596 rn.iCKS. (feuns.) 



14. NEPHROLEPIS, Sdiott. 



Fruit-dots at the ends of the veins, in a series near the margin of the pinnae. 

 Indusium reniform, often broadly so, fixed by the sinus, or by the arcuate base, 

 open obli(iuely toward the margin of the pinnae. Fronds jjinnate, elongated ; 

 the pinna; articulated to the rachis. Veins free, forked from the midrib, their 

 apices thickened. 



1. N. exaltata, Schott. Fronds linear, indefinitely elongated, unfolding 

 numerous pinna;, which are oblong-lanceolate, auricuhite on tlie upper side of 

 the base, rounded on the lower side, falcate, crenately serrate ; fruit-dots large ; 

 indusium reniform or crescent-shaped, the oblique sinus narrow and deep or 

 broad and shallow on the same pinna;. — South Florida, Dr. Cooper. — Fronds 

 l°-6° long, 2' -3' wide, usually pendent from the trunks of trees. 



15. ONOCLEA, L. 



Fertile fronds contracted, the pinnules strongly rcvolute and berry-like ; fruit- 

 dots on the hack of the free veins, with an elevated receptacle ; indusium attached 

 partly to the receptacle and partly to the intcrVenular surface. Sterile fronds 

 foliaceous, much taller than the fertile ones. 



1. O. sensibilis, L. Sterile fronds on a long smooth stipe, broadly 

 deltoid-ovate, pinnatifid almost or quite to the rachis ; the divisions lanceolate, 

 entire or crenately incised ; veins finely reticulated with oblong-hexagonal 

 areoles ; fertile fronds shorter, bipinnate ; pinna; erect, appressed to the rachis ; 

 the pinnules crowded. — Meadows and wet places, Florida to Mississippi, and 

 northward. — Rootstock nearly naked, creeping. Fronds varying from four 

 inches to three feet in height. 



16. WOODSIA, R. Brown. 



Frait-dots on the back of the veins ; the involucres placed beneath the fruit- 

 dot, saucer-shaped or cup-shaped, divided into irregular lobes or a delicate 

 fringe, or sub-globose and contracted at the mouth. Small Ferns with many 

 fronds from a short scaly rootstock. 



* Involucre frirKjed, the hair-like divisions incnrvpd on the sporanqia. 

 1. W. Ilvensis, R Brown. Fronds sparingly hairy above, villous be- 

 neath and on die stipe and rachis with brown hairs and nan"ow chaff, lanceolate, 

 pinnate ; pinna; ovate-oblong, deeply pinnatifid, the divisions oblong, obtuse, 

 entire or crenate. Fruit-<lots enveloped in the fringe of the involucre. — Rocks 

 along the Alleghany Mountains, and northward. — Fronds 3' -8' high. 



* * Involucre divided into a few iirequlnr IoIks. 

 2 W. obtusa, Torr. Fronds nearly smooth, broadly lanceolate, pinnate, 

 or near the nichis bipinnate ; pinna; triangular-ovate, the lower ones distant, 

 pinnately parted ; Bcgmcnts oblong, obtuse, the upper ones toothed, the lower 

 ones pinnatifid with toothed lobes ; veins forked, the tips whitish on the upper 

 surface of the frond ; fruit-dots on the lobules ; involucre delicate, the lobes 



