46 RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER'S-TONGUE. 



about hummocks of hemlock loam " and added " it is sel- 

 dom found in moist places." Another in Vermont says 

 " in old meadows, they will grow in little hollows where it 

 is richer and more moist " while still another in Kentucky 

 found it common " in dry open woods " and writes that 

 " it may safely be looked for in red cedar groves," adding, 

 " I know few such places where it does not grow." In 

 contrast to these, Mr. A. A. Eaton has found fine large 

 plants in seven inches of sphagnum moss in New Hamp- 

 shire swamps. 



The tallest specimens 

 are seldom more than a 

 foot high while the great 

 majority do not attain to half this 

 size. The blade or sterile portion 

 is oblong, lanceolate or ovate, usu- 

 ally with a narrow 

 base, and is rather 

 fleshy. It is from two 

 to four inches long 

 and is borne low down in 

 the grass near the middle of 

 the common stalk. The nar- 

 row fruiting spike is from 

 half an inch to two inches 

 in length and consists of two 

 rows of sporanges embedded 

 in the tissue at the top of 

 the stalk. This is a more 



ADDER'S-TONGUE. Ophioglossum vulgatum. 



