FERN TRIBE 135 
7. Sea Spleenwort (4. marinum).—Fronds pinnate; pinne oblong 
and blunt, stalked, unequal and wedge-shaped at the base. This beautiful 
fern grows out from the sides, or hangs its numerous sprays down from the 
summits, of sea-caves, rocks, or cliffs. Its deep rich tufts of evergreen fronds 
attain, when most luxuriant, the length of three feet, but it varies greatly 
in size. It is abundant on maritime rocks in the south-west of England, and 
may be found all along the British coasts, except the south-eastern. It is 
plentiful in the Channel Islands, as well as on the coasts of Ireland. The 
specimen from which our illustration was made was gathered from the rocks, 
on the sea-shore under the Hoe at Plymouth. In Cornwall this fern is often 
a beautiful object. The frond unfolds in July, bearing its fructification in 
September and October. Its form is linear, simply pinnate ; its pinne are 
stalked and serrated, and connected at the base by a narrow wing, extend- 
ing along the rachis. The pinnz are not always alike in shape, some being 
oblong, others egg-shaped ; they are unequal at the base, the side nearest 
the upper part of the frond being much developed, while the lower portion 
looks as if a piece had been cut off. The margins have either rounded or 
pointed serratures. The general appearance of this handsome fern is so 
unlike any other British plant, that it is easily distinguished. Its upper 
surface is of a deep glossy green, its under surface is paler. In the green- 
house it attains much greater luxuriance than in its wild state, and away 
from its natural haunts it needs this protection, for its fronds are quickly 
destroyed by frost. 
The Sea Spleenwort has long been used medicinally. It is somewhat 
mucilaginous, and was formerly considered a good application to burns. 
Like all the species destined to grow on rocks, it has tough wiry stems, 
which penetrate into clefts, and hold the plant so firmly there that it is 
difficult of eradication. The rhizome is short, and the fronds often grow 
from it in tufts. The veining may be usually readily seen. Each pinna has 
a mid-vein, which gives off lateral veins, these again sending off others. 
The clusters of capsules lie on that side of the lateral veins which is nearest 
the upper part of the pinnule, forming bright rust-coloured lines, often of 
an oblong form. These are covered by an indusium, which bursts open as 
they ripen. 
8. Green Spleenwort (4. viride).—Fronds linear, pinnate; pinne 
alternate, roundish, egg-shaped, wedge-shaped at the base, bluntly serrated. 
This very pretty little fern varies much in size, according to the situation 
on which it grows. It is so like the Common Wall Spleenwort that it might 
at first be mistaken for it, but it may be distinguished by the colour of its 
slender rachis, which is green, while the stalk of the Wall Spleenwort is 
throughout of a purplish-black, and by the rounded notches on the margins 
of its evergreen leaf-like pinnules. This fern is very frequent in the High- 
lands of Scotland, growing on moist rocks, into whose crevices it sends its 
wiry fibres. Its hue is brighter and of a lighter green than the other British 
species of the genus. Though the upper part of its stalk is yellowish-green, 
yet it gradually deepens in hue towards the lower parts, becoming at its 
base of a purplish-brown. The stipes is about a third of the length of the 
whole frond, and the plant grows in tufts. The simply pinnate leafy part is 
