LOPHODIUM SPINOSUM. 159 



the present species ; I cannot therefore consent to separate the 

 spinulosa of Miiller from the cristata of Linneus. Like Lia- 

 neus, he prohably included both the plants ; but neither in his 

 figure nor description do I find any reason for supposing that he 

 restricted the name " spinulosa " to the present species. Wither- 

 ing adopts Miiller's name, and restricts it to the present species ; 

 so also do Mr. Babington and Mr. "Watson : but both these 

 eminent authors appear to me to have fallen into a palpable 

 error of nomenclature, for both name it L. spinulosa of Pj-esl, 

 whereas Presl distinctly states that his spiaulosa is the Asp. spi- 

 nulosum of Swartz, which is the glandulose plant, and certainly 

 the dilatata of both Babington and Watson. All other British 

 authors ignore the species entirely. Sir J. E. Smith and Mr. 

 Francis omit it altogether, giving the name, indeed, but not de- 

 scribing the plant : and Hooker and Arnott certainly exclude it 

 from the sixth edition of the ' British Flora.' These learned 

 authors make four varieties of their Aspidium spinulosum, 

 and explain to their readers that a. = L. uliginosum, Neivm. ; 

 fi. = "dilatatum, Willd." ; y. = " Foenisecii, JBa6. ; " and S'. is 

 thus described : — " Pinnules and segments very unequal in 

 size and in their spinulose serratures. A monstrosity ? " Mr. 

 Moore, in the second edition of his ' Handbook,' also ignores 

 it as a species, but retains the name as one of his varieties of 

 cristata, the L. Callipteris of this work. 



The confusion among continental authors is quite as great 

 as in this country, and Both is the only one, as far as my in- 

 formation extends, who has properly distinguished the present 

 species : and although I cannot but regret that his name of spi- 

 nosa should so nearly resemble the one that I reject, yet I trust 

 the difference will be sufiicient to fix it in the memory, and I 

 am inclined to believe Eoth's is the original name, although, 

 perhaps, first applied to the present plant when it was supposed 

 to be a mere variety of Athyrium Filix-femina. Mr. Lloyd tells 

 me that this fern is the Polypodium spinosum of Linneus. 



This fern certainly occurs in Germany, Sweden, and Hun- 

 gary ; but beyond these countries I am unable to trace its 



