I So ASPLENIUM EBENEUM. EBONY SPLEENWORT. 



The ancient classical name Asplenmm, or Spleen-Destroyer, 

 has, of course, no immediate connection with our harmless little 

 plant, which is not found in Europe at all. The specific name, 

 ebeneum, refers to the ebony-colored stems of the species, and is 

 more apparent in its application, although it is not really char- 

 acteristic of this fern alone, as many American ferns have stems 

 quite as dark as those of the A. ebejieum. 



The geographical range of our plant within the United States 

 is confined to the eastern slope of the continent. Its western 

 outpost, so far as we know, seems to be in the eastern part of 

 Colorado, where it was found on the Green Horn, one of the 

 peaks of the Rocky Mountains, by Rev. E. L. Greene, a very 

 acute and observing botanist. The writer of this has seen speci- 

 mens from Arkansas which had remarkably long and slender 

 leaflets, not over one eighth of an inch wide. To the south it 

 extends alonsf the mountain ranares to Quito, and it is also found 

 in South Africa. In its progress towards the west, it has not 

 been found in Kansas, although, as we have just noted, it occurs 

 in Colorado. East of Kansas it extends to the northeasterly 

 part of the United States, and towards the southeast as far as 

 Florida. 



Asplcnium ebcncuin will be found under several synonyms, 

 even in comparatively modern botanical works. Swartz, a Ger- 

 man author, who wrote on ferns in the early part of the present 

 century, called it A. polypodoidcs ; and Michaux, the celebrated 

 French collector and writer on American plants, named it 

 A. tricliomanoidcs. Alton's name, which we have given at the 

 head of this chapter, is, however, in almost universal use at the 

 present time. 



Explanation of the Plati;. — i. Full-sized plant, from an old wall in summer. — 

 2. Enlarged pinna, taken from another plant in autumn. 



