des_

Stipes clothed with pale, brown scales. Frond rigid and evergreen, one to
two feet long, lanceolate, pinnate. Pinnae linear-lanceolate, scythe-shaped,
auricled on the upper side, and with bristly teeth; fertile pinnae
contracted toward the top, bearing two rows of sori, which soon become
confluent and cover the entire surface. Indusium orbicular, fixed by its
depressed center.

_F. incisum_ is a form in which the pinnae are much incised.

_F. crispum_ has the edges of its pinnae crisped and ruffled. The name
Christmas fern, due to John Robinson, of Salem, Mass., suggests its fitness
for winter decoration. Its deep green and glossy fronds insure it a welcome
at Christmas time. "Its mission is to cheer the winter months and enhance
the beauty of the other ferns by contrast." In transplanting, a generous
mass of earth should be included and its roots should not be disturbed.

[Illustration: Christmas Fern. _Polystichum acrostichoides_]

[Illustration: Christmas Fern. _Polystichum acrostichoides_]

[Illustration: Christmas Fern. _Polystichum acrostichoides_ Top, Forked
Form; Bottom, Incised Form (Maine)]

(2) BRAUN'S HOLLY FERN

_Polystichum Braunii. Aspidium aculeatum Braunii_

Fronds thick, rigid, one to two feet long, spreading, lanceolate,
tapering both ways, bipinnate. Pinnules ovate or oblong, truncate, nearly
rectangular at the base, sharply toothed and covered beneath with chaff and
hairs. Fruit-dots small and near the mid veins. Indusium orbicular, entire.
Stipes chaffy with brown scales.

[Illustration: Braun's Holly Fern. _Polystichum Braunii_ (Willoughby
Mountain, Vt.) (Herbarium of G.H.T.)]

This handsome fern is rather common in northern New England. We have
collected it in the Willoughby Lake region, Vt., and it is found at Mt.
Mansfield, Randolph, and elsewhere in that state; also at Gorham, N.H.,
and Fernald reports it as common in northern Maine. It also grows in the
mountains of New York and Pennsylvania, and westward. It was formerly
thought to be a variety of the prickly shield fern (_P. aculeatum_), which
has a very wide range and numerous varieties. The fronds remain green
through the winter but the stipes weaken and fall over.

(3) HOLLY FERN. _Polystichum Lonchitis_

Fronds linear-lanceolate, short-stalked and rigid, eight to fifteen inches
long. Pinnae broadly lanceolate-falcate or the lowest triangular, strongly
auricled on the upper side, densely spinulose-toothed. Sori midway