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CURLED ALLOSORUS, OR PARSLEY FERN. 
ALLOSORUS CR 1 SPUS, 
Bernhardi, Babington, Moore, Newman, Bentham. 
(Plate II. Fig. i.) 
SYNONYMS. 
Pteris crista, Linnaeus, Smith I Cryptogramma crispa , Brown, 
(Rock Brakes). | Hooker, Arnott. 
Osmunda crispa , Linnaeus. 
This elegant little fern might at first sight be mis¬ 
taken for a tuft of parsley: it is as bright and green 
as that herb in the early summer. The fronds 
average about six inches in height, and are of two 
kinds. The barren fronds have broad, flat, and leaf¬ 
like segments, and are two or three times pinnate. 
The fertile fronds are known by their oblong or linear 
segments. They are nearly triangular, and the indu- 
sium is covered by the reflexed end of the frond. 
The veins are alternate, often forked, and each branch 
ending in a cluster, having no indusium, but concealed 
by the reflexed edge of the leaflet. The stem is 
slender and very brittle. The duration of this most 
beautiful little fern is very short; it does not reach 
maturity until June, and becomes disfigured by the 
first morning frosts of autumn. 
It is confined exclusively to Europe, and in Great 
Britain is rather a local than a rare fern. It is un¬ 
known in the south and middle of England, and 
appears only in the north-west and north, also in 
Scotland and Ireland. Its favourite place of growth 
