60 PTERIS 



BRACKEN; BRAKE; EAGLE FERN: 



Pteris aquilina. 

 (JPteridium aquilinum.) 



Frond large and spreading, 1 to 3 feet high, 

 borne on the summit of an erect stalk, triangular 

 in outline, divided into three principal divisions; 

 the widely spreading side divisions are twice pin- 

 nate, the lower pinnules more or less pinnatifid, 

 with oblong, obtuse lobes, variable in their shape 

 and cutting. 



The fruit is borne on the margins of the pinnules 

 in a continuous line, covered by an indusium 

 formed by the reflexed edges of the pinnules. 



Common in thickets and on hillsides, widely dis- 

 tributed. 



A variety known as P. pseudocaudata has nar- 

 row and much elongated pinnules. 



