THE WALL RUE OR SPLBENWORT. 



Venation consisting of a scries of whw repeatedly forked from the base, go that there is no distinct 

 midveln, the number of branches or venules corresponding with the number of marginal teeth, 



Frueli/i^Uimi on llio Itfick of the frond, borne on the inner sides of the venule* about the centre of 

 the pinnta, Sort linear, few, sometimes simulating those of Scdopcndrixtm from being nearly opposite, 

 contiguous, and opening inwardly from each margin ; often becoming confluent. When the plants nre 

 starved, they produce small pinnules and abundant son. which are confluent over their whole under 

 surface. Indimum, a thin narrow membrane, having the five margin wavy orcrcnulate. Sj>ore<mes 

 dark brown, numerous, roundish, obovatc, coarsely reticulate. Spores roundish, strongly muriculate, 



DuraU'&n. The caudcx is perennial The frond* are produced in spring and retained through the 

 winter, until after fresh ones appear, so that the Fern is evergreen. 



The usual states of thisspecieanre easily i-ecogni8cd,t]iecharacU>reordeItoid outline, bipinnatc(livi^ioii F 

 and distinct cuneate pinnules, taken together with the small size of the entire fronds, serving to distinguish 

 these from the other Asplmiums* There arc, however, states of the plant which are not easily separated 

 from A*ffenti*itncttm t being narrow in the fronds or pinnules, and sometimes scarcely more than pinnate. 

 These slates are best distinguished by the crcnulalcindusinin, and by the line dcnticulations of the upper 

 margin, the a|Hjx of the pinnules in A.ymnnnivnm having fewer, deeper, and more unequal incisions. 



Some cultivators succeed well with this plant, but it is not generally found easy of culture. Those 

 succeed best who keep their Ferns drier than usual. The Wall Kue requires a very porous soil of sandy 

 loam, with a large proportion of old mortar and fragments of soft, brick, and to have the watering-pot 

 applied very cautiously to tho soil, and perhaps never to the leaves. The plants, too, ought to have an 

 open or elevated site, especially if in a house or frame, so that they may be continually parting with the 

 moisture supplied to them. They increase by division. 



A few variations of this species have been noticed. They are as follow ; — 



1. muUifuinm (W,). This produces occasionally a few dichotoinous fronds, but the plant is not 

 entirely dichotomous, nor is it constant under cultivation, 



2. crislatum <W.). This is jwrmancnt, and nearly all the fronds arc affected ; some are crowded or 

 tasselled at their apices ; others have their apical lobes, as it were, folded on each other, and the rachis 

 is not un frequently divided. The pinnules vary somewhat in nearly every plant It has been found by 

 Dr. Allchin near Guildford, in Surrey, and by Mr. Wollaston near Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and is rare 



3. proti/erum (W.), is a proliferous form of the foregoing ; the young plants protrude through the 

 epidermis, or are seated at the axils of the pinnules. It was found sparingly mingled with the last 



4. dmectum (W.). This is of very elegant habit ; tho pinnules are deeply incised and elongated. It 

 has been found by Mr. Wollaston in Devonshire, and by Dr. Kinahan in Ireland, and is not common- 



5. cuncaium (M.). This form, which comes from Stenton Rock, is often mistaken for A> germanicum ; 

 it is scarcely more than pinnate, with narrow pinmu cuneate below, truncate above. The texture, 

 however, is stouter than in A. gcrmanicum, the parts broader, and the apical teeth, unlike those of that 

 species, arc small and equal. Another similar form from the same place is rather more divided, and less 

 truncate; specimens similar to this Inst have been found by Dr. Allchin at Town Mailing, Kent, and 

 by Miss Wright, at Keswick. A still narrower hut analogous form has been found by Mr. Wilson in 

 Dovedalc, and by Dr. Allchin at Ennis. 



6. pinnatnm (M,). A pinnate variety, with several rhomboidal pinnae, stalked, ami crcnato-dcntatc 

 in the upper or larger half. It was found by Dr. Allchin at Mucruss. 



7. unilateral^ (M.). This was found with the last It is one-sided in its growth, developing a normal 

 pinna on one side, the rest of the frond being confused, and the rachis often excurrent and hooked at tho 

 point ; sometimes the pinna becomes an enlarged branch. The whole growth is irregular and monstrous. 

 A somewhat similar form has been gathered by Mr, Harrington, at Black Head, Clare, Ireland. 



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