Ferns and Fern Allies 53 



on the upper side at the base, the lower side having an almost 

 straight edge. This fern is densely spiney-toothed. 



MALE SHIELD FERN 



Aspidium Filix-mas. Fern Family 



Rootstock: stout, ascending, chaffy. Leaves: firm, broadly-oblong, 

 lanceolate, acute at the apex. Sori: large, borne near the midvein. 



This fern grows in the woods to a height of three feet. 

 It is a handsome plant, springing from an ascending root, 

 and has rather coarse leaves. 



Aspidium spinuloswn var. dilatatum, or Spinulose Shield 

 Fern, has a stout root, and long, rather thin leaves, the 

 lower pair of which are triangular in outline. 



Aspidium Oreopteris, or Scaly Shield Fern, has very 

 scaly, straw-coloured stems and rachis. The leaves are one 

 to two feet long, and taper from near the middle to both 

 ends. 



BRITTLE FERN 



Cystopteris fragilis. Fern Family 



Rootstock: short. Leaves: thin, oblong-lanceolate, slightly tapering 

 below; pinnae irregularly pinnatifid, with a broad central space and 

 toothed segments decurrent along the margined or winged rachis, with- 

 out bulblets. 



A delicate, wet-loving fern, which uncurls early in the 

 spring, and soon dies away. It receives its distinguishing 

 name from the stalks, which are slender and very brittle. 



Cystopteris montana, or Mountain Bladder Fern, has a 

 slender, widely creeping root, and leaves which are deeply 

 toothed. 



