BROAD PRICKLY BUCKLER FERN ,. 
47 
bed is suggested by its natural habitat; but this 
does not seem to be essential to success. It is not 
one of the most attractive of the ferns, but is valuable 
in grouping, as forming a contrast with the more 
ornamental species. The rhizome should not be 
buried, but the crown left above the surface. 
BROAD PRICKLY BUCKLER FERN. 
NEPHRODIUM SPINULOSUM,\ 
Smith, Hooker, Bentham. 
(Plate V. Fig. i.) 
SYNONYMS. 
Lastrea dilatata. 
Lastrea spinulosa, Presl, Babing- 
ton, Moore. 
Lastrea spinosa, Newman. 
Lastrea Fcenisecii , Watson. 
Lophodium uiiginosum, Newmaix 
Aspidium dilatatum , Smith. 
Aspidium recurvum , Bree. 
This is the most variable of all our Buckler Ferns, 
and is difficult to distinguish from others, of which, 
indeed, it is regarded as a variety by many botanists, 
and we find it described under various names in 
different books. It is nearly allied to the Male Fern, 
but is not so tall, of a paler green, and very much 
broader; the general outline is nearly ovate, from one 
to two feet long, or rarely more; the lowest pair of 
pinnae not much shorter, and sometimes longer than 
the others. The fronds are bipinnate; the segments 
of the pinnae deeply toothed, pinnatifid, or thrice- 
pinnate. Its chief characteristics are the lower pinnae 
not decreasing in size, and the sori, which are circular, 
