FERNS. 
21 
Polypodium. ] 
from Callington to Tavistock, Jones’s Tour . — Wales : Denbighshire (rare), Mr. 
J. E. Bowman. Walls of a ruin at Treborth, near Bangor, Mr. W. Wilson . — 
Ire. : Ruins of Saggard Church, Mr. Kelli/. Walls near Cork, also near 
Kilkenny, and in county Clare, Mr. Mackay. Cave-liill, Mr. Templeton. Head- 
ford, Galway, Mr. Shuttleworth. 
Geo. — Holland, Spain, France, Switzerland, Nassau, Jena, Leipsic, and other 
parts of Germany, the Tyrol, Sicily, and the Canary Islands. 
POLYPODIUM. Linn. POLYPODY. 
(no\?>c many, and izovq, ttoSoq, a foot ; from its numerous roots.) 
A, pinnule of natural size of Polypodium vulyare. B, magnified section of a 
sorus. C, front view of ditto. D, longitudinal section of rachis. G, transverse 
ditto. E, spiral perforated duct. F, vernation, rhizoma and rootlets. H, I, 
theca and spore. 
Sprengel enumerates no less than 250 species of this genus ; all of them are 
herbaceous, some a few inches only, and others several feet in height. Inhabitants 
of most parts of the world, particularly of the islands within the Tropics ; several 
are found on the continent of America, and a few are confined to China. Only 
four species are British .* 
1.— POLYPODIUM VULGARE. 
COMMON POLYPODY. POLYPODY OF THE OAK. WALL FERN. 
(Plate I, fig. 2.) 
Cha. — Frond pinnatifid, lanceolate. Lobes oblong, obtuse, 
somewhat serrated. Rachis smooth. Root hairy. 
Syn. — P olvpodium vulgare, Tourn., Ger., Park., Ray, Linn., Huds., Lightf, 
Plum., Swz., Spreng., With., Smith, Hook., Mack., Gray, &c. 
Fig. — E. 5.1149. — Flo. Ban. 1060. — Woodv. Med. Bot. supp. 271. — Ger. 467. 
—Bolt. 18.— /Vw. Fit. t. A.f. 2. 
Des. — Root, or rather rhizoma, creeping horizontally, covered 
with scales, and numerous stout, branched, hairy fibres. Rachis 
quite smooth, yellow, void of lobes half way up. Frond from 
6 to 12 inches high, lanceolate, scarcely contracting below. 
Lobes oblong, obtuse, and slightly serrated, sometimes wanting 
the serratures, at others acuminate, while occasionally they are 
found very much cut and divided. Sori naked, yellow, large, 
* The number of species in a genus is al.vays subject to variation, particularly in one so 
extensive as Polypody, as newly-discovered plants are always adding to the number, while 
different classification often divides one genus into many. 
