on the under surface of the frond; indusium various.
5. Cheilanthes. Sori minute, at the ends of the veins; indusium
continuous or interrupted. Fronds mostly chaffy, woolly, or
pulverulent, rarely smooth.
6. Pellaea. Sori on the upper part of the veins, distinct, or mostly
forming a confluent submarginal band of sporangia. Indusium
membranaceous, continuous, rarely wanting. Sterile and fertile fronds
not very unlike; stipes dark colored; fronds smooth.
7. Cryptogramme. Sori roundish or elongated and extending far down the
free veins, at first covered by the very broad continuous indusium, at
length exposed and confluent. Sterile and fertile fronds very
different; stipes light colored; fronds smooth.
Tribe IV. BLECHNEAE. Sori oblong or linear, borne on a veinlet parallel
to the midrib, and covered with a special usually concave or arched
indusium attached to the fruiting veinlet, and opening along the inner
side.
8. Woodwardia. Sori forming a chain-like row each side of the midrib or
central vein. Veins reticulated.
Tribe V. ASPLENIEAE. Sori more or less elongated, occupying one or both
sides of oblique veins, covered by a special indusium which is attached
by one side to the fertile vein, and is free on the other. Stipes not
articulated.
9. Asplenium. Sori on the upper side or rarely on both sides of a
veinlet. Veins free in all our species.
10. Scolopendrium. Sori linear, confluent in pairs, each pair appearing
like a single sorus with a double indusium opening down the middle.
Veins free.
11. Camptosorus. Sori oblong, variously curved, or some of them in
opposite pairs. Veins reticulated.
Tribe VI. ASPIDIEAE. Sori round or roundish, on the back or rarely at the
apex of the vein, with a special indusium, rarely naked. Stipes not
articulated to the rootstock.
[*] Indusium obsolete or none.
12. Phegopteris. Sori round, rather small. Veins free in our species.
[*][*] Indusium evident, round or roundish, covering the sporangia, at
least when young. Sterile and fertile fronds not very unlike. Veins
free in our species.
13. Aspidium. Indusium flat or slightly convex, orbicular or
round-reniform, fixed by the centre, opening all round the margin.
14. Cystopteris. Indusium convex, fixed by a broad base partly under the
sorus, commonly reflexed as the sporangia ripen.
[*][*][*] Indusium obscure, irregularly semicircular. Fertile fronds
much contracted and very unlike the sterile ones.
15. Onoclea. Sporangia on an elevated receptacle; divisions of the
fertile frond pod-like or berry-like.
Tribe VII. WOODSIEAE. Sori round, borne on the veins; indusium fixed
under the sorus, divided into segments or into slender filaments.
16. Woodsia. Small ferns with free veins. Indusium very delicate.
Tribe VIII. DICKSONIEAE. Sori roundish, marginal or submarginal. Indusium
cup-shaped or two-valved, the outer portion composed of a reflexed
lobule of the frond, or more or less united to it.
17. Dicksonia. Indusium in our species small, membranaceous, nearly
globular. Frond elongated, decompound.
SUBORDER II. Hymenophyllaceae. Sporangia sessile on a bristle-like
receptacle within a cup-shaped or bivalvular involucre, the ring
transverse and complete. Fronds delicately membranaceous.
18. Trichomanes. Involucres funnel-form or cup-shaped.
SUBORDER III. Schizaeaceae. Sporangia ovate, sessile, having a complete
transverse articulated ring at the apex, and opening by a longitudinal
slit. (Pl. 19.)
19. Schizaea. Sporangia naked, fixed in a double row to the midrib of the
narrow fertile segments. Sterile fronds rigid, simple or dichotomously
branched.
20. Lygodium. Sporangia borne in a double row on narrow fertile
segments, each sporangium seated on a separate veinlet, and provided
with a special scale-like indusium. Fronds leafy, climbing.
SUBORDER IV. Osmundaceae. Sporangia naked, globose, mostly pedicelled,
reticulated, with no ring or mere traces of one near the apex, opening
into two valves by a longitudinal slit. Stipes winged at base and almost
stipulate! (Pl. 19.)
21. Osmunda. Fertile pinnae or fronds very much contracted, bearing the
abundant and large sporangia upon the margins of the very narrow
segments. Veins free.
1. POLYPODIUM, L. POLYPODY. (Pl. 16.)
Fruit-dots round, naked, arranged on the back of the frond in one or
more rows each side of the midrib or central vein, or irregularly
scattered, each borne in our species on the end of a free veinlet.
Rootstocks creeping, branched, often covered with chaffy scales, bearing
scattered roundish knobs, to which the stipes are attached by a distinct
articulation. (Name from [Greek: poly/s], _many_, and [Greek: pou~s],
_foot_, alluding to the branching rootstock.)
1. P. vulgare, L. (Pl. 16, fig. 1--3.) Fronds evergreen, oblong, _smooth
both sides_, 4--10' high, simple and deeply pinnatifid; the divisions
linear-oblong, obtuse or somewhat acute, remotely and obscurely toothed;
veins once or twice forked; _fruit-dots large, midway between the midrib
and the margin_.--Rocks; common. July. (Eu.)
2. P. incanum, Swartz. Fronds evergreen and coriaceous, oblong, 2--6'
high, _grayish and very scurfy underneath with peltate scales_, simply
pinnatifid; the divisions oblong-linear, obtuse; _fruit-dots rather
small, near the margin_; veins forking, free in the N. American
plant!--Rocks and trunks of trees, Va. and Ohio to Ill., and southward.
Aug.
2. NOTHOLAENA, R. Brown. CLOAK-FERN.
Fruit-dots roundish or oblong, placed near the ends of the veins, soon
more or less confluent into an irregular marginal band, with no proper
involucre. Veins always free. Fronds of small size, 1--4-pinnate, the
lower surface almost always either hairy, tomentose, chaffy, or covered
with a fine waxy white or yellow powder. (Name from [Greek: no/thos],
_spurious_, and [Greek: lai~na], _a cloak_, the woolly coating of the
original species forming a spurious covering to the sporangia.)
1. N. dealbata, Kunze. Fronds triangular-ovate, 1--3' long,
3--4-pinnate; rhachis and branches straight, black and shining; ultimate
pinnules scarcely a line long, white and powdery on the lower
surface.--Clefts of calcareous rocks, Mo., Kan., and southwestward.
July--Aug.
3. ADIANTUM, L. MAIDENHAIR. (Pl. 17.)
Fruit-dots marginal, short, borne on the under side of a transversely
oblong, crescent-shaped or roundish, more or less altered margin or
summit of a lobe or tooth of the frond reflexed to form an indusium; the
sporangia attached to the approximated tips of the free forking
veins.--Main rib (costa) of the pinnules none (in our species), or at
the lower margin. Stipes black and polished. (The ancient name, from
[Greek: a] privative and [Greek: diai/no], meaning _unwetted_, the
smooth foliage repelling rain-drops.)
1. A. pedatum, L. (Pl. 17, fig. 1--3.) _Frond forked at the summit of
the upright slender stalk_ (9--15' high), the recurved branches bearing
on one side several slender spreading pinnate divisions; pinnules
numerous, short-stalked and obliquely triangular-oblong, entire on the
lower margin, from which the veins all proceed, and cleft and
fruit-bearing on the other.--Rich, moist woods. July.--A delicate and
most graceful Fern.
2. A. Capillus-Veneris, L. _Fronds with a continuous main rhachis,
ovate-lanceolate_, 9--18' long, often pendent, 2--3-pinnate at the base,
the upper third or half simply pinnate; pinnules wedge-obovate or
rhomboid, 6--12'' long, deeply and irregularly incised; veinlets
flabellately forking from the base; involucres lunulate or transversely
oblong.--Moist rocky places, Va. to Mo., and southward. (Eu.)
4. PTERIS, L. BRAKE or BRACKEN. (Pl. 17.)
Sporangia in a continuous slender line of fructification, occupying the
entire margin of the fertile frond, and covered by its reflexed narrow
edge which forms a continuous membranaceous indusium, attached to an
uninterrupted transverse vein-like receptacle connecting the tips of the
forked free veins.--Fronds 1--3-pinnate or decompound. (The ancient
Greek name of Ferns, from [Greek: ptero/n], _a wing_, on account of the
prevalent pinnate or feathery fronds.)
1. P. aquilina, L. (COMMON BRAKE.) Frond dull green (2--3 deg. wide),
ternate at the summit of an erect stout stalk (1--2 deg. high), the widely
spreading branches twice pinnate; pinnules oblong-lanceolate; the upper
undivided; the lower more or less pinnatifid, with oblong obtuse lobes,
margined all round with the indusium, which is really double in this
species.--Var. CAUDATA, with the lobes very narrow and revolute, the
terminal ones much elongated, is a southern form, which extends in a
modified condition as far north as New Jersey.--Thickets and hillsides,
common. Aug. (Eu.)
5. CHEILANTHES, Swartz. LIP-FERN. (Pl. 17.)
Sporangia borne on the thickened ends of free veinlets, forming small
and roundish distinct or nearly contiguous marginal fruit-dots, covered
by a mostly whitish and membranaceous, sometimes herbaceous, common
indusium, formed of the reflexed margin of separate lobes or of the
whole pinnule.--Low, mostly with 2--3-pinnate and hairy or chaffy,
rarely smooth fronds, the sterile and fertile nearly alike, the
divisions with the principal vein central. Some species with continuous
indusium connect this genus very closely with the next. (Name composed
of [Greek: chei~los], _a lip_, and [Greek: a)/nthos], _flower_, from the
shape of the indusium.)
[*] _Fronds smooth, or at most hairy._
1. C. Alabamensis, Kunze. _Fronds smooth_, chartaceous (2--8' long),
ovate-lanceolate, bipinnate; pinnae numerous, oblong-lanceolate; pinnules
triangular-oblong, rather acute, often auriculate or lobed; _indusium
continuous, rather broad, pale, and of firm consistence_.--On rocks,
mountains of Va. to Ky., and southward.
2. C. vestita, Swartz. (Pl. 17, fig. 1, 2.) Fronds (6--15' high),
lanceolate-oblong, hirsute, as are the brown and shining stipes, with
_straightish prominently articulated rusty hairs_, twice pinnate; pinnae
rather distant, triangular-ovate; pinnules oblong, crowded (2--4''
long), more or less incised, _the ends of the roundish or oblong lobes
reflexed and forming separate herbaceous involucres_, which are pushed
back by the ripened sporangia.--Clefts of rocks, Manhattan Island
(_W. W. Denslow_) and N. J. to Ill., and southward.
[*][*] _Fronds woolly or tomentose._
3. C. tomentosa, Link. Fronds (12--20' high) lanceolate-oblong, densely
tomentose with _slender and entangled whitish obscurely articulated
hairs_, thrice pinnate; primary and secondary pinnae oblong or
ovate-oblong; _pinnules distinct_, minute (1/2--1'' long),
roundish-obovate, sessile or adnate-decurrent, the upper surface less
woolly, _the reflexed narrow margin forming a continuous somewhat
membranaceous indusium_.--Mountains of Va. and Ky.; thence west and
southward.--Stipe and rhachis rather stout, brown, covered with narrow
chaffy scales and whitish hairs.
4. C. lanuginosa, Nutt. Stipes slender, at first hairy, black or brown,
shining; fronds (3--6' high) ovate-lanceolate, woolly with _soft whitish
distinctly articulated flattened hairs_, becoming smoother above, twice
or thrice pinnate; pinnae (5--6'' long) ovate, the lowest distant, the
others contiguous; _pinnules crenately pinnatifid_, or mostly divided
into minute and roundish densely crowded segments (1/2--1'' long), _the
herbaceous margin recurved forming an almost continuous indusium_.--In
dense tufts, on dry rocks and cliffs, Ill. to Minn., thence west and
southward.
6. PELLAEA, Link. CLIFF-BRAKE. (Pl. 16.)
Sporangia in roundish or elongated clusters on the upper part of the
free veins, distinct, or confluent laterally so as to imitate the
marginal continuous line of fructification of Pteris, commonly covered
by a broad membranaceous and continuous (rarely interrupted) general
indusium, which consists of the reflexed and altered margin of the
fertile pinnule or division. Small ferns, with 1--3-pinnate fronds, the
fertile ones with narrower divisions than the sterile, but otherwise
similar. Stipes generally dark-colored, smooth and shining. (Name from
[Greek: pello/s], _dusky_, alluding to the stipe.)
1. P. gracilis, Hook. (Pl. 16.) Fronds smooth (3--6' high), _delicately
membranaceous and slender_, of few pinnae, the lower ones once or twice
pinnately parted into 3--5 decurrent divisions, those of the fertile
frond oblong or linear-oblong, entire or sparingly incised; of the
sterile ovate or obovate, crenate or incised; veins of the fertile
fronds mostly only once forked.--Shaded calcareous rocks, Mass. to
Minn., and northward; rare. July.--Rootstock very slender, creeping;
stipes polished, brownish, darker and sparingly chaffy at base.
2. P. atropurpurea, Link. Smooth, except some bristly-chaffy hairs on
the midribs and especially on the _dark purple and polished stalk_ and
rhachis, 6--15' high; _frond coriaceous_, pale, once or below twice
pinnate; the divisions broadly linear or oblong, or the sterile
sometimes oval, chiefly entire, somewhat heart-shaped or else truncate
at the stalked base; veins about twice forked.--Dry calcareous rocks;
not common, but of wide range. July.--Rootstock short and stout; stipes
clustered.
7. CRYPTOGRAMME, R. Brown. ROCK-BRAKE.
Fruit-dots roundish or elongated and extending far down on the free
forking veins. True involucre or indusium none, the herbaceous margins
of the fertile segments at first reflexed and meeting at the midrib, at
length opening out flat and exposing the confluent sporangia.--Low
ferns, with smooth, 2--3-pinnate fronds, the fertile ones taller than
the sterile, and with much narrower divisions. (Name from [Greek:
krypto/s], _hidden_, and [Greek: gramme/], _a line_, alluding to the
lines of sporangia at first concealed by the reflexed margin.)
1. C. acrostichoides, R. Brown. Stipes densely tufted, straw-colored;
fronds 2--3-pinnate (6--10' high); fertile segments stalked, linear or
linear-oblong (3--5'' long), the sporangia in lines extending down the
veins almost to the midrib, confluent when ripe and covering the under
surface of the now fully opened segments; sterile fronds on much shorter
stipes, with ovate or obovate decurrent and crenately toothed or incised
segments. (Allosorus acrostichoides, _Sprengel_.)--On rocks, from
L. Superior westward and northward.--Very near C. crispa of Eu.
8. WOODWARDIA, Smith. CHAIN-FERN. (Pl. 17.)
Fruit-dots oblong or linear, arranged in one or more chain-like rows on
transverse anastomosing veinlets parallel and near to the midrib.
Indusium fixed by its outer margin to the fruitful veinlet, free and
opening on the side next the midrib. Veins more or less reticulated,
free toward the margin of the frond.--Large ferns, with pinnatifid or
pinnate fronds. (Named for _Thomas J. Woodward_, an English botanist.)
Sec. 1. ANCHISTEA. _Sterile and fertile fronds alike; veins forming only
one row of meshes (areoles)._
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_.)