GENUS 5. 



FERN FAMILY. 



i. Filix bulbifera (L.) Underw. 

 Cystopteris. Fig. 30. 



Bulblet 



Polypodium bulbiferum L. Sp. PI. 1091. 1753- 

 Cystopteris bulbifera Bernh. Schrad. Neues Journ. Bot. 



i 2 : 26. 1806. 

 Filix bulbifera Underw. Nat. Ferns, ed. 6, 119. 1900. 



Rootstock short, somewhat chaffy at the apex. 

 Stipes clustered, 4'-6' long, light-colored; blades 

 i-2i long, usually 3-pinnatifid, deltoid-lanceolate, 

 the gradually tapering narrow apex sometimes greatly 

 elongate ; pinnae numerous, oblong-ovate to lanceo- 

 late-oblong, horizontal, pinnate ; pinnules close or 

 somewhat apart, unequally oblong-ovate, obtuse, at 

 least the largest deeply pinnatifid and free, the others 

 more or less adnate and variously incised ; rachis and 

 pinnae underneath bearing large fleshy bulblets, 

 these falling and giving rise to new plants; indusia 

 short, convex, truncate. 



On wet rocks and in ravines, especially on limestone, 

 Newfoundland to Manitoba, Wisconsin and Iowa, south 

 to northern Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas. Ascends 

 to 3500 ft. in Virginia. July-Aug. 



2. Filix fragilis (L.) Underw. Brittle 

 Fern. Fig. 31. 



Polypodium fragile L. Sp. PI. 1091. 1753. 

 Cystopteris fragilis Bernh. Schrad. Neues Journ. 



Bot. I 2 : 27. 1806. 

 Filix fragilis Underw. Nat. Ferns, ed. 6, 1 19. 1900. 



Rootstock extensively creeping, chaffy, espe- 

 cially at the apex. Stipes 4'-io' long, slender, 

 brittle ; blades thin, broadly lanceolate, slightly 

 tapering below, 4'-io' long, 2-3-pinnatifid or 

 pinnate ; pinnae deltoid-lanceolate to deltoid- 

 ovate, acute, deeply pinnatifid or pinnate, the 

 segments ovate or oblong-ovate, pinnatifid or 

 incised, acutish, mostly decurrent upon the 

 usually winged rachis ; indusia roundish or 

 nearly ovate, deeply convex, delicate. 



On rocks and in moist grassy woods, New- 

 foundland and Labrador to Alaska, south to 

 Georgia, Alabama, Kansas, Arizona, and southern 

 California. Also in Greenland. Almost cosmo- 

 politan in distribution and very variable. As- 

 cends to 5000 ft. in New Hampshire. May-July. 

 Called also Bottle-, Brittle-, or Bladder-fern. 



3. Filix montana (Lam.) Underw. 

 Mountain Cystopteris. Fig. 32. 



Polypodium montanum Lam. Fl. Franc, i : 23. 



1778. 

 Cystopteris montana Bernh. ; Desv. Mem. Soc. 



Linn. Paris 6: 264. 1827. 

 Filix montana Underw. Nat. Ferns, ed. 6, 119. 



1900. 



Rootstock slender, widely creeping, the 

 leaves few and distant. Stipes 6'-o/ long, 

 slender ; blades broadly deltoid-ovate, 3-4-pin- 

 nate, about 4'-6' long and broad, the basal 

 pinnae much the largest, unequally deltoid- 

 ovate, their inferior pinnules i'-2' long; pin- 

 nules deeply divided into oblong or ovate- 

 oblong lobes, these deeply toothed or again 

 pinnate ; sori numerous ; indusia ovate, deeply 

 convex, delicate, very early thrust back and 

 concealed or evanescent. 



On rocks, Labrador and Quebec to British 

 Columbia and Alaska, south to the northern shore 

 of Lake Superior. Also in Colorado, and in 

 northern Europe and Asia. . Aug. Called also 

 Wilson's-, Mountain-, or Bladder-fern. 



