22 . 
THE ALPINE BLADDER FERN. 
Cystopteris regia. 
Plate 5, Fig. 2, Page 225. 
The claim to rank this extremely beautiful little Fern as a 
distinct species lias been disputed by some botanists, who 
have contended that it is but a variety of Cystopteris fragilis. 
Its peculiar distinctness of form, however — a distinctness 
which it maintains under cultivation — fairly entitle it to the 
position which is conceded to it by the great majority of 
those who have given any attention to the subject. It 
takes its common name of Alpine Bladder Fern from the 
fact that its European head-quarters are found in the Alps, 
where it grows in great abundance. The specific botanical 
name, regia , has no doubt been suggested by the extreme 
elegance of the plant. It is found growing in very much 
the same situations as Fragilis, in rocky fissures, and some- 
times on old walls. 
Description.— The general resemblance which at first 
sight this little Fern bears to Fragilis, has, doubtless, led to 
its being confounded with the latter. The points of dis- 
tinction, however, can be easily explained. In the first 
place there is a difference in length of several inches, the 
maximum length of frond of this species not exceeding ten 
inches. The stipes is much shorter than in Fragilis, and 
the pinnae are broader, blunter, and, consequently, more 
completely egg-shaped, more crowded, and more evenly set 
