344 FILICES. A^phnoiia. 



even higher, subcoriaccous, ohlung-ovate, pinnate ; itinn;e 4 to 15 inches h)ng, broadly 

 hmceolate, pinnatitid nearly to the midrib ; segments lanceolate I'rom a broad base, 

 slightly falcate, acuminate, spinulose-serrate and sometimes more or less piinuititid ; 

 A'einlets forming a single row of oblong often sorus-bearing areoles each side the 

 midvein, besides a few empty obli(pie areoles outside of these ; outer veinlets free 

 extending to the teeth of the margin: sori oblong linear, a few sometimes formed 

 also along the midribs of the pinn;e. — Mem. Acail. Turin, v. 412; Hooker <S^ 

 Arnott, JJot. Beechey, 1G2 and 405; Eaton, Ferns of N. Amer. ii. 117, t. Gl. 

 Woodwardla Chamissoi, Brackenriilge, Ferns of U. S. Expl. Exped. 138. 



Along living streams, especially in forests, t'loin Mendocino County to San Diego, less common 

 in the Sierra Nevada tlian in the Coast Manges. Mexico, (Iiiatemala and Pern ; also from tiie 

 C^anaries to Abyssinia, India and Java. The Old AVorld plant olten juodiices a laige scaly Imd 

 near the apex of tlie frond, which takes root and produces a new plant. This hud has not been 

 found in America, but its absence is all there is to separate our plant from the otiier. 



11. ASPLENIUM, Linn. Sii.KKNwoirr. 



Sori oblong or linear, oldicpie to the midvein, Iwrne on the npper side of the fer- 

 tile veinlets, sometimes on the lower side also, covered by a special indusium atta(;h('d 

 to the fertile veinlet by one side and free on the other. Veins frc^e in our spiHtics. 



A very largo genus, containing over 300 species, the fronds varying IVom simple to hi-hly 

 decompound. Eighteen species are known to occur in llie United States. 



§ 1. Sori strdujlit, ncarhj alwaijs confined to the upper tildn, of the velits, irhich 

 are uniformly free. — Eu.vsi'Lenium. 



1. A. Trichomaiies, Linn. Stalks densely clustered, 1 to T) inches long, 

 nearly black, polished antl very narrowly herbai;eous-margined, as is the rhachis, 

 ■which persists after the pinnic have fallen : fronds 2 to 8 inches long, narrowly 

 linear, rather rigid, evergreen, pinnate ; ])inn;e numerous, nearly sessile, roundish- 

 oval or oval-oblong from an obtusely cuneate or truncate base, entire or erenulate- 

 toothed ; midvein nearly central ; veins few, obli(jue, usually once forked : sori 

 oblong, 3 to G or more each side of the midvein ; indusia very delicate, entire or 

 obscurely crenulate. — Hooker, Brit. Eerns, t. 29 ; Eaton, Ferns of X. Amer. i. 271, 

 t. 36, fig. 1 -3 ; Williamson, Fern Etchings, t. 20. 



Var. incisum, Moore. Pinnaj rather larger, incisely lobed, the lobes often cre- 

 nated or serrate. — Nat. Pr. Brit. Ferns, t. 3U, I), E ; Eaton, 1. c. 



The type is a common fern throughout the north temperate zone, becoming larger in tlie 

 trojiics, and there receiving several distinctive specific names. It has been found in Califoniia 

 only once, by Grn. jI. B. Enlon, in crevices of rocks on Monte Diablo, in ISof). Var. iiu-isiiin 

 was found near San Diego liy Dr. Newbcrnj in lS.o7, and has since been collected in the same part 

 of the State by Clcvclaml, Sloitf, and others. 



§ 2. Sori and !iidu.'<ia often curved, the hitter sometimes crossinrj the fertile rein- 

 let and continued some little waij down on tlie lower side also, thus becom- 

 ing horse-slioe-shaj^ed : fronds inostly 2--i-ijinnate. — Athyiul'.m. 



2. A. Filix-foemina, Bernhardi. (L.\dv-Fern.) Stalks a few inches to a foot 

 long, discolored and chall'y at the base : fronds standing in a vase-like circle, softly 

 membranaceous, 1 to 3 feet long, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, more or less narrowed 

 at the base, 2-3-pinnate : primary pinnae numerous, short-stalked, oblong-lanceolate 

 from a broad base, acuminate ; pinnules adnate to the narrowly winged secondary 

 rhachis, ovate-oblong and doubly serrate, or elongated and pinnately incised \vitli 

 cut-toothed segments ; veins forked or pinnated, the lowest superior veiidet of each 

 group commonly soriferous : sori near the midveins ; indusium short, usually lacerate- 

 ciliate on the frue edge. — Schrader's Neues Journ. I'.ot. 180G, ii. 26, 48, t. 2, lig. 7 ; 

 Hooker, British F'erns, t. 35 ; I'^aton, Ferns of N. Amer. ii. 225, t. 76 ; ^^'illialus(Ul, 

 Fern Etchings, t. 27. 



