Botany, Antique Print, Chromolithograph, Phyllitis scolopendrium, Hart's tongue Fern, Lindman

Antique colored lithograph (chromolithograph) after Swedish botanist and botanial artist Carl Axel Magnus Lindman (1856-1928) for his folio "Bilder ur nordens Flora" (Pictures of Northern Flora). He was inspired by military botanical artist Johan Wilhelm Palmstuch who embarked on a scientific project to produce a series of impressive copper engravings, 1802–1819."Svensk Botanik" (Swedish Botany) was the first of its kind in Sweden.

The botanical illustrates the 3 major parts of a fern: the rhizome (the underground stem), the leafy frond and the sporangia (the reproductive structure).  In particular this fern structure is known as "Simple" as the frond is undivided into separate pinnae along the stem. See see three leaves and an immature frond sprouting from the branching rhizome. The center leaf tip curls showing the apple green glossy leaf with the lines of brown spores glimpsed on the underside. To the left we see a detailed section of the flat fern "tongue" with three brown lines of sporangia that hold the fern spores.

Published Stockholm by Wahlstrom & Widstrand, 1901-1905.

Condition = Excellent (no discoloration/tears)

Page size = 16.5 x 24.2 cm (6 1/2 x 9 1/2 inch)

Phyllitis Scolopendrium (Hart's Tongue Fern)

Its common name refers to its likeness to a deer tongue in shape. The fern is widely distributed in central and southern Europe, eastern Iran, northwestern Africa, Korea, Japan, Sakhalin and scattered populations appear in eastern North America. It occurs at sites on or near dolomite (magnesium-rich limestone) that remain consistently moist year-round. It is a common indoor plant. Tufts of fronds unfurl from an upright, branching rhizome that lies partly above, partly below the surface of the soil. The rhizome which is covered with light brown, furry scales, is usually hidden by the fronds stalks.