142 WOODSIA 



RUSTY WOODSIA: Woodsia ilvensis. 



Fronds long lance-shaped in outline, seldom 

 more than 8 inches high, pinnate ; pinnae cut nearly 

 to the midrib into short, rounded, closely-set lobes. 

 The fronds are clothed underneath with a dense, 

 woolly coating, which soon turns to a rusty brown, 

 and almost conceals the fruit dots. The young 

 fronds, when unrolling, are covered with silvery- 

 white, hair-like scales. Stipes rather short, pos- 

 sessing an obscure joint an inch or more above the 

 base, at which point the old fronds separate, leav- 

 ing the stubble. This cliaracteristic serves to dis- 

 tinguish the rusty Woodsia from Cheilanthes lanosa. 



Fruit dots borne near the margins of the lobes, 

 running together when old. 



Found on exposed rocks, growing in dense 

 clumps, from the Arctic regions to the mountains 

 of North Carolina. 



NOTES. 



