[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) PINNÀTIFID 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 brown.
[Illustration: Pinnatifid Spleenwort. Asplenium pinnatifidum a, Small Plants from Harper's Ferry; b, Sori on Young Fronds (From Waters's "Ferns," Henry Holt & Co.)]