SCOLOPENDRIUM VlJLGARE, Smith . 
COMMON HART’S TONGUE. 
Root — Radicles black, strong, of great length, penetrating 
deeply ; caudex tufted. 
Frond — Strap-shaped, linear, in the ordinary state un- 
divided ; 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, 
the branches becoming forked ; each division of the fork 
becomes itself again forked, about midway between the rachis 
and the margin. 
Fructification — Placed between the outer branches of 
two sets of veins, and consisting of a linear involucre 
covering the linear mass of capsules, sometimes nearly 
occupying the breadth between the rachis and the margin, 
but never quite reaching either. Often alternately long 
and short. 
Habitat — Most plentiful among stones on sides of hills, 
and in woods ; generally distributed over the county. 
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