2 7 o THE WALKING FERN AND HART'S-TONGUE. 



names. Hound's-tongue and seaweed fern have reference 

 to the shape of the fronds, while caterpillar fern and but- 

 tonholes are doubtless in allusion to the appearance of 

 the sori. When the sporangia are just pushing aside the 

 white indusia their likeness to buttonholes is not difficult 

 to imagine. The plant once had some repute as a 

 remedy for burns and eruptions of the skin and was 

 called burnt-weed. Britten says it is known as Christ's 

 hair in the Isle of Guernsey in allusion to the black vas- 

 cular bundles in the stipe. The plant is mucilaginous to 

 the taste and in France it is said to be infused with milk 

 for the sake of the slight but pleasant flavour which it 

 imparts to it. 



The hart's-tongue has been reported from several 

 stations in the vicinity of Syracuse, N. Y., and from one 

 locality in Tennessee. It is also found in New Brunswick 

 and at Owen's Sound in Canada. In the latter locality 

 it is said to be fairly abundant. In the Old World it is 

 found in Europe, the Azores, Japan, etc. The plant 

 is easily cultivated and forms fine clumps which afford a 

 pleasing contrast to the divided foliage of other ferns. 

 Single plants have been known to have as many as thirty 

 fronds at one time. Under cultivation it produces 

 numerous varieties. Nearly a hundred are known. 

 According to Moore, the fleshy bases of the stipes per- 

 sist for some time after the fronds have perished. If 

 these are cut apart retaining a part, of the "rind of the 

 caudex " on each, and planted like root-cuttings, they 

 will soon bud from the cut edges and form new plants. 

 Our illustration was made from specimens collected at 

 Chittenango Falls by the author. 



Scolopendrium is from the Greek for centipede, in 

 allusion to the parallel lines of sporangia, which suggest 



