84 
TEEI^T COMBES. 
always retaining its snbmarginal position. Tbe 
whole plant, owing to the sharp serratures of the 
lobes, has a spiny appearance. It greatly re- 
sembles the more common Asjplenium Adiantum- 
nigrum^ some forms of which are often mistaken 
for lanceolatum. 
This fern, as far as onr experience goes, is rare 
in ISTorth Devon : in fact we have never found it ex- 
cept in one or two spots, and there sparingly. In 
the South, and on Dartmoor, it is very plentiful 
and luxuriant, springing from the interstices of the 
loose granite walls, and in one or two places cloth- 
ing the rocks. 
Asplei^iitm Adiantxjm-nigbtjm. Blade 
S^leenwort. (Plate III. Pig. 2.) 
Prond triangular, twice or thrice divided, sharply 
serrated, but not spiny ; the lower pair of pinnae 
longer or the same size as the pair above. Stem 
usually as long as the leafy part of the frond. Sori 
placed on either side the midvein of the pinnules 
near the centre, confluent in mature specimens, 
when the back of the frond is a bright brown, and 
all trace of shape in the sori is lost. 
A common fern, varying in height from one to 
sixteen inches, differing greatly in form and cut- 
ting. Its thick black stem and shining glossy leaves 
