468 FILICES. [PoLYPODiUM. 



Shaded alpine rocks and streams, in Argyle, Perth, Forfar and Sutherland, 

 from 1,200-3,600 ft.; absent from Ireland; frt. July-Aug. - Rootttock 

 stout, scaly. Stipes 4-6 in., tufted, stout, scaly below. Frond 1-2 ft., 

 herbaceous, glabrous; pinnae 3-4 in., lanceolate, deeply pinnatifid, lobes 

 toothed, rachis nearly naked ; venules pinnate in the lobes. Sori small, 

 14 on each lobe, marginal in the sinus, dorsal on the venule. DISTRIB. \V. 

 Europe (Arctic), from Lapland to Spain, and E. to Germany and Austria, 

 W. Asia, Greenland, N.W. America. Closely resembles Asplenium Flllr- 

 fvemina. 



VAR. 1, alpen'tre proper ; stipes short, pinnae spreading or ascending narrow- 

 lanceolate broadest at the base, pinnules crowded. VAR. 2, hu'mile (flexile, 

 Moore), (sp. ) ; stipes very short, pinnae short spreading or deflexed, pinnules 

 rather distant. 



14. GYMNOGRAM'ME, Desv. 



Fronds of various habit, 1-3-pinnate ; veins free or anastomosing. Ftnri 

 dorsal, oblong or linear, usually spreading in irregular lines, branched 

 and confluent on or between the veins; involucre 0. DISTRIB. Chiefly 

 warm regions ; species 84. ETYM. yv^vos and ypa/M/j.-^, from the naked sori. 



1. G. leptopbyl'la, Desv. ; glabrous, annual, frond 2-3-pinnate. 

 Moist banks, Jersey; frt. March-May. Fronds fragile, 1-3 in., shortly 

 stipitate, broadly ovate-oblong ; inner with longer stipes, narrower, more 

 fertile ; pinnules obovate-cuneate, 2-3-lobad, lobes obtuse decurrent ; veins 

 dichotomous. Sori oblong, simple or confluent. DISTRIB. S. Europe. X. 

 and S. Africa, W. Asia, Peninsula of India, VV. Indies, Andes, Australia, 

 New Zealand. 



15. OSMUN'DA, L. FERN-ROYAL. 



Rootstocks often very large, tuberous or massive. Fronds coriaceous, 

 tufted, 1-2-pinnate, some of the pinnae altered, contracted, and covered 

 with naked confluent sori ; veins forked, free. Capsules globose, sub- 

 sessile, with a short lateral or subterminal striate areola (an incomplete 

 contracted ring). DISTRIB. Temp, and trop. regions; species 6. ETYM. 

 After the god Thor (Osmunder). 



1. O. rega'lis, L. ; fronds 2 -pinnate fertile at the top. 

 B^s, marshy woods, &c. ; ascending to nearly 1,000 ft. in the N. of England ; 

 frt. June-Aug. RooMock large, lobed, densely clothed with matted 

 fibres, many-headed. Stipes 210 ft., stout, erect, naked, brown. Frond 

 glabrous ; barren pinna 3-12 in., sessile or shortly petioled, oblong, obtuse, 

 truncate cordate or auricled at the often unequal base, serrulate ; fertile 

 pinnules subcylindric, lobod. DISTRIB. Europe, N. S. and trop. Africa, N. 

 and W. Asia to N.W. Himalaya, China, Japan, N. and trop. America. 



16. OPHIOGIiOS'SUM, L. APDER'S-TONGUE. 



Rootstock short, with fleshy fibrous roots. Fronds consisting of a barren 

 oblong linear or lanceolate rcticulately-veined blade, and a fertile flat- 

 tened distichous spike of opposite confluent globose capsules that burst 

 transversely and are obscurely striate at the top. Spores minute. DIS- 

 TRIB. All climates; species 3 or 4. ETYM. S<f>is and y\caff<ra, snake's tongue. 



1. O. vulga'tnm, L. ; blade ovate linear or elliptic-oblong. 

 Damp pastures, banks, woods, &c. ; ascending to nearly 1,000 ft. in the Lake 



