LADY FERN AND SPLEENWORTS 77 



mid-veins. During the early days the cluster 

 of sporangia is covered with very distinct 

 indusia, but as the capsules ripen, these dis- 

 appear. 



The Sea Spleenwort is hardly ever found at a 

 great distance from the sea. It is most common 

 on the coast of southern and western England, 

 sometimes appearing in great abundance in 

 rocky caves. The species also occurs in other 

 parts of the United Kingdom where there is a 

 rocky coastline. Happily it often grows in 

 inaccessible places, and even where the plant 

 can be reached with ease it is extremely difficult 

 to tear the root-stock from its crevice. It seems 

 to be almost impossible to grow the Sea Spleen- 

 wort in the open garden, although it is readily 

 cultivated under glass. The species is evergreen 

 in habit, though the foliage will not stand frost. 



Asplenium ceterach. The specific name is 

 considered to be a corruption of Chetherak, a 

 name given to this Fern by early medical writers. 

 In some books the species is called Ceterach 

 officinarum. The Scaly Spleenwort. 



This is the most distinctive of all the Spleen- 

 worts. The root-stock of the plant is tufted 

 and scaly, and from this are sent down dense 

 masses of roots which penetrate into the remote 

 recesses of the wall or rock crevice where the 

 Fern has made its home. The fronds vary 

 greatly in length, and in a very exposed situa- 

 tion may not be more than an inch or so ; in a 

 sheltered and moist place they will be two or 

 three times this size. The outline of the fronds 

 is lanceolate. Strictly speaking, the fronds of 

 the Scaly Spleenwort are pinnatifid, the leaf 

 being designed with rounded lobes and deeply 

 cut intervals. W? en held lengthways an idea 

 is obtained of the wonderfully regular manner 



