160 BRITISH FERNS. 
drooping, after the base of the frond has attained its 
full size; they arrive at maturity at the end of Sep- 
tember, and continue in full vigour throughout the 
winter, and until those of the ensuing year make their 
“appearance. The form of the frond is strap-shaped 
and quite undivided, pointed at the tip, and heart- 
shaped at the base:, the stalk varies from a fifth to a 
third of the entire length of the frond; it is of a dark 
purple colour and rather scaly at the base: in some 
specimens, but these are generally young, the entire 
plant is hairy, in others perfectly smooth. The 
seedling plants put on a variety of forms. The veins 
proceed directly from the midribs, and each has four 
or five branches: to the outside branch of each vein, 
- or system of veins, is attached a Jong line of seeds, 
covered by a white membranous involucre of the 
same form: owing to this disposition of the seeds 
on the outer branch of each system of veins, the 
_ ‘Tnasses are invariably in pairs; the two involucres 
at first meet and appear as one; a day or two later, 
as the seeds increase in size, a line appears between 
the two involucres, showing that they are divided; 
the line gradually becomes more apparent as the 
_ seeds increase in size; at last the two. involucres are 
_ pushed back from each other, and finally disappear. 
_ I believe this handsome species is found in every 
country throughout Europe, but is very sparingly 
distributed towards the North. It is said 
