368 FERN FAMILY. 



, * Fronds tivice pinnatifid: the sessile pinnce mostly forming an irregular and 



many-angled wing along the rhachis. 



P. polypodioldes, formerly Polyp6didm PhegOpteris. Common N. : 



.fronds 4' -9' long, longer than broad, triangular-ovate, slightly hairy beneath; 



pinn* lanceolate, the lower pair turned obliquely forwards ; secondary divisions 



crowded, oblong, obtuse, entire ; fruit-dots all near the margin. 



P. hexagondptera. Common N. & S. : larger than the last, which it 

 much resembles, but the frond is broader than long ; lowest pinnae much the 

 largest and with elongated and pinnatifid divisions ; fruit-dots not exclusively 

 near the margin. • 



* » Fronds with three primary divisions, which are stalked, rhachis wingless. 



P. Dryopteris. Common N. : fronds broadly triangular, 4' -6' wide, 

 .gmooth ; the three primary divisions triangular, once or twice pinnate with ob- 

 long obtuse entire or toothed lobes ; fruit-dots near the margin. 



is. ASPIDIUM, SHIELD-FERN. (Greek for a little shield, referring to 

 the indusium. ) — A very large genus, inhabiting all parts' of the world. 



§ 1. Nephk6diitm or Dey6ptekis. Indusium round-kidney-shaped or nearly 

 circular with a narrow clejlfrom the lower side almost to the centre. 

 * Fronds thickish, simply pinnate, thefewpinnce entire or newly so. 



A. Sieboldii. Cult, from Japan : froilfls coriaceous, smooth, about 1° 

 high, with 2.- 4 pairs of side pinnae, each 4' - 6' long and nearly 1 ' wide, and a 

 terminal one rather larger than the others ; veins with 4-6 free parallel branch- 

 es ; fruit-dots large, scattered in several rows. 



* * Fronds thin, decaying in early autumn (or tender hot-house plants), pinnate : 



pitmce simply pinnatifid with mostly entire obtuse lobes ; indusium small. 



+- Hootstock creeping, slender, nearly nalced and bearing scattered fronds : veins 

 free, simple or once forked : wdd species, common in bogs and low grounds. 



/ A. Thel^pteris. Fronds lanceolate, 10' -18' long, on slender stalks, 

 nearly smooth; pinna; lanceolate, 2' -4' long, about J' wide, spreading or 

 turned down, the lowest pair scarcely shorter ; divisions oblong, fniiting ones 

 seeming acute from the revolute margins ; veins mostly forked ; fruit-dots con- 



' fluent when ripe ; indusium smooth. 



A. Noveborae^nse. Much like the last, but hairy beneath along the 

 lihachis and veins ; fronds tapering both ways from' the middle ; lower pinnse 



'gradually smaller and distant ; lobes flat, the basal ones often larger and incised ; 

 veins rarely forked ; fruit-dots distinct ; indusium slightly glandular. 



A- -1- Rootstock oblique or erect, stouter, hearing the fronds in a crown : veins simple, 

 /^ free, or the lower ones of contiguous lobes united: indusium hairy. 



A. p&tens. Low shady grounds, Florida and W. : fronds l°-2° high, 

 sparsely pubescent, ovate-oblong; pinnae 3'- 6' long.J-' wide, numerous, lance- 

 olate from a broad base, lowest pairs a little smaller ; divisions oblong, slightly 

 falcate, obtuse or acutish ; veins entirely free ; indusium slightly hairy. 



A. mdlle. Cult, from tropical countries : very much like the last, but ev- 

 erywhere downy or soft-hairy ; pinnoe less deeply lolied ; lobes obtuse ; lower 

 vemlets (1 or 2 pairs) uniting with the corresponding ones of contiguous lobes 

 and sending out a ray-like veinlet to the sinus ; indusium very hairy. 



» * * Fronds smooth, from once to thrice pinnate, growing in a crown from a 

 stout and chaffy rootstock, and often remaining green through the winter ; 

 veins 2 - i-farked or branching. Wild species of the country. 



. ■*- Fronds imperfectly evergreen, once pinnate with deeply pinnatifid pinnae, or 

 nearly twice pinnate: fruit-dots not close to the margin: indusium rather 

 large, fiat, smooth, persistent. 



A. Goldiinum. Rich moist wpods N. : fronds broadly ovate, 2° -4° high, 

 9' -12' wide ; pinniB oblong-lanceolate, broadest about the middle, parted to the 



