ASPWIUM. 



417 



A. a. incisum — in-ci'-sum (incised), Gray. 



A pretty form, having broader fronds than the type ; the leaflets also 

 are wider, deeply cut, and sharply pointed. Eaton, who mentions it in his 

 work on the " Ferns of North America," vol. i., p. 258, says that " the 

 pinna? (leaflets) are incisely toothed, those of the fertile fronds bearing sori 

 (spore masses) at the tips, clear to the base of the fronds." — Nicholson, 

 Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 126. 



A. a. Schweinitzii — Schwein-hV-I-i (Schweinitz's), Beck. 



A form found in North Virginia ; it differs from the typical species 

 only in the shape of its pinna? (leaflets), which are lobed (eared) at the 

 base. — Eaton, Ferns of North America, i., p. 258. Hooker, Synopsis 

 Filicum, p. 250. 



A. ( Poly Sti chum) aculeatum — Pol-ys'-tich-um ; ac-u-le-a'-tum (Prickly 

 Shield Fern), Swartz. 

 This very interesting and highly decorative, hardy species, of handsome 

 growth, and whose brilliant, shining fronds are of quite an evergreen nature, 

 is a Fern of the most cosmopolitan character known, for it is recognised as 

 a native of North America and India alike, also of all parts of Europe, where 

 it is found in situations varying from the sea-level to an altitude of above 

 3000ft. Mr. E. J. Lowe, who has made Ferns a special study, states, in his 

 excellent work, "Our Native Ferns," vol. i., p. 197, that "it is a native 

 of Scandinavia, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, France, Belgium, Spain, 

 Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Russia, Africa, Madeira, and the 

 United States of America." As an illustration of the wide distribution of 

 this Fern in Europe, he also adds : " In 1860, whilst travelling amongst the 

 Spanish mountains, along the spurs of the Pyrenees, I found Polystichum 

 aculeatum repeatedly. On the Yillia Escusa, a mountain a few miles south 

 of Reinoso, this Fern was growing luxuriantly amidst the street-like rocks, 

 so much so as to be a shelter to the numerous wolves and foxes that 

 inhabit this mountain. Whilst the Asphodel, Rock Rose, Iris, Linum, 

 and many other splendid alpine plants were richly strewn over the open 

 land, this Fern occupied every available space where there was shelter and 

 moisture. It was seen peeping out of the Horodada, in the Congosto Pass, 



3 H 



