacardoch ; Tyndrum ; Killin ; 
 Bridge of Brackland, near Callender ; Craig Chailliach, Loch 
 Tay, &c., Perthshire. Canlochen, Clova, Forfarshire. Cas- 
 tleton, Braemar, Aberdeenshire. Dalwhinnie, Moray shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Aberarder; Ben Nevis; Eed Caird hill, &c., 
 W. Inverness-shire. Dunoon ; Crinnan ; Inverary ; pass of 
 Glencroe, &c., Argyleshire. BenVoirlich; by Loch Lomond; 
 Tarbet; Arroquher, Sic., Dumbartonshire. Isles of Mull, 
 Islay, and Cantyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Kessock, Eoss-shire. Perry-house E. of Loch 
 Erboll, Sutherland. Morven, Caithness, rare, T. Anderson. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy, Orkney, T. Anderson. North Marm, Shetland. 
 
 ULSTER. By the Glenarve, near Cushendall, and other parts of 
 Antrim. Waterfall above Lough Esk, Donegal. Slieve 
 Bignian ; near Slieve Croob ; Black mountain, Down. Ness 
 glen, Londonderry. 
 
 LEINSTER. Carlingford mountain, Louth. Powerscourt water- 
 fall, Wicklow. 
 
 MUNSTER. Between Killarney and Kenmare; Mucruss, Kerry. 
 
 POLYPODIUM VULGAEE, Lmnceus. 
 This is one of our most common Ferns, dispersed throughout 
 
314 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 the United Kingdom and Ireland, and found in Jersey, and in the 
 
 Western Isles, N. Uist, Harris, and Lewis. The varieties only are 
 
 enumerated below ; cambricum ? is intended for the Irish form, so 
 
 called, which appears distinct from the true cambricum. 
 
 PENINSULA. Torquay, Devonshire (var. ? cambricum). Ched- 
 dar cliffs, Somersetshire (var. ? cambricum). 
 
 CHANNEL. Bonchurch, Isle of Wight (var. ? cambricum). 
 
 THAMES. Kent (var. serratum). Surrey (var. serratum). 
 
 SEVERN. Warwickshire (var. serratum). Whitchurch and 
 Mordiford (var. serratum) ; Goodrich Castle, Eoss, E. T. 
 Bennett (var. ? cambricum), Herefordshire. Malvern, Wor- 
 cestershire (var. serratum). 
 
 N. WALES. The var. cambricum in various parts of N. Wales. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Kircudbrightshire (var. serratum). 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Braid hill near Edinburgh (var. cambricum). 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Amin Isles (var. ? cambricum). 
 
 LEINSTER. Wood near the Dargle, Wicklow (var. ? cambricum). 
 
 MUNSTER. Killarney, Kerry (var.? cambricum). 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. [Guernsey : var. ? cambricum^] 
 
 POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM, Roth. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Lynmouth ; between Totness and 
 Ashburton, &c. (with lobatum), Devonshire. Portishead, 
 &c. (with lobatum), Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Selborne, Miss Bower (with lobatum, T. B. Salter) ; 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 315 
 
 Alresford, &c,, Hampshire. Isle of Wight (with lobatum). 
 Dorsetshire. Box quarries, Wiltshire (with lobatum, as 
 loncJdtidioides) . Henfield ; Groombridge (lobatum), Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. St. Albans; Totteridge; Hitchin; Essendon, &c., 
 Hertfordshire. Middlesex. Kent (with lobatum). May- 
 ford and Dorking (lobatum) ; and elsewhere (with lobatum), 
 Surrey. Chalfont (lobatum):, Fulmer, Buckinghamshire. 
 Berkshire (with lobatum). Oxfordshire (with lobatum). 
 Near Ongar ; Brentwood ; Chingford, and Black Notley 
 (lobatum) , Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Sudbury, &c. (with lobatum), Suffolk. Yarmouth (lo- 
 batum) ; Edgefield near Holt, Norfolk. Gamlingay, Cam- 
 bridgeshire. Bedfordshire. Northamptonshire (lobatum). 
 
 SEVERN. Stoneleigh ; Allesley ; Hollyberry end and Wyken 
 lane (all with lobatum), and elsewhere, Warwickshire. 
 Herefordshire (lobatum as loncUtidioides) . Near Bristol, 
 Gloucestershire (with lobatum). Knightwick, Worcester- 
 shire, E. Lees, B.8.L. Staffordshire (lobatum as loncMti- 
 dioides). Mannington near Cherbury, Shropshire (lobatum 
 as loncJiitidioides) . 
 
 S. WALES. Tenby, Pembrokeshire, JEJ. Lees, B.S.L. Carmar- 
 thenshire. Glamorganshire (lobatum). 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea (with lobatum). Wrexham, Denbighshire 
 (lobatum). Llyn-y-Cwm, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire (with lobatum). Mansfield ; Paplewick, 
 
316 HISTORY OP BRITISH FEKNS. 
 
 Nottinghamshire (with lobatum). Matlock, Derbyshire 
 
 (with lobatum). Lincolnshire (lobatum). 
 MERSEY. Gateacre near Liverpool ; Hail wood (with lobatum), 
 
 &c., Lancashire. Prenston, Cheshire (with lobatum). 
 HUMBER. Halifax ; Castle Howard woods ; Eichmond ; Stud- 
 ley ; Eoche Abbey, G. F. Young, B.S.L. ; Settle ; Eipon ; 
 
 Doncaster ; York ; Ingleborough (in most instances with 
 
 lobatum), Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Hexham and Scotswood Denes, Northumberland (lo- 
 batum). Cawsey Dene, &c. (with lobatum), Durham, R. 
 
 Bowman, B.S.L. 
 LAKES. Airey Force, H.Fordham, B.S.L., &c. (with lobatum), 
 
 Cumberland. Westmoreland. 
 W. LOWLANDS. Drumlanrig ; Nithsdale ; and other parts of 
 
 Dumfriesshire (with lobatuin), P. Gray. Kircudbrightshire 
 
 (with lobatum), P. Gray. Eenfrewshire. Lanarkshire 
 
 (with lobatum). 
 E. LOWLANDS. Edinburgh shire (with lobatwn). Pease Bridge, 
 
 &c., Berwickshire (with lobatuni). 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Glen Phee, Clova mountains, and other parts 
 
 of Eorfarshire (lobatuni). St. David's Fifeshire, B.S.E. 
 
 Glenfarq near Perth, Perthshire. Kincardineshire (lobatuni). 
 
 Aberdeenshire (lobatum). Morayshire (lobatum). 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Isles of Islay (with lobatum) and Cantyre 
 
 (with lobatum). 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 317 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire (lobatum). 
 
 ULSTER. Glen Colin (with lobatum), Malone (with lobatum as 
 
 loncJiitidioides) , Belfast, Antrim. 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE, Presl. 
 
 PENINSULA. Lynmouth ; between Totness and Ashburton, 
 
 Devonshire. Near Bath, Somersetshire. 
 CHANNEL. Stubbington ; Uplands ; Cattisfield, and elsewhere, 
 
 Hampshire. Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. Wiltshire. 
 
 Patching ; Findon, &c., Sussex. 
 THAMES. Panshanger ; Hatfield Wood side ; Colney ; Watford ; 
 
 Totteridge, Hertfordshire. Sturry, and elsewhere, Kent. 
 
 St. Martha's, near Guildford, Surrey. Epping, /. Ray, 
 
 B.S.L.', Springfield, Essex. 
 OUSE. Norfolk. Huntingdonshire. 
 
 SEVEEN. Bristol ; Forest of Dean, E. Lees, B.S.L., Glouces- 
 tershire, H. K. Tkwaites, B.S.L. Stoneleigh ; Berkeswell ; 
 
 Hearsall, &c., Warwickshire. Ross, Herefordshire. Eartham, 
 
 Worcestershire, E. Lees, B.S.L. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 S. WALES. Tenby, Pembrokeshire, E. Lees, B.S.L. Gower, 
 
 Glamorganshire, C. Conway, B.S.L, Cardiganshire. 
 N. WALES. Conway, Carnarvonshire. Denbighshire. 
 TRENT. Matlock, Derbyshire. Leicestershire. 
 MERSEY. Prescott ; Hail wood, Lancashire. Cheshire. 
 
318 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 HUMBER. Edlington Crags, near Adwick ; Roche Abbey, /. F. 
 
 Young, B.S.L. ; Halifax, R. Leyland y B.S.L. ; Bichmond ; 
 
 Heckfall woods ; Elland, and other parts of Yorkshire. 
 LAKES. Loughrigg Pell; Ambleside, Westmoreland. Isle of 
 
 Man. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Peasebridge, Berwickshire. 
 ULSTER. Blackstaff lane ; Colin Glen, Belfast, Antrim. 
 CONNAUGHT. Arran Isles, Galway. 
 LEINSTER. Tinnahinch, Wicklow, (7. C. Babington, B.S.E. 
 MUNSTER. Clonmel, Cork, J. Sibbald. 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 POLYSTICHUM LONCHITIS, Roth. 
 
 OUSE. [Cambridgeshire.] [Northamptonshire.] 
 
 S. WALES. [Glamorganshire.] 
 
 N. WALES. Clogwyn-y-Garnedd ; Cwm-Idwal; Twll-du; Gly- 
 
 der-Yawr ; above Llanberis, Carnarvonshire. 
 HUMBER. Langcliffe near Settle ; Attermine Scar ; Giggleswick, 
 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Palcon Glints, Teesdale ; Mazebeck Scar, Durham. 
 LAKES . [C umbeiiand .] 
 W. LOWLANDS. [Lanarkshire.] 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Ben Lomond, Stirlingshire, F. Bossey, B.S.L. 
 
 Ben Lawers ; Craig Challiach ; Glen Lyon, G. Lawson ; Ben 
 
 Chonzie near Crieff, Dr. Balfour, B.S.E. Perthshire, 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 319 
 
 Canlochen ; Glen Isla ; Glen Phee ; Glen Dole, Sec., in the 
 Clova mountains, Forfarshire. Aberdeenshire. Moray- 
 shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Ben Voirlich, Dumbartonshire. Mountains 
 near Loch Erricht, Inverness-shire. Ben More, Isle of Mull. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Raven rock near Castle Leod, Boss-shire. 
 Ben Hope, B.S.E. ; Assynt, Sutherlandshire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy-hill, Orkney (1,600 feet), very rare, T. Anderson. 
 
 ULSTER. Glen E. of Lough Eske ; Eosses and Thanet moun- 
 tain passes, Donegal. 
 
 CON NAUGHT. Glenade mountain, Leitrim. Ben Bulben, Sligo. 
 
 MUNSTER. Brandon mountain, Kerry. 
 
 PTERIS AQUILESTA, Linnaw. 
 
 The most common of our Ferns, dispersed over the whole 
 of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland; ascending to an 
 elevation of 1,470 feet. It is also common in the Orkneys ; 
 and is found in the Hebridean Islands of N. Uist, Harris, 
 and Lewis. 
 
 SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE, Symons. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Devonshire. Nettlecombe (var. poly- 
 scUdes, and Sir W. C. Trevelyans var.), &c., Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Fareham (vars. undulatum and jpolysckides), Hamp- 
 shire. Isle of Wight. Sussex. Dorsetshire. Wiltshire. 
 
320 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Middlesex. Kent. Surrey. Berk- 
 shire. Buckinghamshire. Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 Huntingdonshire. Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. Wor- 
 cestershire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Brecknockshire. Pembrokeshire. Glamorganshire. 
 Carmarthenshire . 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Nottinghamshire. Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Cheshire. Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire (with var. undulatum). 
 
 TYNE. Northumberland. Durham. 
 
 LAKES. Cumberland. Westmoreland. Isle of Man. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kir cudbright shire. Wigton- 
 shire. Ayrshire. Eenfrewshire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Edinburghshire. Berwickshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Eifeshire. Eorfarshire. Kincardineshire. 
 Aberdeenshire. Nairnshire. Morayshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Argyleshire. Isles of Islay, Cantyre, and 
 Skye. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Sutheiiandshire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Isles of Bowsay, Orkney, rare, E. Heddell. Shet- 
 land. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Galway. Arran Isles. Sligo. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 321 
 
 LEINSTER. Dublin. 
 MUNSTER. Cork. Kerry. 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 TEICHOMANES BADICANS, Swartz. 
 
 HUMBEE. [Supposed to have been formerly found at Bellbank, 
 near Bingley, Yorkshire.] 
 
 LEINSTER. Hermitage glen ; Powerscourt waterfall, Wicklow. 
 
 MUNSTER. Glendine wood, and Glenbour, Killeagh, near 
 Toughal ; Temple Michael glen, and Ballinhasy glen, near 
 Cork. Turk waterfall, Killarney ; ravine of Cromaglaun 
 mountain ; Mount Eagle, near Dingle ; Gortagaree ; Black- 
 stones in Glen Caragh ; Inveragh ; Curraan lake, Water- 
 ville, C. C. Babington, B.S.E., Kerry. 
 
 WOODSIA HYPEKBOBEA, R. Rrown. 
 
 N. WALES. Clogwyn-y-Gamedd, Snowdon, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Ben Chonzie, near Crieif, Dr.BalfoM", Catja- 
 ghiammaii, Ben Lawers ; Mael-dun-Crosk ; Craig Challiach, 
 Perthshire. Glen Isla, Dr. Balfour ; Glen Phee, Clova 
 mountains, Dr. Balfour, Forfar shire. 
 
 WOODSIA ILYENSIS, R. Brown. 
 
 N. WALES. Clogwynn-y-Garnedd ; Llyn-y-cwm, on Glyder 
 Vawr, (Carnarvonshire. 
 
 Y 
 
322 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 HUMBER. [Yorkshire.] 
 
 TYNE. Falcon Glints, and Cauldron Snout, Teesdale, Durham. 
 
 LAKES. Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Devil's Beef-tub, and hills north of Moffat, 
 P. Gray. Hills dividing Dumfries and Peeblesshires, abun- 
 dant, W. Stevens. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Ben Chonzie, near Crieff, Perthshire, Dr. Bal- 
 four. Glen Phee, Clova mountains, Forfarshire, /. Back- 
 
 LYCOPODIUM ALPINUM, Linnaeus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Somerset, A. Southby. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. 
 
 SEVERN. [Shropshire.] 
 
 S. WALES. Brecon beacon, Brecknockshire. Glamorganshire. 
 Plinlymmon, Cardiganshire. 
 
 N.WALES. Flintshire. Denbighshire. Llanidloes, Mont- 
 gomeryshire. Cader Idris, Merionethshire. Cwm-Idwal ; 
 Glyder Yawr ; Carnedd David, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Micklehurst, Cheshire. Todmorden ; Fo-edge ; 
 Mottram ; Cliviger, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Ingleborough ; Sowerby ; Cronckley Fell ; Scar- 
 borough, Sec., Yorkshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 323 
 
 TYNE. Falcon Glints, and elsewhere in Teesdale, Durham. 
 S.E. of Crag lake ; Cheviot, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Kirkston, and other parts of Westmoreland. Great 
 Gable ; Ennerdale, and other parts of Cumberland. Coni- 
 stone, N. Lancashire. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Hills W. of the vale of Dumfries. Hills above 
 Dalscairth, Kircudbrightshire. Eenfrewshire. Lanark- 
 shire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Roxburghshire. Lammermuirs ; Lambertori 
 moor, Berwickshire. Pentland hills, Edinburgh. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Fifeshire. 
 Ben Lawers ; Blair Athol ; Killin, &c., Perthshire. Sidlaw 
 hills ; Glen Dole and Glen Phee, Clova, &c., Forfarshire. 
 Bay of Nigg, Kincardineshire. Invercauld, Sec., Aber- 
 deenshire (3,600 feet). Badenoch, Morayshire. Banff- 
 shire. Nairn shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Freuch Corrie, Strath Affarie; Ben Nevis 
 (3,450 feet), &c., W. Inverness-shire. Ben Voirlich, Dum- 
 bartonshire. Ben More ; Tobermorey, Isle of Mull ; and 
 other islands of the Inner Hebrides. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire. Ben Hope (3,000 feet), Suther- 
 land. Morven, Caithness, T. Anderson. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy, Orkney, common, T. Anderson. L T nst, Shet- 
 land. 
 
 W. ISLES. Langa, Harris, Dr. Balfour. 
 
324 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 ULSTER. Belfast mountains, Antrim. Aghla ; Barnesmoor ; 
 
 Muckish, Donegal. Mourne mountains. Down. 
 MUNSTER. Mangerton ; Bandon, Kerry. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM ANNOTINUM, linnets. 
 
 N. WALES. Glyder-Vawr, above Llyn-y-cwm, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Chamwood forest, Leicestershire, A. Bloxam. 
 
 MERSEY. Eumworth moss, Lancashire, R. Withers. 
 
 TYNE. [Teesdale, Durham.] 
 
 LAKES. Bowfell, Cumberland, H. E. Smith. Langdale, West- 
 moreland, R. Rolleston. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Mountains of Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, 
 Morayshire, and BanfFshire ; as Loch-na-gar, Munth Keane, 
 Ben-na-Baird, and the Cairngorm mountains (elev. 1,500- 
 2,550 feet). Glen Dole; Clova mountains; by Loch Esk, 
 Forfar shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. French Corrie, Strath Affarie, West Inverness- 
 shire. Goat Fell, Isle of Arran. Isle of Mull. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Freevater, Eoss-shire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy hill; Eackwick, J. T. Syme, Orkney. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM CLAYATUM, Linnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Exmoor, Devonshire. Brendon hill, and elsewhere, 
 Somersetshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 325 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Dorsetshire. Wiltshire. Tilgate 
 forest, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Tring, Hertfordshire. Hampstead, Middlesex. High- 
 down heath ; Caesar's Camp, Farnham ; Woking common ; 
 between Dorking and Leith hill; Addington hills, Croydon; 
 and other parts of Surrey. Oxfordshire. [High Beech, 
 Essex.] 
 
 OUSE. Norfolk. Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 
 SEVERN. [Coleshill, Warwickshire.] Worcestershire. Staf- 
 fordshire. Stiperstone, Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Plmlymmon, Cardiganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Cader Idris, Merionethshire. Denbighshire. Snow- 
 don, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Charnwood forest, Leicestershire. Nottinghamshire. 
 Denbighshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Todmorden ; Simmons-wood Moss, Lancashire. 
 Cheshire. 
 
 HUMBER. Frequent in the N. and W. Eidings of Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Northumberland. Durham. 
 
 LAKES. Mountains of Cumberland. Langdale, Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kir cudbright shire. Renfrew- 
 shire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Peeblesshire. Roxburghshire. Pentland hills, 
 Edinburghshire, Berwickshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Fifeshire. 
 
326 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Clova mountains, Forfarshire. Perthshire. Aberdeen- 
 shire. Mortlach, Banffshire. Badenoch, Morayshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. W. Inverness-shire. Argyleshire. Dumbarton- 
 shire. Tobermorey, Isle of Mull. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS, Ben Wy vis, Eoss-shire. Sutherlandshire. Mor- 
 ven, Caithness, T. Anderson. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hoy and Eowsay, Orkney. [Shetland.] 
 
 LEINSTER. Kelly's glen; Bally nascorney, Dublin co. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM INUNDATUM, Linnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Bovey Heathfield, Devonshire. Somer- 
 setshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Titchfield ; Christchurch ; Selborne ; St. Jermyn's 
 near Eomsey, aud other parts of Hampshire. Poole, Dor- 
 setshire. Wiltshire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Keston heath; St. Paul's Cray; Chiselhurst, &c., 
 Kent. Godalming; Witley; Bagshot; Chobham; Wimble- 
 don ; Esher, &e., Surrey. Hampstead, Middlesex. Berk- 
 shire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Belton, Suffolk. S. Wootton; Norwich; Filby; Holt 
 heath ; Yarmouth, Norfolk. Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire. 
 Bedfordshire. Huntingdonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Coleshill, Warwickshire. Hartlebury, Worcester- 
 shire. Staffordshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Bogs by the Eainworth, Nottingham- 
 shire. Derbyshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 327 
 
 MERSEY. Delamere forest; Thurtaston ; Bagueley moor ; Bid- 
 
 ston, Cheshire. Lancashire. 
 HUMBER. Stockton forest ; Sandpit, Malton road near York ; 
 
 Norland Moor, near Halifax, Yorkshire. 
 LAKES. Wastwater, Cumberland. Westmoreland. 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clunie Loch; Blair Athol, Perthshire. Ar- 
 
 dorie wood, Eorfarshire. Cawdor Castle, &c.,Nairnshire. 
 
 Carse of Ardersier near Fort St. George, Morayshire. 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Inverarnon; between Luss and Inverglass, 
 
 Dumbartonshire. 
 N. HIGHLANDS Craig Darrock, Eoss-shire. Morven, Caithness, 
 
 rare, T. Anderson. 
 CONNAUGHT. Connemara, Galway. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM SELAGINOIDES, Idnnaus. 
 
 PENIN SULA. [Devonshire.] 
 
 N. WALES. Aberffraw, Anglesea. Denbighshire. Cwm-Idwal; 
 Clogwyn-du-Yrarddu ; Llanberis; Capel Curig, Carnar- 
 vonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Kinder Scout, Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. New Brighton, Cheshire. Near Southport ; Seaforth 
 common, Bootle, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Cronckley Pell ; Stockton forest ; Settle ; Eichmond ; 
 York ; Knaresborough ; WhitsunclifFe near Thirsk, &c., 
 Yorkshire. 
 
328 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 TYNE. Middleton, Teesdale; Gateshead Fell, Durham. Prest- 
 wick Carr near Ponteland, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Loughrigg; P airfield; Kirkstone, Sec., Westmoreland. 
 Borrowdale ; Keswick ; Derwentwater ; Scaw Pell, &c., 
 Cumberland. Conistone, N. Lancashire. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Grey mare's tail, and elsewhere, Dumfriesshire, 
 P. Gray. Hills above Dalscairth; Port Ling, coast of 
 Colvend, Kircudbright shire, P. Gray. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Lammermuirs; Lamberton moor, Berwick- 
 shire. Roxburgh shire. Haddingtonshire. Edinburghshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Clackmannanshire. Kinross- 
 shire. Pifeshire. Craig Challiach ; Breadalbane mountains 
 (3,000 feet), Perthshire. Caulochen; Glen Dole, Clova; 
 Sidlaw hills ; Sands of Barry, Dundee, Porfarshire. Glen 
 Callater ; Deanston, &c., Aberdeenshire. Kingussie ; Dal- 
 whynnie, Moray shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Prench Corrie, Strath Affarie, &c., W. Inver- 
 ness-shire. Dunoon, Argyleshire. Dumbartonshire. Banks 
 of Loch Sligachan, Isle of Skye. Isles of Islay and Cantyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Boss-shire. Sutherlandshire. Caithness, com- 
 mon, T. Anderson. 
 
 N. ISLES. Hovvton head, and elsewhere, Orkney. Shetland. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 ULSTER. Belfast mountains; near Larne, Antrim. Arrigal; 
 Muckish, and other hills of Donegal. Slieve Donard; 
 Mourne mountains, Down. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 
 
 CoNNAUGHT.-Hills by the Killery; Leenane; Connemara, 
 
 Galway. 
 LEtNSTEB.-Carlingford mountain, Louth. Dublin co. 
 
 LYCOPODIUM SELAGO, Linnaius. 
 PENiNSULA.-Cornwall. Sidmouth; Dartmoor, Devonshire. 
 
 Somersetshire. 
 CHANNEL.-Near Aldershot, Hampshire. Dorsetshire. Wfl 
 
 shire. Waldron down ; Tilgate forest, &c., Sussex. 
 THAMES. Highdown heath; near Cesar's Camp, Farnham, 
 
 Surrey. Shotover hill, Oxfordshire. 
 OUSE Felthorp heath ; Holt heath, Norfolk. 
 SEVERN.-tColeshill; Birmingham, Warwickshire.] Worces- 
 tershire. Staffordshire. Titterstone Glee, Shropshire. 
 S WALES.-Glamorganshire. Plinlymmon, Cardiganshire. 
 N WALES.-Anglesea. Denbighshire. Cader-Idris; betwee 
 Festiniog and Llyn Cromorddyn, Merionethshire. Llai 
 beris- Cwm-Idwal, &c., Snowdon, Carnarvonshire. 
 TBENT.-Leicestershire. Rutland. Mansfield, Nottinghamsh 
 
 Above Edale Chapel, Derbyshire. 
 MEESEY.-Bidston, Cheshire. Woolston moss, near ^ 
 
 ton; Todmorden, Lancashire. 
 HuMBEK-Settle; Halifax; Ingleborough ; Wensley 
 
 &c., Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE ._Falcon Glints, Teesdale, Durham. Prestwick Carr n 
 Ponteland; Haltwhistle ; Cheviot, Northumberland. 
 
330 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 LAKES. Skiddaw ; Ennerdale ; Helvellyn, Cumberland. West- 
 moreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Lochan moss, Dumfriesshire, P. Gray. Hills 
 above Dalscairth, and Mabie ; Criffel, Kircudbrightshire, 
 P. Gray, Renfrewshire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Roxburghshire. Belford ; Lamberton moor, &c., 
 Berwickshire. Pentland hills, Edinburghshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Pifeshire. 
 Perthshire. Glen Callater ; Stocket moor ; Ben-na-muich- 
 Dhu (4,320 ft.) ; Loch-na-gar, Aberdeenshire. Nigg, 
 Kincardineshire. Banffshire. Badenoch, Kingussie, Mo- 
 ray shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Ben Nevis, W. Inverness-shire. Dunoon, 
 Argyleshire. Goat Fell, Isle of Arran. Ben More, Isle of 
 Mull. Ben Vigors, Islay. Cantyre. Skye. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Sutherlandshire. Ben Wyvis, Eoss-shire. 
 Morveii, Caithness, T. Anderson. 
 
 N. ISLES. Kirk wall, Mainland, /. T. Syme -, Hoy, T. Anderson, 
 Orkney. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 ULSTER. Devis mountain, Antrim. Arrigal; Muckish, &c. 3 
 Donegal. Slieve Donard, Down. 
 
 LEINSTER. Dublin co. 
 
 MTJNSTEB. Mangerton ; Bandon ; Carran-Tual ; Killarney, 
 Kerry. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 331 
 
 ISOETES LACUSTRIS, Linnxus. 
 
 SEVERN. [Shropshire.] 
 
 S. WALES. Lake below Brecon beacon, Brecknockshire. Gla- 
 morganshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Lakes of Denbighshire. Merionethshire. Ogwen ; 
 Llyn-y-cwm ; Lakes of Llanberis, &c., Carnarvonshire. 
 
 HUMBER. Castle Howard lake ; Foss reservoir near Coxwould, 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Prestwick Carr, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Bydal, and other lakes of Westmoreland. Ulleswater ; 
 Eloutern Tarn, near Buttermere ; Crummock water ; Der- 
 went water ; Wastwater, &c., Cumberland. Conistone, 
 N. Lancashire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Eifeshire. Loch Tay ; Loch 
 Lubnaig, Perthshire. Loch Brandy ; Loch Whirrall, near 
 Kettin, Eorfarshire. Loch Callader, Aberdeenshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Loch Sloy, Ben Yoirlich, Dumbartonshire. 
 Lakes in the Isles of Skye and Bute. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Sutherlandshire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Kirkwall (near the sea), Orkney, T. Anderson. 
 
 ULSTER. Lakes in the Bosses, Donegal. Castle Blaney lake, 
 Monaghan. 
 
 CONN AUGHT. Lakes of Connemara. 
 
 LEINSTER. Upper Lough Bray ; Glendalough, Wickiow, 
 
332 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 PILULARIA GLOBULIFERA, Linnaua. 
 
 PENINSULA. Roche ; Marazion marsh, near Penzance, Corn- 
 wall. Blackdown ; Polwhele, Devonshii'e. Maiden down, 
 Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Lymington ; Holt forest ; Southampton ; Baddeiiey, 
 Hampshire. Between Corfe Mullein and Poole ; Sandford 
 bridge near Wareham, Dorsetshire. Warminster, Wilt- 
 shire. Piltdown ; Charley North, common ; Quaybrook 
 near Forest Row ; Chiltington, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Northaw, Hertfordshire. Tver heath; Hounslow 
 heath ; Hillingdon, Middlesex. Esher common ; near 
 Reigate; Walton -on-the-hill ; Henley Park, Pirbright ; 
 Roehampton, Surrey. 
 
 OUSE. Hopton, Suifolk. Filby ; St. Faith's Newton ; Yar- 
 mouth, Norfolk. Hinton bog, Cambridgeshire, J. PF. G. 
 Gutch, B.S.L. Fen near Peterborough, Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Coleshill Pool, Warwickshire. Staffordshire. Bo- 
 mere pool, Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Rhos Goch near Llandegly, Radnorshire. Moun- 
 tain pool near Pont Nedd-Vechn, Glamorganshire. St. 
 David's head, Pembrokeshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Near Llanfaelog, Anglesea. Llyn-Idwal; Llan- 
 beris lake, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION, 333 
 
 MERSEY. Bagueley moor ; Beam heath near Nantwich ; Bar- 
 lington heath ; Woove, Cheshire. Allerton, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Near Richmond ; Stockton forest ; Gormire pool 
 near Thirsk ; Terrington Carr, &c., Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Near Woolsingham ; Prestwick Carr, Ponteland, North- 
 umberland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. ^Kirkcudbrightshire. Rother- 
 glen, Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Pentland hills ; Braid hill marshes, Edinburgh- 
 shire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Perthshire. Slateford; Monroman moor; 
 Alyth ; near Eorfar, and other parts of Eorfarshire. Loch 
 of Drum, Kincardineshire. Morayshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Loch Lomond, Dumbartonshire. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Sutherlandshire. 
 
 ULSTER. By the Blackwater near Lough Neagh ; by the Bann, 
 below Jackson's hall, Coleraine, Antrim. 
 
 CONNAUGHT. Ballinahynch, Galway. 
 
 EQTJISETUM AEYENSE, Linncem. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. Wilt- 
 shire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Middlesex. Kent. Surrey. Ox- 
 fordshire. Berkshire. Essex. 
 
334 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 Huntingdonshire. Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. 
 Worcestershire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Pembrokeshire. Carmarthenshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Flintshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Eutland. Lincolnshire. Nottingham- 
 shire. Derbyshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Lancashire. Cheshire. 
 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Durham. Northumberland. Isle of Man. 
 
 LAKES. [No record.] 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kircudbrightshire. Lanark- 
 shire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Berwickshire. Haddingtonshire. Edinburgh- 
 shire. Linlithgowshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Clackmannanshire. Kinross- 
 shire. Fifeshire. Perthshire. Forfarshire. Kincardine- 
 shire. Aberdeenshire. Moray shire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Argyleshire. Dumbartonshire. Isles of Islay 
 and Can tyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire. Sutherlandshire. Caithness. 
 
 N. ISLES. Orkney, T. Anderson. Shetland. 
 
 W. ISLES. Eoddall, Harris. 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 335 
 
 EQUISETUM HYEMALE, Linnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. [Somersetshire.] 
 
 CHANNEL. [Near Broadstitch Abbey, Wiltshire.] 
 
 THAMES. [Middlesex.] Kent. Wanborough near Guildford, 
 Surrey. 
 
 OUSE. St. Faith's Newton ; Arming-hall wood, near Norwich, 
 Norfolk. Stretham ferry, Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire. 
 Potton marshes ; Ampthill bogs, Bedfordshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Near Middleton, Warwickshire. Pencoyed, Here- 
 fordshire. Moseley bog, Worcestershire. Staffordshire. 
 Dell at Bitterley below the Clee hills, Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Swansea, Glamorganshire, /. W. G. Gutch, B.S.L. 
 
 N. WALES. Wrexham, Denbighshire. Flintshire. 
 
 TRENT. Grace Dieu wood, Charnwood forest ; Measham, Leices- 
 tershire. Nettleworth green, near Mansfield ; Kirklington, 
 Nottinghamshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Near Arden hall ; Lally's wood, near Over ; Thurtas- 
 ton, Cheshire. Mere Clough near Manchester, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Halifax ; by the Derwent near Castle Howard ; 
 Goadland dale near W T hitby ; Hackness near Scarborough ; 
 by the Skell near Ripon ; Conesthorpe ; Bolton woods, 
 Wharfdale ; Rigby woods near Pontefract, and many other 
 parts of Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Hawthorn Dene ; Castle Eden Dene, Durham. Scots- 
 
336 HISTORY OF BRITISH PERNS. 
 
 wood Dene ; Mill green ; Heaton wood ; Felton ; W ark- 
 worth, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Sowgelt bridge, Cumberland. Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Barnbarrock, Colvend, Kircudbright shire. Ayr- 
 shire. Carra Lyn ; Calderwood, Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Eosslyn ; Lasswade ; Dalkeith, and elsewhere 
 about Edinburgh. Lamberton moor, Berwickshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Kenmore, Perthshire. Den of Airly, Forfar- 
 shire. Park ; Eanks of the Dee, Kincardineshire. Pitten- 
 driech ; Forres, Morayshire. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Eoss-shire. 
 
 ULSTER. Antrim. Tyrone. 
 
 LEINSTER. Powerscourt, Sec., Wicklow. Wood at Leislip Castle, 
 and elsewhere about Dublin. 
 
 EQUISETUM LIMOSUM, Linnceus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. Wilt- 
 shire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Middlesex. Kent. Surrey, Hertfordshire. Ox- 
 fordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 Huntingdonshire. Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Warwickshire. Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. 
 Worcestershire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 337 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Carmarthenshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Rutland. Lincolnshire. Derbyshire. 
 Nottinghamshire. 
 
 MERSEY.- Cheshire. Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Durham. Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Cumberland. Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kircudbrightshire. Renfrew- 
 shire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E, LOWLANDS. Roxburghshire. Berwickshire. Edinburgh- 
 shire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Fifeshire. 
 Perthshire. Forfarshire. Aberdeenshire. Morayshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Dumbartonshire. Loch Skyros, Islay (with 
 var. "simplex "). 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire. Caithness-shire. 
 
 N. ISLES.- Kirk wall, Orkney, /. T. Syme. 
 
 W. ISLES. N. Uist. Harris. Lewis. 
 
 ULSTER. i 
 
 CONNAUGHT. 
 
 > Common in Ireland. 
 LEINSTER. 
 
 MUNSTER. J 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
338 HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 EQUISETUM MACKAYI, Newman. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Den of Airly, Eorfarshire. Banks of the 
 
 Dee, Aberdeenshire. 
 ULSTER. Colin Glen, Belfast; "The Glens;" Calton Glen, 
 
 Antrim. Ballyharrigan Glen, Londonderry. 
 
 EQUISETUM PALUSTEE, Unnau*. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Brannton Burroughs, Devonshire (yar. 
 nudum). Weston-super-mare (var. polystacJiion) ; sands 
 at Bream (var. nudwri), Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Shanklin Chine and Cockleton (with 
 var. polystacJiion) ; Moor town, Brixton; Easton Fresh- 
 water gate, Isle of Wight. Dorsetshire. Spye Park (var. 
 polystackion) ; Purton, Wiltshire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Hertford; Stortford; Hitchin; St. Albans, Hert- 
 fordshire. Middlesex. Stoke; Woodbridge near Guildford, 
 and Richmond park (var. polystacJiion), &c., Surrey. Strat- 
 ford, Essex (var. polystacJdori). Oxfordshire. Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire. 
 Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Harts-hill (var. polystacJiion)^ &c., Warwickshire. 
 Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. Staffordshire. Worces- 
 tershire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorganshire. Carmarthenshire. Pembrokeshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 339 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Conway sands, Car- 
 narvonshire (var.polystackion). 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Eutland. Lincolnshire. Derbyshire. 
 Nottinghamshire. 
 
 MERSEY Crosby (vars. polystachion and nuduni) ; Formby 
 (var. polystachion) ; Broadbank (var. nudum\ Lancashire. 
 Cheshire. 
 
 HUMBER. Aldingham (var. nudum), and elsewhere, York- 
 shire. 
 
 TYNE. Durham. Northumberland. 
 
 LAKE s . Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Dumfriesshire. Kircudbrightshire. Lanark- 
 shire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Berwickshire. Eoxburghshire. Edinburgh- 
 shire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Stirlingshire. Clackmannanshire. Kinross- 
 shire. Fifeshire. Kincardineshire. Morayshire. Brea- 
 dalbane mountains, Perthshire (vars. polystachion and nu- 
 dum). Sands of Barry, Forfarshire (var. nudum). Braemar 
 (var. polystachion) , and elsewhere, Aberdeenshire. 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. W.Inverness-shire. Argyleshire. Isles of 
 Islay and Cantyre. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Caithness. Eoss-shire. 
 
 N. ISLES. Orkney, common, T. Anderson. 
 
 W. ISLES. Eoddal, Harris. 
 
340 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 ULSTER. Logan canal (var. poly >stacMori) ; near the Giant's 
 Causeway, Antrim. -| 
 
 CONNAUGHT. I Abundant in Ireland, especially 
 
 LEINSTER. in the north. 
 
 MUNSTER. j 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 EQUISETUM SYLYATICUM, Linnaus. 
 
 PENINSULA. Devonshire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Parsonage Lynch, Newchurch ; Apse heath, Isle of 
 Wight. Dorsetshire, Wiltshire. Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Bell wood, and Bayford wood, Hertfordshire. High 
 gate, Middlesex. Kent. Burgate, Godalming, Surrey. 
 Bagley wood, Berkshire. High Beech, Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Suffolk. Norfolk. Chesterton ; Madingley wood, Cam- 
 bridgeshire. Bedfordshire. Northamptonshire, 
 
 SEVERN. Arbury; Mosely bog near Birmingham, Warwickshire. 
 Gloucestershire. Herefordshire. Worcestershire. Staf- 
 fordshire. Benthal Edge, Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Hafod, and about the Devil's bridge, Cardiganshire. 
 Carmarthenshire. Neath, Glamorganshire, E. Lees, B.S.L. 
 
 N. WALES. Near Bala, Merionethshire. Denbighshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Eutland. Southwood near Calke 
 Abbey; Cromford moor, Derbyshire. Aspleywood; South- 
 well, Nottinghamshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 341 
 
 MERSEY. Cheshire. Hurst Clough, Manchester; Egerton 
 
 near Bolton, and elsewhere, Lancashire. 
 HUMBER. Huddersfield ; Arncliffe woods; Castle Howard; 
 
 Settle; Richmond; Leeds; Whitby; Forge Valley near 
 
 Scarborough, &c., Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Morpeth; Hexham, Northumberland. Durham. 
 LAKES. Ennerdale, &c., Cumberland. Westmoreland. 
 W. LOWLANDS, Dumfriesshire. Kireudbrightshire. Renfrew- 
 
 shire. Lanarkshire. 
 E. LOWLANDS. Houndwood; Langridge Dean, Berwickshire. 
 
 Eosslyn wood and elsewhere, Edinburgh. Roxburghshire. 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Clackmannanshire. Kinross-shire. Banks of 
 
 Bruar, Blair Athol ; Vicar's bridge ; Breadalbane mountains, 
 
 Perthshire. Montrose ; Craig, &c., Eorfarshire. Eifeshire. 
 
 Woodstone hills, Kincardineshire. Aberdeenshire. Caw- 
 dor, Nairnshire. Moray shire. 
 W. HIGHLANDS. W. Inverness-shire. By Loch Fine, Argyle- 
 
 sliire. 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Ross-shire. Sutherlandshire. 
 N. ISLES. Orkney. Shetland. 
 W. ISLES. Roddal, Harris. 
 ULSTER. Antrim. Londonderry, Donegal. 
 CONNAUGHT. Oughterard, Galway. 
 LEINSTER. Stagstown, Dublin co. Wicklow. 
 
342 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 EQUISETUM TELMATEIA, Mrhart. 
 
 PENINSULA. Cornwall. Undercliff near Sidmoutb, &c., Devon- 
 shire. Somersetshire. 
 
 CHANNEL. Hampshire. Luccomb cliff, &c., Isle of Wight. 
 Dorsetshire. Wiltshire. Hastings, Sussex. 
 
 THAMES. Hertfordshire. Hampstead, Middlesex. West Farleigh, 
 Kent. Eeigate; Norwood; Godalming, Surrey. Oxfordshire. 
 Berkshire. Buckinghamshire. Coggeshall, Warley, Essex. 
 
 OUSE. Ipswich, Suffolk. Norfolk. Cambridgeshire. Bed- 
 fordshire. Northamptonshire. 
 
 SEVERN. Woods near Arbury hall, Warwickshire. Glouces- 
 tershire. Worcestershire. Staffordshire. Shropshire. 
 
 S. WALES. Glamorgan. Carmarthenshire. Pembrokeshire. 
 
 N. WALES. Anglesea. Denbighshire. Bangor, Carnarvonshire. 
 
 TRENT. Leicestershire. Derbyshire. Nottinghamshire. 
 
 MERSEY. Poulton; Arden hall, Cheshire. Broadbank near 
 Coin ; Todmorden ; Manchester, Lancashire. 
 
 HUMBER. Arncliffe wood and elsewhere, Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Hawthorn Dene, Durham. Morpeth, Northumberland. 
 
 LAKES. Cumberland. Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Renfrewshire. Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Lamberton, between Berwick and Ayton, Ber- 
 wickshire. Eosslyn and various places about Edinburgh. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Montrose; banks of S. Esk, Forfarshire. 
 Kincardineshire. Aberdeenshire. 
 
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION. 343 
 
 W. HIGHLANDS. Campbelton, Argyleshire. Islay. Arran. 
 N. ISLES. [Orkney.] 
 ULSTER. ^ 
 
 CONNAUGHT. 
 
 } Frequent in Ireland. 
 LEINSTER. 
 
 MUNSTER. 
 
 CHANNEL ISLES. Jersey. 
 
 EQUISETUM UMBEOSUM, Willdenow. 
 
 MERSEY. [Near Mere Clough, Manchester, Lancashire.] 
 
 HUMBER. Yorkshire. 
 
 TYNE. Wynch bridge, Teesdale, Durham. Near Felton ; 
 Warkworth, Northumberland. 
 
 LA KE s . Westmoreland. 
 
 W. LOWLANDS. Bonnington woods ; woods near Corra Lyn ; 
 Finglen near Glasgow, Lanarkshire. 
 
 E. LOWLANDS. Woods on the banks of the Esk below Auchin- 
 deuny, Edinburghshire. Woodcock dale ; Belleryde, W. H. 
 Campbell, B.S.E., Linlithgowshire. 
 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Campsie Glen, Stirlingshire. Castle Camp- 
 bell woods, near Dollar, Clackmannanshire, J. T. Syme. 
 Woods near Dunfermline, Fifeshire. Glen Tilt ; Ballater ; 
 Lethen's dene, Ochils ; Glen Devon, Perthshire. Eavine 
 of the White-water, Glen Dole, Clova ; banks of the Isla, 
 Den of Airly, below Eeeky Lyn, G. Lawson ; Canlochen, 
 
844 HISTORY or BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Glen Isla; by the Caledonian Canal, near Eorfar, Eorfar- 
 shire. Aberdeenshire. Banffshire. Morayshire. 
 ULSTER. Mountain glens of Antrim ; as at Wolf hill, and Glen- 
 doon near Cushendall. 
 
 EQUISETUM VABIEGATUM, Weber and MoJir. 
 
 PENINSULA. Salcombe Cliff, Sidmouth, Devonshire. [So- 
 mersetshire.] 
 MERSEY. New Brighton, and near the Magazines, Cheshire. 
 
 Bootle sands ; Southport ; Waterloo near Liverpool (var. 
 
 arenarium), Lancashire. 
 HUMBER. Aysgarth force, Yorkshire, B.S.E. 
 TYNE. Widdy bank ; Wynch bridge ; Middleton, Teesdale ; 
 
 and elsewhere near the Tees, Durham. Northumberland. 
 LAKES. By the Irthing, at Gilsland, Cumberland. 
 W. LOWLANDS. Lanarkshire. 
 E. LOWLANDS. Near N. Berwick, Haddingtonshire. 
 E. HIGHLANDS. Sands of Barry, Dundee, Forfarshire (var. 
 
 arenarium). Banks of the Dee, Kincardineshire (with var. 
 
 Wilsoni). 
 
 N. HIGHLANDS. Tain, Eoss-shire, B.S.E. 
 LEINSTER. Portmarnock sands; Royal canal (var. Wilsoni), 
 
 both near Dublin. Wicklow, D. Moore. 
 MUNSTER. Ditch at Mucruss, Killarney, Kerry (var. Wilsoni). 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 FOLYPODIUM ALPESTRE, Sprengel. The Alpine Polypody. 
 
 This plant has exactly the habit and appearance of AtTiyrium 
 Mlix-fcemina ; and hence Mr. Newman, in proposing to make it 
 the type of a new family group, has called it Pseudathyrium 
 alpestre. It is a very elegant plant, the fronds reaching from a 
 foot to a foot and a half high, and growing terminally from a 
 short creeping rhizome. The fronds are lance-shaped, narrowed 
 to the base, and twice pinnately divided. The pinnae are lan- 
 ceolate, acuminate; the pinnules lanceolate, acute, and deeply 
 pinnatifid, with oblong sharply-serrated segments. The son are 
 produced either at the sinus of the lobes of the pinnule, and 
 thus form two distinct and distant lines parallel to, and on 
 each side the midrib ; or the little lobes bear about four son, 
 disposed in a row, on each side their midvein, and so near 
 together as to become confluent into one mass. 
 
 This species, hitherto known as a native of Switzerland, has 
 been gathered by H. C. Watson, Esq., in the Highlands of 
 
346 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Scotland. It was found so long since as 1841, but, from its 
 close resemblance to AtJiyrium Filix-fcemina, has not been till 
 just now recognized ; and it is probable that it may have been 
 gathered by many persons in many parts of the Highlands, and 
 passed by as the commoner species. The ascertained localities 
 have been thus obligingly communicated by Mr. Watson : 
 Mountains near Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire, 1841. Great Corrie 
 of Ben Aulder, Inverness-shire, 1841. Canlochen glen, Forfar- 
 shire, 1844. 
 
 This plant is no doubt the Aspidium alpestre of Hoppe ; and 
 is also the Aspidium rlicei/lcum of Swartz, and Polypodium rhteti- 
 cum of Woods, according to Newman. There is, moreover, 
 reason to believe it is the Polypodium rhceticum of Linnaeus, and 
 if this can be satisfactorily settled, the name rhaticum must 
 supersede that of alpestre. It has been already mentioned that 
 Mr. Newman constitutes it a new genus Pseudatliyrium. 
 
ADDITIONAL SYNONYMS. 
 
 The following names have been published, or more promi- 
 nently adopted, since the preceding pages were printed : 
 Atliyrium Mlix-fcemina (p. 87) is A.incisum, Newman. 
 AtJiyrium Mlix-fcemina t var. convexum (p. 89), is A. convexum, 
 
 Newman. 
 AtJiyrium Filix-fcemina, var. latifolium (p. 90), is the A.ovatum, 
 
 Roth, according to Mr. Newman ; but we do not concur in 
 
 this opinion. 
 AtJiyrium Mlix-fcemina^ var. molle (p. 90), is A. molle (Tloth), 
 
 Newman. 
 Cystopteris fragilis, var. Dickieana (p. 1 08), is C. Dickieana (Sim), 
 
 Newman. 
 
 Cystopteris montana (p. 109) is C. Allioni, Newman. 
 Lastrea cristata (p. 116) is Lophodium Callipteris, Newman, 
 Lastrea cristata, var. uliginosa (p. 121), is Lophodium uliginosum, 
 
 Newman. 
 Lastrea dilatata (p. 123) is Lophodium multiftorum, Newman. 
 
34)8 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
 
 Lastrea Filix-mas (p. 126) is LopJwdium Filix-mas, Newman. 
 Lastrea fcenisecii (p. 129) is Lophodium fcenisecii, Newman. 
 Lastrea glandulosa (p. 125) is LopJiodium glanduliferum, Newman, 
 
 and L. glandulosum, Newman. 
 
 Lastrea Oreopteris (p. 131) is HemestJieum montanum, Newman. 
 Lastrea rigida (p. 132) is LopJiodium fragrans, Newman. 
 Lastrea spinulosa (p. 134) is LopJiodium spinosum, Newman. 
 Lastrea Thelypteris (p. 136) is Hemestheum montanum, Newman. 
 Polypodium calcareum (p. 146) is Gymnocarpium Robertianum, 
 
 Newman. 
 Polypodium Dryopteris (p. 148) is Gymnocarpium Dryopteris, 
 
 Newman. 
 Polypodium Phegopteris (p. 150) is Gymnocarpium PJiegopteris> 
 
 Newman. 
 
 Polypodium vulgare (p. 152) is Ctenopteris vulgaris, Newman. 
 Pteris aquilina (p. 163) is Eupteris aquilina, Newman. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 Acrosticlmm alpinum . . . .181 
 
 hyperboreum 181 
 
 ilvense. ...... 182 
 
 septentrionale .... 80 
 
 Spicant 96 
 
 Adiantum 45, 59 
 
 Capillus-Veneris, described 54, 60 
 
 its distribution . 62, 263 
 
 its culture 62 
 
 Allosorus 44, 63 
 
 crispus, described . . . 49, 64 
 
 its distribution . 65, 264 
 
 its culture 65 
 
 Amesium germanicum .... 73 
 
 Ruta-muraria . . . . 79 
 
 septentrionale . . . . 80 
 
 Aspidium aculeatum . . . .158 
 
 angulare ....'. 160 
 
 dilatatum 123 
 
 erosum 128 
 
 Filix-mas 129 
 
 Filix-fcemina 92 
 
 fontanum 72 
 
 Halleri 72 
 
 Lonchitis 161 
 
 montanum . . . .111 
 
 Page. 
 
 Aspidium Oreopteris . . . .132 
 
 rigidum 132 
 
 spinulosum 134 
 
 Thelypteris 136 
 
 Asplenium 45, 65 
 
 acutum 69 
 
 Adiantum-nigrum, described 54, 66 
 
 its varieties . . . .68 
 
 its distribution . 68,266 
 
 its culture 69 
 
 alternifolium 73 
 
 Breynii 73 
 
 Ceterach 103 
 
 Filix-fbemina 92 
 
 fontanum, described . . . 53, 69 
 
 its distribution . 71, 268 
 
 its culture 71 
 
 germanicum, described . . 53, 72 
 
 its distribution . 73, 268 
 
 its culture 73 
 
 lanceolatum, described . . 53, 74 
 
 its distribution . 75, 268 
 
 its culture 74 
 
 marinum, described . . . 53, 76 
 
 its distribution . 76, 269 
 
 its culture 77 
 
350 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 A.melanocaulon ...... 83 
 
 obtusum ....... 69 
 
 Ruta-muraria, described . 53, 78 
 
 - its distribution . 79, 271 
 Scolopendrium ..... 174 
 septentrionale, described . 53, 79 
 
 - its distribution . . .273 
 
 - its culture ..... 80 
 
 Spicant ....... 96 
 
 Trichomaues, described . . 53, 80 
 
 - its varieties . . . 53,82 
 
 - its distribution . 82, 273 
 
 - its properties .... 82 
 
 - its culture ..... 82 
 viride, described . . . . 53, 83 
 
 - its distribution . 84, 275 
 
 - its culture ..... 84 
 Athyrium ...... 44, 84 
 
 convexum . , ..... 347 
 Filix-fcemina, described . . 52, 87 
 
 - its varieties . . . 52, 89 
 
 - its distribution , 91, 276 
 
 - its culture ..... 92 
 
 incisum ........ 347 
 
 molle ........ 347 
 
 ovatum ....... 347 
 
 Barometz, or Scythian lamb, 
 vegetable curiosity .. 
 Bleclmum ...... 
 
 boreale 
 
 Spicant, described . . . 
 
 - its distribution . 
 
 - its culture 
 BotrycMum ..... 
 
 Lunaria, described . . . 
 
 - its distribution . 
 
 - its culture 
 
 British Ferns, statistics of . 
 
 a 
 
 . 35 
 
 46, 93 
 96 
 
 55, 94 
 
 96, 279 
 
 96 
 
 47, 96 
 55, 97 
 
 99, 280 
 
 99 
 
 . 3 
 
 British ferns, literature of 
 
 Page. 
 . 5 
 
 Ceterach 45, 99 
 
 officinarum, described . 54, 100 
 
 its distribution . 102, 283 
 
 its culture 102 
 
 Classification of Terns .... 41 
 CLUB-MOSSES .... 47, 183 
 Cryptogramma crispa . . . . 65 
 Ctenopteris vulgaris . . . .347 
 
 Culture of Ferns 25 
 
 in the open air .... 25 
 
 in Wardian cases , . .26 
 
 Cyathea montana Ill 
 
 regia 105 
 
 incisa 105 
 
 Cystea regia 105 
 
 Cystopteris .... 44, 103 
 
 Allioni . . . 347 
 
 alpina, described . . . . 52, 104 
 
 its distribution . 105, 286 
 
 Dickieana 347 
 
 fragilis, described . . 51, 106 
 
 its varieties . 51, 52, 107 
 
 its distribution . 108, 286 
 
 its culture 109 
 
 montana, described . . 52, 109 
 its distribution . Ill, 289 
 
 Distribution of Ferns .... 29 
 statistics of 30 
 
 EQUISETUMS, denned . 48, 217, 221 
 
 structure of 218 
 
 uses of 220 
 
 culture of 253 
 
 Equisetum 221 
 
 arvense, described . . 57, 222 
 its distribution . 222, 333 
 
INDEX. 
 
 351 
 
 Page. 
 E. elongatum 232 
 
 Hemestheum Thelypteris . 
 HORSETAILS, defined . . 
 Hymenophyllum . . 
 tunbridgense, described . 
 its distribution 
 its culture . 
 
 Page. 
 . . 348 
 48, 217 
 46,112 
 55,113 
 114, 289 
 . . 114 
 
 hyemale, described . . 58, 226 
 its distribution . 228, 335 
 its uses 228 
 
 limosum, described . . 57, 229 
 its distribution . 229, 336 
 its uses 232 
 
 unilaterale, described 
 its distribution 
 Wilsoni 
 
 55, 114 
 115, 290 
 . . 114 
 
 Mackayi, described . . 58, 232 
 its distribution . . 23, 338 
 palustre, described . . 58, 235 
 its distribution . 235, 338 
 its varieties . . . .236 
 sylvaticum, described . 57, 238 
 its distribution . 243, 340 
 Telmateia, described . 57, 243 
 its distribution . 246, 342 
 umbrosum, described . 57, 246 
 its distribution . 249, 343 
 variegatum, described . 58, 250 
 its varieties . . 58,252 
 its distribution . 253, 344 
 Eupteris aquilina 348 
 
 Indusium 
 
 . . 18 
 
 Isoetes 
 
 48, 204 
 . 56, 205 
 . . 331 
 . . 209 
 
 lacustris, described . . 
 its distribution 
 its culture . . 
 
 TiRfSt'-peRr 
 
 44, 116 
 . . 125 
 
 collina 
 
 cristata, described . 50, 
 its distribution 
 its culture . 
 
 116,118 
 121, 292 
 121 
 
 its varieties . . 
 dilatata, described . 51, 
 its distribution 
 its culture . 
 
 51, 121 
 119, 123 
 125, 293 
 125 
 
 FILICES, defined 43 
 
 Fructification . .... 17 
 
 Genera of British Ferns . . .43 
 Germination of Ferns .... 22 
 conditions requisite for . . 22 
 
 its varieties . . 
 Dryopteris 
 
 50, 124 
 . . 150 
 
 erosa . .... 
 
 . . 128 
 
 Filix-mas, described . . 
 its varieties . . 
 its distribution 
 its culture . 
 
 50, 126 
 50, 128 
 129, 295 
 . . 129 
 . . 125 
 
 Grammitis Ceterach . . . .103 
 Groups of British Ferns ... 43 
 Gymnocarpium Dryopteris . .348 
 Phegopteris . . . 348 
 
 foenisecii, described . 51, 
 its distribution 
 
 119, 129 
 130, 296 
 . . 131 
 
 Robertianum 348 
 
 Gymnogramma Ceterach . . .103 
 the gold and silver Ferns . 3 
 
 Hemestheum montanum . . . 348 
 
 maculata 
 
 . . 125 
 
 Oreopteris, described 
 its distribution - . 
 
 50, 131 
 132, 297 
 
352 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 L. Oreopteris, its culture . . .132 
 
 Phegopteris 152 
 
 recurva 131 
 
 rigida, described .... 50, 132 
 
 its distribution . 133, 300 
 
 its culture 134 
 
 spinulosa, described 54, 118, 134 
 
 its distribution . 136, 300 
 
 its culture 136 
 
 Thelypteris, described . 50, 136 
 
 its distribution . 137, 301 
 
 its culture 137 
 
 uliginosa .... 51, 118, 121 
 
 Lepidodendrons 186 
 
 Lomaria Spicant . . . . . 96 
 Lophodium Callipteris .... 347 
 
 Filix-mas 348 
 
 foenisecii 348 
 
 fragrans 348 
 
 glanduliferum .... 348 
 
 multiflorurn 347 
 
 spinosum 348 
 
 uliginosum 347 
 
 LYCOPODIUMS, defined . . 47, 183 
 
 structure of 183 
 
 uses of 186 
 
 fossil 186 
 
 culture of 199 
 
 Lycopodium .... 47, 183 
 alpinum, described . . 56, 187 
 
 its distribution . . .189 
 
 its uses 189 
 
 annotinum, described . 56, 189 
 
 its distribution . 191, 324 
 
 clavatum, described . . 56, 191 
 
 distribution . . 193, 324 
 
 its uses 193 
 
 inundatum, described . 56, 194 
 its distribution . 194,326 
 
 Page. 
 L. selaginoides, described . 56, 195 
 
 its distribution . 196, 327 
 
 Selago, described . . 56, 196 
 
 its distribution . 196, 329 
 
 its uses 199 
 
 MARSILEACEJS, denned ... 47 
 
 Nephrodium fcenisecii . . . .131 
 Notolopeum Ceterach .... 103 
 
 Onoclea Spicant 96 
 
 OPHIOGLOSSACE^E, defined . . 46 
 OpMoglossum ... 47, 137 
 
 vulgatum 55, 138 
 
 its distribution . 139, 303 
 
 its culture 139 
 
 OSMUNDACE^, defined ... 46 
 Osmunda ..... 46,139 
 
 borealis 96 
 
 crispa 65 
 
 Lunaria 99 
 
 regalis, described . . 55, 142 
 
 its distribution . 144, 305 
 
 its culture 144 
 
 Spicant 96 
 
 PEPPERWORTS, defined . 47, 204 
 
 Pilularia 48,211 
 
 globulifera, described . 57, 212 
 
 its distribution . 216, 332 
 
 its culture 209 
 
 POLYPODIACE.E, defined ... 43 
 
 Aspidiese 44 
 
 Aspleniese 44 
 
 Dicksoniese 46 
 
 Polypodieae 43 
 
 Pteridese 45 
 
 Polypodium .... 43, 145 
 
INDEX. 
 
 353 
 
 Page. 
 
 P. aculeatum 158 
 
 alpestre, described . . . .345 
 
 its distribution . . .307 
 
 alpinum 105 
 
 calcareum, described . 49, 146 
 
 its distribution . 147, 307 
 
 its culture 147 
 
 cambricum 154 
 
 Dryopteris, described . 49, 148 
 
 its distribution . 150, 308 
 
 its culture 148 
 
 Filix-femina 92 
 
 Filix-mas 129 
 
 fontanum 72 
 
 hyperboreum 181 
 
 ilvense 182 
 
 Lonchitis 161 
 
 montanum Ill 
 
 Oreopteris 132 
 
 Phegopteris, described . 49, 150 
 
 its distribution . 150, 311 
 
 its culture 152 
 
 rigidum 132 
 
 Robertianum 147 
 
 spinulosum 134 
 
 Thelypteris 137 
 
 vulgare, described . . 49, 152 
 
 its varieties . . 49, 154 
 
 its distribution . 152, 313 
 
 its culture 154 
 
 Polystichum . . . . 44, 155 
 aculeatum, described . 51, 156 
 
 its distribution . 158, 341 
 
 its culture 158 
 
 its varieties . . 51, 157 
 
 angulare, described . . 51, 158 
 
 its varieties . . 51, 159 
 
 its distribution . 159, 317 
 
 its culture . .160 
 
 P. Lonchitis, described 
 
 its distribution 
 
 its culture . . 
 
 Preservations of Terns in 
 
 selection of . . 
 
 arrangement of . 
 
 Propagation of Ferns . 
 
 Pseudathyrium alpestre 
 
 Pteris 
 
 aquilina, described . 
 
 its varieties 
 
 its distribution 
 
 its culture . . 
 
 Page. 
 
 . 51, 160 
 . 161, 318 
 ... 161 
 herbaria 37 
 ... 37 
 ... 39 
 ... 20 
 ... 345 
 . 45, 162 
 . 54, 163 
 . 54, 167 
 . 167, 319 
 ... 167 
 
 Receptacle 16 
 
 Scolopendrium . . . 45, 168 
 
 alternifolium 73 
 
 Ceterach ....... 103 
 
 officiiiarum 174 
 
 Phyllitidis 174 
 
 Ruta-muraria 79 
 
 septentrionale 80 
 
 vulgare, described . . 54, 169 
 
 its varieties . . 54, 171 
 
 its distribution . 173, 319 
 
 its culture 173 
 
 Scythian lamb, a vegetable curiosity 3 5 
 
 Sorus 17 
 
 Spore-cases 17 
 
 Spores 17 
 
 compared with seeds . . 20 
 
 their structure .... 20 
 
 their mode of growth . . 21 
 
 Structure 7 
 
 what a Fern is .... 8, 43 
 
 root 9 
 
 stems 10 
 
 leaves, or fronds 11 
 
354 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page, 
 leaves, or fronds, great variety of 1 3 
 
 duration of .... 13 
 
 parts of 13 
 
 mode of division ... 15 
 
 aestivation of . . . . 16 
 
 venation of .... 16 
 
 stipes 14 
 
 fructification 17, 18 
 
 receptacle 16 
 
 19 
 96 
 1 
 2 
 43 
 
 internal structure 
 Struthiopteris Spicant . . . 
 Study of Perns, inducement to 
 
 best method of 
 
 Table of groups and genera 
 
 Table of species . . t . . . 49 
 
 Topographical aspect of Ferns . 30 
 
 arborescent, or tree Terns . 30 
 
 shrubby Ferns . . . . 31 
 
 herbaceous Ferns ... 31 
 
 epiphytal Ferns . . . . 32 
 
 Page. 
 Trichomanes .... 46, 174 
 
 brevisetum 178 
 
 radicans, described . . 55, 175 
 
 its variety 177 
 
 its distribution . 177, 321 
 
 its culture 178 
 
 speciosum 178 
 
 Uses of Ferns 33 
 
 food-yielding species . . 33 
 
 medicinal species ... 34 
 
 oeconomical species ... 35 
 
 Woodsia 44, 178 
 
 alpina 180 
 
 hyperborea, described . 50, 179 
 
 its distribution . 181,321 
 
 its culture 181 
 
 ilvensis, described . . 50, 181 
 its distribution . .321 
 
 Printed by Reeve and Nichols, Heathcock Court, 414, Strand. 
 
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 scription of the Plants most common to the British Isles, adapted to tin, 
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 Third Edition. Arranged in twelve chapters, each being the Botanical 
 lesson for the month. Royal 16rno. Containing twenty plates. 10y. d. 
 coloured. 
 
 " The design of this work is to furnish young persons with a Self- instructor in Botany, 
 enabling them with little difficulty to discover the scientific names of the common plants 
 they may find in their country rambles, to which are appended a few facts respecting 
 their uses, habits, &c. The plants are classed in months, the illustrations are nicely co- 
 loured, and the book is altogether an elegant as well as useful present." Illustrated 
 London News. 
 
 21. PHYCOLOG1A BRITANNICA; or, History of the British Sea-Weeds ; 
 
 containing coloured figures, and descriptions, of all the species of Algse 
 inhabiting the shores' of the British Islands. By WILLIAM HENRY 
 HARVEY, M.D., M.R.I.A., Keeper of the Herbarium of the University 
 of Dublin, and Professor of Botany to the Dublin Society. The price of 
 the work, complete, strongly bound in cloth, is as follows : 
 In three vols. royal 8vo, arranged in the order $ -.Q g 
 of publication . . . . . . * 
 
 In four vols. royal 8vo, arranged systematically*) $ j /> 
 according to the Synopsis . . . . * 
 
 A few Copies have been beautifully printed on large paper. 
 " The ' History of British Sea- weeds ' we can most faithfully recommend for its scien- 
 
LIST OF WORKS.' 5 
 
 tific, its pictorial, and its popular value ; the professed botanist will find it a work of 
 the highest character, whilst those who desire merely to know the names and history 
 of the lovely plants which they gather on the sea-shore, will find in it the faithful por- 
 traiture of every one of them." Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 
 
 " The drawings are beautifully executed by the author himself on stone, the dissec- 
 tions carefully prepared, and the whole account of the species drawn up in such a way 
 as cannot fail to be instructive, even to those who are well acquainted with the subject. 
 The greater part of our more common Algse have never been illustrated in a manner 
 agreeable to the present state of Algology." Gardeners' Chronicle. 
 
 22. POPULAR HISTORY OF BRITISH SEA-WEEDS. By the Rev. 
 DAVID LANDSBOROUGH, A.L.S., Member of the Weruerian Society of 
 Edinburgh. Second Edition. Royal 16mo. With twenty plates by 
 Fitch. 10,?. Qd. coloured. 
 
 " The book is as well executed as it is well timed. The descriptions are scientific as 
 well as popular, and the plates are clear and explicit. It is a worthy sea-side com- 
 panion a hand-book for every resident on the sea-shore." Economist. 
 
 23. TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF BRAZIL, principally through 
 
 the Northern Provinces and the Gold and Diamond Districts, during 
 the years 1836-41. By GEORGE GARDNER, M.D., F.L.S. Second 
 and Cheaper Edition. Svo. Plate and Map. Price 12s. ; bound, 18*. 
 " When camping out on the mountain-top or in the wilderness ; roughing it in his 
 long journey through the interior ; observing the very singular mode of life there pre- 
 sented to his notice ; describing the curious characters that fell under his observa- 
 tions ; the arts or substitutes for arts of the people ; and the natural productions of the 
 country ; these travels are full of attraction. The book, like the country it describes, is 
 full of new matter." Spectator. 
 
 24. ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY; or, Figures and De- 
 
 scriptions of British Funguses. By Mrs. T. J. HUSSEY. Royal 4to. 
 Ninety plates, beautifully coloured. Price 11. 12*. 6d., cloth. 
 
 f ' This is an elegant and interesting book : it would be an ornament to the drawing- 
 room table ; but it must not, therefore, be supposed that the value of the work is not 
 intrinsic, for a great deal of new and valuable matter accompanies the plates, which are 
 not fancy sketches, but so individualized and life-like, that to mistake any species seems 
 impossible. The accessories of each are significant of site, soil, and season of growth, 
 so that the botanist may study with advantage what the artist may inspect with admi- 
 ration." Morning Post. 
 
 25. ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY; containing Figures 
 
 and Descriptions of the Funguses of interest and novelty indigenous to 
 Britain. Second Series. By Mrs. HUSSEY. In Monthly Parts, price 
 5*. To be completed in twenty Parts. Coloured plates. 
 
 26. THE ESCULENT FUNGUSES OF ENGLAND. By the Rev. Dr. 
 
 BADHAM. Super-royal Svo. Price 21*., coloured plates. 
 " Such a work was a desideratum in this country, and it has been well supplied by 
 Dr. Badham ; with his beautiful drawings of the various edible fungi in his hand the 
 collector can scarcely make a mistake. The majority of those which grow in our mea- 
 dows, and in the decaying wood of our orchards and forests, are unfit for food ; and the 
 value of Dr. Badham's book consists in the fact, that it enables us to distinguish from 
 these such as may be eaten with impunity." Athenccuin. 
 
b LIST OF WORKS. 
 
 27. CURTIS'S BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. By JOHN CURTIS, F.L.S. 
 Sixteen vols. royal 8vo. 770 copper-plates, beautifully coloured. Price 
 21. (Published at 43 16*.) 
 
 28. THE VICTORIA REGIA. By Sir W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. In ele- 
 phant folio. Beautifully illustrated by W. Fitch. Reduced to 21*. 
 
 29. THE RHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYA. First Series. 
 With coloured drawings and descriptions made on the spot. By J. D. 
 HOOKER, M.D., F.R.S. Edited by Sir W. J. HOOKER, D.C.L., 
 F.R.S. Second Edition. In handsome imperial folio, with ten plates. 
 Price 21*. coloured. 
 
 " In this work we have the first results of Dr. Hooker's botanical mission to India. 
 The announcement is calculated to startle some of our readers when they know that it 
 was only last January twelvemonths that the Doctor arrived in Calcutta. That he 
 should have ascended the Himalaya, discovered a number of plants, and that they 
 should be published in England in an almost UNEQUALLED STYLE OF MAGNIFICENT 
 ILLUSTRATION, in less than eighteen months is one of the marvels of our time." 
 Athenaeum. 
 
 30. THE RHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYA. Second 
 Series. By JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER, M.D., F.R.S. Edited by Sir 
 W. J. HOOKER, M.D., F.R.S. In handsome imperial folio, with ten 
 plates. Price 25*. coloured. 
 
 31. THE RHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM- HIMALAYA. Third and 
 concluding Series. By JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER, M.D., F.R.S. 
 Edited by Sir W. J. HOOKER, M.D., F.R.S. In handsome imperial 
 folio, with ten plates. Price 25*. coloured. 
 
 32. POPULAR BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY; comprising a familiar and 
 technical description of the Birds of the British Isles. By P. H. 
 GOSSE, Author of ' The Ocean,' ' The Birds of Jamaica, 3 &c. In twelve 
 chapters, each being the Ornithological lesson for the month. In one 
 vol. royal 16mo, with twenty plates of figures. Price 10*. 6d. coloured. 
 
 " To render the subject of ornithology clear, and its study attractive, has been the 
 great aim of the author of this beautiful little volume. . . It is embellished by upwards 
 of seventy plates of British birds beautifully coloured." Morning Herald. 
 
 33. POPULAR BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY; comprising a familiar and 
 technical description of the Insects most common to the British Isles. 
 By MARIA E. CATLOW. Second Edition. In twelve chapters, each 
 being the Entomological lesson for the month. In one vol. royal 16mo, 
 with sixteen plates of figures. Price 10*. d. coloured. 
 
 " Judiciously executed, with excellent figures of the commoner species, for the use 
 
 English of above 200 of the commoner British species, together with accurate figures 
 of about 70 of those described ; and will be quite a treasure to any one just commencing 
 the study of this fascinating science." Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review. 
 
LIST OF WORKS. 7 
 
 34. THE DODO AND ITS KINDRED; or, the History, Affinities, and 
 
 Osteology of the DODO, SOLITAIRE, and other extinct birds of the 
 Islands Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon. By H. E. STRICKLAND, 
 Esq., M.A., F.R.G.S., F.G.S. ; and A. G. MELVILLE, M.D., M.R.C.S. 
 One vol. royal quarto, with eighteen plates and numerous wood illustra- 
 tions. Price 21s, 
 " The labour expended on this book, and the beautiful manner in which it is got up, 
 
 render it a work of great interest to the naturalist It is a model of how such 
 
 subjects should be treated. We know of few more elaborate and careful pieces of com- 
 parative anatomy than is given of the head and foot by Dr. Melville. The dissection is 
 accompanied by lithographic plates, creditable alike to the artist and the printer." 
 Athenaeum. 
 
 35. A CENTURY OF ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS, the Plates selected 
 
 from the Botanical Magazine. The descriptions re-written by Sir 
 WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKER, F.R.S., Director of the Royal Gardens 
 of Kew ; with Introduction and instructions for their culture by JOHN 
 CHARLES LYONS, Esq. One hundred plates, royal quarto. Price 
 Five Guineas, coloured. 
 " In the exquisite illustrations to this splendid volume, full justice has been rendered 
 
 to the oddly formed and often brilliantly coloured flowers of this curious and interesting 
 
 tribe of plants." Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review. 
 
 36. CONCHOLOGIA SYSTEMATICA; or, Complete System of Con- 
 chology. 300 plates of upwards of 1,500 figures of Shells. By 
 LOVELL REEVE, F.L.S. Two vols. 4to, cloth. Price IQl. coloured; 
 Ql. plain. 
 
 " The text is both interesting and instructive ; many of the plates have appeared be- 
 fore in Mr. Sowerby's works; but from the great expense of collecting them, and the 
 miscellaneous manner of their publication, many persons will no doubt gladly avail 
 themselves of this select and classified portion, which also contains many original 
 figures." Athenceum. 
 
 ' 37. ELEMENTS OF CONCHOLOGY; or, Introduction to the Natural 
 History of Shells and their molluscous inhabitants. By LOVELL REEVE, 
 F.L.S. Parts 1 to 10. Royal 8vo, cloth. Price 3$. Qd. Coloured 
 plates. 
 
 38. ICONES PLANTARUM ; or, Figures, with brief descriptive characters 
 
 and remarks, of new and rare Plants. By Sir W. J. HOOKER. Vol. 5, 
 8vo, cloth. Price II. Us. d. Plain plates. 
 
 39. FLORA ANTARCTICA; or, Botany of the Antarctic Voyage. By 
 
 JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER, M.D., R.N., F.R.S., &c. Two vols. royal 
 4to, 200 plates. Price 10/. 15,?. coloured; 11. iOs. plain. 
 
 40. CRYPTOGAMIA ANTARCTICA; or, Cryptogamic Botany of the 
 Antarctic Voyage. By JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER, F.R.S., &c. 
 Royal 4to. Price 4/. 4*. coloured; 21. 17*. plain. 
 
 41. THE BRITISH DESMIDIE^; or, Fresh-Water Algse. By JOHN" 
 
 RALFS, M.R.C.S. Price 36s. coloured plates. 
 
8 LIST OF WORKS. 
 
 42. CONCHYLIA DITHYRA INSULARUM BRITANNICARUM. By 
 WILLIAM TURTON, M.D. Reprinted verbatim from the original 
 edition. Large paper, price 21. 10s. 
 
 43. THE PLANETARY AND STELLAR UNIVERSE. By ROBERT 
 JAMES MANN. 12mo, cloth. Price 5s. 
 
 44. ILLUSTRATIONS of the WISDOM and BENEVOLENCE of the 
 DEITY, as, manifested in Nature. By H. EDWARDS, LL.D. Square 
 12mo, cloth. Price 2$. 6d. 
 
 Serials. 
 
 45. CURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE, by Sir WILLIAM JACKSON 
 HOOKER, F.R.S., V.P.L.S., &c., Director of the Royal Gardens of Kew. 
 In monthly numbers, each containing six plates, price 3s. Qd. coloured. 
 
 46. HOOKER'S JOURNAL OF BOTANY, and KEW GARDEN MIS- 
 CELLANY. Edited by SIR WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKER, F.R.S., 
 &c. In monthly numbers. Price Two Shillings. 
 
 47. ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY ; containing Figures 
 and Descriptions of the Funguses of interest and novelty indigenous to 
 Britain. Second Series. By Mrs. HUSSEY. In Monthly Parts, price 5s. 
 To be completed in twenty Parts. 
 
 48. NEREIS AUSTRALIS ; or, Illustrations of the Algse of the Southern 
 
 Ocean. By Professor HARVEY, M.D., M.R.I. A. To be completed in 
 Four Parts, each containing Twenty-five plates, imp. 8vo, price \l. Is. 
 Parts I. and II. recently published, coloured. 
 
 49. CONTRIBUTIONS TO ORNITHOLOGY. By SIR WILLIAM JAR- 
 DINE, Bart. Published in parts. Coloured plates. 
 
 50. CONCHOLOGIA ICONICA; or, Figures and Descriptions of the 
 Shells of Molluscous Animals. By LOVELL REEVE, F.L.S. Demy4to. 
 Monthly. Eight plates. Price 10s. coloured. 
 
 51. CURTIS'S BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. Re-issued in monthly parts, 
 each containing four plates and corresponding text. Price 3s. 6d. 
 coloured. 
 
 Printed by John Edward Taylor, Little Queen-street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. 
 
SELECTION FROM THE 
 
 BOTANICAL WORKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 EEEVE AND BENHAM, 
 5, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 PHYCOLOGIA BRITANNICA; or, History of the British Sea-Weeds; 
 containing coloured figures, and descriptions, of all the species of Algae 
 inhabiting the shores of the British Islands. By WILLIAM HENRY 
 HARVEY, M.D., M.R.I.A., Keeper of the Herbarium of the University 
 of Dublin, and Professor of Botany to the Dublin Society. The price 
 of the work, complete, strongly bound in cloth, is as follows : 
 In three vols. royal 8vo, arranged in the order $ 10 f 
 
 of publication . 
 
 In four vols. royal 8vo, arranged systematically -i -. 
 
 according to the Synopsis . . . ./*' 
 A few Copies have been beautifully printed on large paper. 
 " The ' History of British Sea- weeds ' we can most faithfully recommend for its 
 scientific, its pictorial, and its popular value ; the professed botanist will find it a 
 work of the highest character, whilst those who desire merely to know the names 
 and history of the lovely plants which they gather on the sea-shore, will find in it 
 the faithful portraiture of every one of them." Annals and Magazine of Natural 
 History. 
 
 THE VINE. Illustrated with plates. 8vo. 5*. 
 
 " Mr. Assheton Smith's place at Tedworth has long possessed a great English re- 
 putation for the excellence of its fruit and vegetables ; one is continually hearing in 
 society of the extraordinary abundance and perfection of its produce at seasons when 
 common gardens are empty, and the great world seems to have arrived at the con- 
 clusion that kitchen gardening and forcing there are nowhere excelled. We have, 
 therefore, examined, with no common interest, the work before us, for it will be 
 strange indeed if a man who can act so skilfully as Mr. Sanders should be unable to 
 offer advice of corresponding value. We have not been disappointed. Mr. Sanders's 
 directions are as plain as words can make them, and, we will add, as judicious as his 
 long experience had led us to expect. After a careful perusal of his little treatise, we 
 find nothing to object to and much to praise." Gardeners' Chronicle. 
 
 POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. By AGNES CATLOW. Second Edition, 
 revised by the Author. With twenty coloured plates. 10 s. Qd. 
 
 THE RHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYA. (Completed.} 
 With coloured drawings and descriptions made on the spot. By J. 
 D. HOOKER, M.D., F.R.S. Edited by Sir W. J. HOOKER, D.C.L., F.R.S. 
 Second Edition. In handsome imperial folio, with ten beautifully co- 
 loured plates. Part I., 21$. ; Parts II. and III., 25*. each. 
 "A most beautiful example of fine drawing and skilful colouring, while the 
 letter-press furnished by the talented author possesses very high interest. Of the 
 species of Rhododendron which he has found in his adventurous journey, some are 
 quite unrivalled in magnificence of appearance." Gardeners' Chronicle. 
 
VOICES FROM THE WOODLANDS; or, History of Forest Trees, 
 Lichens, Mosses, and Ferns. By MARY ROBERTS. With twenty 
 coloured plates by FITCH. Royal 16mo. ]0,s. Qd. 
 
 "The fair authoress of this pretty volume has shown more than the usual good 
 taste of her sex in the selection of her mode of conveying to the young interesting in- 
 struction upon pleasing topics. She bids them join in a ramble through the sylvan 
 wilds, and at her command the fragile lichen, the gnarled oak, the towering beech, 
 the graceful chestnut, and the waving poplar, discourse eloquently, and tell their re- 
 spective histories and uses." Britannia. 
 
 THE VICTORIA REGIA. By Sir W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. In elephant 
 folio. Beautifully illustrated by W. Fitch. Price 31,?. 6d. 
 " Although many works have been devoted to the illustration and description of 
 the ' Victoria Regia,' it seemed still to want one which, whilst it gave an accurate 
 botanical description of the plant, should at the same time show the natural size of 
 its gigantic flowers. This object has been aimed at by the combined labours of Sir 
 W. J. Hooker and Mr. Fitch, and with distinguished success, in the volume before 
 us. The illustrations are everything that could be desired in the shape of botanical 
 drawing." Athenaeum. 
 
 A CENTURY OF ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS, the Plates selected from 
 the Botanical Magazine. The descriptions re-written by Sir WILLIAM 
 JACKSON HOOKER, F.R.S. , Director of the Royal Gardens of Kew ; 
 with Introduction and instructions for their culture by JOHN CHARLES 
 LYONS, Esq. One hundred coloured plates, royal quarto. Price Five 
 Guineas. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY; or, Figures and De- 
 scriptions of British Funguses. By Mrs. T. J. HUSSEY. Royal 4to. 
 Ninety plates, beautifully coloured. Price 7 l&s. 6d., cloth. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY; containing Figures and 
 Descriptions of the Funguses of interest and novelty indigenous to 
 Britain. Second Series. By Mrs. HUSSEY. In Monthly Parts, 
 price 5,9. To be completed in twenty Parts. 
 
 CURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE (commenced in 1786) ; continued 
 by Sir WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKER, K.H., D.C.L., &c., Director of the 
 Royal Gardens of Kew. With observations on the culture of each 
 species, by Mr. JOHN SMITH, A.L.S., Curator of the Royal Gardens. 
 
 *#* The present Series commences with the year 1845, and is pub- 
 lished in monthly numbers, each containing six plates, price 3<y. 6d. 
 coloured, or in volumes, price 42s. 
 
 HOOKER'S JOURNAL OF BOTANY AND* KEW GARDENS 
 MISCELLANY. Edited by Sir WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKER. In 
 monthly numbers, with a plate, price One Shilling ; and in volumes, 
 price I2s. 6d. 
 
 POPULAR HISTORY OF BRITISH SEA-WEEDS, comprising all the 
 Marine Plants. By the Rev. DAVID LANDSBOROUGH, A.L.S. Second 
 Edition, revised by the Author. With twenty-two plates by Fitch. 
 10,9. Qd. coloured. 
 
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