o^^ FILICES. Asplenium. 



even higher, subcoriaceous, oblong-ovate, pinnate ; pinnre 4 to 15 inches long, broadly- 

 lanceolate, pinnatitid nearly to the midrib ; segments lanceolate from a broad base, 

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

 veinlets forming a single row of oblong often sorus-bearing areoles each side the 

 midvein, besides a few empty oblique areoles outsitle 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 pinnje. — Mem. Acad. Turin, v. 412; Hooker & 

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

 Woodwardia Chamissoi, Brackenridge, Ferns of U. S. Expl. Exped. 1 38. 



Along living streams, especially in forests, fi-om Mendocino County to San Diego, less common 

 in the Sierra Nevada than in the Coast Ranges. Mexico, Guatemala and Peru ; also from the 

 Canaries to Abyssinia, India and Java. The Old World plant often produces a large scaly hud 

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

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



11. ASPLENIUM, Linn. Spleenwort. 

 Sori oblong or linear, oblique to the midvein, borne on the upper side of the fer- 

 tile veinlets, sometimes on the lower side also, covered by a special indusium attached 

 to the fertile veinlet by one side and free on the other. Veins free in our species. 



A very large genus, containing over 300 species, the fronds varying from simple to highly 

 decompound." Eighteen species are known to occur in the United States. 

 § 1. Sori straight, nearly always confined to the upper side of the veins, tvhich 

 are uniformly free. — Euasplenium. 



1. A. Trichomanes, Linn. Stalks densely clustered, 1 to 5 inches long, 

 nearly black, polished and very narrowly herbaceous-margined, as is the rhachis, 

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

 linear, rather rigid, evergreen, pinnate ; pinnae numerous, nearly sessile, roundish- 

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

 toothed ; midvein*^ nearly central ; veins few, oblique, usually once forked : sori 

 oblong, 3 to 6 or more each side of the midvein ; indusia very delicate, entire or 

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

 t. 36, lig. 1 - 3 : Williamson, Fern Etchings, t. 20. 



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

 nated or serrate. — Nat. Pr. Brit. Ferns, t. 39, D, E ; Eaton, 1. c. 



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

 tropics and there receiving several distinctive specific names. It has been found m California 

 onlv once by Gfn. A. B. Eaton, in crevices of rocks on Monte Diablo, in 1855. Var. xncisum 

 was found near San Diego by Dr. Neivherry in 1857, and has since been collected m the same part 

 of the State by Cleveland, Stout, and others. 



§ 2. Sori and indtcsia often curved, the latter sometimes crossing the fertile vein- 

 let and continued some little way down on the lower side also, thus becom- 

 ing horse-shoe-shaped: fronds mostly 2 - i-phinate. — Athyrium. 



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

 Ion", discolored and cliaffy 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 pinna? 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 with 

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

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

 ciliate on the free edge. — Schrader's Neues Journ. Bot. 1806, ii. 26, 48, t. 2, lig. 7 ; 

 Hooker, British Ferns, t. 35 ; Eaton, Ferns of N. Amer. ii. 225, t. 76 ; Williamson, 

 Fern Etchings, t. 27. 



