138 beee's fern. 



redescribed the plant in the Appendix to the'Phytologist' under 

 the name of Lophodium fenisecii, convinced that it could not 

 be botanically associated with the species placed as typical by 

 the original describers of the genera Aspidium, Nephrodium or 

 Lastrea. Such is a concise summary of the botanical history 

 of this truly beautiful, and, to me, most interesting fern. 



In my list of synonymes I give references to all the authors 

 whom I believe to have noticed it, omitting, however, a great 

 number of papers in different volumes of the ' Phytologist,' 

 which dwell principally on the propriety or impropriety of the 

 name. Mr. Moore's description certainly refers to the plant 

 under consideration ; but I fear his artist has made some mis- 

 take about the figure, which as certainly does not represent the 

 deltoid outline of foenisecii. 



In the Azores, Madeira, the Cape de Verde and Canary 

 Islands, Lophodium foenisecii appears to be a common fern. 



In Britain, its distribution is not in accordance with any 

 general law of fern-geography. It appears to have landed, 

 from the Atlantic, on the south-western points of England and 

 Ireland, and to have made itseM perfectly at home : it is pro-^ 

 fusely abundant in Cornwall, Cork, and Kerry ; it spreads 

 northward and eastward from each of these, its great strong- 

 holds, and also appears here and there in detached and distant 

 localities. It grows amidst grass in exposed and rocky situa- 

 tions, and also abounds in warm and sheltered woods, especially 

 in the vicinity of water-com'ses ; the latter appears its natural 

 habitat, since in the former situation it is dwarf, less copiously 

 fruited, and appears altogether less healthy and vigorous. I 

 am compelled to neglect many communications which possibly 

 refer to this species, because I find the plant so imperfectly 

 known. In almost every locality mentioned, I have either seen 

 the plant growing, or possess specimens therefrom : when this 

 is not the case, I give the information in parentheses, not from 

 any doubt of the veracity of the information, but because I feel 

 certain that the species is still imperfectly known. It must 

 therefore by no means be presumed that I suppose the range 



