o« British Ferns. xi 



Obs. — This genus 1ms a very great similarity, in general habit, to 

 that which immediately follows ; a similaiity also extending more or 

 less to several genera of the following family : it is comprised in the 

 genus Aspidium of Smith : it is now almost universally regarded as 

 comprising but a single species, the Polypodium FiUx-femina of Lin- 

 neus, and the following syuonymes are those of the genus. 



Polypodium Filix-femina, Linn. Sp. PL 1551 ; Liglitf. Fl. 



Scot. 673 ; Huds. Fl. Ang. 458 ; With. Arr. 778. 

 Polipodium Filix-femina, Bolt. Fil. Brit. 46, t. 25. 

 Aspidium Filix-foemina (Sivartz), and Aspidium irrigumn, 



Sm. E. F. iv. 295, 6, E. B. 1459 and E. B. S. 2199. 

 Asplenium Filix-foemina (Bernh.), Mack. Fl. Hib. 342 ; 



Hook, and Am. 574. 

 Athyiium Filix-foemina {Roth), Newm. F. 420 ; Bab. 413. 



* Frond deltoid. (No ascertained British species). 



(Athyrium deltoideum. 



Aspidium crenatum, Sommerf. in Vet. Ac. Handlung. 104. 

 Cystopteris crenata. Fries, Nov. Fl. Suec. 165 ; Hook. Sp. 

 Fil. i. 200. 



Stipes as long as the frond, prettj^ thickly clothed to- 

 wards the base with dark brown lanceolate scales ; frond 

 deltoid, resembling that of Eupteris aquilina, but of small- 

 er size, pinnate ; pinnae stipitate, lanceolate, pinnate ; in 

 the first pair of pinnae the pinnules on the lower are longer 

 than those on the upper side ; pinnules pinnate, their lobes 

 distant, but united at the base by the winged midrib of the 

 pinnule, blunt, slightly lobed on the upper margin ; clus- 

 ters of capsules confined to the upper portion of the frond, 

 rather scattered in an oblique series on each side of the 

 midrib, and rather near it ; involucre nearly linear, at- 

 tached to the side of the cajDSuliferous vein, and oj^ening 

 towards the midrib, its free margin ragged. 



North of Europe, in thick woods. Found by Mr. E. B. 

 Bowman, in the Pass of Kringelen, in Norway. 



Obs. — There exist a Polypodium crenatum, an Aspidium crenatum, 

 and an Athyrium Filix-femina, var. crenatum ; under these circum- 

 stances, a change of name will, I hope, be allowed. The plant is here 



