70 EERNS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



the indusium is attached to the side of the vein on 

 which it is seated ; while on the other side, that which 

 is towards the mid-vein, it becomes free, and is torn at 

 the edge into thread-like segments. The fructification 

 is so abundant, that Sir J. E. Smith has remarked of 

 this fern, " that if a single plant were uninterrupted in 

 its possible increase for twenty years, it would cover an 

 extent equal to the surface of the whole globe." In 

 Ireland, where it is common on aU the bogs, this fern is 

 used for packing fruit, as we in England use the common 

 Brake. It is sometimes used also by fishermen, for Mr. 

 Newman remarks of the plant, " On landing at Warren 

 Point, near Newry, I was rather surprised to see what 

 quantities of it were employed in packing the herrings 

 there exhibited for sale." 



This is a most variable fern, and some of its many 

 varieties are regarded by botanists as permanent, and so 

 distinct as to deserve to be classed as species. The 

 variety A. latifdlium is one of these. It is a much less 

 dehcate plant than the ordinary form. Its frond is 

 lanceolate, somewhat oblong ; its pinnules are broad, 

 leafy, and set more closely together, lobed and deeply 

 toothed at the edges, with the curved clusters of capsules 

 lying near the hollow between two lobes. It has been 

 found near Keswick, in Cumberland. It is probable 

 that it only acquires its pecuHarities from the situation 

 in which it grows. 



The variety termed A. convexum is very distinct. It 

 has more slender fronds than any other form of the Lady 

 Fern, and its pinnae and pinnules are smaller. The 

 narrow lanceolate frond is erect, and rarely more than 



