POLYSTICHUM LONCHITIS. 249 
/ POLY'STICHUM LONCHI'TIS. 
Tars Fern has been included by some modern botanists 
in the genus Aspidium, and by others in Polypodiiim. 
By the older botanists it was called Lonchitis, which has 
always since been retained as the specific name, and is 
appropriate, loychitis, in Greek, signifying "resembling 
a spear," which is applicable to its leaves. In English it 
is known as the Holly Fern, being evergreen, dark- 
coloured, leathery, and prickly, Rough Alpine Shield 
Fern, Royal Polypody, Great Spleenwort, and Spleen- 
wort Polypody. 
Its root is tufted, large, coarse, scaly, black, and 
having numerous fibrous rootlets. Fronds in a circle 
round the crown of the root, and leaning outwards in a 
cup-like arrangement, varying from six inches to fifteen 
or more inches in height, narrow spear-head shaped in 
their general outline, stiff and harsh, colour very deep 
glossy green. Stem furrowed in front, clothed for three- 
quarters of its length with leaflets, and the unleafleted 
part covered with broad, large, tapering, dark brown 
scales. Leaflets crowded, so as to overlap the one 
next below, short-stalked, about three-quarters of an 
inch long, alternate, smooth on the upper surface, 
rather scaly on the under surface, pointed egg-shaped, 
but rendered irregular by a lobe near the base on the 
upper side, saw-edged, the teeth being irregular and 
fringed with sharp bristles. The mid-vein of each 
leaflet straight, with alternate aide-veins, these being 
