THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. 157 



for only a few minutes after being brought into the light. 

 The motions are most vigorous in the middle of the day. 



Among the many common names for our 

 plant are wall spleenwort, dwarf spleenwort, 

 black-stemmed spleenwort, English maiden- 

 hair, waterwort fern and baby fern. All are 

 derived from the size or appearance of the 

 plant or from the locations it effects. Its 

 fronds are said to be somewhat mucilaginous 

 and astringent and were formerly often substi- 

 tuted for those of the true maidenhair (Adian- 

 tum Capillus-Veneris) in compounding the 

 famous " Syrup of Capillare." The drying 

 fronds have a sweetish odour which often re- 

 mains in the herbarium specimens. 



The maidenhair spleenwort is one of the 

 most cosmopolitan of ferns. It is found 

 throughout almost all of North America and 

 is as common on the other side of the globe. 

 A British writer says, " The walls of loose 

 stones piled on each other which skirt the road 

 in North Wales are often green for miles with 

 tufts of this fern." It is often supposed that 

 our plant grows only upon calcareous rock but 

 this is certainly a mistake. It is seldom miss- 



' rrond of 



ing entirely from any shaded ledge, and is MAIDENHAIR 

 likely to be among the young collector's first SPLEENWORT - 

 specimens from such places. It takes kindly to the arti- 

 ficial rockery and if planted in the chinks of a rough 

 stone wall will soon cover the gray rocks with its delicate 

 fronds. 



The variety incisum with leaflets deeply cut has been 

 reported from various parts of our range. The incised 



