136 
BRITISH FERNS. 
of what he calls the true caudex; the tufted form he 
calls rhizome . 
14. Nephrodium Oreopteris. Mountain 
Buckler-fern. 
{Lastrea montana , Moore.) 
Caudex short and very scaly. Stem short, tufted, scaly below. 
Fronds 1 to 2 feet high, firm, lanceolate, glandular, tapering 
above and below. Pinnae sessile and pinnatifid. Involucre thin, 
slightly toothed. Veins downy. Sori on the margin. 
Oreopteris signifies a fern dwelling in mountains. 
The short strong caudex throws up a crown of young 
fronds, the stems of which are very short and densely 
covered with chaffy scales. 
The form of the frond is lan- 
ceolate, broad in the centre 
and tapering elegantly to the 
summit and the base ; the 
colour a delicate green. The 
fronds grow upright, and are 
covered underneath with shin- 
ing yellowish globules, which 
yield an agreeable balsamic 
scent. The pinnae are seated 
on the main stem ; they are 
placed near together on the 
upper part, but are more dis- 
tant below, the last two or 
three pairs being far apart, ever 
shorter and shorter and not 
decreasing in breadth, so that the final pair are more than 
half as broad as long. The leaflets are oval, entire at 
the edge, and bearing on the under side a beaded row of 
