220 HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 



out and terminating in a rigid point ; they are attached 

 directly to the stems without stalks, and are arranged in 

 an indistinctly spiral or somewhat five -ranked order. The 

 lower leaves, that is to say, those remaining on the older 

 portions of the stem, are more spreading than those on the 

 younger growth, and indeed on the oldest portions often 

 hecome somewhat deflexed : they have a yellowish-green 

 colour, and are of a hard, rigid texture ; they have, more- 

 over, a stout midrib, prominent at the back. 



Tlie spike of fructification is in this species perfectly 

 stalklcss, being seated directly on the termination of the 

 leafy branch. It is about an inch long, of an oblong form, 

 and consists of closely-overlapping bracts, of a roundish- 

 ovate form, having a long narrow point and jagged mem- 

 branous margins. In the axil of the bracts is produced a 

 large reniform capsule, containing numerous minute pale- 

 yellowish spores. The bracts become reflexed when these 

 spores have escaped from the burst capsule. 



This is a rare species, confined to wild mountainous 

 localities, occurring in the Scottish Highlands and the 

 Northern Isles, and in Carnarvonshire and the Lake district. 

 It is plentiful in the pine-forests of the North of Europe, 

 and in some parts of North America. 



