ASPIDIUM. 



465 



A. (Polystichum) multifidum — Pol-ys'-tich-um • mul-tif'-id-um 

 (many times cleft), Mettenius. 

 A greenhouse species, native of Chili, with fronds lft. to 2ft. long, 

 6in. to 9in. broad, borne on slender stalks 6in. to 12in. long and densely 

 clothed with large, egg-shaped, nearly black scales. The close and spreading 

 pinna? (leaflets) are from Sin. to 4in. long and about lin. broad ; they are 

 divided into unequal -sided pinnules (leafits) of a somewhat leathery texture, 

 which in their turn are subdivided into ovate (egg-shaped) or spathulate 

 (spoon-shaped) segments, the lower ones being again deeply pinnatifid (cut 

 down nearly to their midrib), but with blunt teeth. The small and numerous 

 sori (spore masses) are scattered over the whole of the under-surface of the 

 fertile pinnules. — Hooker, Species Filicum,, iv., p. 35. 



A. (Polystichum) munitum— Pol-ys'-tich-um ; mu-ni'-tum (armed), 

 Kaulfuss. 



This very handsome, greenhouse species is, when well grown and fully 

 developed, one of the finest Ferns native of North America, where it is 

 popularly known under the name of " Chamisso's Shield Fern." It is found 

 amongst rocks and in forests, sometimes very abundantly, from Guadalupe 

 Island and San Diego, California, northward to British Columbia, but is 

 unknown east of the Sierra. The finest specimens, according to Eaton, 

 are found in Mendocino County, California, and in Southern Oregon. The 

 handsome, spear-shaped fronds (Fig. 70), of evergreen nature and leathery 

 texture, bright shining green above and paler beneath, according to the same 

 authority, measure in a wild state from lft. to 5ft. in length, varying 

 with the strength of the plant and the nature of the climate and soil where 

 it occurs. Under cultivation, however, they seldom exceed 2ft. in length 

 and 8in. in breadth, and are borne on tufted, straw-coloured stipes (stalks) 

 4in. to 9in. long, densely clothed, especially below, with large, glossy, spear- 

 shaped scales of a light brown colour, ciliated (hairy) all round, and growing 

 gradually smaller upwards. The pinna? (leaflets), which are very numerous 

 (from thirty to forty on each side of the midrib), are from Sin. to 4in. long, 

 Jin. broad, and closely set ; they are nearly straight, and their margin is 

 finely but sharply serrated (dented like a saw) with oblique or incurved 

 teeth. The large and conspicuous sori (spore masses) are disposed in two 



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