THE SPLEENWORTS. 
257 
2. THE ALTERNATE SPLEENWORT. 
Asplenium germanicu?n. 
A RARE and tiny fern is the Alternate Spleen wort; 
even rarer than the one last described. Like the 
Spleenworts in general, it grows in rocky clefts, 
but has only been found in a few localities in 
England, Wales, and Scotland. It does not grow 
in Ireland. From the crown of its tufted root-stock 
spring up a mass of little fronds, which seldom 
grow to a height of more than six inches, though 
usually they are not so long. The leafy portion 
of the little frond consists of a mid-stem or rachis, 
on each side of which, placed alternately, are a 
number of wedge-shaped leaflets, connected with 
the rachis at their narrowest part, and being 
consequently broadest at their tops. The tops 
are irregularly cleft or toothed, presenting a series 
of sharp points. The frond ends in a leaflet 
larger than those which are placed alternately 
along the rachis ; but this final leaflet is, like the 
others, sharply notched or toothed. 
The same method of cultivation recommended 
