FERNS. - 
l Equiselitm. 
Gl. 
16 if all are present, but generally not more than 8 or 10, or even 6, 
at the upper- part of the frond ; they are dark green, rough, 4 chan- 
nelled, with simple angles. Fertile fronds appearing before the 
others, light brown, with 4 or 5 distant, deeply toothed sheaths. 
The teeth are sharp, ribbed, and rather dark colored, particularly 
round their edges. ' As the fertile frond comes to maturity, the 
sheaths decay from the point downwards ; thus their black tooth is 
often tipped with white, and surrounded with a diaphanous mem- 
brane, particularly the upper sheaths, which are larger and longer 
than those below. 
The plant puts on very different characters in different circumstances ; some- 
times it appears as a cylindrical pointed stem, without any branches, this is its 
early state, for it does not throw out branches immediately, as in Equisctum 
Fluviatile, therefore it never appears with a densely leafy, obtuse frond as that 
does. On strong soil, and in shady situations, as when hid among growing 
corn, the branches become' exceedingly long, scattered in habit, and often 
geniculated, in which state it is represented by Gerard as Equisetum •segetale . 
The closeness and number of the sheaths of the fertile stem is by no means a 
sure diagnostic of any of our species ; the remarks respecting them, therefore, 
are more general than specific information. ’ 
Sit. — In cornfields, sandy banks, waste ground, &c. 
Hab. — This species is so common, and so difficult to eradicate, as to be a 
very troublesome weed. 
• <jeo. — Found equally in Europe, Asia, and North America. 
4.— EQ U ISETU M S YL VATIC U M . 
WOOD IIORSE-TAIb. 
(Plate 5, fig. 10.) 
Ciia. — Stem erect. Branches compound, deflexed. Sheaths 
loose. 
Syn. — Equisetum Sylvaticum of all Modern Botanists. 
Fig. — E. B. 187 4.— Bolt. 32, 33 .—Flo. Dan. 1182 .—Schk. fil. 1G6. 
Des. — Stem erect, from 6 inches to 2 feet high, branched, bright 
green. Branches compound, slender, smooth, drooping at the ends, 
and whorled, the lower part of the stem without branches. Catkins 
ovate, erect, stalked, and terminating the stem, borne early in the 
season, and dying away long before the remaining part, as is the 
case with all the following species ; it is very rarely, however, found 
in fruit. Sheaths deeper coloured than the stem. 
Sit. — In woods and shady places, chiefly in the North. 
IIab. — B cnthal Edge, Salop, Mr. IF. Leighton. Ilampslcad Heath, and 
fields towards Hendon. Middlesex, Mr. iff. Patnplin. Wheeler’s Wood, 
Hampstead Heath, Francis. (This is not an original habitat of this and seme 
