LADY FERN AND SPLEENWORTS 79 



a quantity of fine roots ; these often penetrate 

 for a long way into the crevices of the rocks, or 

 between the building materials of an old wall. 

 The length of the fronds varies from a few 

 inches to nearly a foot. The stipes is very short 

 and is extremely brittle. On either side of the 

 rachis, which is of a deep purple colour, the 

 pinnae are produced. These are borne on a very 

 short stalk and are of an oval shape, being about 



Asplenium trichomanes. The Maidenhair Spleenwort. 



half an inch in length. The margins of the 

 pinnae are occasionally slightly toothed. As a 

 rule, the pinnae are set in opposite pairs on 

 either side of the rachis. A curious feature of 

 the leaf-stalks of the Maidenhair Spleenwort is 

 that they do not decay at once when the pinnae 

 fall off. Thus it is often possible to find thick 

 bunches of them on the root-stock looking like 

 so much dark hair. 



The sori are placed in the form of lines on 

 veins which branch from the mid-vein of the 



