142 



BRITISH FERNS 



sufficiently marked specific differences to determine them as such, 

 if not as species proper. These three he named L. filix-mas, the 

 Common Male Fern, L. -pseudo-mas, which we will name the Hard 

 Male Fern, and L. propinqua, a form distinct from either, and these 

 three we will therefore treat of under separate headings. The dis- 

 putable species, viz. L. cristata, L. uliginosa, L. spinulosa, we cannot 

 help considering as varied forms of L. dilatata, and Dr. F. W. Stans- 

 field, one of our foremost authorities on British Ferns, agrees with 

 us in this view. He states : " L. dilatata, spinulosa, uliginosa, and 

 cristata form a chain of sub-species in the order named ; the extreme 

 forms are as distinct as any two species in the genus, but the inter- 

 mediate forms merge into each other. L. cristata is a real bog Fern, 

 dilatata does not grow in bogs, though it is found on islands in bogs." 

 L. remota must be judged by itself ; we gravely doubt its actual 

 specific distinction. We shall, however, with this reservation, 

 treat of them separately, and illustrate their, as we consider, sub- 

 varietal differences. As there are material differences between the 

 species, constituting the genus here, as to natural habitats and 

 cultural requirements, deciduous nature, or otherwise, we will 

 also reserve our remarks on these points in this introduction, as 

 we cannot treat of them generally as with the other genera. 



Lastrea ^Emula (The Hay-scented Buckler Fern) 



(Plate XXII) 



This is a very pretty species, closely allied to L. dilatata, but 

 distinguished from it, and from its recognized sub-species, by 

 greater delicacy of make in the fronds, the segments of which are 



prettily curled and crisped. A further difference is seen in the 

 caudex, which is smaller and of a more tufted character, the whole 

 plant, indeed, being more compact. The fronds (Fig. 146), too, 



