I n TH E S e c t io n L a s t r e a o p A u t h o r s .
T h e Lastrea montana i s one of the least variable of the
British Ferns, and this variety is by far the most extraordinary
hitherto discovered. I t was found by Mr. J . Nowell, and Mr.
A. Stansfield, of Todmorden, near Lake Gyrionedd, in N o rth
Wales, September 12th., 1860, and has been tested in the
fernery at the Vale Nurseries, Todmorden, and proves perfectly
constant.
The fronds are pinnate, the pinnæ linear, very narrow, and
terminating much more abruptly than in the normal species.
The rachis or midrib of the frond frequently terminates in a
horn-like projection near the apex of the frond.
The pinnules are very short, generally only about one th ird
of the length of those in the ordinary form; they are deeply
cut and serrated, and in this respect the variety Nowelhana
differs entirely from the normal type, and indeed has quite
as much the appearance of an A th y r ium as a Lastrea.
The sori bold and conspicuous.
The fronds are from twelve to twenty-four inches in length.
F o r a description of this F e rn the reader is referred to
A sp id ium oreopteris of Swartz, section L astrea, page 53, vol.
vi, of my “ N a tu ra l History of British and Fxotic F erns.”
My thanks are due to Messrs. Stansfield, of Todmorden, for
the frond illustrated.
I* I.l