MALE FERN AND ITS RELATIVES 51 



entire length of the stalk ; this makes the 

 stipes very short. The pinnae, which are 

 generally placed opposite to one another, are 

 cut very deeply. 



The sori are much more abundant on the 



Nephrodium oreopteris. The Mountain Buckler Fern. 



upper portion of the frond ; we shall find them 

 on the back of the leaf along the margins of 

 the lobes. They are covered by a very slight 

 indusium, which soon falls off. In the Moun- 

 tain Buckler Fern there are to be detected a 

 number of tiny glands on the back of the 

 frond ; these are responsible for rather a 



