The Fern Lover's Companion 05 



teetli. This variety favors regions with cool summers, 

 or dense shade in warmer regions. The term eubellum 

 alludestothe reddish stemsso often seen but this sign alone 

 may not determine the variety. It occurs throughout the 

 range of the species, Ijcing a common New England fern. 

 Fernald remarks that this is also a common form of the 

 species in southern Nova Scotia. 



Among other \'arieties named hy Butters are confer- 

 TiJi, having the pinnules irregularly lobed and toothed; 

 joined by a membranous wing, the lobes of the pinnules 

 broad and overlapping, giving the fern a compact appear- 

 ance; LACiNiATUM witli piunulcs very irregular in size 

 and shape, with many long, acute teeth, which project in 

 various directions. "An abnormal form which looks as if 

 it had been nibbled when yomig." 



The.se varieties are represented in the Gray Herbarium. 



(2) The Lowland Lady Fern 

 Athyrium .vsplexioides 



Rootstocks creeping, not densely covered with the per- 

 .sLstent ba.ses of the fronds. Stipes about as long as the 

 blade. Scales of the .stipe very few, seldom persi.stent, 

 rarely over .3-16 of an inch long. Fronds narrowly deltoid, 

 lanceolate, widest near the base, the second pair of pinn;ie 

 commonly longest. Indusia ciliate, the cilia (hairs) ending 

 in glands. Spores dark, netted or wrinkled. 



The following two forms are named by Butters: 



F. TYPicuii. The usual form frequent in eastern 

 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, 

 Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, and JNIissouri. 



F. SUBTHIPINNATUM. An unusually large and rare 



