5. Maidenhair 6. Green 7. Mountain]


THE SPLEENWORTS


A. THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. _Asplènium_

Small, evergreen ferns. Fruit-dots oblong or linear, oblique, separate when
young. Indusium straight or rarely curved, fixed lengthwise on the upper
side of a fertile veinlet, opening toward the midrib. Veins free. Scales of
rhizome and stipes narrow, of firm texture and with thick-walled cells.

(1) PINNÁTIFID SPLEENWORT. _Asplenium pinnatífídum_

Fronds four to six inches long, lanceolate, pinnátifid or pinnate near the
base, tapering above into a slender prolongation. Lobes roundish-ovate, or
the lower pair acuminate. Fruit-dots irregular, numerous. Stipes tufted,
two to four inches long, brownish beneath, green above.

Although this fern, like all the small spleenworts, is heavily fruited,
it is extremely rare. It is found as far north as Sharon, Conn., thence
southward to Georgia, to Arkansas and Missouri. On cliffs and rocks.
Resembles the walking fern, and its tip sometimes takes root.

(2) SCOTT'S SPLEENWORT. _Asplenium ebenòides_

Fronds four to ten inches long, broadly lanceolate, pinnátifid or pinnate
below, tapering to a prolonged and slender apex. Divisions lanceolate from
a broad base. Fruit-dots straight or slightly curved. Stipe and rachis