THE FERN PARADISE. 
5 . 
THE PRICKLY-TOOTHED BUCKLER FERN. 
Lastrea spinulosa. 
Plate 6 , Fig. 4. 
HERE is in this Fern a general resem- 
blance to the Hay-scented Buckler Fern. 
The fronds grow erect on somewhat thin 
stems, which in length are about equal to the leafy 
portion. The general shape of the frond is trian- 
gular, the -widest part being at the base, where 
the branches are also broader as well as longer 
than those higher up; and the same kind of 
division of the leaflets of the branches is observable 
as in the Broad Buckler Fern. The broadness of 
the lowest pair of branches is occasioned by the 
leaflets below the mid-stems of the branches being 
considerably longer than those above ; and this 
inequality, as m the case of Lastrea clilatata , 
diminishes towards the point of each branch, and 
towards the apex of the frond. Indeed, the de- 
scription of the cutting, indentation, and general 
352 
