220 



HUDSON S SPLEENWOET. 



Asplenium obovatum (Vivares), Guss. PI. Ear. p. 370, tab. 

 64 ; Spr. Syst. Veg. iv. 88. 



Asplenium Forsteri, Sadler, De Fil. Ver. 32, teste Sprengel, 

 but Sadler denies this. 



The only tolerable figure of this fern with which I am ac- 

 quainted, is in Gerarde's Herbal, (Ger. Em. 1135) : that in 

 ' English Botanj' ' (t. 240) is more like Asplenium fontanum ; 

 and that in Mr. Francis's ' Analysis of British Ferns ' (plate 5, 

 fig. 2), rather resembles Cystopteris fragilis than the present 

 plant. I do not know Bolton's figure (Fil. Brit. tab. 17, 2), 

 referred to by Withering. 



It is one of those species that has almost escaped all confu- 

 sion in nomenclatm-e : we are indebted to Hudson (Flor. Ang. 

 ii. 454) for describing and naming it as a distinct species, and 

 nearly all subsequent authors have adopted his name. It must, 

 however, be observed, that our plant is described by Gussone 

 under the name of Asplenium obovatum, and by S]3rengel 

 under both names, lanceolatum and obovatum. It is not the 

 Asj)lenium lanceolatum of Hofiinann (Deutschl. Flor. ii. 12), 

 an error judiciously pointed out by Weber and Mohr (Bot. 

 Tasch. 4 1), that plant being nothing more than a variety of A. 

 Adiantum-nigrum : these authors also correctly observe that 

 A. lanceolatum has never been found in Germany. It appears 

 that our plant was well known to Kay, who describes it as 

 " Filix elegans Adianto nigro accedens, segmentis rotundiori- 

 bus," — (Syn. 127). The only habitats he gives are, first, on 

 the authority of Sherard, " rocks on the north side of the Isle 

 of Jersey ; " and, secondly, on the authority of Bobart, " the 

 porch of Adderbury church, in Oxfordshire : " he also adds 

 that it has been found in England by Mr. Woodward, but 

 gives no more precise information. 



Its European range is very limited. Sadler gives it as a 

 native of France, but it does not appear in the ' Flore Fran- 

 ^aise.' It certainly occiirs in Sicily, Italy, and Portugal. Mr. 

 Watson informs me that he found it in Fayal, one of the 

 Azores, and that Dr. Lemann collected it in Madeira. 



