12 HYMENOPHYLLUM. 



weed. The fibres of the root form them- 

 selves into a thick matted mass with the 

 mosses, and so forth, among which they 

 live. The seed-cup, where present, is in 

 the room of the fork of the pinna that is 

 next the stem, and is composed of two 

 roundish valves, folding the one over the 

 other, and is notched at the top, and not 

 stalked. June. Evergreen. Rather un- 

 common. Devonshire. The Lakes, Wales, 

 and elsewhere. On the surface of damp 

 rocks, and hanging down. Difficult of cul- 

 tivation, and unsatisfactory. It should be, 

 with its aggregation of soil, root, &c. 

 planted on porous stone, bedded with sand, 

 kept under glass in a shady situation, and 

 frequently watered. Elegant and delicate. 



WILSONI. (Northern, or Wilson's 



Filmy Fern.) Fig. 33. From 1 to 3 

 inches. Like the preceding, but more 

 rigid, curved above, pinnae narrower, less 

 full, and inclining downwards ; stem faintly 

 and partially bordered. When in bearing, 

 the cups turn in one direction, and the 

 pinnae in the other. The cups or seed- 

 vessels are larger, valves more rounded, 

 stalked, with smooth lips above, somewhat 

 like the end of a duck's bill, instead of 

 being cut off, and notched. Similar situa- 

 tions and localities. June. Evergreen. 



