23 
ASPLENIUIM TEICHOMANES. Linxjeus. 
( Maidenhair Spleenwort, Common or Wall Spleenwort.) 
Deriyatioi^ of Name. From a, without, and splen, the 
spleen ; referring to the supposed power of this fern upon 
that organ. 
sYNOirmES. 
Asplenitjm TmcHOMAN-oiDES. Withering, Lightfoot. 
Asplenium An-ceps. Lowe. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Caudex tufted, with black, wiry rootlets. 
Fronds linear-lanceolate, pinnate; pinnse oblong ineised, 
crenate, or entire. Stalks smooth, shining deep brown, 
almost to the point of the frond. They spring in April and 
May and during the whole summer; are from two to ten 
inches long, and evergreen. 
Veins forked, the anterior one bearing the linear cluster of 
Spore Cases covered at first by a linear white involucre. 
As the capsules swell, and become almost confluent, this 
covering disappears. 
This fern will grow freely even in the smoke of towns, 
and is often found covering walls where it can scarcely be 
seen for the dirt and cobwebs that so quickly accumulate. 
