74 WHERE TO FIND FERNS. 



nules wedge-shaped, alternate on opposite sides of the 

 secondary rachides ; lobes in the tripinnate form 

 club-shaped or wedge-shaped, and indented upon their 

 margins ; stipes about equal in length to the leafy part, 

 green, and brittle. Fertile fronds are similar in general 

 arrangement of parts to barren fronds, but the ultimate 

 divisions are contracted into oblong, rounded, spore- 

 bearing lobes. The stipes of each fertile frond is 

 frequently three times as long as the leafy part. Fructi- 

 fication borne upon the whole of the under sides of the 

 lobes of the fertile fronds, the edges of which are rolled 

 under so far as to meet, thus enclosing the spore-cases 

 in simple indusia and giving a rounded form to each 

 lobe. When ripe the lobes and their contents turn 

 brown and open to allow of the escape of the spores. 



HABITATS. Moist crevices of rocks ; spaces between 

 loose stones upon hillsides- Allosorus crispus sometimes 

 in such positions growing in great abundance. So 

 thickly are plants of this species often clustered that 

 they have obtained the common name of " Rock 

 Brakes." 



WHERE FOUND. In England, in the counties of 

 Chester, Cumberland, Derby, Devon, Durham, Here- 

 ford, Lancaster, Northumberland, Salop, Somerset, 

 Westmoreland, Worcester, and York. In Wales, in the 

 counties of Anglesea, Caernarvon, Cardigan, Denbigh, 

 Glamorgan, Merioneth, Montgomery, and Radnor. In 

 the Isle of Man. In Scotland, in the counties of 

 Aberdeen, Argyle, Ayr, Berwick, Caithness, Dum- 

 barton, Dumfries, Elgin, Fife, Forfar, Inverness, Kin- 

 cardine, Kinross, Kirkcudbright, Lanark, Peebles, Perth, 

 Renfrew, Ross, Roxburgh, Selkirk, Stirling, and Suther- 

 land. In the isles of Arran, Harris, Mull, and Skye. 

 In Ireland, only in the counties of Antrim, Clare, 

 Down, and Louth. In these four counties the localities 

 are believed to be very few in which Allosorus crispus 

 has been found. They are as follows: In Antrim, at 

 Carrickfergus ; in Clare, at Blackhead ; in Downshire, 



