ASPLENIUM. 131 



has its margin cut into two or more sharp-pointed teeth, 

 the points of the larger teeth being very frequently bifid. 

 The veins are reduced to a minimum ; one vein enters 

 each lobe, or if the frond is not lobed the stipes is conti- 

 nued upwards in the form of a vein ; this becomes forked 

 so as to send up one vein to each of the teeth into which 

 the part is divided ; and three or four long linear sori are 

 produced in a very crowded manner within this small 

 space ; so that when, from age, the sori burst open the 

 indusium, the spore-cases form a confluent mass over the 

 whole under-surface. 



The confluent mass of spore-cases arising from the 

 crowded position of the sori, has led some authors to con- 

 sider this plant an Acrostichum, the mark of which is to 

 have the whole under-surface thus covered. Some of the 

 sori being face to face, growing as they do from the inward 

 side of each vein, and almost in juxtaposition, other botan- 

 ists have been led to think it a Scolopendrium, the mark 

 of which is to have the sori confluent in pairs face to face. 

 If, however, the plant is examined while young, it will be 

 seen that these resemblances are unreal, and that it is 

 truly an Asplenium. It is thus that it has been called 

 by the names of Acrostichum septentrionale and Scolopcn- 



K 2 



