NEPHRODIUM, 
145 
Fronds ovate, bi-tripinnate. Lower pinnae distant and stalked ; 
upper ones sessile and crowded. Involucres plain. 
The name spinulosum refers to the sharp teeth or 
prickles on the leaflets. 
The stout caudex produces a tuft of fronds from its 
crown, the stems of which are brown at the base and 
dotted with broad brown scales 
becoming pale at the margin. 
As the caudex is branched it 
often puts forth several co- 
ronal clusters. The pinnae are 
oblong and tapering. The 
leaflets are toothed, each tooth 
in a prickly point. The 
colour of this fern is a deli- 
cate green, and the minute 
division of its foliage gives it 
a very feathery appearance, 
it welcome alike in 
its native marsh or hedgerow, 
and in the artificial fernery; 
in the latter situation it requires the usual desiderata of 
compost, drainage, and shade. 
19. Nephrodium spinulosum. Broad Prickly 
Buckler-fern. Var. dilafatum. 
Caudex short, stout, suberect, scaly. Stems tufted, scaly. 
Fronds ovate, 1 to 3 feet high, bi-tripinnate. Lower pinnae 
stalked and distant ; upper, sessile and close. Leaflets sharply 
serrated. Sori in two rows. Involucres fringed. 
Dilatatum refers to the spreading form of the frond. 
This fern possesses a large tufted caudex, its stems 
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