Lastrea Dilatata, Presl. 
Lophodium Multiflorum, Fewman . 
ROTHS FERN. 
Root — Black and wiry, caudex large and tufted. 
Frond — Ovato-lanceolate or deltoid, bipinnate; from six 
inclies to four feet in length. When among rocks under 
shade, the frond often becomes contracted, and the pinnae 
convex and more firm in substance: while in wet and 
boggy places by springs, this plant becomes tufted, the 
fronds short, the pinnules thinner in substance, and of a 
paler green, their edges upturned, and the stipes thickly 
clad and rough with narrow taper-pointed scales. This is 
L . Recur va, a marked variety; which may be seen, how¬ 
ever, to pass by every gradation into the normal state. 
Stipes — About one-third the length of the frond, thickly 
covered with large brown scales, the centre of which has 
a keel-shaped thickening, consisting of enlarged cells. 
Pinnae — Nearly opposite, linear; the lower pinnae are 
nearly triangular, pinnate. 
Pinnules — Pinnatifid, the inferior (or lower) ones are 
longer than the superior (or upper) ones, the lower pinnules 
have distinctly stalked and serrated lobes; all the lobes are 
serrated, and terminate with a soft spine; the four or five 
middle pinnae in large specimens have the first lobe of the 
inferior pinnule shorter, broader, and more serrated than 
the rest. 
Venation — Lateral veins, between the division of each 
pinnule, forked. 
Fructification — Capsules, with a fringed involucre, on 
the anterior branch of the lateral veins. 
Habitat — Grows freely on woody slopes, chiefly on a 
sandy soil. 
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