66 
The Ferns of South Africa. 
19. Cystopteris fragilis. Bernh. 
Plate XIII, Natural size. b Pinnule, slightly enlarged, 
c Do., much enlarged. 
Crown tufted, or rhizome shortly creeping ; stalks very tender 
and fragile, green and shining, and with a few scales at the base 
only. Frond lanceolate, three-pinnatifid, six to twelve inches 
long, two to three inches broad, glabrous, shining green, 
herbaceous, and very tender. Pinnae shortly stalked, widest at the 
base, more or less united toward the point, but at the base having 
several pairs of oblong pinnules, which are again pinnately divided 
into toothed lobes, each bearing one or more sori near the middle 
of the veinlets, subtended on the lower side by the scale-like, 
irregularly-lobed indusium, which is connected to the receptacle 
under the capsules by its wide base. Rachis slightly winged in 
the upper half. Occasional specimens get two feet long and six 
inches broad, and resemble in general appearance Asplenium 
Filix-fcemina. The smaller size is more like Asplenium Zeyheri, 
but it is easily distinguished from both these by the shape of the 
sorus. This is known as the Bladder Fern, on account of the 
swollen and bladder-like appearance of the indusium in its younger 
stages. The indusium being torn is not mentioned in “ Syn. 
Fil.,” and the figure (tab. II. fig. 19) shows it ovate pointed; but 
it is similar to ours in the British plant as described in Sir J. E. 
Smith’s “ English Flora,” though in Sir W. J. Hooker’s “ British 
Flora,” 5th edition, and several later works, it is described 
differently. 
Cystopteris fragilis. Bernh. Pappe and Rawson, 16 ; Kuhn, Fil. Afr. 
144 ; Hk. and Bkr. Syn. Fil. 103. 
Aspidium fragile. Sw. Schk. Ic. Fil., tab. 54-56. 
Almost throughout the temperate zones, and on high moun- 
tains between ; growing in very close damp deep ravines, or by 
streams under thick bush. 
East. — Bedford and Katberg (Holland), Kat River Mountains (Ecklon), 
Boschberg (MacOwan). 
Kaff. — Above Perie Mission Station, and abundant in a rocky stream at 
Pontz’ Forest, Izeli, 4000 feet alt. 
