THE SOFT PRICKLY SHIELD FERN. 157 
lobes being deeply divided, sometimes widely separated, so as to 
become pinnulets. The less elegant, because less divided, form is 
still remarkable for its narrowed and acute pinnules; and hence 
this form was called angustatum in the Handbook of British Ferns 
(2 ed.), but for the sake of securing as far as practicable uniformity 
of nomenclature for correspondent varieties of different species, the 
more characteristic name of proliferum which has been suggested, 
is now adopted. These forms, though less fertile than the normal’ 
state of the species, yet both bear sori. Our plate represents only 
a very small frond, and a pinna of a larger one. Mr. Clapham 
has sent us some curious sporting pinne of this variety, in which 
the parts are variously depauperated, the development in some 
instances resembling grandidens. [Plate XXIII = subvar. Wol- 
_lastomi.—Folio ed. t. XIII C. ] 
37. variabile (M.). A large growing form with ramose pinne. 
The branching of the pinne is very unequal, some being divided 
near their base, others only at the apex, while some are unbranched, 
and here and there the pinne, whether branched or not, are abbre- 
viated. The pinnules are slightly depauperated here and there, and 
where normal, are largish, acute and toothed like biserratum. 
Barnstaple, C. Jackson. 
38. furcatum (M.). This is a small neat variety of which two or 
three states have been found in the west of England. The fronds 
are in great measure normal; their peculiarity consists in the tip 
of the frond, or the tips of the pinne, or both, being split or forked 
once or twice beyond the usual acuminated or attenuated portion ; 
the lobes resulting from this fureation are small and short, being 
confined to the extreme narrowed tip. Devonshire: Gittisham, 
near Ottery St. Mary, @. B. Wollaston; Barnstaple, H. F. Dempster. 
Somersetshire: Nettlecombe, C. Elworthy. 
39. polydactylum (M.). This is a very elegant plant. The fronds 
are slender, narrow lance-shaped, the pinn® short and rather 
irregular, and the pinnules here and there abortive or depauperated, 
but not so much so as to affect the general outline of the frond. 
The pinnules when perfect are small with a very distinct: stalk and 
auricle. The peculiar feature of this variety is the branching of 
the pinne, which become ramose at about half their length, the 

