554 Filices Ophioglossum. 



10. OPHIOGLOSSUM. 



Eootstock with fleshy fibrous roots. Frond oblong-lanceo- 

 late, with a simple fertile spike attached to it, much in the way 

 of the spathe and spadix of the Aroidecv. Spore-cases confluent, 

 globose, arranged in a distichous spike. There are about four 

 widely-distributed species. Name from o^ts-, a snake, and 

 yX&aaa, a tongue, in allusion to the fertile spike. 



1. 0. vulgatum. Adder's Tongue. This curious little plant 

 is very distinct from all other Ferns. The single frond is from 3 to 

 9 inches high, with a blade from 2 to 4 inches long, and varying 

 from ovate-oblong to lanceolate. There are two forms vulgatum 

 proper, with ovate fronds and long fertile spikes ; and Lusi- 

 tdnicum, with narrow lanceolate fronds and spikes lei?s than 

 an inch long. The former is not uncommon in pastures and 

 woods, and it is also common in the temperate regions of the 

 north and south. 



17. BOTRYCHIUM. 



This genus differs from the last in its pinnate or bipinnate 

 fronds and compound panicle of clustered spore-cases. There 

 are six species, from temperate and tropical regions. The name 

 is derived from /Sorpus', a cluster, the form of the inflorescence. 



1. B. Lunaria. Moonwort. Frond fleshy, about 4 or 6 

 inches high, pinnate, with lunate, crenate, or pinnatifid pinnas. 

 A widely distributed plant, but not so frequent in Britain as 

 its ally the Adder's Tongue. 



The remaining orders of this division are scantily, if at all, 

 represented in gardens, except under glass. We have several 

 native species of the Lycopodiacece, five belonging to the genus 

 Lycopodium, and one to Selaginella. There is also one hardy, 

 or nearly hardy, Japanese species belonging to the latter genus, 

 8. involvens. It belongs to the section with dwarf rosulate 

 flat fan-like branches. Of the Equisetacece, the very large 

 Horsetail, Equisetum maximum, syn. E. Telmateia^ deserves 

 mention, as it is a grand plant for introducing in damp rich 

 soil, where it is not fully exposed to the sun. In favourable 

 situations its barren stems rise to a height of 6 or 8 feet. The 

 distinct manner of growth peculiar to this genus, in which the 

 lateral branches are arranged in whorls one above the other 

 from a sheathed jointed stem, is sufficient to entitle it to a place- 

 in the gardens of the curious. 



