( 52 ) 
Height. About two inches ; the fertile branch the 
taller. 
Colour. Dull green. 
Habitats. Grassy rocks in Guernsey and Cornwall. 
Rare. • 
GROUP III; GENUS II; SPECIES II. 
OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM. (Common Adder's Tongue.) 
Plate XX. 
Fronds. Divided into two branches, barren and 
fertile. Barren branch an entire, smooth, 
ovate leaf. Fertile branch an erect, club- 
shaped spike springing from the base of the 
leaf; in this the thecae are imbedded. The 
stipes, common to both, light coloured, suc¬ 
culent and hollow, and about as long as the 
rest of the frond. No rhizoma, but a few 
thick, brittle roots, which extend from the 
stem horizontally at some distance below the 
surface. 
Growth. Erect. 
Height. From three inches to one foot. When 
mature, the fertile branch is usually the taller. 
Colour. Deep green. 
Habitats. Damp, clayey pastures. Generally dis¬ 
tributed in England, but more rare in Wales, 
Scotland and Ireland. 
