THE FERN PARADISE. 



3. 



THE RUE-LEAVED SPLEENWORT. 



Asplenium ruta-muraria. 



PLATE 7, FIG. 3. 



IF all our native Ferns the Rue-leaved 

 Spleenwort or Wall Rue is, perhaps, the 

 most unpretending in appearance. Yet 

 itis amost interesting little Fern, and will well repay 

 study and care. Tt is very diminutive, sometimes 

 only growing to a height of about one inch, but when 

 tinder very favourable conditions, in a wild state, 

 it will reach a length of several inches. It is 

 widely distributed, loving to fasten itself on old 

 walls, rocks, or the sides of bridges of all kinds, 

 spanning water. Often it is found growing on 

 church walls and the walls of dwelling-houses. It 

 is, indeed, a familiar little Fern, and is frequently 

 seen flourishing in the midst of towns, seeming, 

 indeed, to love the society of man. But the secret 

 of its preference for buildings of various kinds 

 is its fondness for old mortar. When growing on 



370 



