THE HARD PRICKLY SHIELD FERN. QI 



base of the pinnule next above it. Fructification pro- 

 duced in rows one on each side of the midvein of 

 each pinnule, or, towards the apex of the frond and 

 towards the apex of the pinna, on each side of the 

 midveins of the pinna? themselves of round sori, 

 covered by round indusia. 



HABITATS. The sloping ground of woods where 

 shaded by trees or dwarfer growths ; the sides of hedge 

 and other embankments which make the boundaries of 

 shady lanes : the sides of hills, especially where frag- 

 ments of rock and sheltering shrubs cover ground 

 enriched by leaf-mould. Dwarf specimens or seedlings, 

 may sometimes be found upon walls ; but such positions 

 are exceptional, as only depths of rich earth can afford 

 the root-room required by large and luxuriant plants of 

 this species. 



WHERE FOUND. In England, in the counties of 

 Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Cambridge, Chester, Cornwall, 

 Cumberland, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, Essex, 

 Gloucester, Hants (the mainland and the Isle of Wight), 

 Hereford, Hertford, Kent, Lancaster, Leicester, Lincoln,. 

 Middlesex, Monmouth, Norfolk, Northampton, Northum- 

 berland, Nottingham, Oxford, Salop, Somerset, Stafford, 

 Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Warwick, Westmoreland, Wilts, 

 Worcester, and York. In Wales, in the counties of 

 Anglesea, Brecknock, Caermarthen, Caernarvon, Den- 

 bigh, Flint, Glamorgan, and Pembroke. In the Isle of 

 Man. In Scotland, in the counties of Aberdeen, Argyle, 

 Ayr, Berwick, Caithness, Clackmannan, Dumfries, 

 Edinburgh, Elgin, Fife, Forfar, Haddington, Inverness, 

 Kincardine, Kinross, Kirkcudbright, Lanark, Nairn, 

 Orkney, Peebles, Perth, Renfrew, Ross, Roxburgh, 

 Selkirk, Stirling, and Sutherland : also in the isles of 

 Bute, Cantyre, and Islay. In Ireland, in the counties 

 of Antrim, Clare, Dublin, Galway, and Wicklow. It 

 is found in Jersey. It ascends to two thousand five 

 hundred feet above the sea-level. 



