TRICHGMANF.S.] FILICES. 459 



shire; lately found in Wales; frt. July-Sept. Rootstock slender, wiry, ex- 

 tensively creeping, tomentose. Stipes 2-6 in., stout, wiry, ascending, naked 

 below, winged above. Frond 4-12 in., membranous, firm ; rachis winged ; 

 lower pinnae 1-4 in., rhomboid-ovate; pinnules the same shape, pinnatifid, 

 toothed, nerves 1 to each segment. Sori lateral, 1-4 to each pinnule- ; tube 

 of involucre short, lips small ; receptacle exserted. DISTRIB. W. Europe, 

 trop. Africa and America, Himalaya, Japan, Polynesia. 



VAR. 1, speclosum, Willd. (sp.) ; fronds deltoid, involucre scarcely winged. 

 T. Irevisetum, Br.; Hymenophyllum alatum, Sm. VAR. 2, Andrew' di, Newm. 

 (sp.); frond lanceolate, involucres many winged, receptacle larger. Kerry. 



3. ADIAN'TUM, L. MAIDEN-HAIR. 



Rootstock tufted or creeping. Fronds compound, 2-4-pinnate, rarely 

 simple ; rachis and petioles capillary; veins forked or netted, tfori rounded 

 or oblong, parallel with and on the margin ; involucre formed of the 

 reflexed often kidney-shaped coriaceous margin of the frond, opening in- 

 wards, surface veined. DISTRIB. All temp, and hot climates ; species 62. 

 ETYM. The old Greek name. 



1. A. Capil'lus-Ven'eris, L. ; frond 3-4-pinnate, pinnules cuueatc 

 lobed crenate glabrous. 



Damp rocks, walls, &c., especially near the sea, rare and local, Dorset to 

 Cornwall, I. of Man, Glamorgan; W. of Ireland, local; frt. May-Sept. 

 Rootstock creeping, scaly. Stipes 4-9 in., slender, black, polished, naked. 

 Frond 412 in., ovate, with a short terminal and many spreading capillary 

 branches, the lower pinnate ; pinnules ^-1 in., membranous, outer edge 

 rounded ; petioles | in. ; veins repeatedly forked. Sori in the crenatures 

 of the pinnules ; involucre subreniform. DISTRIB. Europe from France 

 southwards, W. Asia, N. S. and trop. Africa, W. Siberia, India, Himalaya, 

 trop. and subtrop. America, Polynesia. 



4. PTE'RIS, L. BRAKE or BRACKEN. 

 Rootstock usually creeping. Fronds various ; veins free, forked or netted. 



Sori continuous ; involucre scarious or membranous, confluent with the 



recurved margin of the frond, not recurved in age. DISTRIB. All regions; 



species 80. ETYM. -irrtpov, from the wing-like fronds. 



1. P. aquili'na, L. ; frond coriaceous 3-4-pinnate, veins free. 



Forests, heaths, moors, &c. ; ascending to nearly 2,000 ft. in the Highlands ; 

 frt. July- Aug. Rootstock stout, subterranean, extensively creeping. Stipes 

 1-6 ft., stout, erect, pale, dark at the base. Frond 2-3 ft.; rachis glabrous 

 or pubescent ; upper pinnae simple, next cut into linear pinnules, lower 

 petioled, 1 ft. or more, again pinnate; pinnules 1 in., sessile, auricled at 

 the base ; veins close, 1-2-forked. Involucre glabrous villous or ciliate, 

 sometimes double, inner very narrow. DISTRIB. Arctic Europe and all 

 temp, and many trop. regions. 



5. CRYPTOGRAM'ME, Br. PARSLEY-FERN, EOCK-BRAKE. 



Rootstock tufted, often elongate. Fronds, outer barren, inner fertile, 



2-4 pinnatifid ; veins forked, free. Sori terminal on the veins, subglobose, 



afterwards confluent along the margins of the fertile pinnules ; involucre 



membranous, continuous with the recurved margin of the frond, spreading 



