THE WALKING FERN AND HART’S-TONGUE. 269 
The stipes are short and the entire frond 
seldom reaches a length of more than 
twenty inches or a width of two inches. 
It is narrowest at the eared and heart- 
shaped base and gradually widens to be- 
yond the middle, and then tapers to the 
acute apex. The margins are entire but 
with such an abundance of tissue that 
they present a ruffled appearance in the 
living frond. Much of this appearance is , 
lost when it is pressed for the herbarium. 
The spores are not ripe until Sep- 
tember. They are borne towards the 
apical half of the frond in long lines 
reaching nearly from midvein to margin. 
Occasionally the sori reach quite to the 
margin and over on the upper side. 
They are in pairs, one on each side of the 
vein and opening toward it. The fruit is 
very abundant and the fertile fronds are 
noticeably heavier than sterile ones. 
This species is noted for the frequency 
with which it produces forked fronds. It 
is as if it has exerted its utmost to be 
fine and delicate like the rest. “At Chit- 
tenango Falls we found plenty of such 
fronds without searching for them. One 
was forked seven times. The fronds also 
occasionally root at the tip and Lowe 
mentions a plant found wild in Ireland 
which had the upper surface scattered 
over with young plants. 
The hart’s-tongue has several common 
HART'S-TONGUE. 
Scolopendrium vulgare, 
