FILICES. 135 



SPECIES VIII.— ASPLENIUM RUTA-MURARIA. Linn. 



Plate 1880. 



Babenh. Crypt. Vase. Europ. Exsicc. No. 37. 



A. murale, Bernli. Grays Nat. Arr. Brit. PI. Vol. II. p. 14. 



Tarachia Euta-muraria, Presl, Epim. Bot. p. 81. 



Amesium Kuta-muraria, Newm. Hist. Brit. Ferns, ed. ii. p. 10, and ed. iii. p. 254; and 



Phytol. 1851, App. viii. 

 Scolopendrium Kuta-muraria, Both, El. Germ. Vol. III. p. 52. 



Caudex short, divided into several closely-packed scaly crowns ; 

 scales linear-subulate, very acute. Fronds several from each crown, 

 ascending or spreading or pendent. Stipes wiry, from as long as to 

 twice as long as the lamina, purplish-brown for a very short distance 

 from the base, green in the upper part, channelled above, with a few 

 very narrow deciduous brown scales, and numerous very minute 

 globose deciduous glands. Lamina thick, coriaceous or subcoriaceous, 

 opaque, glabrous, shining, evergreen, triangular-ovate deltoid-ovate 

 or triangular-lanceolate, rarely triangular-strapshaped, bipinnate or 

 subtripinnate, or rarely simply pinnate, in the latter case the lower 

 segments more or less deeply cut ; lowest pinnae larger and more 

 divided than the succeeding ones, conspicuously stalked, ascending 

 or spreading-ascending, pinnate or trifoliate or trifid ; middle pinnae 

 similar to the basal ones, but smaller and more shortly stalked and 

 less divided ; all of them alternate ; pinnules or ultimate segments 

 obovate or rhombic oblanceolate, or rhombic-oblong or oblanceolate- 

 strapshaped, inversely deltoid or wedgeshaped and entire at the base, 

 obtuse or rounded, rarely acute, crenate or inciso-crenate or crenate- 

 serrate at the apex. Eachis green, not winged. Ultimate segments 

 flabellately veined, without a distinct mid-vein. Sori oblong or 

 linear-oblong, usually diverging, situated about the middle of the 

 pinnae and not reaching its margin, ultimately confluent. Indusium 

 dentate or fimbriate. Spores tuberculated, with rather large blunt 

 tubercles. 



Var. a. genuinum. 



Lamina bipinnate, rarely only pinnate ; ultimate segments obovate 

 or rhombic. 



Tar. /3. elatum. ' Lang,' Moore. 



Frond bipinnate or almost tripinnate ; ultimate segments oblan- 

 ceolate or rhombic-oblong, narrowly wedgeshaped at the base, obtuse, 

 more rarely truncate at the apex. Stipes longer and whole plant 

 taller than in var. a. 



