Ferns and Fern Allies 53 



on the upper side at the base, the lower side having an almost 

 straight edge. This fern is densely spiney-toothed. 



MALE SHIELD FERN 



Aspidium Filix-mas. Fern Family 



Rootstock: stout, ascending, chaffy. Leaves: firm, broadly-oblong, 

 lanceolate, acute at the apex. Son: large, borne near the mid vein. 



This fern grows in the woods to a height of three feet. 

 It is a handsome plant, springing from an ascending root, 

 and has rather coarse leaves. 



Aspidium spinulosum var. dilatatum, or Spinulose Shield 

 Fern, has a stout root, and long, rather thin leaves, the 

 lower pair of which are triangular in outline. 



Aspidium Oreopteris, or Scaly Shield Fern, has very 

 scaly, straw-coloured stems and rachis. The leaves are one 

 to two feet long, and taper from near the middle to both 

 ends. 



BRITTLE FERN 



Cys top tens fragilis. Fern Family 



Rootstock: short. Leaves: thin, oblong-lanceolate, slightly tapering 

 below ; pinnae irregularly pinnatifid, with a broad central space and 

 toothed segments decurrent along the margined or winged rachis, with- 

 out bulblets. 



A delicate, wet-loving fern, which uncurls early in the 

 spring, and soon dies away. It receives its distinguishing 

 name from the stalks, which are slender and very brittle. 



Cystopteris m out ana, or Mountain Bladder Fern, has a 

 slender, widely creeping root, and leaves which are deeply 

 toothed. 



