158 
BRITISH FERNS. 
of black wiry roots ; the candex is sometimes elongated, 
sometimes short ; the stems are dark-coloured at the base, 
green above, about half the 
length of the frond ; the fronds 
measure from 5 to 7 inches 
in length, they are narrow in 
form ; the leaflets are pear- 
shaped, alternate, the lower 
ones cut into lobes, the upper 
bluntly toothed towards the 
point, all of a pale green ; the 
veins are forked, and from two 
to four sori are situated on 
each leaflet ; the involucres 
are narrow and inflated, with 
a waved margin. 
Mr. Newman scarcely recog- 
nizes any difference between this species and the A . 
Rut a-mur aria. He erects this and the two allied 
species, A. septentrionale and A. Rut a-mur aria, into a 
separate genus which he names Amerium ; his reason 
for dividing the genus being the want of a distinct mid- 
vein in the ultimate divisions of the pinnules, and the 
fewness of the branching veins. 
In its wild state the fronds of this fern die down in 
winter, but when carefully protected in the fernery or 
cold frame they are evergreen. 
It is found in the mountains of North Wales, in Bor- 
rowdale, and in the lowlands of Scotland. Its foreign 
homes extend over most part of Europe, with the excep- 
tion of Russia. 
This fern requires great care in cultivation. It must 
have a poor light compost, formed of silver sand, sandy 
