318 LASTREA DILATATA. 



shire; Slieve More, near Dugort, County Mayo; and on the Island 

 of Achill by Mr. E. Barrington; Glen of the Downs, Wicklow, 

 and Killarney, by Mr. E. Barrington; Longridge Fell, Lan- 

 cashire, by myself. In the hilly districts of Scotland, Ireland, 

 and Wales, by Mr. E. Newman. A dwarf variety. Fronds 

 varying from two to ten inches in length, ovate, broadest at 

 the base, and bipinnate. Pinnte spreading, and somewhat 

 acuminate; the basal pair unequal-sided, but not the remainder 

 of the pinnse. Basal pinnules stalked, the larger ones profoundly 

 lobed, with serrated edges, the smaller ones only serrate. Teeth 

 acute and mucronate. Sori mostly covering the whole under 

 side of the frond, frequently most copious towards the apex, 

 forming a line on either side, the midvein of the pinnules being 

 somewhat nearer to the midrib. 



' Fig. 266.— Portion of middle pinna. 



Eroso-Elworthii, Lowe. (Fig. '^%^.) — A lax form. Length 

 of frond two feet, width in centre nine inches. Pinnse subop- 

 posite below, alternate above, being smaller to the acuminate 

 apex. Pinnules lax, broad, rounded, distant. Secondary pin- 

 nules, the basal half divided to the costa, decurrent, their 

 apices terminating in a dilated bifid or trifid dentation, in the 

 larger ones the sides are also dentate. Although this Fern is 

 known as Mr. Elworthy's form of erosa, the fronds which I 

 have seen are not sufficiently erose for its name. This variety 

 was found at Nettlecombe by Mr. Charles Elworthy, to whom 

 I am indebted for fronds. 



