BRITISH FERNS. 



near the ascent of Glyder Vawr, from the Llanberris side, and 

 I am uncertain to which of the supposed species it belongs. 

 I believe Mr. Roberts, of Bangor, first discovered the plant in 

 this locality, but I fear it is extinct, as this gentleman failed in 

 his search after it, in company with Mr. C. C. Babington, 

 in 1835, and I spent hours hunting diligently in the same place, 

 in August, 1838. 



Roots long, fibrous, brown. Rhizoma tufted, brown, slightly 

 scaly : the young fronds appear in May, and last till September 

 or October ; the shape of the frond is linear, lanceolate, and pin- 

 nate ; the pinnae are attached by their stem only: they are 

 indented but not pinnatifid. Sadler, who appears to consider the 

 plants distinct, thus characterises them : 

 Defilicibus veris, &c. p. 45. 



W. hyperborea. " Frond linear, lanceo- 

 late, pinnate, beneath pubescent: pinnae 

 nearly ovate, obtuse at the base, unequally 

 cuneate, nearly sessile, obtusely lobato-pin- 

 natifid; masses of thecae becoming nearly 

 confluent; stipes smooth, rachis pilose." 

 Sadler, 1. c. 



W. Ilvensis. " Frond oblong, pinnate, be- 

 neath hairy ; pinnae opposite, lanceolate, 

 pinnatifid ; the lobes oblong, obtuse, the 

 lower ones spreading : masses of thecae con- 

 fluent; stipes and rachis scaly-villose." 

 Sadler, 1. c. 



A small portion of the rachis is naked, the 

 veins are irregularly distributed, frequently 

 the midvein is not to be traced without diffi- 

 culty, no single vein appearing to have a 

 superiority over the rest : none of the veins 

 reach the margin, and each at its extremity 

 bears a mass of thecae. 



The plants are represented of the natural 

 size ; the two pinnae detached are magnified, 

 the upper shows the masses of thecae in their 

 natural situation, the lower exhibits the 

 veins, and the points of attachment of the 

 thecae at their extremities, the thecae them- 

 selves being removed. 



A 



5b 



