69 
pinna, and these are placed on the side which is most distant 
from the mid-stem ; in this they are only on the lowest 
leaflet, and there, too, not very visible. This is also a much 
smaller plant, about a foot high, and has a very narrow 
lance-shaped frond. It is stilF, leathery, chafly, and of a 
yellowish green colour. The stalk is short. The leaflets, 
except the lowest on a pinna, are decurrent, and sometimes 
even that one is decurrent also. They are also convex, with 
their edges bending downwards, and their serratures ending 
in a prickle. Very few bristles are on the leaflets, some- 
times only one on the^summit. When a frond is kept in an 
herbarium of this variety, it is apt to fade and become a 
very pale green colour. 
This is more frequently met with in our locality than the 
regular form. Most of the habitats assigned to the Prickly 
Pern, PolysticTium aculeatum^ apply to this variety. This 
has been found in the parishes of Axminster, Chard, Coly- 
ton, Hawkchurch, Stockland, and though not abundant, 
grows probably, more or less, throughout the district. 
Angular Prickly Pern. Polystich^m angulare. 
See jpage 35 . 
1. Nearly tripinnate ^Angular Prickly Pern. Suh-tripin- 
natum. This is one of the most handsome forms of the 
Angular Prickly Perns. They are generally about a yard 
long. The leaflets are deeply cut at their edges. Those at 
the base of the pinnae have frequently two auricles, not only 
an outer, but an inner one. The inner one is much the 
smallest, and that only attached to the lowermost leaflets 
of a pinna. These auricles are nearly, if not quite, distinct 
leaves. This is a plant of luxuriant growth, and has its 
pinnules pinnatifld or pinnate, which does not generally 
happen in this species. The frond itself is broader and 
stronger, though the foliage is not stiff or leathery. It 
seems questionable whether the plant would retain the same 
form if it were placed in a less favourable position for 
developing itself, and whether it would not degenerate into 
the ordinary appearance. If the little leaves of the leaflets 
