Lastrea. 
157 
the third, tripinnatisccta, is often known in books by the name of pallida ; this is a large plant, 
with tripinnatisect, somewhat leathery fronds, to which most of the Southern Europe stations 
for L. rigida belong; besides these, it is also found in Northern Africa (Tunis). Apart from 
these forms, L. rigida is by no means a variable species. It is not difficult to cultivate, as it 
will do quite well in ordinary garden soil, requiring no shade, but plenty of moisture. In a box 
it will do well in a mixture of peat and loam, with which pieces of limestone are mixed ; it 
should be kept well watered. Although, perhaps, not one of the 
most distinct or striking of our ferns, nor one of those most 
frequent in cultivation, L. rigida is a handsome plant, and one 
well worthy of a place in an outdoor fernery. 
LASTREA CRISTATA, Presl. 
Although a 
plant of wide distribution on the continent of 
Europe, this is one of our rarer British species. It is admitted 
by Mr. Watson as a native of East Anglia (South Suffolk, and 
East and West Norfolk), Huntingdonshire, Nottinghamshire, 
Cheshire, and Yorkshire, as well as of Renfrewshire, in Scotland : 
it has been recorded for other counties, but not upon trustworthy 
authority, and it is not known to occur in Ireland. It is found 
throughout northern and central Europe, extending from Scan- 
dinavia to Moscow, and occurring in Spain and South Italy ; it is, 
however, less common in the south of Europe than in the other 
portions. In the Old World the range of Lastrea cristata is restricted 
to Europe, but it is frequent in swamps in the United States, and 
occurs abundantly in Canada and the Rocky Mountains. 
This fern has been a good deal confused with the two or 
three following species, nor is it always easy to separate them. 
With L. spinulosa, indeed, it is connected by a form named 
uliginosa , of which Milde says that, after examining a large 
number of specimens, he considers it to be truly intermediate 
between cristata and spinulosa, connecting the two so closely and 
so gradually that it is impossible to find any definite limits to 
either species. It is an upright growing plant, with narrow, oblong, 
pale-green fronds from a foot to a foot and a half in height, the 
pinnae being short, rather distant, and the lower ones being broadly 
triangular or deltoid in outline, about two inches long and an 
inch or so broad, diminishing in size as they approach the apex 
of the fronds. This narrow outline gives the plant a very distinct 
appearance ; it is, however, an interesting rather than a striking 
species, and is not very frequently met with in cultivation ; it 
grows easily in peaty soil, being propagated by the separation 
of the caudex, which sometimes gives off lateral branches. Like 
several other ferns, this produces two kinds of fronds, barren and 
fertile ; the former being broader, and of a more flaccid texture 
than the fertile ones. 
