Plate 62. 
BLECHNUM PENNA-MARINA. 
Class, FiLiCBS : — Ferns, no true flowers. 
Grenus, Bleohnum : — Fronds pinnate, barren and fertile fronds similar 
or differentiated. Veins usually free, forked. Sori in continuous 
lines, parallel to and usually contiguous with, midrib. Indusium 
membraneous, also continuous. 
Blechnum Penna'-marina, Kuhn. Plant 5-12 in. high. 
Rhizome slender, spreading, clothed with narrow, reddish- 
brown scales at crown. Stem naked. Frond somewhat tough. 
Barren frond 4-8 in. long, in. broad, narrowly lanceolate, 
leaflets romided at apex and with a wide base. Fertile frond 
longer than barren, with smaller narrower leaflets, which are 
further apart. 
Very common in heath, near streams and sea. 
All over the Islands. 
" This species covers the ground for many yards ; its 
fronds come up ruddy in spring and gradually change to a 
dark, glossy-green " (Wright). 
Description of plate :— 1, whole plant ; 2, section of stem ; 3, back 
of frond, showing sori ; 4, sporangia ; 5, sporangium dehiscing ; 6, 
prothallus and very young plant. All except 1 and 6 enlarged. 
