TRnilP VI •'ERTILE AND STERILE FRONDS LEAF-LIKE 

 UKUUr VI AND USUALLY SIMILAR; FRUIT-DOTS ROUND 



Fern, great tufts made by the magnificent bright- 

 green fronds of Goldie's Fern, symmetrical circles 

 of vigorous Evergreen Wood Fern, and shining clus- 

 ters of the Christmas Fern. All these plants, belong- 

 ing to the one tribe, seek the same moist, shaded 

 retreats, and form a group of singular beauty and 

 vigor. 



43. CLINTON'S WOOD FERN 



Aspidiutn cristatum, var. Clintonianum (Dryopteris cristata Clinto- 



niand) 



Maine to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in swampy woods. Two 

 and a half to four feet high. 



Fronds, — Larger in every way than those of the Crested Shield 

 Fern, nearly twice-pinnate ; pinna broadest at base, cut into from 

 eight to sixteen pairs of linear-oblong, obtuse, obscurely toothed di- 

 visions ; fruit-dots large, round, near the midvein ; indusium or- 

 bicular, smooth. 



This is a much larger and more showy plant than 

 the Crested Shield Fern. Its tall, broad, hardy- 

 looking fronds are found in our moist woods. While 

 not rare it is exclusive in its habits, and cannot be 

 classed with such every-day finds as its kinsmen, 

 the Marsh, Spinulose, Evergreen, and Christmas 

 Ferns. 



172 



