1. FXLXCES. 
PL end. er . 
Farm X. 1. FXLICES. Ferns. 
Fructifications gregarious, in sori covered when young 
with an involucrum ; generally seated upon the lower sur- 
face of the leaves, but in some upon a spike. Capsules 
unilocular, often girt with an elastic ring, which dies back 
when the seeds are ripe ; seeds very minute . — Rhizoma per- 
ennial, creeping; Fronds alternate, apparently radical, 
when young generally convolute ; Plants usually herbaceous, 
but in some mountainous situations they become evergreen 
shrubs. Winch. Ann. of Phil. 3 818. 
Rhizoma very bitter, emmenagogue, purgative, and an- 
thelmintic. Leaves bechic, demulcent, astringent, agreeably 
aromatic. Ashes contain much alkali ; which being dis- 
solved in a decoction of the same plant stimulate the growth 
of hair, and hence they have been called capillary plants . 
1 . Capsule striated , without an elastic ring , pedicelled. 
Osmundacece , a. 
Caps, globular, seated round the frond 
contracted into the form of a panicle Osmunda. 1. 
2. Caps, striated , with an elastic ring . 
a. Involucrum none. Polypodiacece b. 
Sori transverse, linear . . Ceterach. 2. 
Sori round Polypodium. 3. 
1. Invol. umbilicate , or attached by one side; 
sori round. Aspidiacece , c. 
Invol. umbilicate, or kidney shape, fixed 
in the centre Aspidium. 4v 
Invol. sharp-pointed, open from top to 
bottom Cyclopteris. 5. 
Invol. attached to one side, open towards 
the margin Athyrium. 6L 
c. Invol fixed on one side , opening to the 
midrib; sori linear. Aspleniacece , d. 
Sori separate ; originating laterally from 
a rib Asplenium. 7. 
d. Invol. double , opening by a longitudinal 
fissure; sori linear. Scolopendrice , e. 
Sori oblique, parallel to each other 
between the veins of the frond Scolqpendrium. 8, 
