SCOL OPENDRIUM. 



331 



narrow, very irregular divisions of a stag's-horn-like appearance, which 

 suggested the name. — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., fig. 775. Druery, Choice 

 British Ferns, p. 140. 



S. Y. laceratum— lac-er-a'-tum (torn), Moore. 



A strikingly handsome variety, better known perhaps in gardens under 

 the name of S. v. endiva 'folium ; it was originally found at Taunton, and 

 subsequently in Yorkshire. Though a very old plant, it is one of the most 

 beautiful and distinct forms met with in collections to this day. Its fronds 

 are variable, frequently short and broad, though sometimes 1ft. long ; they 

 are comparatively broad at the base and more or less crested at their summit. 

 The margins are so deeply cleft into projecting lobes, that, as Mr. Chas. T. 

 Druery remarks, " in this form the Hartstongue seems to aim at bearing 

 pinnaB (leaflets) like other Ferns, the margin running out into long, some- 

 times crested points." The basal lobes, which usually are the longest 

 (frequently 4in. long and lin. wide), bear pronounced flat crests ; in the other 

 parts of the fronds the lobes considerably overlap, and frequently the extremity 

 of the frond consists of a frilled tassel of great beauty. This variety possesses 

 the property of reproducing itself fairly true from spores. — Lowe, Our Native 

 Ferns, ii., fig. 610. Druery, Choice British Ferns, p. 140. 



S. Y. lacertum — lac'-er-tum (lizard-like), Lowe. 



According to Lowe, this most singular variety was originally found at 

 the Woodlands, near Whitby, by Mr. W. Willison, and called by him " The 

 Lizard," from the fact that the extremity of the frond frequently resembles 

 the tail of the lizard, and that the lateral lobes, few in number, bear some 

 resemblance to the paddles of this reptile. The fronds otherwise are of normal 

 dimensions. — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., fig. 715. 



S. Y. lato - digitatum — la'-to - dig-it-a'-tum (having broad fingers), 

 Stansfield. 



A beautiful and constant variety, raised from spores by Messrs. Stansfield, 

 of Todmorden. The fronds, about Sin. long and nearly Sin. broad, are quite 

 normal below, the stalk branching about 4in. from the base into a wide, 

 finger-shaped head nearly 6 in. broad, solid and leafy, with a margin irregularly 

 but profusely cleft (Fig. 94).— Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., fig. 769. 



