132 LOMARIA SPICANT. 



A VERY pretty, indigenous, hardy, evergreen species, known 

 in Great Britain as the Common Hard Fern, and tolerably 

 common, although in some degree local throughout England ^ 

 Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, growing in stony, heathy places, 

 where there is abundance of moisture. Easily grown as a pot- 

 plant, and exceedingly handsome when a fine specimen. 



Common throughout Europe, Kamtschatka, Sitka, Cape of 

 Good Hope, Madeira, Azores, Teneriffe, the Canary Islands, 

 Sicily, Crete, etc. 



Fronds of two kinds. Sterile fronds linear-lanceolate in form, 

 pectinate-pinnatifid, frequently pinnate below, with oblong linear 

 flat lobes; prostrate in habit. The fertile fronds erect, contracted, 

 pinnate, having linear acute pinnae with reflexed margins. 



Caudex scaly, erect, or decumbent. Stipes of sterile frond 

 brief, occasionally four or five inches in length, densely scaly 

 at the base, those of the fertile frond longer. 



Stipes and rachis purplish in colour. 



Veins forked, ending in a club-shaped head immediately 

 within the margin of the frond. 



Sori indusiate, linear, extending on either side the midrib, 

 and running the whole length of the contracted pinnae, soon 

 becoming confluent. 



Indusium narrow and linear. 



Occasionally subject to variety. 



Mr. Moore, in his "Hand-book of British Ferns," describes 

 the following varieties: — 



1. — llamosum. — A branching tasseled variety, very rare. It 

 has been found in Ireland, by Dr. Kinahan and Captain Eden, 

 and at Windermere, by Mr. Hudhart. 



2. — Midtifurcatum. — The apex many-times forked, not crispy 

 tufts as in the variety ramoswn. It was found at Pcnryn, by 

 Mr. F. Symons. 



3. — Laiicifolium. — Upper half of frond entire; very rare. 

 Mr. Wollaston found it at Tunbridge Wells. 



4. — Hcteropliyllum. — An irregular-formed frond. Found by 

 Mr. Wollaston, at Tunbridge Wells. 



5. — Strictuin. — Kare. Lobes of frond irregularly shortened. 

 Miss Beever and Mr. Clowes found it in Westmorland, and 

 Dr. Allchin in Ireland. 



