Mr. T. Moove on Lastrea uliginosa. 303 



possible that this may after all be the true solution of the question ; 

 but looking upon it as a variety of one of these species, there 

 appear to be points in its structm-al details which connect it more 

 closely to one than to the other. • i j 



The characters of venation and vernation may be considered 

 as of higher value than the mere form or incision, or mode of con- 

 nection of the pinnules. Now it is in their form and mode of 

 incision that Lloyd's fern most closely approaches spmulosa and 

 diverges from cristata ; whilst in their vernation it exactly coin- 

 cides with cristata, and absolutely differs from spinulosa. In the 

 venation, too, it very nearly coincides with cristata, certainly re- 

 sembling that species much more than it does spinulosa. I there- 

 fore regard Lloyd's fern as more nearly related to cristata than to 

 spinulosa— 2, conclusion different, it will be seen, from that drawn 

 from the inspection of a single fertile frond, and arrived at by an 

 examination of the entire growing plant, selecting those cha- 

 racters which appear of the highest structural importance. I 

 propose to rank it as a variety of L. cristata, and to define it 

 thus : — 



Lastrea cristata. Fronds narrow linear-oblong sub-bipinnate : 

 pinnffi elongate triangular, with oblong serrated decurrent 

 pinnules, the lower crenately, often deeply lobed; lateral 

 veins of the pinnules with several branches. 

 ^. uliginosa : (fertile fronds) pinnules oblong, pointed, deeply 

 lobed, somewhat aristato-serrate, the lowest sometimes scarcely 

 decurrent.— iv. uliginosa, Newm. (Phytol. iii. 679). 

 It should be mentioned that the plant usually, if not con- 

 stantly, produces dissimilar barren and fertile fronds. The 

 former are not to be distinguished from barren fronds of true 

 cristata ; and the latter alone are scarcely to be distinguished 

 from specimens correspondent in size of the true spinulosa ; occa- 

 sionally, the barren form of frond is more or less fertile. 



These conclusions, which have been some time formed, are 

 somewhat at variance with the views embodied in the most recent 

 authoritative book on British botany, namely Hooker and Ar- 

 nott's ' British Flora,' in which Lastrea uliginosa is not allowed 

 to take rank even as a variety ; they are however the result of 

 careful observation, influenced no doubt by an impression that 

 plants which are permanently different from others are deserving 

 of record. Having mentioned the new edition of the ' British 

 Flora,' I may just take the opportunity to remark, that an un- 

 necessaiy change has been made of the name of the large variety 

 of Lastrea Filicc-mas, from that of incisa proposed for it in 

 'Phytol.' (1848) iii. 137. 



