Aspidium.] XCIV. FILICES. 563 
the segments broader, thinner, more wedge-shaped on the lower side, 
much more toothed, and the lower ones sometimes almost pinnatifid, 
the plant then forming some approach to A. spinulosum, from which it 
differs in the much narrower frond, with the segments much broader and 
much less divided. Sori large as in A. Filix-mas, with a conspicuous 
indusium. Lastrea cristata, Presl. Nephrodium cristatum, Desv. 
In moist or boggy places, in temperate Europe and western Asia, from 
the Pyrenees and northern Italy to Scandinavia, and in North America, 
but not generally common. In Britain, very local, but has been found 
in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Renfrewshire in Scotland. 
Fr. summer and autumn. Some specimens appear almost to connect it 
with A. Filix-mas, whilst others are difficult to distinguish from A. 
spinulosum. [Lastrea uliginosa, Newm., is a variety with more divided 
frond and more acute pinnules. | 
7. A. spinulosum, Sw. (fig. 1293). Broad S.—The most variable of 
all our Aspidiums, allied to A. Filix-mas, but generally not so tall, of a 
- paler green, and very much broader; the general outline nearly ovate, 
1 to 2 feet long or rarely more, the lowest pair of pinnas not much 
shorter, or even longer than the others. The frond is also more divided, 
either twice pinnate, with the segments of the pinnas oblong-lanceolate 
and deeply toothed, or pinnatifid, or thrice pinnate ; it then closely re- 
sembles Asplenium Filix-femina and Polypodium alpestre, but may be 
generally distinguished by the lower pinnas not decreasing so much in 
size, and more accurately by the sori, which are circular, with a kidney- 
shaped indusium as in A. Filix-mas, although much smaller, and when 
mature the indusium often disappears. 
In sheltered, shady places, on moist banks, in open, moist woods, &c., 
common in Kurope and Russian Asia, from northern Spain and Italy to 
the Arctic regions. Abundant in Britain. Fr. summer and autumn. 
[More than twenty varieties of this species have received distinct names, 
and the following four have been considered as gues: but have no 
tangible characters to separate them ; they are,— 
a. A. spinulosum, Swartz. Frond oblong- lanceolate, glandular beneath, 
pale-green. Lastrea spinulosa, Pres). 
b. A. dilatatum, Willd. Scales denser, narrower, with a dark-brown 
centre. Frond large, broader, dark green, glandular beneath. JZ. 
dilatata, Presl. 
c. A. remotum, Braun. Rachis of frond scaly. Frond glandular be- 
neath, oblong-lanceolate, pinnules cut halfway down. Windermere only. 
Lastrea remota, Moore. 
d. A. emulum, Sw. Frond triangular, glandular beneath, concave 
and curved upwards, smelling of hay. Local in Britain. Nephrodium 
fenisecit, Lowe. ] 
8. A. rigidum, Sw. (fig. 1294). Rigid S.—Very near A. spinulosum, 
of which it has the deeply toothed or pinnatifid, oblong-lanceolate seg- 
ments, but the frond is stiffer and not so broad, and the sori are much 
larger, the two rows often occupying nearly the whole breadth of the 
segments, their indusiums conspicuous and persistent as in A. Filix-mas 
and A. cristatum. Lastrea rigida, Presl. Nephrodium rigidum, Desv. 
In rocky situations, especially in limestone districts, in temperate 
Kurope, from the Pyrenees to Norway, extending eastward into central 
Asia, and in North America. In Britain, chiefly in the limestone 
