306 FERN FAMILY. 



rhomboid-ovate, very often halberd-shaped, the end ones of the primary pinna 

 much the largest, often l'-2' long and '-!' broad; stalk and branches black 

 and polished, smooth ; involucre rather narrow. 



9. WOODWARDIA, CHAIN-FERN. (Named in honor of Thomas J. 

 \Vuoducard, an Knglish botanist of tlie last century.) A small genus of rather 

 large Ferns, all natives of the N. temperate zone. 



W. Virginica. Tall, growing in swamps N. & S. : sterile and fertile 

 fronds a'ike, ovate in outline, pinnate, with lanceolate deeply pinnatifid pinna; ; 

 lobes oblong, obtuse; veins reti uiated, forming a single row of meshes along 

 the midribs of pinnae and of lobes, the outer veinlets free; fruit-dots oblong, 

 close to the midribs. 



W. angustif61ia. Range, c. of the last, but less common : fronds 6 - 

 10' long, 4' -6' broad, pinnatilid almost to the winged rhachis into 17-27 lobes, 

 which are broadly lanceolate and with copiously reticulated veins in the sterile 

 frond, but are narrowly linear in the fertile, and with a single vow of narrow 

 meshes next the midrib; fruit-dots linear, sausage-shaped, one h. each mesh. 



10. DOODIA. (Named in honor of Samuel Doody, an early English Crypto- 

 gamic botanist.) Small Ferns, cult, from Australia and New Zealand. 



D. caudata. Fronds 9'-15' long, linear-lanceolate, on dull-black nearlv 

 smooth stalks, pinnate with many linear serrate and nearly sessile pinna;, which 

 are about 1'long, often slightly atiricnlate at base, the lower ones rather trian- 

 gular, distant; fruit-dots in a single row next the midrib. 



D. aspera. Stalk black and rough with small ragged points ; fronds broadly 

 lanceolate, rather coriaceous, harsh to the touch, pinnatitid to the rhachis ; di- 

 visions crowded, oblong-linear, spinulose-serrate, lower ones gradually smaller ; 

 fruit-dots not close to the midrib, sometimes a second row next the margin. 



11. ASPLENIUM, SPLEENWORT. (Name from the Greek ; refers to 

 supposed a"tion on the spleen.) A very large genus, the size of the species 

 ranging from quite small up to very large and even tree-like. 



1. Frond* undivided, large and showy : cult.fiom East Indies, frc. 



A, Nidus, BIRD'S-NEST FERN. Fronds numerous, broadly lanceolate, 

 2 -4 lon.u:, 4' -8' wide, entire, short-stalked, arranged in a crown around the 

 central upright roots tock ; fruit-dots very narrow, elongated, crowded, running 

 from the stout midrib obliquely half-way to the margin. 



2. Fronds small, pinnatijid below, tapering into a long entire point native, 

 A. pinnatifidum. Very rare, near Philadelphia, and sparingly W. & S., 

 especially along the Alleghaniej : fronds 3'- 6' lonir, \" - U' wide at the base; 

 lobes roundish-ovate mostly obtuse; fruit-dots small, irregular. 



3. Fronds simply pinnate. 

 * Small Ferns, 4' - 15' hiyh : all except the lust are wild Sfxc.ies. 



A. Trich6manes. Common, forming dense tufts in crevices of shady 

 rocks : fronds linear. 4' -8' long, with black and shining stalk and rhachis, and 

 many roundish or oblong slightly crenated or entire pinna;, about 4' long and 

 niMmt halt' as broad ; fruit-dots few to each pinna. 



A. ebdneum. Common in rocky woods : fronds linear-lanceolate, nar- 

 rower at the base, 8'- 15' long, l'-2'"w.de; stalk dark and polished; pinmc 

 many, linear-oblong, often slightly curved, finely serrate, auricled on one or 

 both sides at the base; fruit dots numerous. 



A. flabellilblium. Cult, from Australia: lax, the rhachis often pro- 

 longed and rooting at the very end , fronds linear; pinna.' sharply wedge-shaped 

 at the base, the broad and rounded end crenated ; fruit-dots irregularly radiat- 

 ing from the base of the pinna.-. 



* * Ldi-fjc Ferns, \-Xhic]h. 



A. angU8tif61ium. Rich woods N., and S., mainly alon.tr the mountains : 

 fronds thin, lun^-lanccolate, pimiaj many 3' -4' long, Imear-lanCftolftte iroiu a 



