[Illustration: Northern Woodsia, Woodsia alpina (From Waters' "Ferns," Henry Holt & Co.)]
(3) BLUNT-LOBED WOODSIA. Woodsia obtùsa
Fronds broadly lanceolate, ten to eighteen inches long, nearly twice pinnate, often minutely glandular. Pinnæ rather remote, triangular-ovate or oblong, pinnately parted into obtuse, oblong, toothed segments. Veins forked. Fruit-dots on or near the margin of the lobes. Indusium conspicuous, at length splitting into several spreading, jagged lobes.
[Illustration: Blunt-lobed Woodsia. Woodsia obtusa]
This is our most common species of Woodsia and it has a wider range than the others, extending from Maine and Nova Scotia to Georgia and westward. On rocky banks and cliffs. The sori of this species have a peculiar beauty on account of the star-shaped indusium, as it splits into fragments. Var. angústa is a form with very narrow fronds and pinnæ. Highlands, New York. The type grows in Middlesex County, Mass., but is rare.
(4) SMOOTH WOODSIA. Woodsia glabélla
Fronds two to five inches high, very delicate, linear, pinnate. Pinnæ remote at the base, roundish-ovate, very obtuse with a few crenate lobes. Stipes jointed, straw-colored. Hairs of the indusium few and minute.
[Illustration: Smooth Woodsia. Woodsia glabella (Willoughhy Mountain, Vt. G.H.T.)]