( 33 ) 
HOLLY OR ROUGH ALPINE SHIELD 
FERN. 
ASPIDIUM LONCH1TIS , 
Swartz, Smith, Hooker, and Arnott. 
(Plate II. Fig. 3 .) 
SYNONYMS. 
Polystichum Lonchitis , Roth, Babington, Moore, Newman. 
Polypodium , Linnaeus. 
This is a rigid and prickly-looking plant, whence 
comes its English name. The fronds grow in a tuft 
from the extremity of a very slowly lengthening 
rhizome. The size of the fronds is very variable, from 
a few inches to a foot and a half in height; they are 
generally of a rigid texture, but this depends greatly 
on situation ; sometimes they are thinner and spread¬ 
ing, or even almost pendulous. The colour is of a 
deep glossy green in the Irish and Scotch specimens, 
while in the English and Welsh it is duller; and the 
whole plant is not so prickly and holly-like as in the 
Irish and Scotch plants. The margin of the fronds is 
set with spinous teeth. The sori are circular, disposed 
in long series on each side of the mid-rib, and often 
become confluent in maturity. 
This rare fern seems to have been very familiar to 
older botanists and herbalists, and is frequently men¬ 
tioned by Ray, Gerarde, and others. It is exceedingly 
difficult of culture, and even when established, is often 
disappointing to the cultivator; for it is only seen in 
