CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. 247 



All sorts of medicinal virtues were once ascribed to 

 this plant, but at present, little or no use is made of it. 

 It is slightly astringent and is the species originally used 

 in making " Syrup of Capillare." 



In 1898 a large colony of this fern was found along 

 a stream fed by hot springs, in the Black Hills of South 

 Dakota. Its occurrence in this place, at so great a dis- 

 tance beyond its ordinary limits, is no doubt to be ex- 

 plained by the fact that the warmth of the water modifies 

 the temperature of the region in winter rendering it 

 similar to that which prevails in the stations further 

 south. The species has also been reported from New 

 York and Pennsylvania, but the evidence is hardly con- 

 vincing. 



The name Adiantum is from two Greek words mean- 

 ing without wet, and has reference to the fact that the 

 fronds of most of the species are so smooth that water 

 runs off without wetting them. There are about seventy- 

 five species, mostly in the American Tropics. Some of 

 these are among the handsomest of ferns, and no species 

 in the genus is unattractive. 



