Vi 1^ }.?; VIU" 
V '2 n r u 
never spring from tlie voimg point of tlie caudex. They are 
generally pendent, but when gro’wdng in thickets are quite 
erect until destroj^ed by frost. 
Veins simj)le or forked with the naked circular 
Spore Cases (sori) ui)on them. 
No fern (exce^jt perhaps Scolopendidum vulgare) varies 
so much in form as the Common Polypody. Seventeen 
varieties are described in the folio edition of the Natui’e- 
printed Ferns, only one of vv'hich I have seen in this district. 
Unlike some ferns the varieties are almost invariably 
fructihed. In fact in Worcestershire I have foimd the 
vaideties often more densely covered with the beautiful 
orange coloured Sori than the normal form. 
USES. 
A safe purgative, used in jaundice and di’opsy, and in 
scorbutic disorders . — MeyricVs Herlal. 
LOCALITIES. 
Heath and Piu’ston. The variet}^ Fohjpodium serratum 
grows at Pui’ston. 
