io8 
European Ferns. 
Asplenium Adiantum-nigruni is a fern of wide distribution, and one which is represented 
by several forms, some of which are so distinct in character or appearance that they have 
been described by some writers as distinct species. The ordinary form is found in most 
of the English and Scotch counties, and it is also frequent in most parts of Ireland ; 
it extends from the level of the sea to an elevation, in the Highlands, of about two 
thousand feet. The evergreen character of the fronds did not escape the attention of 
Gerard, who says of them : “ They remaine greene all the yeare long, otherwise than 
Polypodie or Maidenshaire do: yet do they not cease to bring forth new leaves in summer: 
they are destitute of flowers and seede, as in the former.” Varieties are occasionally met with 
in which the fronds are prettily varie- 
gated with white or whitish-yellow ; 
but these forms do not appear to be 
permanent. Its European distribution 
is also very general, extending from 
Norway and Denmark through Bel- 
gium and Holland, Hungary, Italy, 
France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, 
Spain and Portugal, the Mediter- 
ranean region, Turkey, and Greece. 
Passing out of Europe, we find it 
plentifully in most of the African 
islands — ■ Madeira (where it is very 
common, ascending to an elevation 
of four thousand feet), the Cape 
Verd, the Azores, St. Helena, and 
the Mascarene Islands (Bourbon and 
Mauritius) — and also on the continent 
of Africa, both in the north (Algeria) 
and south (Cape of Good Hope and 
Natal), as well as in Abyssinia and 
on the Cameroon mountains. In Asia 
asplenium acutum (reduced). Jt i ias a considerable range, extending 
from Siberia to Northern India, 
Afghanistan, Persia, and Kashmir ; it is found also in the East (Arabia, Syria, and Armenia) 
and in the island of Java. It was at one time supposed to have been found in America, 
but this seems to have been an error. 
We have said that A. Adianturn-nigrum is a very variable plant: two varieties of it 
(each of which has been considered of specific rank, although now most authors agree in 
reducing them to this species) demand special notice. The first, acutum, is characterised by 
the extreme slenderness and gracefulness of all its parts — pinnae, pinnules, and segments being 
extremely narrow, and usually acute or even acuminate. It is a singularly beautiful plant, 
the elegant form and bright shining surface of the fronds at once attracting attention. In the 
United Kingdom this has at present only been found in Ireland, where it occurs in several 
widely separated localities, being most abundant in the south and south-west ; it has long 
been known as an Irish plant, if we are correct in identifying with it the i 'Filix minor 
longifolia ” of Ray (1724), which was found “on the mountains of Mourn, in the county 
