LADY FERN AND SPLEENWORTS 83 



varies considerably, and in a mature plant 

 which has found a damp corner these are 

 sometimes two or three feet in measurement. 

 Where the plant has found a home on a dry 

 wall, however, it may be a very diminutive 

 affair. As a rule, the stipes will be about 

 one-third of the whole frond, the leafy portion 



The sori on the back of a Hartstongue frond. 



being long and tongue-shaped. At the tip 

 the frond ends in a point, whilst towards the 

 middle the leaf swells out again, narrowing 

 once more towards the base and finally ex- 

 panding again into a couple of ear-shaped 

 projections. The rachis of the Hartstongue 

 Fern is a very prominent feature, and at the 

 back of the leaf appears in the form of a ridge. 



