ASPLENIUM. 



553 



broad, are furnished with pinna3 (leaflets) which in form resemble the frond 

 of a Doodia ; the short and irregular pinnules (leafits) make the pinnae 

 very narrow, whilst their segments are conspicuously toothed at the extremity. 

 — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., p. 115, fig. 449. 



A. F.-f. Edwardsii — Ed-ward'-si-i (Edwards's), Lowe. 



This remarkably dwarf variety is as distinct and pretty as it is 

 singular. Its fronds, seldom more than Sin. long and 2jin. broad, have 

 a peculiarly overlapping and crisped appearance owing to the disposition of 

 their pinnse (leaflets), which are crowded, imbricated, and taper towards both 

 the base and the extremity. The sori (spore masses) in this form are placed 

 in a single row near the costa (mid vein). It reproduces itself very freely 

 from spores. — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., p. 103, fig. 432. 



A. F.-f. Elworthii — El-wor'-thi-i (Elworthy's), Moore. 



A magnificent form, originally found wild near Nettlecombe. Its fronds, 

 fully 2ft. long, 7in. broad, and of stout substance, are more profusely crested 

 than those of any other known large -growing variety ; they are tripinnate 

 (three times divided to the midrib) and bear at their summit a densely 

 crispy, flattish crest 4in. to 6in. across. The pinnae (leaflets) arch gracefully, 

 as if bent by the weight of the heavy, fan-shaped tassels produced at their 

 extremity. All the lesser divisions, even to the third degree, are more or less 

 flat or dilated at their point and fimbriated (fringed) with many minute teeth 

 on the extreme end. The lobes, which are deeply cut, form a row of coarse 

 teeth along the edges of the pinnules (leafits). — Lowe, Our Native Ferns, ii., 

 p. 46, figs. 335 and 336. Nicholson, Dictionary of Gardening, i., p. 130. 



A. F.-f. Fieldlae— Field'-i-aa (Miss Field's), Moore. 



This remarkable and distinct form, originally found wild in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Tunbridge Wells, is unlike any other form of the Lady Fern. Its 

 singular fronds, 2ft. or more in length and only lin. broad, except immediately 

 below the apex, where they are about ljin. broad, are short-stalked, only 

 about 6in, of their basal part being destitute of pinnaa (leaflets). The leaflets 

 are short and narrow, approximate (set close together but not united) and 

 divided at the base into two short, equal-sized pinnules, one part ascending 



