26 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [BuU. 



SCHIZAEACEAE. CURLY GRASS FAMILY. 

 LYGODIUM Sw. Climbing Fern. 



Lygodium palmatum (Bernh.) Sw. (branching like the out- 

 spread fingers of a hand). 

 Creeping Fern. Hartford Fern. Climbing Fern. 



Rich woods and thickets, in moist, usually sandy soil. Not 

 reported from western Connecticut ; rare in eastern districts : 

 Griswold (Harger & Graves), Lyme (Dr. E. J. Thompson). 

 Local at many stations in the central part of the state. Aug. — 

 Sept. 



The following Act was passed by the Legislature and 

 became a law on July 8, 1869: "Any person who shall wil- 

 fully and maliciously sever or take from the land of another 

 any of the species of plant known as Lygodium palmatum or 

 Creeping Fern growing and being thereon, shall be punished 

 by a fine not exceeding Seven Dollars or imprisonment in 

 county jail not exceeding thirty days or by such fine and im- 

 prisonment both at the discretion of the court." The penalty 

 for this offense was later increased. Prior to 1869 this fern 

 was extensively collected and pressed for decorative purposes. 



OSMUNDACEAE. FLOWERING FERN 



FAMILY. 



OSMUNDA L. Flowering Fern. 



Osmunda regalis L. (royal). 

 Royal Fern. Flowering Fern. 



Frequent or common. Low thickets, wet meadows and 

 pastures and along streams. June. 

 The rootstock is medicinal. 



Osmunda Claytoniana L. 



Interrupted Fern. 



Frequent or common. Old pastures, along fence-rows and 

 in open wood-lands. Fertile Mzy ; sterile June. 



The var. dubia A. J. Grout (doubtful) occurs occasionally. 

 It is apparently a form caused by some injury to the plant. 



All our species of Osmunda thrive in cultivation. 



