Polystichum Aculeatum, Roth. 
Aspidium Aculeatum and Lobatum, Smith. 
PRICKLY FERN, 
Root — Radicles long and wiry, caudex large and tufted. 
Fkond — Erect, narrow, lanceolate, bipinnate; of a darker 
green than P. anguiare. 
Stipes — Short, thickly clothed with large chaffy scales. 
Pinnae — Pinnate, lanceolate, alternate. 
Pinnules — Ovate-lanceolate, spinous at the apex, margin 
acute ; the superior basal pinnule larg^P than the rest, and 
auricled; all at an acute angle with the common stalk. 
Venation — Lateral veins alternate, forked, terminating 
in the serratures. 
Fructification — Clusters of capsules upon the anterior 
branch of the vein. 
Habitat — Common in woods and lanes. 
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