158 witheeing's fern. 



smoothly covered with whitish closely appressed flat scales, 

 which do not in the slightest degree conceal their form ; sti]3es 

 as long as the frond, pm'ple at the base, with scattered, broad, 

 rounded, pale brown, diaphanous scales: frond eglandulose, pale 

 green, slightly drooping, elongate, linear, pinnate : pinnse rather 

 distant, winged, pinnate : pinnules at the base of the pinnae 

 separated from the midrib by a deep notch, towards the apex of 

 the pinnae decurrent, all lobed, the lobes serrated, the teeth 

 of the serratures acutely spined : involucre nearly circular, its 

 margins waved, eglandulose : clusters of capsules circular, 

 crowded, sometimes confluent, confined to the upper part of 

 the frond. 



Polypodium cristatum, Linn. Sp. PI. 1551, ad partem. 



Polypodium Filix-femina, y. spinosa, Weiss, Crypt. 316. 



Polystichum spinosum, Rotli, Fl. Germ. iii. 91. 



Lastrea spinosa, Neioni. N. A. 21, F. 209. 



Lastrea spinulosa, Bab. 410, 



Lophodium spinosum, Newm. Phytol. iv. 371, Api^. xviii. 



The nomenclature of this species is involved in much obscu- 

 rity. I hesitate to pronounce a positive opinion on the subject, 

 but, as already stated, I entertain no doubt that Linneus in- 

 cluded it under his Polypodium cristatum, which he describes 

 as growing " sylvis ssepe uliginosis," (Flor. Suec. p. 308, ed. 1). 

 There is some difficulty in fixing an exact meaning to these 

 words ; but if we translate them literally, " frequently in marshy 

 woods," we shall have a very correct definition of the usual lo- 

 cality of L. spinosum. It is sometimes thought that that fern 

 is the Poljrpodium spinulosum of Miiller, (' Flora Danica,' 707); 

 but it seems to me that that botanist had neither the merit of 

 separating this species from L. Callipteris, nor any intention of 

 giving a new name, but again combined both in one species, 

 and merely adopted and mis2}rintcd Weiss' prior name of spi- 

 nosa. As for the figure in 'Flora Danica' (tab. 707) cited by 

 Withering, it represents but the apical portion of a frond, the 

 decm'rent and united pinnules of which resemble L. Callipteris, 

 while the creeping caudex also more nearly resembles that than 



