Page:Parsons How to Know the Ferns 7th ed.djvu/107

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GROUP II

FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE,
FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND

mer, but the withered fertile portion may be found upon the plant much later in the year. Its frequent companions are the Spinulose Shield Fern, the Christmas Fern, the Silvery Spleenwort, and the Maidenhair.


10. TERNATE GRAPE FERN

Botrychium ternatum or dissecium

Nova Scotia to Florida, in moist meadows. A few inches to more than a foot high.

Sterile portion.—Broadly triangular, the three main divisions cut again into many segments, on a separate stalk from near the base of the plant, fleshy.

Fertile portion.—Erect, usually considerably taller than non-fruiting segment, more than once-pinnate.

Sporangia of Botrychium

Of late some doubt has existed as to whether B. ternatum has been actually found in this country, although the standard Floras give no evidence of this uncertainty. Dr. Underwood is convinced that the true B. ternatum is found only in Japan and China, and that our species is really B. dissectum, a species, not a variety. He says that this species is very common in the vicinity of New York City, and thence southward and westward; that it is also found in various parts of New England; that it reaches its fullest development in moist,

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