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bearing the leafy portion of tlie frond, the other its fructification
: the leafy portion is pinnate, the pinnae vary in number
from three to eight pairs ; they are somevrhat fan-shaped, with
tlie exterior margin slightly crenate ; the veins in these pinnæ
ai-e branched irregularly, and extend almost to the margin, but
are never united at their extremities : the fruitful branch of the
rachis is pinnate, the pinnæ generally somewhat corresponding in
number with those of the leafy frond ; these lateral branches, or
pinnæ, are frequently again divided, and hear a number of nearly
globular thecæ, which, having attained maturity, open transversely,
and gaping wide, allow the seeds to fall out.
I have seen many singular varieties of this plant : in some of
these, one, two, or three of the barren pinnæ have been converted
into fertile ones. Three varieties are thus noticed in the English
Flora. “ [3 has a branched stalk, bearing several leaves, and
compound spikes alternately disposed ; y is a very slight variety,
with more jagged leaflets than ordinary; g has pinnatifid
leaflets, and a more spreading habit. All these varieties, and
perhaps others, are found occasionally intermixed here and there
with the plant in its common or proper form : but never, as far
as I can learn, so numerously distinct, as to have the appearance
of a different species.”
I t is rather amusing than instructive to read the virtues
ascribed by Dioscorides, and other ancient writers, to nearly the
whole family of ferns. Of the present species much has been
written, and the most wonderful magical properties have been
assigned to it. This we may trace, in a great measure, to the
singular form of the pinnæ ; all those plants whose leaves bore
even a fancied resemblance to the moon—and the name clearly
implies that this was the case in the present instance—were
formerly regarded with a most superstitious veneration. From
all record we find that they were to be gathered by the light of
the full moon, or half their powers would be lost. In the
present day such fancies are entirely confined to works of the
imagination.
Then rapidly, with foot as light
As the young musk roes, out she flew.
To cull each shining leaf that grew
Beneath the moonlight's hallowing beams.
Again—
And the white moon-flower, as it shows
On Serendib’s high crags, &c.
ADDER’S-TONGUE.
O p h io g l o s s u m v u l g a t u m o f Authors.
LOCALITIES.
E n g l a n d . . . . Cumberland, near the village of Staunton ; Westmoreland, on Lowther Terrace;
Yorkshire, near Richmond; Lancashire, near Warrington; Cheshire, near
Alderley; Shropshire, near Westfelton; Nottinghamshire, near Morton; Warwickshire,
near Birmingham; Worcestershire, near Malvern; Herefordshire,
near Leominster; Gloucestershire, near Painswick; Somersetshire, plentiful
near Hanbury, Stichwood, Bristol, Bath, &c.; Wiltshire; Hampshire; Surrey,
near Dorking, Reigate, and Nutfield; Sussex; Kent, near Higham, below
Gravesend; Middlesex; Hertfordshire; Cambridgeshire, near Maddingley, and
in Gamlingay wood.
W a l e s Denbighshire.
S c o t l a n d . . . Mull of Galloway.
I r e l a n d . . . . County Londonderry; County Antrim, Black Mountain, n e a r Belfast.
T h i s plant, like the last, is generally distributed over England,
and occurs more sparingly in Wales, Scotland, and Ire lan d ; it
is, however, far more abundant than the Moonwort, sometimes
covering acres of meadow-land, and is considered a serious injury
to the crop of grass.