60 
Baj, it is to be seen in various places. No doubt at Lyme, 
also, if they were not constantly quarrying out the stone, it 
would gain a footing. This is a larger plant than the 
Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes). The 
frond is strap-shaped, or slightly lance-shaped, and pinnate. 
The leaflets are dark green, stalked, egg-shaped or oblong, 
serrate, unequal and wedge-shaped at the base. With each 
notch,* not each serrature, there is a line of fructiflcation. 
The clusters of fruit are rust-coloured, and always separate. 
The stalk is not nearly so long as that of the preceding 
species, and is smooth, polished, and reddish brown at the 
base, if not altogether so. The stalk of the leaflet is gener- 
ally connected to the rachis, or mid-rib by a wing, so that 
the frond may be almost considered pinnatifid. The covers 
are of a light brown colour, and opposite each other. The 
plants grow in tufts. The root-stocks are black and scaly 
or downy, and firmly fixed in the fissures and clefts of the 
rocks. Though the frond is thick and leathery, the veins 
are clearly apparent. The side-veins fork close to the mid- 
vein. The upper branch of the vein bears the fruit. The 
leaflets have frequently a little projection, or auricle on the 
upper side, and on the lower it appears as if a piece had 
been cut ofi*. The new fronds begin to arise about midsum- 
mer, but the corn harvest is past, and the winter approaches, 
before they attain to maturity. It is said of the fig, that 
it blossoms and bears fruit at the same time ; so at certain 
seasons two years’ fronds are in full vigour, the younger 
only difiering in having a lighter colour and merely a slight 
development of its fructification. It is from six inches to a 
foot long, of small size when exposed to the sea blasts, but 
much finer and more thriving when in a cavern or sheltered 
situation. We have gathered fronds between Saunders 
Boot and Tenby in South Wales, eighteen inches long. 
The Sea Spleenwort has a great tendency to creep and lie 
prostrate in an inclement situation ; hence it is designated 
by Bauhin, Gerarde, and Bay, Chamaefilix marina Anglica” 
(The English Sea Bern creeping on the ground.) It is stated 
that “ The European range of this plant appears limited to 
the coasts of Spain and Erance, together with Great Britain. 
- * The notch is deeper than the serraturcs and generally contains t^yo serratures. 
