THE RIGID BUCKLER FERN. À 207 
found but one or two which [had the fronds oblong-lanceolate |, 
all being more or less triangular, and not having the lower pair 
of pinnae shorter than those in the upper and middle parts of the 
fronds. The fronds of young plants are remarkably triangular. 
The two forms of fronds no doubt depend upon the situation, 
whether sheltered or otherwise, and on other causes; still I imagine 
the triangular to be the true form of the plant, having been 
informed by a person resident in the neighbourhood, that the plant 
from Ingleborough [with oblong fronds] assumes the triangular 
form in cultivation. I do not know whether it has been recorded 
that this fern possesses a slight scent, not at all unpleasant, but 
strikingly different from that of other ferns.” There is a record 
of a single plant having been found near Bath—probably planted 
there; and itis reported to have been found quite established, on a 
wall of clay-slate overhung by trees, at Townley Hall, in the county 
of Louth, Ireland. In England, its elevation above the sea would 
appear to range between 1200 feet and 1500 feet, or thereabouts. 
The actual habitats on record are :— 
Peninsula.—Cornwall, Hb. Hooker. Somersetshire: Bath, pro- 
bably planted. i 
Mersey.—? Lancashire: Woolston Moss, near Warrington. 
Humber.—Yorkshire: Wharnside; White Sears, above Ingleton, 
on the north side of the valley ; also at the foot of Ingleborough, on 
the north-west side ; at the foot of Attermine Rocks, near Settle, 
at about 1550 feet above the sea. 
Lakes.—W estmoreland: Arnside Knot; Hutton Roof Crags; 
Farlton Knot. North Lancashire: Silverdale; near the top lock 
of the Lancaster and Kendal Canal. 
Leinster.—Louth: Clay-slate wall at Townley Hall, probably 
introduced, C. L. Darby. 
This Fern is spread over the Alpine districts of the middle and 
south of Europe, extending northwards to Norway. It is recorded - 
from France, Switzerland, Mount Cenis in Sardinia, Naples, Cala- 
bria, Sicily, Germany, Dalmatia, Croatia, and Hungary. It has 
been obtained from Mount Sypilos in Asia Minor, from Imeritia in 

