466 BOTKYCHIIOI. 



contracted into a compound spike. This is one of the few ferns witii climbing 

 stems, and the only one found in the U. S. Plant of a slender and delicate 

 structure, smooth. Stem 3—4 feet long. Stipes alternate on tlie stem, fork- 

 ed, supporting a pair of fronds which are palmately divided into 5 — 'J segments. 

 Fertile fronda terminal, numerously subdivided into linear-oblong segments 

 or spikelets, with the fruit in 2 rows on the back. Mass. Rare. July. 



Tribe 3. OP?IIOGLOSSE^. 



Tltecft \-celkd aJnate at base, subglobose, coriaceous, opaque, hcdf-i-valveil, 7Wt cellular, and 

 ' dtslitute of a ring. 



13. OFHIOGLO'SSU M. 

 ThecEe roundish, opening transvcrsel}', connate, arranged 

 in a 2-rani<ed, articulated spike. 



0. vuLGA'TCJi. Jiddcr'' s-tonguc. 



Frond simple, oblong-ovate, obtuse, closely reticulated ; spike cauline. A 

 curious little plant in low grounds. Frond solitary, 2—3 inches long, § a: 

 wide, ainplexicaul, entire, smooth, without a midrib, situated upon the stem 

 or stipe a little below the middle. Stipe G — 10 inches high, terminating m a 

 lance-linear, compressed spike, 1—2 inches long, with the thecsB arranged in 

 2. close marginal ranks. Theca? opening outwards and horizontally, b' co.n- 

 i'licr lunate, distinct, straw-colored. Vernation straight, not circinate. June. 



14. B O T R Y' C li 1 U M . 

 Therae subglobose, 1-celled, 2-valvcd, distinct, coriaceous, 

 smooth, adnate to the compound rachis of a racemose panicle ; 

 valves opening transversely. 



1. B. SIMPLEX. HitchcocJ:. 



Sdoc bearing the frond above ; frond ternate, pinnatifid ; segments cuneate- 

 obovate, incisell, unequal ; *;>(7>:csubcompound, unilateral, interrupted. Grows 

 in drv, hilly pastures, Ms. Frond sheathed at base, with a lacerate membrane, 

 nearly' simple, divided into 3 or more segments which are 1 — 2 inches long, 

 often much dissected. Stipe or scape 3— U inches high. Thecos sessile. Jn. 



2. B. Virci'kicum. Rattlesnake Fcrii. B. gracile. P 

 Stipe witha sinale frond in the nfiddle; frond twice and thrice pinnate, the 



lowest pair of pinnte springing from the base ; ultimate segincnts obtuse, some- 

 what 3-toothed ; spikes decompound ; /dant subpilose. A beautiful fern, the 

 larcrest of its genus, in low woods. Stipe or scape ]— 2 feet high, bearing the 

 frond about half-way up. This is apparently ternate, the lower pair ot divis- 

 ions arising from the base. It is almost tripinnate, the ultimate segments 

 beino- decurrent and more or less confluent at base, with 3—5 cut serratures. 

 Panicle terminal, 3—6 inches long, reddish tawny. June. July. 



3. B. ruMARioi'DEs. IVilld. B. obliquum. .1.^.'. 

 6'capcbcarino- the frond near the base ; fnmd'in^ bipinnatifid divisions , 



^eo-meids obliquely lanceolate, crenulate ; spikes bipinnale. JNative ot shad;; 

 woods and pastures. Frond of a triangular outline, 3—^) inches long ana 

 wide, of a stouter texture than the last, distinctly petiolate. Scape b— I'i 

 inches high, bearing a tawny, compound panicle 2—4 inches in length, com- 

 posed of numerous little 2-ranked spikes. Aug. 



/3. dissectum (Oakcs. B. dissectum. WiUd.) ; frond near the base of the scape, 

 in'ue numerously dissected, almost tripiniialitid. 



