Ferns of the Moors and Mountains 



which they grow, are twice pinnate, the pinnules being 

 very pinnatifid and provided with teeth. The pinnas, 

 which taper away from the rachis to their extremities, 

 extend almost to the foot of the leafstalks. 



The Alpine Polypody is confined to the Highlands 

 of Scotland. Its botanical name is Polypodium alpestre. 

 Alpestre is Latin for " alpine," a name applied to this 

 fern because it is confined to very elevated regions. 



On our descent from the mountain we must not 

 pass unnoticed the ferns which abound on its heathery 

 slopes, on the banks of its rills, and on the almost bare 

 pasture-land nibbled close by the sheep. 



Among the heather grows the Mountain Buckler 

 Fern. Its lanceolate fronds, which spring from a tufted 

 rootstock, are borne on very short and scaly leafstalks. 

 They are once pinnate, with the pinnae pinnatifid and 

 continued down the midrib almost to the rootstock. 

 On the back of the frond we detect innumerable glands, 

 which emit a rather pleasant odour when the fern is 

 drawn through the fingers. The sori are placed near 

 the margins of the fronds, and are covered with very 

 fine indusia, which finally drop off. The Mountain 

 Buckler Fern is not a difficult one to make out, if 

 attention be paid to the yellowish-green colour of the 

 fronds, to the lowest pair of pinnae at the base of the 

 leafstalks, which are always very small, and to the very 

 numerous glands on the underside of the fronds. 



As its name Nephrodium oreopteris implies, it is a 

 member of the genus Nephrodium. Its specific name is 

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