212 



THE BLADDER FERNS. 



striking and little attention is paid to 

 them. The variety dentata has narrow 

 bipinnate fronds with blunt pinnae and 

 pinnules, the latter toothed. The 

 variety angustata has broad, nearly tri- 

 pinnate fronds with acute, rather lan- 

 ceolate, pinnules with sharply toothed 

 lobes. Variety laciniata has the 

 pinnules cut into irregular narrow 

 teeth. 



The author once collected this 

 species in the mountains of a tropi- 

 cal island, where it grew in the 

 crevices of a ledge that interrupted 

 the flow of a mountain torrent. 

 When the rainy season swells 

 the volume of water, all the 

 fronds are washed away, but as 

 soon as it subsides, a new crop 

 is produced. Since there are 

 two rainy seasons in this place 

 the plant seems regularly to 

 produce two sets of fronds 

 each year. 



BULBIFEROUS 



BLADDER 



FERN. 



The Bulbiferous 

 Bladder Fern. 



Wherever there is a line of 

 'uiblfera. s h a ded, dripping cliffs, especial- 

 ly in limestone regions, one may look for 

 the bulbiferous bladder fern (Cystopteris 



