ATHYBIUM. 91 



vexum, but is more vigorous, has the tips of all the pinnae, 

 as well as of the frond itself, multifid or tasselled, which 

 gives it a very elegant appearance. Another, which we call 

 crispum, is a dwarf tufted plant, no larger than a bunch of 

 curled parsley, which it much resembles, its fronds being 

 curiously crisped and tasselled. These two are, strictly 

 speaking, monstrosities, but they have retained their cha- 

 racteristics for many years in cultivation, and are very elegant. 



Another curious form we propose to call marinum : it 

 was found by Dr. Dickie growing along with Cystopteris 

 DicJcieana, in a cave near the sea at Aberdeen, and has now 

 for five or six years been cultivated along with other hardy 

 Perns, and retains its distinct appearance and characteristics. 

 It has small fronds about a foot long, lanceolate, and re- 

 markable for the manner in which they taper from their 

 broad centre, equally towards the base and apex; these 

 fronds, moreover, have a spreading or horizontal mode of 

 growth ; their pinnules are oblong and bluntly toothed, and 

 attached closely together, at right angles with the continu- 

 ously winged rachis of the pinnae. The sori are very short, 

 often curved in a horse-shoe form, and crowded on the small 

 pinnules. 



The common Lady Pern is abundant in warm moist woods 



