126 
THE FERN FAMILIES OF BRITAIN. 
huge, circular plumes, with radiating, pendent fronds between 
2ft. and 3ft. in length. It is not difB.culb to cultivate in ord.inary 
compost, and, when well established, becomes, from its ever- 
green character and habit of growing from one crown only, 
one of the boldest and most ornamental of all the normal forms. 
It has sported into some very handsome varieties. The figures 
in parentheses refer to Plate YI. 
P. ac. acrocladon (summit-branched) (1). Beautifully and 
symmetrically crested throughout. 
P. ac. acutilobum (acutely-lobed). Wills. A distinct form, 
with sharply-pointed and somewhat lengthened subdivisions. 
P. ac. corymbiferum (corymb-bearing). Heavy, tufted 
crests. 
P. ac. cristato-gracile (crested, slender). A slenderer 
form than the normal, with somewhat pendent, neat crests. 
P. ac. palcherrimum (very beautiful) (4). A remarkably 
handsome and extremely rare, uncrested form, quite barren, 
and with the pinnules beautifully elongated and curved, sickle 
fashion, imparting a peculiar beauty to the frond. 
The Soft Prickly Shield Fern 
iPolystichum angulare). 
This very beautiful Fern is plentifully distributed in most 
Ferny districts, making itself at home in hedgerows, planta- 
tions, and ravines, and affording every here and there the 
most fascinating hunting grounds for the searcher for varie- 
ties. In its normal form it is easily distinguished from the 
preceding, P. aculeatum, the divisions being smaller, and the 
fronds more delicate in texture and make. In some of its 
varieties it approaches P. aculeatum so closely that the best 
judges differ in their classification; Nature in this case, as 
in so many, bridging over the gap between botanical species. 
As regards variation, this Fern is one of the most interesting 
of all our British species, and perhaps the best of all adapted 
for educating the eye to observe minute yet distinct cha- 
racteristic differences. In searching carefully a hedgerow 
peopled with this Fern, it will be the exception if a careful 
comparison of a collection of fronds will not show a wide 
