FERN FAMILY 107 



LADY FERN. 



Asplenium filix-famina. 



Frond twice pinnate, broadly lanceolate ; 

 pinnae lanceolate, from two to six inches long ; 

 pinnules oblong, more or less incised or serrate, 

 and united to the secondary rachis by a narrow 

 wing. 



It grows in moist woods or by the roadside, 

 — in fact it is found almost everywhere. Many 

 native varieties of this fern occur, and a large 

 number have been generated by sowing varie- 

 ties of spores together. 



The fronds are from one to three feet long, 

 with brownish stipes. They are quite delicate 

 in the early part of the season, but when heavily 

 loaded with fruit become coarse in appearance. 



The fertile and sterile fronds are similar in 

 outline. The fruit-dots are short and variously 

 curved, becoming at length confluent and giving 

 the frond a dark hue. They mature in July and 

 August. The indusium is delicate, straight, or 

 sometimes curved in horse-shoe form. 



