Part 93

1. W. Virginica, Smith. (Pl. 17, fig. 4, 5.) Fronds (2--3 deg. high) pinnate, with numerous lanceolate pinnatifid pinnae; segments oblong; veins forming a row of narrow areoles along the midrib both of the pinnae and of the lobes, the outer veinlets free; fruit-dots oblong, one to each areole, confluent when ripe.--Wet swamps, Maine to Ark., and southward. Rootstocks creeping, often 6--8 deg. long! July.

Sec. 2. LORINSERIA. _Sterile and fertile fronds unlike; veins of the sterile fronds forming many rows of meshes._

2. W. angustifolia, Smith. (Pl. 17, fig. 1--3.) Fronds pinnatifid; sterile ones (12--18' high) with lanceolate serrulate divisions united by a broad wing; fertile fronds taller, with narrowly linear almost disconnected divisions, the areoles and fruit-dots (4--5'' long) in a single row each side of the secondary midribs; rootstocks creeping.--Wet woods, New Eng., near the coast, to Ark., and southward; rare. Aug., Sept.

9. ASPLENIUM, L. SPLEENWORT. (Pl. 18.)

Fruit-dots oblong or linear, oblique, separate; the straight, or rarely curved, indusium fixed lengthwise by one edge to the upper (inner) side of the fertile vein;--in some species a part of the fruit-dots are double, the fertile vein bearing two indusia placed back to back. Veins free in all our species. (Name from [Greek: a]- privative and [Greek: sple/n], _the spleen_, for supposed remedial properties.)

Sec. 1. ASPLENIUM proper. _Indusium straight or slightly curved, attached to the upper side of the vein, rarely double._

[*] _Small evergreen ferns; fronds pinnatifid, or pinnate only near the base._

1. A. pinnatifidum, Nutt. _Fronds_ (3--6' long) lanceolate, _pinnatifid, or pinnate below, tapering above into a slender prolongation_, "the apex sometimes rooting"; _lobes roundish-ovate, obtuse, or the lowest pair long-acuminate_; fruit-dots irregular, those next the midrib often double, even the slender prolongation fertile.--On cliffs and rocks, Penn. to Mo., and southward; very rare. July.--Resembles the Walking-Leaf (Camptosorus), but the veins are free. _Stipes brownish, becoming green above, and so passing into the broad pale green midrib._

2. A. ebenoides, R. R. Scott. _Fronds_ (4--9' long) broadly lanceolate _pinnatifid, below pinnate, the apex prolonged and slender; divisions lanceolate from a broad base, the lower ones shorter_, often proliferous, as is the apex of the frond; fruit-dots much as in the last; _stipes black and polished, as is the lower part of the midrib, especially beneath_.--Limestone cliffs, Conn. and Penn., and southward; very rare, usually growing with Camptosorus and Asplenium ebeneum, of which _Rev. M. G. Berkeley_ considered it a probable hybrid.

[*][*] _Small evergreen ferns; the narrow fronds simply pinnate with numerous pinnae._

[+] _Pinnae not auricled._

3. A. viride, Hudson. _Fronds_ (2--5' long) tufted, _linear in outline, pale green, softly herbaceous; pinnae roundish-ovate or ovate-rhomboid_, short-stalked, crenately toothed (2--4'' long), the midvein indistinct and forking; _the slender stipe brownish and passing into a green herbaceous rhachis_.--Shaded cliffs; northern New Eng., west and northward; rare. (Eu.)

4. A. Trichomanes, L. _Fronds_ (3--8' long) in dense spreading tufts, _linear in outline, dark green and more rigid; pinnae roundish-oblong or oval_ (3--4'' long), entire or crenulate, rarely incised, unequal-sided, obliquely wedge-truncate at base, attached by a narrow point, the midvein forking and evanescent; _the thread-like stipe and rhachis purple-brown and shining_.--Shaded cliffs; common. July. (Eu.)

[+][+] _Pinnae more or less auricled._

5. A. parvulum, Mart. & Gal. Fronds upright (4--10' high), narrowly linear-oblanceolate; _pinnae_ (2--6'' long) _rigid and thickish, mostly opposite_, nearly sessile, somewhat deflexed, oblong, obtuse, _entire or crenulate_, auricled on the upper or both sides; sori rather few, as near the margin as the continuous midvein; stipe and rhachis black and shining.--Mountains of Va. to Mo., and southward.--Nearly intermediate between the last and the next.

6. A. ebeneum, Ait. Fronds upright (9--18' high), linear-oblanceolate in outline, fertile ones much the taller; _pinnae_ (6--18'' long) _firmly membranaceous, mostly alternate_, sessile, spreading, oblong or oblong-linear, _finely serrate or even incised_, the base auricled on the upper or both sides; sori many, nearer the elongated midvein than the margin; stipe and rhachis blackish-purple and shining.--Rocky, open woods; rather common.

[*][*][*] _Small evergreen ferns; the broader fronds 1--3-pinnate; pinnae incised._

7. A. Bradleyi, D. C. Eaton. _Fronds oblong-lanceolate_, 4--7' long, besides the blackish and somewhat shining stipe, membranaceous, pinnate; pinnae rather numerous, _the lower ones no larger than the middle ones_, all short-stalked, oblong-ovate, obtuse, incised or pinnatifid into oblong toothed lobes.--On rocks, Ky. and southward; rare. A single plant has been gathered near Newburg, N. Y.--Intermediate between A. ebeneum and A. montanum.

8. A. montanum, Willd. _Fronds ovate-lanceolate from a broad base_ (2--5' long), subcoriaceous, pinnate; pinnae ovate-oblong, the lowest pinnately cleft into oblong or ovate cut-toothed lobes, the upper gradually simpler; _rhachis green, broad and flat; stipe brown at base_.--Cliffs and rocks, from Conn. and Penn. to Ky., and southward. July.

9. A. Ruta-muraria, L. _Fronds deltoid-ovate_ (1--21/2' long), subcoriaceous, laxly 2--3-pinnate at base, the pinnae alternate; _ultimate segments few_, stalked (2--5'' long), _from narrowly cuneate to roundish-obovate_, toothed or incised at the apex; veins forking; sori 2--4 on a segment.--Limestone cliffs, Vt. to Mich., and southward; scarce. July. (Eu.)

[*][*][*][*] _Tall ferns (2--4 deg. high), not evergreen; fronds pinnate or sub-bipinnate._

10. A. angustifolium, Michx. _Fronds_ thin, _simply pinnate; pinnae_ numerous, short-stalked, _linear-lanceolate, acuminate_, entire or crenulate (3--4' long), _those of the fertile frond narrower_; fruit-dots linear, 20--40 each side of the midvein; indusia slightly convex.--Rich woods, W. New Eng. to Wisc., and southward along the mountains. Sept.

11. A. thelypteroides, Michx. (Pl. 18, fig. 1, 2.) _Fronds_ (2--3 deg. high) _pinnate; pinnae deeply pinnatifid_, linear-lanceolate (3--5' long); the lobes oblong, obtuse, minutely toothed, crowded, each bearing 3--6 pairs of _oblong fruit-dots_, some of them double.--Rich woods; not rare. July--Sept.

Sec. 2. ATHYRIUM. _Indusium delicate, curved, often crossing the vein, and attached to both sides of it, thus becoming reniform, or shaped like a horseshoe._

12. A. Filix-foemina, Bernh. Fronds (1--3 deg. high) ovate-oblong or broadly lanceolate, twice pinnate; pinnae lanceolate, numerous; pinnules confluent on the secondary rhachis by a narrow margin, oblong and doubly serrate, or elongated and pinnately incised with cut-toothed segments; fruit-dots short, variously curved, at length confluent.--Moist woods; common and presenting many varying forms. July. (Eu.)

10. SCOLOPENDRIUM, Smith. HART'S-TONGUE. (Pl. 18.)

Fruit-dots linear, elongated, almost at right angles to the midrib, contiguous by twos, one on the upper side of one veinlet, and the next on the lower side of the next superior veinlet, thus appearing to have a double indusium opening along the middle. (The ancient Greek name, so called because the numerous parallel lines of fruit resemble the feet of the centipede, or _Scolopendra_.)

1. S. vulgare, Smith. Frond oblong-lanceolate from an auricled-heart-shaped base, entire or wavy-margined (7--18' long, 1--2' wide), bright green.--Shaded ravines and under limestone cliffs; central N. Y.; also in Canada and Tenn.; very rare. Aug. (Eu.)

11. CAMPTOSORUS, Link. WALKING-LEAF. (Pl. 18.)

Fruit-dots oblong or linear, as in Asplenium, but irregularly scattered on either side of the _reticulated veins_ of the simple frond, those next the midrib single, the outer ones inclined to approximate in pairs (so that their two indusia open face to face), or to become confluent at their ends, thus forming crooked lines (whence the name, from [Greek: kampto/s], _bent_, and [Greek: soro/s], for _fruit-dot_.)

1. C. rhizophyllus, Link. Fronds evergreen, sub-coriaceous, growing in tufts, spreading or procumbent (4--12' long), gradually narrowed from a cordate or auricled base to a long and slender acumination, which often roots at the end and forms a new plant.--Shaded rocks, especially calcareous rocks, N. Eng. to Minn., and southward to Kan. and Ala.--The auricles are sometimes greatly elongated, and even rooting; in another form they are lacking, as in the thinner leaved C. Sibiricus. July.

12. PHEGOPTERIS, Fee. BEECH FERN.

Fruit-dots small, round, naked (no indusium), borne on the back of the veins below the apex. Stipe continuous with the rootstock.--Our species have free veins and bright green membranaceous fronds, decaying in early autumn. (Name composed of [Greek: phego/s], an _oak_ or _beech_, and [Greek: pteri/s], _fern_.)

[*] _Fronds twice pinnatifid; pinnae all sessile, adnate to the winged rhachis._

1. P. polypodioides, Fee. Fronds triangular, _longer than broad_ (4--9' long), hairy on the veins, especially beneath; pinnae linear-lanceolate, _the lowest pair deflexed and standing forward_; their divisions oblong, obtuse, entire, the basal decurrent upon the main rhachis; fruit-dots all near the margin.--Damp woods; common northward. July.--Rootstock slender, creeping, bearing a few distant slender stalks, rather longer than the fronds. (Eu.)

2. P. hexagonoptera, Fee. Fronds triangular, _usually broader than long_ (7--12' broad), slightly pubescent and often finely glandular beneath; pinnae lanceolate; upper segments oblong, obtuse, toothed or entire, _those of the very large lowest pinnae elongated and pinnately lobed_, basal ones very much decurrent and forming a continuous many-angled wing along the main rhachis; fruit-dots near the margin; some also between the sinus and the midrib.--Rather open woods, New Eng. to Minn., and southward; common. July.--Larger and broader than the last, which it often closely resembles.

[*][*] _Fronds ternate, the three divisions petioled; rhachis wingless._

3. P. Dryopteris, Fee. _Fronds smooth_, broadly triangular (4--6' wide); the three triangular primary divisions _all widely spreading_, 1--2-pinnate; segments oblong, obtuse, entire or toothed; fruit-dots near the margin.--Rocky woods; common northward. July. (Eu.)

4. P. calcarea, Fee. _Fronds minutely glandular_ and somewhat rigid, _the lateral divisions ascending_; lowest inferior pinnae of the lateral divisions smaller in proportion than in the last species, which it otherwise closely resembles.--Iowa and Minn.; rare. July. (Eu.)

13. ASPIDIUM, Swartz. SHIELD FERN. WOOD FERN. (Pl. 19.)

Fruit-dots round, borne on the back or rarely at the apex of the veins. Indusium covering the sporangia, flat or flattish, scarious, orbicular and peltate at the centre, or round-kidney-shaped and fixed either centrally or by the sinus, opening all round the margin. Stipe continuous (not articulated) with the rootstock.--Our species have free veins and 1--3-pinnate fronds. (Name, [Greek: a)spi/dion], _a small shield_, from the shape of the indusium.)

Sec. 1. DRYOPTERIS. _Indusium reniform, or orbicular with a narrow sinus._

[*] _Veins simple or simply forked and straight; fronds annual, decaying in autumn, the stalks and slender creeping rootstocks nearly naked._

1. A. Thelypteris, Swartz. Fronds pinnate, lanceolate in outline; pinnae horizontal or slightly recurved, linear-lanceolate, deeply pinnatifid, _the lowest pairs scarcely smaller_; lobes oblong, entire, obtuse or appearing acute when in fruit from the _strongly revolute margins; veins mostly forked_, bearing the (soon confluent) fruit-dots near their middle; indusium minute, smooth and naked.--Marshes; common. Aug.--Stalk 1 deg. long or more, usually longer than the frond, which is of thicker texture than the next, and slightly downy. (Eu.)

2. A. Noveboracense, Swartz. Fronds pinnate, lanceolate in outline, _tapering both ways from the middle_; pinnae lanceolate, _the lowest 2 or more pairs gradually shorter and deflexed_; lobes flat, oblong, basal ones often enlarged and incised; _veins simple_, or forked in the basal lobes; fruit-dots distinct, near the margin; indusium minute, the margin glanduliferous.--Swamps and moist thickets; common. July.--Frond pale green, delicate and membranaceous, hairy beneath along the midribs and veins.

[*][*] _Veins, at least the lowest, more than once forked or somewhat pinnately branching; fruit-bearing veinlets often obscure or vanishing above the fruit-dot; fronds, at least the sterile ones, often evergreen; stalks and apex of the thickened rootstock scaly or chaffy, and often the main rhachis also._

[+] _Fronds small, pinnate; pinnae pinnatifid; indusia very large, persistent._

3. A. fragrans, Swartz. Fronds (4--12' high) glandular and aromatic, narrowly lanceolate, with linear-oblong pinnately-parted pinnae; their crowded divisions (2'' long) oblong, obtuse, toothed or nearly entire, nearly covered beneath with the very large thin imbricated indusia, which are orbicular with a narrow sinus, the margin sparingly glanduliferous and often ragged.--On rocks, especially near waterfalls, mountains of northern New Eng., west and northward.--Rootstock stout, nearly erect, densely chaffy, as are the crowded stipes and rhachis. (Asia, and barely reaching S. E. Eu.)

[+][+] _Large (1--21/2 deg. high), the fronds mostly twice pinnate with variously toothed and incised pinnules; indusia rather small, shrivelled in age, or deciduous._

4. A. spinulosum, Swartz. Stipes with a few _pale-brown deciduous scales_; frond ovate-lanceolate, twice pinnate; _pinnae oblique to the rhachis, elongated-triangular_, the lower pairs broadly triangular; pinnules set obliquely on the midribs, connected by a very narrow wing, oblong, acute, incisely serrate or pinnatifid with spinulosely-toothed lobes; _indusium_ smooth and _without marginal glands_.--In damp woods, New Eng. to Ky., and northward. July.--The common European type, rare in North America. (Eu.)

Var. intermedium, D. C. Eaton. _Scales_ of the stipe few, _brown with a darker centre_; frond broadly oblong-ovate, twice or often thrice pinnate; _pinnae spreading, oblong-lanceolate_, the lower unequally triangular-ovate; pinnules crowded, ovate-oblong, spreading, pinnately divided; the oblong lobes spinulose-toothed at the apex; _margin of the indusium denticulate and beset with minute stalked glands_.--Woods, everywhere.

Var. dilatatum, Hook. _Scales_ of the stipe large, _brown with a dark centre_; _frond broader, ovate or triangular-ovate_ in outline, oftenest thrice pinnate; pinnules lance-oblong, the lowest often much elongated; _indusium_ (in the North American plant) _smooth and naked_.--A dwarf state, fruiting when only 5--8' high, answers to var. dumetorum.--N. New Eng. to Minn., chiefly in mountain woods, and northward. (Eu.)

5. A. Boottii, Tuckerman. _Scales_ of the stipe _pale-brown_; fronds (1--21/2 deg. long) elongated-lanceolate in outline, somewhat narrowed at base; lowest pinnae triangular-ovate, the upper longer and narrower; pinnules oblong-ovate, sharply spinulose-serrate or the lower pinnatifid; _indusium minutely glandular_. (A. spinulosum, var. Boottii, of last ed. A. cristatum, var. uliginosum, _Milde_.)--Wet thickets and about ponds, New Eng. to Del. and Minn. July.--Sterile fronds much smaller and simpler than the fertile. (Eu.)

[+][+][+] _Large (2--4 deg. high); fronds once pinnate and the pinnae deeply pinnatifid, or nearly twice pinnate; fruit-dots not very near the margin; the indusium large, thinnish and flat, persistent._

6. A. cristatum, Swartz. _Frond linear-oblong or lanceolate in outline_ (1--2 deg. long); _pinnae short_ (2--3' long), _triangular-oblong_, or the lowest nearly triangular-ovate, from a somewhat heart-shaped base, acute, deeply pinnatifid; the _divisions (6--10 pairs) oblong_, very obtuse, finely serrate or cut-toothed, the lowest pinnatifid-lobed; _fruit-dots as near the midvein as the margin_; indusium round-reniform, the sinus mostly shallow, smooth and naked.--Swamps, etc.; common. July.--Stipes and the stout creeping rootstock bearing broad and deciduous chaffy scales. (Eu.)

Var. Clintonianum. _Frond in every way much larger_ (21/2--4 deg. long); _pinnae_ oblong-lanceolate, _broadest at base_ (4--6' long, 1--2' broad), deeply pinnatifid; the _divisions (8--16 pairs)_ crowded or distant, _linear-oblong_, obtuse, obscurely serrate or cut-toothed, the basal sometimes pinnately lobed; veins pinnately forking, the lowest anterior veinlets bearing the _fruit-dots near the midvein_; indusium orbicular with a shallow sinus, smooth and naked.--Swampy woods, New Eng. to N. J., N. Y. (_G. W. Clinton_, etc.), and westward. July.--Rootstock stout, creeping, chaffy (like the stipes) with large bright-brown scales. A showy fern, unlike any European form of A. cristatum, and often mistaken for A. Goldianum.

7. A. Goldianum, Hook. _Frond broadly ovate_, or the fertile ovate-oblong in outline (2--3 deg. long); _pinnae_ (6--9' long), oblong-lanceolate, _broadest in the middle_, pinnately parted; the _divisions (about 20 pairs) oblong-linear, slightly scythe-shaped_ (9--15'' long), serrate with appressed teeth; veins pinnately forking and bearing the _fruit-dots very near the midvein_; indusium very large, orbicular with a deep narrow sinus, smooth and without marginal glands.--Rich and moist woods, from Conn. to Ky., and northward. July.--A stately fern, often 4 deg. high, the fronds growing in a circle from a stout ascending chaffy rootstock, and decaying in autumn. Indusium with the sides of the sinus often overlapping, thus appearing to be round and entire as in Sec. Polystichum.

[+][+][+][+] _Large (1--3 deg. high); stipes very chaffy at base; fronds twice pinnate, but the upper pinnules confluent, some of the lower pinnatifid-toothed; fruit-dots rather large; indusium convex, without marginal glands, persistent._

8. A. Filix-mas, Swartz. Frond lanceolate in outline (1--3 deg. high); pinnae linear-lanceolate, tapering from base to apex; pinnules oblong, very obtuse, serrate at the apex and obscurely so at the sides, the basal incisely lobed, distinct, the upper confluent; fruit-dots nearer the midvein than the margin, and usually confined to the lower half of each fertile pinnule.--Rocky woods, N. Mich. to Dak. and Col.--Frond thickish but not surviving the winter. (Eu.)

9. A. marginale, Swartz. (Pl. 19, fig. 1, 2.) Frond evergreen, smooth, thickish and almost coriaceous, ovate-oblong in outline (1--2 deg. long); pinnae lanceolate, acuminate, slightly broadest above the base; pinnules oblong or oblong-scythe-shaped, crowded, obtuse or pointed, entire or crenately-toothed; fruit-dots close to the margin.--Rocky hillsides in rich woods; common, especially northward. Aug.

Sec. 2. POLYSTICHUM. _Indusium orbicular and entire, peltate, fixed by the depressed centre; fronds rigid and coriaceous, evergreen, very chaffy on the rhachis, etc.; pinnae or pinnules auricled at base on the upper side, crowded, the teeth or lobes bristle-tipped._

[*] _Fronds simply pinnate._

10. A. acrostichoides, Swartz. (CHRISTMAS FERN.) (Pl. 19, fig. 3, 4.) Frond lanceolate (1--21/2 deg. high), _stalked; pinnae linear-lanceolate_, somewhat scythe-shaped, half-halberd-shaped at the slightly stalked base, serrulate with appressed bristly teeth; _the fertile_ (upper) _contracted and smaller_, bearing contiguous fruit-dots near the midrib, which are confluent with age, covering the surface.--Var. INCISUM is a state with cut-lobed pinnae, a not unfrequent case in the sterile fronds; sometimes with all the tips fertile.--Common in rocky woods, especially northward. July.

11. A. Lonchitis, Swartz. Frond linear-lanceolate (9--20' high), _scarcely stalked, very rigid; pinnae broadly lanceolate-scythe-shaped, or the lowest triangular_, strongly auricled on the upper side, and wedge-truncate on the lower, densely spinulose-toothed (1' or less in length), copiously fruit-bearing; fruit-dots contiguous and near the margins.--Woods, southern shore of Lake Superior, and northward. (Eu.)

[*][*] _Fronds bipinnate._

12. A. aculeatum, Swartz, var. Braunii, Koch. _Fronds spreading_ (11/2--2 deg. long), oblong-lanceolate in outline, with a tapering base, the lower of the many pairs of oblong-lanceolate pinnae gradually reduced in size and obtuse; pinnules ovate or oblong, obtuse, truncate and almost rectangular at base, short-stalked, or the upper confluent, sharply toothed, beset with long and soft as well as chaffy hairs.--Deep woods, mountains of New Eng., N. Y., and Penn., and northward. (Eu.)

14. CYSTOPTERIS, Bernhardi. BLADDER FERN. (Pl. 19.)

Fruit-dots roundish, borne on the back of a straight fork of the free veins; the delicate indusium hood-like or arched, attached by a broad base on the inner side (toward the midrib) partly under the fruit-dot, early opening free at the other side, which looks toward the apex of the lobe, and is somewhat jagged, soon thrown back or withering away.--Tufted ferns with slender and delicate 2--3-pinnate fronds; the lobes cut-toothed. (Name composed of [Greek: ky/stis], _a bladder_, and [Greek: pteri/s], _fern_, from the inflated indusium.)

1. C. bulbifera, Bernh. (Pl. 19, fig. 1--3.) _Frond lanceolate, elongated_ (1--2 deg. long), 2-pinnate; the pinnae lanceolate-oblong, pointed, horizontal (1--2' long); the _rhachis and pinnae often bearing bulblets underneath, wingless_; pinnules crowded, oblong, obtuse, toothed or pinnatifid; indusium short, truncate on the free side.--Shaded ravines, not rare from N. Eng. to Ark., commoner on calcareous rocks. July.--Specimens from Tenn. and Ark. have sometimes shorter fronds and few or no bulblets, indicating an approach to the next species.

2. C. fragilis, Bernh. _Frond oblong-lanceolate_ (4--8' long, besides the brittle stalk which is fully as long), 2--3-pinnate; the pinnae and _pinnules_ ovate or lanceolate in outline, irregularly pinnatifid or cut-toothed, mostly acute, _decurrent on the margined or winged rhachis_; indusium tapering or acute at the free end.--Shaded cliffs and rocky woods; common and greatly varying in the shape and cutting of the pinnules. July. (Eu.)

15. ONOCLEA, L. (Pl. 16 and 19.)

Sporangia borne on elevated receptacles, forming roundish sori imperfectly covered by very delicate hood-shaped indusia attached to the base of the receptacles. Fertile fronds erect, rigid, with contracted pod-like or berry-like divisions at first completely concealing the sporangia, and at last, when dry and indurated, cracking open and allowing the spores to escape. Sterile fronds foliaceous. Rootstocks creeping and constantly forming new plants. (Name apparently from [Greek: o)/nos], _a vessel_, and [Greek: klei/o], _to close_, from the singularly rolled up fructification.)

Sec. 1. ONOCLEA proper. _Sterile frond with anastomosing veins._

1. O. sensibilis, L. (SENSITIVE FERN.) (Pl. 19, fig. 1, 2.) Fronds scattered; the sterile ones long-stalked (2--15' long), triangular-ovate, pinnatifid into a few oblong-lanceolate sinuately lobed or nearly entire segments; veins reticulated with fine meshes; fertile fronds contracted, closely bipinnate, the pinnules rolled up into berry-like bodies.--Moist meadows and thickets, very common and variable. July.--Imperfectly fertile fronds sometimes occur, with the still foliaceous pinnae cut into obovate segments with free veins and abortive sori; the so-called var. OBTUSILOBATA.

Sec. 2. STRUTHIOPTERIS. _Sterile frond with free veins._