MALE FERN AND ITS RELATIVES 59 



side of the midrib of the pinnae. After the 

 falling away of the indusia the son tend to 

 spread, so that they may finally cover almost 

 the whole of the back of the fertile pinnae. 



The Holly Fern is essentially a plant of the 

 mountains, and it is often found growing in the 

 most exposed situations. It is not common in 

 England, though it has been found in a few 

 localities in the north. The species has a much 

 wider distribution in Scotland. The Holly 

 Fern is evergreen in habit, and its stiff fronds 

 seem to be able to withstand the severest frost. 

 The plant is rather a difficult one to grow, though 

 if it can be given a rock crevice it will sometimes 

 settle down happily in the garden. The foliage 

 of the Holly Fern lasts through the year. 



Polystichum (Aspidium) aculeatum. In this 

 case the specific name is a Latin term simply 

 meaning " provided with prickles " an allusion 

 to the fact that the fronds are adorned with 

 spines. The Hard Prickly Shield Fern. 



This species is very distinct in its general 

 appearance from the Holly Fern, though it 

 can at once be seen to be a Shield Fern by the 

 unnotched indusia which cover the sori. The 

 fronds may be as much as two feet in height, or 

 even a little more, and these rise from a tufted 

 root-stock. As a rule the stipes is very much 

 shorter than the leafy portion, and both it and 

 the rachis are thickly covered with scales. The 

 outline of the frond is lanceolate, and the colour 

 of the foliage is dark green. A pretty glossy 

 effect is noticeable on the upper surface. The 

 frond of the Hard Prickly Shield Fern is twice 

 divided, and the pinnae are arranged alternately 

 on either side of the rachis. A distinctive point 

 about this species is that the upper pinnules at 

 the base of each pinna is larger in all ways than 



