SCOLOPENDIUUM VULGARE, Smith . 
COMMON HART’S TONGUE. 
Root — Radicles black, strong, of great length, penetrating 
deeply ; caudex tufted. 
Frond — Strap- shaped, linear, one to two feet long, in 
the ordinary state undivided ; acute at the apex, cordate 
at the base. 
Stipes- — About one- third the length of the frond, of a 
brown purple colour, scaly at the base, 
Venation — Veins branched directly from the main rachis, 
twice forked ; extremities of the veins club shaped. 
Fructification — In pairs, linear, placed between the 
outer branches of two sets of veins ; the linear involucres 
opening centrally to the masses of capsules which some- 
times nearly occupy the breadth between the rachis and 
the margin, but rarely quite reach either. Sori often alter- 
nately long and short. 
Habitat — M ost plentiful among stones on sides of hills, 
and in woods ; generally distributed over the county. 
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