NEPHRODIUM. 
147 
Mr. Newman calls this “ Withering’s fern/* and we 
envy Withering its possession, for surely no fern is cal- 
culated to call forth warmer admiration. See it bending 
over the waters of some gurgling brook, or still better, 
mirroring itself, like another Narcissus, in the still waters 
of a wood-girt lake, its fronds arched at every angle, the 
sunlight playing upon the varied green of its foliage, still 
sprinkled with the diamonds of the dew, and withhold 
admiration if you can ! A lordly fern, attaining a 
height of from 3 to 5 feet, yet, like a true aristocrat, 
increasing in grace with its other growth. 
Surely it is beneath the dignity of this noble fern to 
call it a mere variety, but we must bend to the autho- 
rity of Sir William Hooker ! 
The Broad Prickly Buckler-fern is common. Our 
woods and valleys abound with it; and it frequents 
Germany, Sweden, Hungary, and the United States. 
As an object of beauty, we recommend it for the fer- 
nery, and also because it can bear sunshine, though it 
prefers a moist situation. It flourishes best in a rich 
loam. 
20. Nephrodium spinulosum. Prickly BncMer- 
fena. Var. semulum. 
Caudex short, stout, suberect, scaly. Pronds ovate, 1 to 3 
feet long. Involucres fringed. 
Lastrea fcenisecii, Moore, Bab. 
Aspidium recurvum, Bro., Hook, and Arn. 
AEmulum means rival , in allusion to the rare beauty 
of the species. 
This fern, though variable in size, never attains the 
height of the last variety. It grows from a stout cau- 
l 2 
