S.. New York State Cullege of Agriculture Ai Cornell University Sthaca, N. B. Library Cornell University Libra “tian Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http :/Awww.archive.org/details/cu31924000582050 “The cheerful community of the polypody.’’ How to Know the Ferns A GUIDE TO THE NAMES, HAUNTS, AND HABITS OF OUR COMMON FERNS By Frances Theodora Parsons Author of “How to Know the Wild Flowers,” “According to Season," etc. Illustrated by Marion Satterlee and Alice Josephine Smith SEVENTH EDITION CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON : g, HZS5 Copyright, 1899, by Charles Scribner's Sons J. R. P. “If it were required to know the posttion of the fruit dots 3° the character of the indusium, nothing could be . easter than to ascertain it; but tf tt ts required that you be affected by ferns, that they amount to anything, signify anything to you, that they be another sacred scripture and revelation to you, helping to redeem your life, this end not so easily accomplished.” —THOREAU PREFACE Since the publication, six years ago, of “ How to Know the Wild Flowers,” I have received such con- vincing testimony of the eagerness of nature-lovers of all ages and conditions to familiarize themselves with the inhabitants of our woods and fields, and so many assurances of the joy which such a familiarity affords, that I have prepared this companion volume on “ How to Know the Ferns.” It has been my ex- perience that the world of delight which opens before us when we are admitted into some sort of intimacy with our companions other than human is enlarged with each new society into which we win our way. It seems strange that the abundance of ferns everywhere has not aroused more curiosity as to their names, haunts, and habits. Add to this abun- dance the incentive to their study afforded by the fact that owing to the comparatively small number of species we can familiarize ourselves with a large v PREFACE proportion of our native ferns during a single sum- mer, and it is still more surprising that so few efforts have been made to bring them within easy reach of the public. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to the many books on our native ferns which I have con- sulted, but more especially to Gray’s “ Manual,” to Eaton’s “Ferns of North America,” to the “ Illus- trated Flora” of Messrs. Britton and Brown, to Mr. Underwood's “ Our Native Ferns,” to Mr. William- son’s “ Ferns of Kentucky,” to Mr. Dodge’s “ Ferns and Fern Allies of New England,” and to that excel- lent little quarterly, which I recommend heartily to all fern-lovers, the “Fern Bulletin,” edited by Mr. Willard Clute, of Binghamton, N. Y. To the State Botanist, Dr. Charles H. Peck, who has kindly read the proof-sheets of this book, I am indebted for many suggestions; also to Mr. Arthur G. Clement, of the University of the State of New York. To Miss Marion Satterlee thanks are due not only for many suggestions, but also for the descriptions of the Woodwardias. The pen-and-ink illustrations are all from original drawings by Miss Satterlee and Miss Alice Jose- vi PREFACE phine Smith. The photographs have been furnished by Miss Murray Ledyard, Miss Madeline Smith, and Mr. Augustus Pruyn. In almost all cases I have followed the nomencla- ture of Gray’s ‘“ Manual” as being the one which would be familiar to the majority of my readers, giving in parentheses that used in the “ Illustrated Flora” of Messrs. Britton and Brown. FRANCES THEODORA PARSONS ALBANY, March 6, 1899 vii “The more thou learnest to know and to enjoy, the more full and complete will be for thee the delight of living.” CONTENTS Page FAG se a eS Oe eS ew a Ferns asa Hobby . wwe When and Where to Find Ferns. . . 15 Explanation of Terms . . . «Ss 28 Fertilization, Development, and Fructification Of FMS a Oem wD Notable Fern Families Be: 1 a. OE. Be How to Use the Book e 1. a @ we Ges eS & 2 we Se & we Fern Descriptions : RwONg dD > eS ee Se Re Group IL. ‘ ‘ ; : ‘ . « 67 Group Ill. . : ee te Se ob we ABP Group IV. . j : : ‘ : : - 105 Group V. . : ‘ : 7 ‘ ‘ . 120 Group VI. . : . ‘ z ‘ 2 . 159 ix CONTENTS Index to Latin Names Index to English Names . Index to Technical Terms Page - 211 5 OFF . 215 LIST OF PLATES *,* The actual sizes of ferns are not given in the illustrations. For this XIII. XIV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XXI. XX. XNII. XXIII. infor ys see the cor ponding description. OsTRICH FERN, . CINNAMON FERN, CuRLY Grass, . RoyaL FERN, . SENSITIVE FERN, . INTERRUPTED FERN, FERN, Moonwort, GRAPE . ADDER'S TONGUE, TERNATE LANCE-LEAVED GRAPE FERN, PURPLE CLIFF BRA FERN, Hairy Lip Fern, HAY-SCENTED FERN, Lapy FERN, SILVERY SPLEENWORT, RUE SPLEENWORT, MounTAIN SPLEEN- WORT, Esony SPLEENWORT, KE, . NARROW-LEAVED SPLEENWORT, . NET-VEINED CHAIN Scort’s SPLEENWORT, . GREEN SPLEENWORT, PINNATIFID SPLEEN- WorT, BRADLEY’S SPLEEN- woRT, . . = P Onoclea sensibilis, . . Onoclea Struthiopteris, Osmunda cinnamomea, Schisza pusilla, ° Osmunda regalis, . .« Osmunda Claytoniana, Ophioglossum vulgatum, Botrychium ternatum, Botrychium Lunaria, . . Botrychium lanceolatum, Pellea atropurpurea, Asplenium angustifolium, Woodwardia angustifolia, Chetlanthes vestita, Dicksonia pilosiuscula, Asplenium Filix-femina, Asplenium thelypteroitdes, Asplenium Ruta-muraria Asplenium montanum, Asplenium ebeneum, é Asplenium ebenoides,. . Asplenium viride, . : Asplenium pinnatifidum, Asplenium Bradleyi, . . 85 PLATE XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXVIII. XXXIX. XL. XLI. XLII. LIST OF PLATES VIRGINIA CHAIN FERN, New York FERN, . MARSH FERN, .. .« SPINULOSE Woop FERN, . + . Boott’s SHIELD FERN, CRESTED SHIELD FERN, . . CLINTON’S Woop FERN, . . GOLDIE’s FERN, . EVERGREEN WoOoOD FERN, 4 « ¢ « # FRAGRANT SHIELD FERN, é Braun’s HOLty ean, BroaD BEECH FERN, Oak FERN, BULBLET Dianines FERN, FRAGILE BARD eR FERN; 2 G@ 2 w Rusty Woopsia, BLUNT-LOBED Woop- STAC: ao Ee Gl NoRTHERN WOODSIA, SMooTH WoopsiA, PAGE Woodwardia Virginica, . . 157 Aspidium Noveboracense, . 161 Aspidium Thelypteris, . . 163 Aspidium spinulosum, var. intermedium, . . + 165 Aspidium Boottit,. . . . 167 Aspidium cristatum, . . . 169 Aspidium cristatum, var. Clintonianum, ee ve BIE Aspidium Goldianum, . . 173 Aspidium marginale, . » 175 Aspidium fragrans, » . + 179 Aspidium aculeatum, var. Braunii, . . . 6 + © 183 Phegopteris hexagonoptera, . 189 Phegopteris Dryopteris, » . Ig! Cystopteris bulbifera,. +» « 195 Cystopleris fragilis, . . «197 Woodsia Ilvensis, - + + 199 Woodsia obtusa, . . . » 201 Woodsia hyperborea, . + .« 205 Woodsia glabella,. . . 207 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ** The cheerful community of the polypody” —. Frontispiece From u photograph by Miss Madeline Smith. Page New York Fern . . : : : P ; . xvi ‘* The greatest charm the ferns possess is that of their surroundings” . . Pay f° From a photograph by iri Ausabize Pian Fiddlebeads . & a oe %: Go 3 : . 18 Fragile Bladder Fern» «www et Crested Shield Fern. «4 6 sw ws 20 Purple Cliff Brake oe & we> 72 Gi 2hoge2 Ternate Grape Fern 24 Evergreen Wood Fert. « « «© «© «© « 27 Sensitive Fern 6 6 we 5G Cinnamon Fern. 2 we let et CO Royal Fern. 5 ws -— 4 168 luterrupted Fern. =. + ew ww » 94 Climbing Fern 2. 6 ew ek FG Rattlesnake Fern. . «6 «© «© «© « « 8 Slender Cliff Brake . . «© «© «© ». « & ** The unpromising wall of rock which rose beside us”. 94 From u photograph by Miss Ledyard LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS More compound frond of Purple Cliff Brake é Christmas Fern . . ‘ ee ‘ . Narrow-leaved Spleenwort . . .« « . Brake . . i 8 a & . ° Maidenbair . . . . . ‘ “ Mountain Spleenwort . . » . ot Mountain Spleenwort . : i s ««In the shaded crevices of a lift” . from a photograph by Miss Madeline Smith. Maidenbair Spleenwort ee 1 Walking Leaf . . he ae “We fairly gloated over the et little plants” From a photograph by Miss Ledyard. Hart's Tongue . . . .». . . . Marsh Fern . , : ‘ : ‘ “* Like the plumes of janine Summer”. ‘ From u photograph by Miss Madeline Smith. Common Polypody oe ‘ 7 Long Beech Fern . = “ Go fa @ , Oak Fern . By cs e: o & Bulblet Bladder Fern. . .« «.« «© . xiv How to Know the Ferns New York Fern FERNS AS A HOBBY I THINK it is Charles Lamb who says that every man should have a hobby, if it be nothing better than collecting strings. A man with a hobby turns to account the spare moments. A holiday is a de- light instead of a bore to a man with a hobby. Thrown out of his usual occupations on a holiday, the average man is at a loss for employment. Pro- vided his neighbors are in the same fix, he can play cards. But there are hobbies and hobbies. As an occasional relaxation, for example, nothing can be said against card-playing. But as a hobby it is not much better than “ collecting strings.” It is neither broadening mentally nor invigorating physically, and it closes the door upon other interests which are both. I remember that once, on a long sea-voyage, I envied certain of my fellow-passengers who found amuse- ment in cards when the conditions were such as to make almost any other occupation out of the ques- tion. But when finally the ship’s course lay along a strange coast, winding among unfamiliar islands, by shores luxuriant with tropical vegetation and sprinkled with strange settlements, all affording de- I FERNS AS A HOBBY light to the eye and interest to the mind, these players who had come abroad solely for instruction and pleasure could not be enticed from their tables, and [ thanked my stars that I had not fallen under the stultifying sway of cards. Much the same grati- tude is aroused when I see men and women spending precious summer days indoors over the card-table when they might be breathing the fragrant, life- giving air, and rejoicing in the beauty and interest of the woods and fields. All things considered, a hobby that takes us out of doors is the best. The different open-air sports may be classed under this head. The chief lack in the artificial sports, such as polo, golf, baseball, etc., as opposed to the natural sports, hunting and fish- ing, is that while they are invaluable as a means of health and relaxation, they do not lead to other and broader interests, while many a boy-hunter has de- veloped into a naturalist as a result of long days in the woods. Hunting and fishing would seem almost perfect recreations were it not for the life-taking element, which may become brutalizing. I wish that every mother who believes in the value of natural sport for her young boys would set her face sternly against any taking of life that cannot be justified on the ground of man’s needs, either in the way of protection or support. The ideal hobby, it seems to me, is one that keeps us in the open air among inspiring surroundings, with the knowledge of natural objects as the end in view. The study of plants, of animals, of the earth 2 "TERNS AS A HOBBY itself, botany, zodlogy, or geology, any one of these will answer the varied requirements of an ideal hobby. Potentially they possess all the elements of sport. Often they require not only perseverance and skill but courage and daring. They are a means of health, a relaxation to the mind from ordi- nary cares, and an absorbing interest. Any one of them may be used as a doorway to the others. If parents realized the value to their childrens’ minds and bodies of a love for plants and animals, of any such hobby as birds or butterflies or trees or flowers, Iam sure they would take more pains to encourage the interest which instinctively a child feels in these things. It must be because such real- ization is lacking that we see parents apparently either too indolent or too ignorant to share the enthusiasm and to satisfy the curiosity awakened in the child’s active mind by natural objects. Of course it is possible that owing to the strange reticence of many children, parents may be uncon- scious of the existence of any enthusiasm or curiosity of this sort. Asa little child I was so eager to know the names of the wild flowers that I went through my grandfather’s library, examining book after book on flowers in the vain hope of acquiring the desired information. Always after more or less tedious reading, for I was too young to master tables of contents and introductions, I would discover that the volume under examination was devoted to garden flowers. But I do not remember that it oc- curred t> me to tell anyone what | wanted or to ask 3 FERNS AS A HOBBY for help. Finally I learned that a book on the sub- ject, written “for young people,” was in existence, and I asked my mother to buy it forme. The re- quest was gratified promptly and I plodded through the preliminary matter of “ How Plants Grow” to find that I was quite unable to master the key, and that any knowledge of the flowers that could appeal to my child-mind was locked away from me as hope- lessly as before. Even though my one expressed wish had been so gladly met, I did not confide to others my perplexity, but surrendered sadly a cher- ished dream. Owing largely, I believe, to the re- action from this disappointment, it was many years before I attempted again to wrestle with a botan- ical key, or to learn the names of the flowers. How much was lost by yielding too easily to dis- couragement I not only realize now, but I realized it partially during the long period when the plants were nameless. Among the flowers whose faces were familiar though their names were unknown, I felt that I was not making the most of my oppor- tunities. And when I met plants which were both new and nameless, I was a stranger indeed. In the English woods and along the lovely English rivers, by the rushing torrents and in the Alpine meadows of Switzerland, on the mountains of Brazil, I should have felt myself less an alien had I been able then as now to detect the kinship between foreign and North American plants, and to call the strangers by names that were at least partially familiar. To the man or woman who is somewhat at home 4 FERNS AS A HOBBY in the plant-world, travel is quite a different thing from what it is to one who does not know a mint from a mustard. The shortest journey to a new locality is full of interest to the traveller who is striv- ing to lengthen his list of plant acquaintances. The tedious waits around the railway station are wel- comed as opportunities for fresh discoveries. The slow local train receives blessings instead of anath- emas because of the superiority of its windows as posts of observation. The long stage ride is too short to satisfy the plant-lover who is keeping count of the different species by the roadside. While crossing the continent on the Canadian Pacific Railway a few years ago, the days spent in traversing the vast plains east of the Rockies were days of keen enjoyment on account of the new plants seen from my window and gathered breath- lessly for identification during the brief stops. But to most of my fellow-passengers they were days of unmitigated boredom. They could not comprehend the reluctance with which I met each nightfall as an interruption to my watch. When, finally, one cold June morning we climbed the glorious Canadian Rockies and were driven to the hotel at Banff, where we were to rest for twenty-four hours, the enjoyment of the previous week was crowned by seeing the dining-room tables decorated with a flower which I had never suc- ceeded in finding in the woods at home. It was the lovely little orchid, Calypso borealis, a shy, wild creature which had been brought to me from the 5 FERNS AS A HOBBY mountains of Vermont. It seemed almost desecra- tion to force this little aristocrat to consort with the pepper-pots and pickles of a hotel dining-room. In my eagerness to see Calypso in her forest-home I could scarcely wait to eat the breakfast for which a few moments before I had been painfully hungry. Unfortunately the waiters at Banff were proved as ruthless as vandals in other parts of the world. Among the pines that clothed the lower mountain- sides I found many plants of Calypso, but only one or two of the delicate blossoms had been left to gladden the eyes of those who love to see a flower in the wild beauty of its natural surroundings. That same eventful day had in store for me an- other delight as the result of my love for plants. For a long time I had wished to know the shooting- star, a flower with whose general appearance from pictures or from descriptions I was familiar. I knew that it grew in this part of the world, but dur- ing a careful search of the woods and meadows and of the banks of the rushing streams the only shoot- ing-star I discovered was a faded blossom which someone had picked and flung upon the mountain- path. Late in the afternoon, having given up the hope of any fresh find, I went for a swim in the warm sulphur pool. While paddling about the clear water, revelling in the beauty of the surroundings and the sheer physical joy of the moment, my eyes fell suddenly on a cluster of pink, cyclamen-like blossoms springing from the opposite rocks. I recognized at once the pretty shooting-star. 6 FERNS AS A HOBBY Two days later, at Glacier, I had another pleas- ure from the same source in the discovery of great beds of nodding golden lilies, the western species of adder’s tongue, growing close to white fields of snow. “Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.” The enjoyment of the entire trip to the Pacific coast, of the voyage among the islands and glaciers of Alaska, and of the journey home through the Yellowstone and across our Western prairies, was increased indescribably by the new plants I learned to know. The pleasure we take in literature, as in travel, is enhanced by a knowledge of nature. Not only are we able better to appreciate writers on nature so original and inspiring as Thoreau, or so charming as John Burroughs, but such nature-loving poets as Wordsworth, Lowell, Bryant, and countless others, mean infinitely more to the man or woman who with a love of poetry combines a knowledge of the plants and birds mentioned in the poems. Books of travel are usually far more interesting if we have some knowledge of botany and zodlogy. This is also true of biographies which deal with men or women who find either their work or their recre- ation—and how many men and women who have been powers for good may be counted in one class or the other—in some department of natural science. One fascinating department of nature-study, that 7 FERNS AS A HOBBY of ferns, has received but little attention in this country. Within the last few years we have been supplied with excellent and inexpensive hand-books to our birds, butterflies, trees, and flowers. But so far as I know, with the exception of Mr. William- son’s little volume on the “ Ferns of Kentucky,” we have no book with sufficient text and illustra- tions within the reach of the brains and purse of the average fern-lover. In England one finds books of all sizes and prices on the English ferns, while our beautiful American ferns are almost unknown, owing probably to the lack of attractive and inexpensive fern literature. Eaton's finely illustrated work on the “ Ferns of North America” is entirely out of the question on account of its expense; and the “ IIlus- trated Flora” of Britton & Brown is also beyond the reach of the ordinary plant-lover. Miss Price’s “Fern Collectors’ Hand-book”’ is helpful, but it is without descriptive text. “Our Native Ferns and their Allies,” by Mr. Underwood, is exhaustive and authoritative, but it is extremely technical and the different species are not illustrated. Mr. Dodge's pamphlet on the “Ferns and Fern Allies of New England” is excellent so far as it goes, the descrip- tions not being so technical as to confuse the be- ginner. But this also is not illustrated, while Mr. Knobel’s pamphlet, “The Ferns and Evergreens of New England,” has clear black-and-white illustra- tions of many species, but it has no text of impor- tance, In view of the singular grace and charm of the fern 8 FERNS AS A HOBBY tribe, patent to the most careless observer, this lack of fern literature is surprising. It is possible that Thoreau is right in claiming that “ we all feel the ferns to be farther from us essentially and sympathet- ically than the phenogamous plants, the roses and weeds for instance.” This may be true in spite of the fact that to some of us the charm of ferns is as great, their beauty more subtle, than that of the flowering plants, and to learn to know them by name, to trace them to their homes, and to observe their habits is attended with an interest as keen, perhaps keener, than that which attends the study of the names, haunts, and habits of the flowers. That ferns possess a peculiar power of blinding their votaries to the actual position they occupy in the minds of people in general seems to me evi- denced by the following quotations, taken respec- tively from Mr. Underwood’s and Mr. Williamson’s introductions. So competent and coldly scientific an authority as Mr. Underwood opens his book with these words: “In the entire vegetable world there are probably no forms of growth that attract more general notice than the Ferns.” The lack of fern literature, it seems to me, proves the fallacy of this statement. If ferns had been more generally noticed than other “forms of growth” in the vegetable world, surely more would have been written on the subject, and occasionally someone besides a botanist would be found who could 9 FERNS AS A HOBBY name correctly more than three or four of our com- mon wayside ferns. In his introduction to the “Ferns of Kenta Mr. Williamson asks: “ Who would now think of going to the country to spend a few days, or even one day, without first inquiring whether ferns are to be found in the locality ?” Though for some years I have been interested in ferns and have made many all-day country expedi- tions with various friends, I do not remember ever to have heard this question asked. Yet that two such writers as Mr. Underwood and Mr. William- son could imagine the existence of a state of things so contrary to fact, goes far to prove the fascination of the study. To the practical mind one of the great advantages of ferns as a hobby lies in the fact that the number of our native, that is, of our northeastern, ferns is so comparatively small as to make it an easy matter to learn to know by name and to see in their homes perhaps two-thirds of them. On an ordinary walk of an hour or two through the fields and woods, the would-be fern student can familiarize himself with anywhere from ten to fifteen of the ferns described in this book. During a summer holiday in an average locality he should learn to know by sight and by name from twenty-five to thirty ferns, while in a really good neighborhood the enthusiast who is willing to scour the surrounding country from the tops of the highest mountains to the depths of the Io FERNS AS A HOBBY wildest ravines may hope to extend his list into the forties. During the past year several lists of the ferns found on a single walk or within a certain radius have been published in the Fern Bulletin, leading to some rivalry between fern students who claim precedence for their pet localities. Mr. Underwood has found twenty-seven species within the immediate vicinity of Green Lake, Onon- daga County, N. Y., and thirty-four species within a circle whose diameter is not over three miles. Mrs. E. H. Terry, on a two-hours’ walk near Dorset, Vt., did still better. She found thirty-three species and four varieties, while Miss Margaret Slosson has broken the record by finding thirty-nine species and eight varieties, near Pittsford, Rutland County, Vt., within a triangle formed by “the end of a tamarack swamp, a field less than a mile away, and some limestone cliffs three miles from both the field and the end of the swamp.” Apart from the interest of extending one’s list of fern acquaintances is that of discovering new sta- tions for the rarer species. It was my good fortune last summer to make one of a party which found a previously unknown station for the rare Hart’s Tongue, and | felt the thrill of excitement which attends such an experience. The other day, in looking over Torrey’s “Flora of New York,” I noticed the absence of several ferns now known to be natives of this State. When the fern student realizes the possibility which is always before him ir FERNS AS A HOBBY of finding a new station for a rare fern, and thus adding an item of value to the natural history of the State, he should be stimulated to fresh zeal. Other interesting possibilities are those of discover- ing a new variety and of chancing upon those forked or crested fronds which appear occasionally in many species. These unusual forms not only possess the charm of rarity and sometimes of intrinsic beauty, but they are interesting because of the light it is be- lieved they may throw on problems of fern ancestry. To this department of fern study, the discovery and development of abnormal forms, much attention is paid in England. In Lowe’s “British Ferns” I find described between thirty and forty varieties of Polypodium vulgare, while the varieties of Scolopen- drium vulgare, our rare Hart’s Tongue, extend into the hundreds. The majority of ferns mature late in the summer, giving the student the advantage of several weeks or months in which to observe their growth. Many of our most interesting flowers bloom and perish be- fore we realize that the spring is really over. There are few flower lovers who have not had the sense of being outwitted by the rush of the season. Every year I make appointments with the different plants to visit them at their flowering time, and nearly every year I miss some such appointments through failure to appreciate the short lives of these fragile blossoms. A few of the ferns share the early habits common to so many flowers. But usually we can hope to 12 “The greatest charm the ferns possess 1s that of their surroundings.” FERNS AS A HOBBY find them in their prime when most of the flowers have disappeared. To me the greatest charm the ferns possess is that of their surroundings. No other plants know so well how to choose their haunts. If you wish to know the ferns you must follow them to Nature’s most sacred retreats. In remote, tangled swamps, overhanging the swift, noiseless brook in the heart of the forest, close to the rush of the foaming water- fall, in the depths of some dark ravine, or perhaps high up on mountain-ledges, where the air is purer and the world wider and life more beautiful than we had fancied, these wild, graceful things are most at home. You will never learn to know the ferns if you expect to make their acquaintance from a carriage, along the highway, or in the interval between two meals. For their sakes you must renounce indolent habits. You must be willing to tramp tirelessly through woods and across fields, to climb mountains and to scramble down gorges. You must be con- tent with what luncheon you can carry in your pocket. And let me tell you this. When at last you fling yourself upon some bed of springing moss, and add to your sandwich cresses fresh and drip- ping from the neighboring brook, you will eat your simple meal with a relish that never attends the most elaborate luncheon within four walls. And when later you surrender yourself to the delicious sense of fatigue and drowsy relaxation which steals over you, mind and body, listening half-uncon- n3 FERNS AS A HOBBY sciously to the plaintive, long-drawn notes of the wood-birds and the sharp “tsing” of the locusts, breathing the mingled fragrance of the mint at your feet and the pines and hemlocks overhead, you will wonder vaguely why on summer days you ever drive along the dusty high-road or eat indoors or do any of the flavorless conventional things that con- sume so large a portion of our lives. Of course what is true of other out-door studies is true of the study of ferns. Constantly your curiosity is aroused by some bird-note, some tree, some gor- geously colored butterfly, and, in the case of ferns especially, by some outcropping rock, which make you eager to follow up other branches of nature- study, and to know by name each tree and bird and butterfly and rock you meet. The immediate result of these long happy days is that “ golden doze of mind which follows upon much exercise in the open air,” the “ecstatic stupor” which Stevenson supposes to be the nearly chronic condition of “open-air laborers.” Surely there is no such preventive of insomnia, no such cure for nervousness or morbid introspection as an absorb- ing out-door interest. Body and mind alike are invigorated to a degree that cannot be appreciated by one who has not experienced the life-giving power of some such close and loving contact with nature. WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS . “Tt is no use to direct our steps to the woods if they do not carry us thither. I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit.” — Thoreau WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS IT is in early spring that one likes to take up for the first time an out-door study. But if you begin your search for ferns in March, when the woods are yielding a few timid blossoms, and the air, still pungent with a suggestion of winter, vibrates to the lisping notes of newly arrived birds, you will hardly be rewarded by finding any but the evergreen spe- cies, and even these are not likely to be especially conspicuous at this season. Usually it is the latter part of April before the pioneers among the ferns, the great Osmundas, push up the big, woolly croziers, or fiddleheads, which will soon develop into the most luxuriant and trop- ical-looking plants of our low wet woods and road- sides. At about the same time, down among last year’s Christmas Ferns, you find the rolled-up fronds of this year, covered with brown or whitish scales. And now every day for many weeks will appear fresh batches of young ferns. Someone has said that there is nothing more aggressively new-born than a young fern, and this thought will recur 17 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS constantly as you chance upon the littie wrinkled crozier-like fronds, whether they are bundied up in wrappings of soft wool or pro- tected by a garment of overlap- ping scales, or whether, like many of the later arrivals, they come into the world as naked and puny as a human baby. Once uncurled, the ferns lose quickly this look of infancy, and embody, quite as effectively, even the hardiest and coarsest among them, the slender grace of youth. Early in May we find the Osmun- das in this stage of their develop- ment. The Royal Fern, smooth and delicate, is now flushing the wet meadows with its tender red. In the open woods and along the roadside the Interrupted and the Cinnamon Ferns wear a green equally delicate. These three plants soon reach maturity and are conspicuous by reason of their unusual size and their flower- like fruit-clusters. On the rocky banks of the brook, or perhaps among the spreading roots of some forest- tree, the Fragile Bladder Fern Fiddleheads unrolls its tremulous little 18 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS fronds, on which the fruit-dots soon appear. Where there is less moisture and more exposure we may find the Rusty Woodsia, now belying its name by its silvery aspect. At this same season in the bogs and thickets we should look for the curious little Adder’s Tongue. By the first of June many of the ferns are well advanced. On the hill-sides and along the wood-path the Brake spreads its single umbrella-like frond, now pale green and delicate, quite unlike the umbrageous-looking plant of a month later. Withdrawing into the recesses formed by the past- ure-rails the Lady Fern is in its first freshness, without any sign of the disigurements it develops so often by the close of the summer. Great patches of yellowish green in the wet meadows draw _ atten- tion to the Sensitive Fern, which only at this season seems to have any claim to its Fpgne: Bleddar rain title. The Virginia Chain Fern is another plant to be looked for in the wet June meadows. It is one of the few ferns which grows occasionally in deep water. The Maidenhair, though immature, is lovely in its fragility. Thoreau met with it on June 13th and 19 , describes it in his diary for that day: “The delicate maid- en-hair fern forms a cup or dish, very delicate and grace- ful. Beautiful, too, its glossy black stem and its wave-edged, fruited leaflets.” In the crevices of lot- ty cliffs the Mountain Spleenwort approaches maturity. And now we should search the moist, mossy crannies of the rocks for the Slender Cliff Brake, for in some localities this plant disappears early in the summer. We may hope to find most of the ferns in full foliage, if not in fruit, by the middle of July. Dark green, tall and vigorous stand the Brakes. The Crested Shield Fern is fruiting in the swamps, and in the deep- ee er woods Clinton’s and Goldie’s Ferns ; are in full fruitage. Magnificent vase- like clusters of the Ostrich Fern spread above our 20 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS heads in the thicket along the river-shore. The Spinulose Shield Fern and the Evergreen Wood Fern meet us at every turn of the shaded path beside the brook, and on the rocky wooded hill- side the Christmas Fern is almost as abundant. Where the stream plunges from above, the Bulb- let Bladder Fern drapes the steep banks with its long feathery fronds. In the wet meadows and thickets the New York Fern and the Marsh Shield Fern are noticeable on account of their light green color and delicate texture. On moun- tain-ledges we look for the little Woodsias, and in rocky places, often in the shadow of red cedars, for the slim erect fronds of the Ebony Spleenwort. Possibly it will be our good fortune to discover the blue-green foliage of the Purple Cliff Brake springing from the crevices of some dry limestone cliff. Almost surely, if we search the moist, shaded rocks and ravines in the neighborhood, we shall greet with unfailing pleasure the lovely little Maidenhair Spleenwort. In somewhat southern localities the tapering, yellow-green fronds of the Dicksonta or Hay-scent- ed Fern are even more abundant and conspicuous than the darker foliage of the Spinulose Shield Fern. They abound along the roadsides and in partially shaded or open pastures, the spores ripening not earlier than August. In the same month we find in full maturity three interesting wood ferns, all belonging to the same group. The first of these is the Long Beech Fern. 21 tr WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS It is abundant in many of our northern woods and on the rocky banks of streams. Its shape is notice- ably triangular, the triangle being longer than broad. Its texture is rather soft and downy. The lowest pair of pinnz stand forward and are conspicu- ously deflexed, giving an easy clew to the plant’s identity. The most attractive mem- ber of the group to my mind is the Oak Fern. I find it growing abundantly in the cedar swamps and wet woods of somewhat northern locali- ties. Its delicate, spreading, three- branched fron suggests that of a young Brake. This plant is pecul- g iarly dainty in the early summer, as fre- le Cliff : . “Brake quently later in the year it becomes t blotched and disfigured. The Broad Beech Fern seeks drier neighbor- hoods, and often a more southern locality than its wo kinsmen. Its triangular fronds, broader than 22 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS they are long, are conspicuous on account of the unusual size of the lowest pair of pinne. A common plant in the rich August woods is the Virginia Grape Fern, with its spreading leaf and branching fruit-cluster. The rather coarsely cut fronds of the Silvery Spleenwort are also frequently met with in the same neighborhood. Occasionally in their companionship we find the delicate and attractive Narrow-leaved Spleenwort. August is the month that should be chosen for ex- peditions in search of some of our rarest ferns. In certain wild ravines of Central New York, at the foot of shaded limestone cliffs, the glossy leaves of the Hart’s Tongue are actually weighed down by the brown, velvety rows of sporangia which emboss their lower surfaces. Over the rocks near-by, the quaint, though less unusual, Walking Leaf runs riot. Perhaps in the crevices of the overhanging cliff the little Rue Spleenwort has secured a foothold for its tiny fronds, their backs nearly covered with con- fluent fruit-dots. On the mountain-ledges of Northern New Eng- land we should look for the Green Spleenwort, and for the Fragrant Shield Fern. Along rocky moun- tain-streams Braun’s Holly Fern may be found. In wet woods, usually near the coast, the Net-veined Chain Fern is occasionally conspicuous. More southern locatities must be visited if we wish to see in its home the Hairy Lip Fern, whose most northern stations were on the Hudson River (for I do not know if this plant can be found there at 23 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS present), and such rare Spleenworts as the Pin- natifid,Scott’s and Brad- ley’s. In September the fruit-clusters of the lit- tle Curly Grass ripen in the low pine barrens of New Jersey. Over moist thickets, in rarely favored retreats from Massachusetts south- ward, clamber the slender strands of the Climbing Fern. Thoreau’s di- ary of Sep- tember 26th evidently re- fers to this plant: “ The tree-fern is in Ternate Grape Fern 24 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS fruit aow, with its delicate, tendril-like fruit, clymb- ing three or four feet over the asters, golden-rod, etc., on the edge of the swamp.” In moist places now we find the triangular much dissected leaf and branching fruit-cluster of the Ternate Grape Fern. When October sets in, many of the ferns take their color-note from the surroundings. Vying with the maples along the roadside the Osmundas wear deep orange. Many of the fronds of the Dick- sonia are bleached almost white, while others look fresh and green despite their delicate texture. On October 4th Thoreau writes of this plant : “ How interesting now, by wall-sides and on open springy hill-sides, the large straggling tufts of the Dicksonia fern above the leaf-strewn green sward, the cold, fall-green sward! They are unusually pre- served about the Corner Spring, considering the earliness of this year. Long, handsome, lanceolate green fronds pointing in every direction, recurved and full of fruit, intermixed with yellowish and sere brown and shrivelled ones, the whole clump per- chance strewn with fallen and withered maple leaves, and overtopped by now withered and unnoticed os- mundas. Their lingering greenness is so much the more noticeable now that the leaves generally have changed. They affect us as if they were evergreen, such persistent life and greenness in the midst of decay. No matter how much they are strewn with withered leaves, moist and green they spire above them, not fearing the frosts, fragile as they are. 25 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS Their greenness is so much the more interesting, because so many have already fallen, and we know that the first severe frost will cut off them too. In the summer greenness is cheap, now it is a thing comparatively rare, and is the emblem of life to us.” Oddly enough, with the first approach of winter the vigorous-looking Brake turns brown and quickly withers, usually without passing through any inter- mediate gradations of yellow. In November we notice chiefly the evergreen ferns. The great round fruit-dots of the Polypody show distinctly through the fronds as they stand erect in the sunlight. A sober green, looking as though it were warranted fast, is the winter dress of the Evergreen Wood Fern. The Christmas Fern, bright and glossy, reminds one that the holiday season is not distant. These three plants are espe- cially conspicuous in our late autumn woods. Their brave and cheerful endurance is always a delight. Later in the season the curled pinnz of the Poly- pody seem to be making the best of cold weather. The fronds of the Christmas Fern and the Evergreen Wood Fern, still fresh and green, lie prostrate on the ground, their weakened stems apparently unable to support them erect, but undoubtedly in this posi- tion they are the better protected from the storm and stress of winter. Many other ferns are more or less evergreen, but perhaps none are so important to our fall rambles as this sturdy group. Several of the Rock Spleen- worts are evergreen, but their ordinarily diminutive 26 WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS stature dwindles with the increasing cold, and we seldom encounter them on our winter walks. The sterile fronds of a number of the Shield Ferns endure till spring. The Purple Cliff Brake and the Walk- ing Leaf are also proof against ice and snow. Even in the middle of January the keen-eyed fern hunter may hope to make some discovery of interest re garding the haunts and habits of his favorites. uy aon Wy Z Evergreen Wood Fern 27 EXPLANATION OF TERMS A FERN is a flowerless plant growing from a rootstock (a), with leaves or fronds usually raised on ~ a Stalk, rolled up (4) in the bud,* ~ and bearing on their lower surfaces (c) the spores, by means of which the plant reproduces. A rootstock is an underground, rooting stem. Ferns are propa- gated by the growth and budding of the rootstock as well as by the ordinary method of reproduction. The fronds spring from the root- stock in the manner peculiar to the species to which they belong. The Osmundas, the Evergreen Wood Fern, and others grow in a crown or circle, tne younger fronds always inside. The Mountain Spleenwort is one of a class which has irregularly clus- * Ophioglossum and the Botrychiums, not being Polypody true ferns, are exceptions. 28 EXPLANATION OF TERMS tered fronds. The fronds of the Brake are more or less solitary, rising from distinct and somewhat distant portions of the rootstock. The Botrychiums usually give birth to a single frond each season, the base of the stalk containing the bud for the suc- ceeding year. L a Fic. 1 Fic. 2 FIG. 3 A frond is s¢mple when it consists of an undivided leaf such as that of the Hart’s Tongue or of the Walking Leaf (Fig. 1). A frond is pinnatifid when cut so as to form lobes extending half-way or more to the midvein (Fig. 2). 29 EXPLANATION OF TERMS A frond is once-pinnate when the incisions extend to the midvein (Fig. 3). Under these conditions the midvein is called the rachis (a), and the divisions are called the pinne (6). A frond is twice-pin- nate when the pinnz are cut into divisions which extend to their midveins (Fig. 4). These divisions of the pinne are called jin- nules (a). A frond that is only once-pinnate may seem at fi-st glance twice-pinnate, as its pinnze may be so deeply lobed ar pinnatifid as to require a close examination to convince us that the lobes come short of the midvein of the pinne. Ina popular hand-book Fic. 4 it is not thought necessary to explain further modifications. The veins of a fern are free when, Fic. 5 branching from the midvein, they do not unite with other veins (Fig. 5). . Ferns produce spores (Fig.6) instead of seeds. These spores are collected in spore- cases or sporangia (Fig. 7). Usually the sporangia are clustered in dots or lines on the back of a frond or along its margins. These patches of sporangia are called sori or fruit- go EXPLANATION OF TERMS dots. They take various shapes in the different species. They may be round or linear or oblong or kidney-shaped or curved. At times they are naked, but more frequently they are covered by a minute outgrowth of the frond or by its reflexed margin. This cov- Vs ering is called the zudusium. In LTS systematic botanies the indusia iy, play an important part in deter- mining genera. Butas often they are so minute as to be almost in- visible to the naked eye, and, as ‘frequently they wither away early in the season, I place little dependence upon them as a means of popular identification. A fertile frond is one which bears spores. A sterile frond is one without spores. 31 FERTILIZATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND FRUCTIFICATION OF FERNS UNTIL very recently the development of ferns, their methods of fertilization and fructification have been shrouded in mystery. At one period it was believed that “fern-seed,” as the fern-spores were called, possessed various miraculous powers. These were touched upon frequently by the early poets. In Shakespeare’s “ Henry IV ” Gadshill exclaims: “We have the receipt of fern-seed, we walk invisible.” He is met with the rejoinder: “Nay, I think rather you are more beholden to the night than to fern-seed, for your walking invisible.” One of Ben Jonson’s characters expresses the same idea in much the same words: “T had no medicine, sir, to walk invisible, No fern-seed in my pocket.” In Butler's “Hudibras”’ reference is made to the anxieties we needlessly create for ourselves: “That spring like fern, that infant weed, Equivocally without seed, And have no possible foundation But merely in th’ imagination.” x TEACHING DIVISIUN FERTILIZATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND FRUCTIFICATION In view of the fact that many ferns bear their spores or “fern-seed” somewhat conspicuously on the lower surfaces of their fronds, it seems proba- ble that the “fern” of early writers was our com- mon Brake, the fructification of which is more than usually obscure, its sporangia or “fern-seed” being concealed till full maturity by the reflexed margin of its frond. This plant is, perhaps, the most abun- dant and conspicuous of English ferns. Miss Pratt believes it to be the “fearn” of the Anglo-Saxons, and says that to its profusion in their neighbor- hood many towns and hamlets, such as Fearnborough or Farnborough, Farningham, Farnhow, and others owe their titles. The plant isa noticeable and common one also on the Continent. In 1848 the de- ate velopment of the fern was first satisfactorily ex- plained. It was then shown that these plants pass through what has been called, not altogether hap- pily the modern botanist thinks, an ‘alternation of generations.” One “generation,” the “sexual,” con- sists of a tiny, green, plate-like object, termed the 33 FERTILIZATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND FRUCTIFICATION prothallium (Fig. 8). This is connected with the soii by hair-like roots. On its lower surface are borne usually both the reproductive organs of the fern, the antheridia, corresponding to the stamens or fertilizing organs of the flower, and the archegonia, performing the office of the flower’s pistils, inas- much as their germ-cells receive the fertilizing sub- stance produced by the antheridia. But no seeds are formed as the result of this fertilization. Instead of this seed-formation which we note in the flower- ing plant, the germ-cell in the fern develops into a fern-plant, which forms the “asexual” generation. The first fronds of this little plant are very small and simple, quite unlike the later ones. Fora time the plant is nourished by the prothallium, but as soon as it is sufficiently developed and vigorous enough to shift for itself, the prothallium dies away, and the fern maintains an independent existence. Fic. 9 FIG, 10 FIG. I1 First fronds of Maidenhair Eventually it produces fronds which bear on their lower surfaces the sporangia containing the minute spores from which spring the prothallia. For our present purpose it is enough to say that spores differ from seeds in that they are not the im- mediate result of the interaction of reproductiv~ 34 FERTILIZATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND FRUCTIFICATION organs. They resemble seeds in that they are ex- pelled from the parent-plant on attaining maturity, and germinate on contact with the moist earth. Thus it is seen that the life-cycle of a fern consists of two stages: First, the prothallium, bearing the reproductive organs; second, the fern-plant proper, developing the spores which produce the prothallium. Along the moist, shaded banks of the wood road, or on decaying stumps, keen eyes will discern fre- quently the tiny green prothallia, although they are somewhat difficult to find except in the green-house where one can see them in abundance either in the boxes used for growing the young plants, or on the moist surfaces of flower-pots, where the spores have fallen accidentally and have germinated. As the fertilization of the germ-cell in the arche- gonium cannot take place except under water, per- haps the fact is accounted for that ferns are found chiefly in moist places. This water may be only a sufficient amount of rain or dew to permit the anthe- rozoids or fertilizing cells of the antheridium to swim to the archegonium, which they enter for the purpose of fertilizing the germ-cell. It is interesting to examine with a good magnify- ing glass the sporangia borne on the lower surface of a mature fertile frond. In many species each spo- rangium or spore-case is surrounded with an elastic ring, which at maturity contracts so suddenly as to rupture the spore-case, and cause the expulsion of the numberless spores (Fig. 7). 35 NOTABLE FERN FAMILIES OSMUNDA (Flowering Ferns) Tall swamp ferns, growing in large crowns, with the fertile fronds or portions conspicuously unlike the sterile; sporangia opening by a longitudinal cleft into two valves. ONOCLEA Coarse ferns, with the fertile fronds rolled up into necklace- like or berry-like segments, and eztirely unlike the broad, pin- natifid sterile ones. Fertile fronds unrolling at maturity, allowing the spores to escape, and remaining long after the sterile fronds have perished ; sporangia stalked, ringed, bursting transversely. WOODSIA Small or medium-sized ferns, growing among rocks, with 1-2 pinnate or pinnatifid fronds and round fruit-dots; indusium thin and often evanescent, attached by its base under the sporangia, either small and open, or else early bursting at the top into irregular pieces or lobes ; sporangia stalked, ringed, bursting transversely. CYSTOPTERIS (Bladder Ferns) Delicate rock or wood ferns, with 2-3 pinnate fronds and round fruit-dots; indusium hood-like, attached by a broad base toxthe in- ner side, soon thrown back or withering away; sporangia as above. ASPIDIUM (Shield Ferns) Ferns with 1-3 pinnate fronds and round fruit-dots; indusium more or less flat, fixed by its depressed centre; sporangia as above. 36 a NOTABLE FERN FAMILIES PHEGOPTERIS (Beech Ferns) Medium-sized or small ferns, with 2-3 pinnatifid or ternate leaves, and small, round, uncovered fruit-dots; sporangia as above. WOODWARDIA (Chain Ferns) Large and rather coarse ferns of swamps or wet woods, fronds pinnate or nearly twice-pinnate,; fruit-dots oblong or linear, sunk in cavities of the leaf and arranged in chain-like rows; indusium lid-like, somewhat leathery, fixed by its outer margin to a veinlet ; veins more or less reticulated ; sporangia as above. ASPLENIUM (Spleenworts) Large or small ferns, with varying fronds and linear or oblong fruit-dots; indusium straight or curved; sporangia as above. PELLAA (Cliff Brakes) Small or medium-sized rock ferns, with pinnate fronds and sporangia borne beneath the reflexed margins of the pinne ; spor- angia as above. BOTRYCHIUM (Moonworts) (Belonging to the Fern Allies) Fleshy plants, with fronds (usually solitary) divided into a sterile and a fertile portion, the bud for the succeeding year embedded in the base of the stem. HOW TO USE THE BOOK BEFORE attempting to identify the ferns by means of the following Guide it would be well to turn to the Explanation of Terms, and with as many species as you can conveniently collect, on the table before you, to master the few necessary technical terms, that you may be able to distinguish a frond that is pinnatifid from one that is pinnate, a pinna from a pinnule, a fertile from a sterile frond. You should bear in mind that in some species the fertile fronds are so unleaf-like in appearance that to the uninitiated they do not suggest fronds at all. The fertile fronds of the Onocleas, for example, are so contracted as to conceal any resemblance to the sterile ones. They appear to be mere clusters of fruit. The fertile fronds of the Cinnamon Fern are equally unleaf-like, as are the fertile portions of the other Osmundas and of several other species. In your rambles through the fields and woods your eyes will soon learn to detect hitherto unnoticed species. In gathering specimens you will take heed to break off the fern as near the ground as possible, and you will not be satisfied till you have secured 8 HOW TO USE THE BOOK both a fertile and a sterile frond. In carrying them home you will remember the necessity of keeping together the fronds which belong to the same plant. When sorting your finds you will group them ac- cording to the Guide. The broad-leaved Sensitive Fern, with its separate, dark-green fruit cluster, makes its way necessarily to Group I. To Group II goes your pale-fronded Royal Fern, tipped with brown sporangia. As a matter of course you lay in Group III the leaf-like but dissimilar sterile and fertile fronds of the Slender Cliff Brake. The spreading Brake, its reflexed margin covering the sporangia, identifies itself with Group IV. The ob- long fruit-dots of the little Mountain Spleenwort carry it to Group V, while the round ones, like pin- heads, of the Evergreen Wood Fern announce it a member of Group VI. The different ferns sorted, it will be a simple mat- ter to run quickly through the brief descriptions under the different Groups till you are referred to the descriptions in the body of the book of the species under investigation. 39 GUIDE For the purpose of identification the ferns de- scribed are arranged in six groups, according to their manner of fruiting. GROUP | STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE; FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE 1. SENSITIVE FERN Onoclea sensibilis Sterile fronds usually large; broadly triangular, deeply pinnatifid. Fertile fronds much contracted, with berry-like pinnules. In wet meadows. P. 54. 2. OSTRICH FERN Onoclea Struthiopteris Large. Sterile fronds once-pinnate, pinne pinnatifid. Fertile fronds contracted, with necklace-like pinne. Along streams and in moist woods. P. 56. 3. CINNAMON FERN Osmunda cinnamomea Large. Sterile fronds once-pinnate, pinne pinnatifid. Fertile fronds composed of cinnamon-brown fruit-clusters. In wet places. P. 60. 4. CURLY GRASS Schizea pusilla Very small. Sterile fronds linear, grass-like. Fertile fronds taller, with a terminal fruit-cluster. In pine barrens of New Jersey. P. 63. 40 GUIDE GROUP Il FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, THE FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE THE REST OF THE FROND [The species coming under the genera Botrychium and Ophio- glossum may appear to belong to Group I, as the fertile and the sterile portions of their fronds may seem to the uninitiated like sep- arate fronds, but in reality they belong to the one frond.] 5. ROYAL FERN Osmunda regalis Large. Sterile fronds twice-pinnate, pinnules oblong. Fertile fronds leaf-like below, sporangia in clusters at their summits. In wet places. P. 67. 6. INTERRUPTED FERN Osmunda Claytoniana Large. Sterile fronds once-pinnate, pinnz pinnatifid. Fertile fronds leaf-like above and below, contracted in the middle with brown fruit-clusters. In wet places. P. 72. 7. CLIMBING FERN Lygodium palmatum Climbing, with lobed, palmate pinne and terminal fruit-clusters. Moist thickets and open woods. Rare. P. 75. 8. ADDER’S TONGUE Ophioglossum vulgatum Small. Sterile portion an ovate leaf. Fertile portion a slender spike. In moist meadows. P. 77. 9. RATTLESNAKE FERN Botrychium Virginianum Rather large. Sterile portion a thin, spreading, ternately di- vided leaf with three primary divisions ; 1-2 pinnate. Fertile por- tion a branching fruit-cluster. In rich woods. P. 80. 41 GUIDE 10. TERNATE GRAPE FERN Botrychium ternatum or dissectum Of varying size, very fleshy. Sterile portion a broadly triangular, ternate, finely dissected leaf, long-stalked from near the base of the stem. Fertile portion a branching fruit-cluster. In moist mead- ows. P. 81. 11, LITTLE GRAPE FERN Botrychium simplex A very small fleshy plant. Sterile portion an oblong leaf more or less lobed. Fertile portion a simple or slightly branching spike. In moist woods and in fields. P. 82. 12, MOONWORT Botrychium Lunaria Usually small, very fleshy. Sterile portion divided into several fan-shaped lobes. Fertile portion a branching fruit-cluster. Mostly in fields. P. 84. 13. MATRICARY GRAPE FERN Botrychium matricariafolium Small, more or less fleshy. Sterile portion ovate or oblong, once or twice pinnatifid. Fertile portion a branching fruit-cluster. In grassy woods and wet meadows. P. 86, 14. LANCE-LEAVED GRAPE FERN Botrychium lanceolatum Small, scarcely fleshy. Sterile portion triangular, twice-pinnatifid, Fertile portion a branching fruit-cluster. In woods and meadows. P. 86. 42 GUIDE GROUP III FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE, YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS 15. SLENDER CLIFF BRAKE Pellea gracilis A small fern, 1-3 pinnate. Very delicate. Fertile fronds taller, more contracted and simpler than the sterile, sporangia bor- dering the pinnz. Usually on sheltered rocks, preferring lime- stone. P. 87. 16. PURPLE CLIFF BRAKE Pellea atropurpurea Medium sized, 1-2 pinnate, leathery. Fertile fronds taller and more contracted than the sterile, sporangia bordering the pinne. Usually on exposed rocks, preferring limestone. P. go. 17, CHRISTMAS FERN Aspidium acrostichoides Rather large, smooth and glossy, once-pinnate. Fertile fronds contracted at the summit where the fruit appears. In rocky woods. P. 96. 18. NARROW-LEAVED SPLEENWORT Asplenium angustifolium Tall and delicate, once-pinnate. Fertile fronds taller and narrower than the sterile. In moist woods in late summer. P.98. 19. NET-VEINED CHAIN FERN Woodwardia angustifolia Large, fronds deeply pinnatifid, the fertile taller and more con- tracted than the sterile. In wet woods near the coast. P. 102. 43 GUIDE GROUP IV FERTILE AND STERILE FRONDS LEAF-LIKE AND SIMILAR; SPORANGIA ON OR BENEATH A REFLEXED PORTION OF THE MARGIN [The first clause bars out P. gracelis and P. atropurpurea, which otherwise would belong to Group IV as well as to Group III.] 20. BRAKE Pteris aquilina Large and coarse, frond 3-branched, spreading, each branch 2-pinnate, sporangia in a continuous line beneath the reflexed mar- gin of the frond. In dry, somewhat open places. P. 105. 21. MAIDENHAIR Adiantum pedatum Graceful and delicate, frond forked at the summit of the stem, 2-pinnate, the pinne springing from the upper sides of the branches, pinnules one-sided, their upper margins lobed, bearing on their undersides the short fruit-dots. In rich woods. P, 108. 22. HAIRY LIP FERN Chetlanthes vestita Rather small, fronds 2-pinnate, hairy, fruit-dots “covered by the infolded ends of the rounded or oblong lobes.” On rocks, P, 112. 23. HAY-SCENTED FERN Dicksonia pilosiuscula Rather large, pale, delicate and sweet-scented, fronds usually 2-pinnate, fruit-dots small, each on a recurved toothlet of the pin- nule, borne on an elevated, globular receptacle. In moist thickets and in upland pastures. P. 114. 44 GUIDE GROUP V FERTILE AND STERILE FRONDS LEAF-LIKE AND SIMILAR; SPORANGIA IN LINEAR OR OBLONG FRUIT DOTS 24. LADY FERN Asplenium Filix-femina Rather large, fronds 2-pinnate, fruit-dots curved, often horse- shoe shaped, finally confluent. In moist woods and along road- sides. P. 120. 25. SILVERY SPLEENWORT Asplenium thelypteroides Large, fronds once-pinnate, pinne deeply pinnatifid, lobes ob- long and obtuse, fruit-dots oblong, silvery when young. In rich woods. P, 124. 26. RUE SPLEENWORT Asplenium Ruta-muraria Very small, fronds loosely 2-3 pinnate at base, pinnatifid above, fruit-dots linear-oblong, confluent when mature. On limestone cliffs. Rare. P. 126. 27, MOUNTAIN SPLEENWORT Asplenium montanum Small, fronds 1-2 pinnate, fruit-dots linear-oblong, often conflu- ent. Onrocks. P. 130. 28. EBONY SPLEENWORT Asplenium ebeneum Fronds slender and erect, once-pinnate, pinnz eared on the up- per or on both sides, stalk and rachis blackish and shining, fruit- dots oblong. On rocks and hill-sides. P.134. — 45 GUIDE 29. MAIDENHAIR SPLEENWORT Asplenium Trichomanes Small, fronds once-pinnate, pinne roundish, stalk and rachis purplish-brown and shining, fruit-dots short. In crevices of rocks. P. 136. 30. GREEN SPLEENWORT Asplenium viride Small, fronds linear, once-pinnate, brownish stalk passing into a green rachis. On shaded cliffs northward. P. 138. 31. SCOTT’S SPLEENWORT Asplenium ebenoides Small, fronds pinnate below, pinnatifid above, apex slender and prolonged, stalk and rachis blackish, fruit-dots straight or slightly curved. On limestone. Very rare. P. 140. 32. PINNATIFID SPLEENWORT Asplenium pinnatifidum Small, fronds pinnatifid, or the lower part pinnate, tapering above into a slender prolongation, stalk blackish, passing into a green rachis, fruit-dots straight or slightly curved. On rocks. Rare. P. 142. 33. BRADLEY’S SPLEENWORT Asplenium Bradleyi Small, once-pinnate, pinnz lobed or toothed, stalk and rachis chestnut-brown, fruit-dots short. On rocks, preferring limestone. Very rare. P. 144. 34. WALKING FERN Camptosorus rhizophyllus Small, fronds undivided, heart-shaped at the base or sometimes with prolonged basal ears, tapering above to a prolonged point which roots, forming a new plant, fruit-dots oblong or linear, ir- regularly scattered. On shaded rocks, preferring limestone. P. 146. 46 TEAGHING DIVISIvix GUIDE 35. HART’S TONGUE Scolopendrium vulgare Fronds a few inches to nearly two feet long, undivided, oblong- lanceolate, heart-shaped at base, fruit-dots linear, elongated. Grow- ing among’the fragments of limestone cliffs. Very rare. P. 150. 36. VIRGINIA CHAIN FERN Woodwardia Virginica Large, fronds once-pinnate, pinne pinnatifid, fruit-dots oblong, in chain-like rows parallel and near to the midrib, confluent when ripe. In swamps. P. 156. GROUP VI FERTILE AND STERILE FRONDS LEAF-LIKE AND USUALLY SIMILAR, FRUIT-DOTS ROUND 37, NEW YORK FERN Aspidium Noveboracense Usually rather tall, fronds once-pinnate, with deeply pinnatifid pinne, tapering both ways from the middle, margins of fertile fronds not revolute. In woods and open meadows. P. 159. 38. MARSH FERN Aspidium Thelypteris Usually rather tall, fronds once-pinnate, with pinne deeply pin- natifid, scarcely narrower at the base than at the middle, veins forked, fertile fronds noticeable from their strongly revolute mar- gins. In wet woods and open swamps. P. 160. 39. MASSACHUSETTS FERN Aspidium simulatum Close to preceding species, rather tall, fronds once-pinnate, with pinnatifid pinne little or not at all narrowed at base, veins not forked, margin of fertile frond slightly revolute. In wooded swamps. P. 164 47 GUIDE CHRISTMAS FERN Aspidium acrostichoides [See No. 17] 40. SPINULOSE WOOD FERN Aspidium spinulosum var. intermedium Very common, usually but not always large, fronds oblong- ovate, 2-3 pinnate, lowest pinnz unequally triangular-ovate, lobes of pinnz thorny-toothed. In woods everywhere. P. 166. 41. BOOTT’S SHIELD FERN Aspidium Boottii From one and a half to more than three feet high. Sterile fronds smaller and simpler than the fertile, nearly or quite twice-pinnate, the lowest pinnz triangular-ovate, upper longer and narrower, pin- nules oblong-ovate, sharply thorny-toothed. In moist woods. P. 168. 42. CRESTED SHIELD FERN Aspidium cristatum Usually rather large, fronds linear-oblong or lanceolate, once pin- nate with pinnatifid pinne, linear-oblong, fruit-dots between mid- vein and margin. In swamps. P. 170. 43. CLINTON’S WOOD FERN Aspidium cristatum, var. Clintonianum In every way larger than preceding species, fronds usually twice- pinnate, pinne édroadest at base, fruit-dots near the midvein. In swampy woods. P. 172. 44. GOLDIE’S FERN Aspidium Goldianum Large, fronds broadly ovate or the-fertile ovate-oblong, once-pin- nate with pinnatifid pinne, pinnz broadest in the middle, fruit-dots very near the midvein. Inrich woods. P. 175. 48 GUIDE 45. EVERGREEN WOOD FERN Aspidium marginale Very common, usually rather large, smooth, somewhat leathery, fronds ovate oblong, 1-2 pinnate, fruit-dots large, distinct, close to the margin. In rocky woods. P. 176. 46. FRAGRANT SHIELD FERN Aspidium fragrans Small, fragrant, fronds once-pinnate, with pinnatifid pinne, stalk and rachis chaffy, fruit-dots large. On rocks northward, especially near waterfalls. P. 178. 47. BRAUN’S HOLLY FERN Aspidium aculeatum var. Braunit Rather large, fronds oblong-lanceolate, twice-pinnate, pinnules sharply toothed, covered with long, soft hairs, fruit-dots small, In deep, rocky woods. P. 182. 48. COMMON POLYPODY Polypodium vulgare Usually small, fronds somewhat leathery, narrowly oblong, fruit- dots large, round, uncovered, half-way between midvein and mar- gin. Onrocks, P. 184. HAY-SCENTED FERN Dicksonia pilosiuscula [See No. 23] 49. LONG BEECH FERN Phegopteris polypodioides Medium-sized, fronds downy, triangular, longer than broad, once- pinnate, pinnz pinnatifid; lowest pair deflexed and standing for- ward. In moist woods and on the banks of streams. P. 187. 49 GUIDE 5°. BROAD BEECH FERN Phegopteris hexagonoptera Larger than the preceding species, fronds triangular, as broad or broader than long, once-pinnate, pinnz pinnatifid, lowest pair very large, basal segments of pinne forming a continuous, many-angled wing along the rachis. In dry woods and on hill-sides. P. 188. 51. OAK FERN Phegopteris Dryopteris Medium-sized, fronds thin and delicate, broadly triangular, spread- ing, ternate, the three divisions stalked, each division pinnate, pin- nz pinnatifid. In moist woods. P. 190. 52. BULBLET BLADDER FERN Cystopteris bulbifera Fronds delicate, elongated, tapering above from a broad base, 2- 3 pinnate or pinnatifid, bearing fleshy bulblets beneath. On wet rocks, preferring limestone. P. 194. 53. COMMON BLADDER FERN Cystopteris fragilis Medium-sized, fronds thin, oblong-lanceolate, 2-3 pinnate or pinnatifid. On rocks and in moist woods. P. 198. 54. RUSTY WOODSIA Woodsia Tlvensis Small, more or less covered with rusty hairs, fronds lanceolate, once-pinnate, pinnz pinnatifid. On exposed rocks. P. 200. 55. BLUNT-LOBED WOODSIA Woodsia obtusa Small, slightly downy, fronds broadly lanceolate, nearly twice-pin- nate. Onrocks. P. 202. Sc GUIDE 56. NORTHERN WOODSIA Woodsia hyperborea Very small, smooth or nearly so, fronds narrowly oblong-lanses~ late, once-pinnate, pinne cordate-ovate or triangular-ovate, 5-7 lobed. On moist rocks. P. 203. 57, SMOOTH WOODSIA Woodsia glabella Very small, smooth throughout and delicate, fronds linear, cnce- pinnate, pinne roundish ovate, lobed. On moist rocks. P. 206, 51 FERN DESCRIPTIONS ‘Nature made a fern for pure leaves.” —T7horeau GROUP I STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE; FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE 1. SENSITIVE FERN Onoclea sensibilis Newfoundland to Florida, in wet meadows. Stertle fronds ——One or two inches to three feet high, broadly triangular, deeply cut into somewhat oblong, wavy-toothed divi- sions, the lower ones almost reaching the midrib, the upper ones less deeply cut; s¢a/é long. Fertile fronds.—Quite unlike the sterile fronds and shorter, erect, rigid, contracted ; pznzules rolled up into dark-green, berry- like bodies which hold the spore-cases ; appearing in June or July. This is one of our commonest ferns, growing in masses along the roadside and in wet meadows. Perfectly formed sterile fronds are found of the tiniest dimensions. Again the plant holds its own among the largest and most effective ferns. From its creeping rootstock rise the scattered fronds 54 which at times wear very light and delicate shades of green. There is nothing, however,, specially fragile in the plant’s appear- ance, and one is struck by the inappropri- ateness of its title. It is probable that this arose from its sensitive- ness to early frosts. Though one hesitates to differ trom Dr. Eaton, who described the fer- tile fronds as “‘near- ly black in color” and said that they were “not very common,” and that a young botanist might “search in vain for them for a long time,” my own experience has been that the fresh ones are yi, mS AM J Al o if tite Ss — Sensitive Fern 55 = STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE; GROUP I fERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE very evidently green and neither scarce nor spe- cially inconspicuous. I have found these fertile fronds apparently full- grown in June, though usually they are assigned to a much later date. They remain standing, brown and dry, long after they have sown their spores, side by side with the fresh fronds of the following summer. Detail a in Plate I represents the so-called var. obtustiobata, This is a form midway between the fruiting and the non-fruiting fronds. It may be looked for in situations where the fern has suffered some injury or deprivation. 2, OSTRICH FERN Onoclea Struthiopteris Nova Scotia to New Jersey, along streams and in moist woods. Growing in a crown, two to ten feet high. Sterile fronds.—Broadly lance-shaped, once-pinnate; pinne divided into narrowly oblong segments which do not reach the midvein; s¢adk short, deeply channelled in front. Fertile fronds.—Quite unlike the sterile fronds, growing in the centre of the crown formed by the sterile fronds, shorter, erect, rigid, with green, necklace-like pinne which hold the spore-cases ; appearing in July. I first found this plant at its best on the shore of the Hoosick River in Rensselaer County, N. Y. We had crossed a field dotted with fragrant heaps of hay and blazing in the midsummer sun, and had entered the cool shade of the trees which border the river, when suddenly I saw before me a group of ferns of tropical beauty and luxuriance. Great 56 ATE —_—_— SENSITIVE FERN a, Var. obtusilobata 87 2 STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE; GROUP I FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE plume-like fronds of a rich green arched above my head. From the midst of the circle which they formed sprang the shorter, dark, rigid fruit-clusters. I was fairly startled by the unexpected beauty and regal bearing of the Ostrich Fern. This magnificent plant luxuriates especially in the low, rich soil which is subject to an annual overflow trom our northern rivers. Its vase-like masses of foliage somewhat suggest the Cinnamon Fern, but the fertile fronds of the Ostrich Fern mature in July, some weeks later than those ofits rival. They are dark-green, while those of the Cinnamon Fern are golden-brown. Should there be no fruiting fronds upon the plant, the Ostrich Fern can be dis- tinguished by the free veins with simple veinlets (Plate II, a) of its pinnze, the veins of the Cinnamon Fern being free and its veinlets forking (PI. III, a), and by the absence of the tuft of rusty wool at the base of the pinnze on the under side of the frond. The Ostrich Fern does so well under cultivation that there is danger lest it crowd out its less aggres- sive neighbors. It propagates chiefly by means of underground runners. Mr. Robinson describes a specimen which he had planted in his out -door fernery that crawled under a tight board fence and reappeared in the garden of his neighbor, who was greatly astonished and equally delighted so unex- pectedly to become the owner of the superb plant. The Ostrich Fern, like its kinsman the Sensitive Fern, occasionally gives birth to fronds which are midway between its fruiting and its non-fruiting 58 w = < a) 9 2 fel} € eS =I a 2 i 4 Ell 4. Bl S fa 2 a fal £ A & z] Qa a Vi a : AA (GS ¢ { NS Se, \3 AN BRAS ER S ; Nee x Sy SA e = — ~ % SSRs A GSAS Sf, 5 SF Te = SS Fee y i = \> " : oN ke ok \ \ \ : —< : Z Ye ao ¥ i: ree = r \a = Vf BEE IN é Ko ZI Yy .: ats eS P i NES ag |» / XE \ » \ p 59 GROUP | STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE, FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE forms. This is specially liable to occur when some injury has befallen the plant. 3. CINNAMON FERN Osmunda cinnamomea Nova Scotia to Florida, in swampy places. Growing in a crown, one to five feet high. Sterile fronds.—Broadly lance-shaped, once-pinnate; Jzmn@ cut 4g_, into broadly oblong divisions that do ee not reach the midvein, each pinna | we ( “Ay hil SS : : : fy ‘“Syce with a tuft of rusty wool at its base : eee he beneath. Va be 07 a1 F i ao oy hier Fertile fronds.— ase Quite unlike the ster- ile fronds, growing in the centre Ns. of the crown Sex formed by the sterile fronds and usually about the same height ; erect, with cinna- mon-colored spore-cases. In the form of little croziers, pro- tected from the cold by wrappings of rusty wool, the fer- tile fronds of the Cinnamon Fern appear every- where in our swamps and wet woods during the month of May. These fertile fronds, first dark- green, later cinnamon-brown, are quickly followed and encircled by the sterile ones, which grow in a tall, graceful crown. The fertile fronds soon 60 fn CINNAMON FERN @ Showing tuft of wool at base of pinna, also free veins with forking veinlets 61 STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE; GROUP I FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE wither, and, during the summer, may be found either clinging to the stalks of the sterile fronds or lying on the ground. The Cinnamon Fern is often confused with the Ostrich Fern. When either plant is in fruit there is no excuse for this mistake, as the cinnamon-colored spore-cases of the former appear in May, while the dark-green fertile fronds of the latter do not ripen till July. When the fruiting fronds are absent the forked veinlets (Plate III, a) of the Cinnamon Fern contrast with the simple veinlets of the other plant (Plate II, a). Then, too, the pinnz of the Cinnamon Fern bear tufts of rusty wool at the base beneath, the remnants of the woolly garments worn by the young fronds. The plant is a superb one when seen at its best. Its tall sterile fronds curve gracefully outward, while the slender fruit-clusters erect themselves in the centre of therich crown. In unfavorable conditions, when growing in dry meadows, for instance, like all the Osmundas, and indeed like most growing things, it is quite a different plant. Its green fronds become stiff and stunted, losing all their graceful curves, and its fruit-clusters huddle among them as if anxious to keep out of sight. Var. frondosa is an occasional form in which some of the fruiting fronds have green, leaf-like pinnz below. These abnormal fronds are most abundant on land which has been burned over. The Cinnamon Fern is a member of the group of Osmundas, or “ flowering ferns,” as they are some- times called, not of course because they really flower, 62 GROUP | STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE; FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEAPANCE but because their fruiting fronds are somewhat flower-like in appearance. There are three species of Osmunda: the Cinnamon Fern, O. cinnamomea, the Royal Fern, O. regalis; and the Interrupted Fern, O. Claytoniana. All three are beautiful and striking plants, producing their spores in May or June, and conspicuous by reason of their luxuriant growth and flower-like fruit clusters. The Osmundas are easily cultivated, and group themselves effectively in shaded corners of the garden. They need plenty of water, and thrive best in a mixture of swamp-muck and fine loam. 4. CURLY GRASS Schizea pusilla Pine barrens of New Jersey. Sterile fronds—Hardly an inch long, linear, slender, flattened, curly. Fertile fronds.—Taller than the sterile fronds (three or four inches in height), slender, with from four to six pairs of fruit-bearing pinne in September. Save in the herbarium I have never seen this very local little plant, which is found in certain parts of New Jersey. Gray assigns it to “low grounds, pine barrens,” while Dr. Eaton attributes it to the “drier parts of sphagnous swamps among white cedars.” In my lack of personal knowledge of Schizea, I venture to quote from that excellent little quarter- ly, the Fern Bulletin, the following passage from an 63 GROUP 1 STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE} a FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE article by Mr. C. F. Saunders on Schizea pusilla at home: “S. pusilla was first collected early in this century at Quaker Bridge, N. J., about thirty-five miles east of Philadelphia. The spot is a desolate-looking place in the wildest of the ‘pine barrens,’ where a branch of the Atsion River flows through marshy lowlands and cedar swamps. Here, amid sedge- grasses, mosses, Lycopodiums, Droseras, and wild cranberry vines, the little treasure has been col- lected; but, though I have hunted for it more than once, my eyes have never been sharp enough to detect its fronds in that locality. In October of last year, however, a friend guided me to another place in New Jersey where he knew it to be grow- ing, and there we found it. It was a small open spot in the pine barrens, low and damp. In the white sand grew patches of low grasses, mosses, Lycopodium Carolinianum, L. inundatum, and Pyxidanthera barbulata, besides several smaller ericaceous plants and some larger shrubs, such as scrub-oaks, sumacs, etc. Close by was a little stream, and just beyond that a bog. Although we knew that the Schizea grew within a few feet of the path in which we stood, it required the closest sort of a search, with eyes at the level of our knees, before a specimen was detected. The sterile fronds (curled like corkscrews) grew in little tufts, and were more readily visible than the fertile spikes, which were less numerous, and, together with the slender stipes, were of a brown color, hardly dis- 64 PLATE IV GURLY GRASS 65 GROUP 1 STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE, FERTILE FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE tinguishable from the capsules of the mosses, and the maturing stems of the grasses which grew all about. Lying flat on the earth, with face within a few inches of the ground, was found the most satis- factory plan of search. Down there all the indi- vidual plants looked bigger, and a sidelong glance brought the fertile clusters more prominently into view. When the sight got accustomed to the minia- ture jungle quite a number of specimens were found, but the fern could hardly be said to be plentiful, and all that we gathered were within a radius of a couple of yards. This seems, indeed, to be one of those plants whose whereabouts is oftenest revealed by what we are wont to term a ‘happy accident,’ as, for instance, when we are lying stretched on the ground resting, or as we stoop at lunch to crack an egg on the toe of our shoe. 1 know of one excel- lent collector who spent a whole day looking for it diligently in what he thought to be a likely spot, but without success, when finally, just before the time for return came, as he was half crouching on the ground, scarcely thinking now of Schizza, its fronds suddenly flashed upon his sight, right at his feet. The sterile fronds of Schizzea pusilla are ever- green, So that the collector may, perhaps, most read- ily detect it in winter, selecting days for his search when the earth is pretty clear of snow. The sur- rounding vegetation being at that time dead, the little corkscrew-like tronds stand out more promi- nently.” “ S GROUP Il FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, THE FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE THE REST OF THE FROND 5. ROYAL FERN. FLOWERING FERN Osmunda regalis New Brunswick to Florida, in swampy places. Two to five feet high, occasionally taller. Sterile fronds.—Twice-pinnate, pzxne@ cut into oblong pinnules. Fertile fronds.—Leat-like below, sporangia forming bright- brown clusiers at their summits. Perhaps this Royal o: Flowering Fern is the most beautitui member of a singulariy beautiful group. When its smooth, vale-green sterile fronds, grown to their full height, form a grace- ful crown which encircles the fertile fronds, it is truly a regal-looking plant. These fertile tronds eS 67 ; are leaf- like be- oe low, and are tipped above with their flower-like fruit-clusters. Like its kinsmen, the Royal Fern appears in May in our wet woods and fields. The delicate little croziers uncurl with dainty grace, the plants which grow in the open among the yellow stars of the early crow-foot, and the white clus- ters of the spring cress being so tinged with red that they suffuse the meadows with warm color. Though one of our tallest ferns, with us it never reaches the ten or eleven feet with which it is credited in Great Britain. The tallest plants I have found fall short of six feet. Occasionally we see large tracts of land covered with mature plants that lack a foot or more of the two feet given as the minimum height. This tendency to 68 Royal Fern FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, GROUP ll FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND depauperization one notices especially in dry marshes near the sea. ’ To the Royal Fern the old herbalists attributed many valuable qualities. One old writer, who calls it the “ Water Fern,” says: “ This hath all the vir- tues mentioned in other ferns, and is much more effective than they both for inward and outward griefs, and is accounted good for wounds, bruises, and the like.” The title “flowering fern’? sometimes misleads those who are so unfamiliar with the habits of ferns as to imagine that they ever flower. That it really is descriptive was proved to me only a few weeks ago when I received a pressed specimen of a fertile frond accompanied by the request to in- form the writer as to the name of the flower in- closed, which seemed to him to belong to the Sumach family. The origin of the generic name Osmunda seems somewhat obscure. It is said to be derived from Osmunder, the Saxon Thor. In his Herbal Gerarde tells us that Osmunda regalis was formerly called “Osmund, the Waterman,” in allusion, perhaps, to its liking for a home inthe marshes. One legend claims that a certain Osmund, living at Loch Tyne, saved his wife and child from the inimical Danes by hiding them upon an island among masses of flowering ferns, and that in after years the child so shielded named the stately plants after her father. qa FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, GROUP I FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND The following lines from Wordsworth point to still another origin of the generic name: “— often, trifling with a privilege Alike indulged to all, we paused, one now, And now the other, to point out, perchance To pluck, some flower, or water-weed, too fair Either to be divided from the place On which it grew, or to be left alone To its own beauty. Many such there are, Fair ferns and flowers, and chiefly that tall fern, So stately, of the Queen Osmunda named; Plant lovelier, in its own retired abode On Grasmere’s beach, than Naiad by the side Of Grecian brook, or Lady of the Mere, Sole-sitting by the shores of old romance.” The Royal Fern may be cultivated easily in deep mounds of rich soil shielded somewhat from the sun. 7 FEKTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, GROUP Il FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND 6. INTERRUPTED FERN Osmunda Claytoniana Newfoundland to North Carolina, in swampy places. Two to four feet high. Sterile fronds.—Oblong-lanceolate, once-pinnate, Aimne cut into oblong, obtuse divisions, wzthout a tuft of wool at the base of each pinna. Fertile fronds.—Taller than the sterile, leaf-like above and 'below, some of the middle pinne fruit-bearing. The Interrupted Fern makes its appearance in the woods and meadows and along the roadsides in May. It fruits as it unfolds. At first the fruiting pinnae are almost black. Later they become golden-green, and after the spores are discharged they turn brown. They are noticeable all summer, and serve to identify the plant at once. In the absence of the fertile fronds it is often difficult to distinguish between the Cinnamon Fern and the Interrupted Fern. The sterile fronds of the Interrupted Fern are usually less erect, curving outward much more noticeably than those of the Cinnamon Fern. Then, too, its pinnze are cut into segments that are more ob- tuse, and the whole effect of the frond is more stubby. But the most distinguishing feature of all is the tuft of rusty wool which clings to the base of each pinna of the sterile fronds of the Cinnamon Fern. These tufts we do not find in the Interrupted Fern, though both plants come into the world warmly wrapped in wool. The Interrupted Fern is a peculiarly graceful plant. 72 PLATE V} INTERRUPTED FERN @ Clusters of sporangia & Showing veining 73 lft rts ‘i, ies es 2 fhe ONE t4Y > aT h Yh igo”, aN u te a 7 ‘5 is Its fertile ee SG @ i Zn ie Te , O) ; Le fronds,stand oy i Ny 1 iy ing quite erect fon pw" below but curving SoS Me i outward above the Sa 7 fruiting pinnee, are Sy ae set in a somewhat ck NW iii shallow vase formed seal, \\ Hag by the sterile fronds, ‘SO aw" = which fall away in i every direction. =o Y i Uti. In the fall th:« Se Dd A in ll fronds turn yel = A \ , i Hee. 2 low, an. \ ea Z 2 at timc H if are & nth % lela ( Ui. Y age Z DS brilliai he t h a qh ee, the: pa YA AA flood tl Wy ii 2 hd yy A a with gold- en light. Like the other Os- mundas, the Inter- rupted Fern is easily cul- tivated. Interrupted Fern 74 i \\" Pes. Sil asst i SY NY = | SF sy WHE SSS, \\ K = EX 7. CLIMBING FERN. CREEPING FERN. HARTFORD FERN Lygodium palmatum Massachusetts and southward, in moist thickets and open woods. Stalks slender and twining. Fronds.—Climbing and twining, one to three feet long, divided into lobed, rounded, heart - shaped, short - stalked segments; fruit - clusters, growing at the summit of the frond, ripening in September. The Climbing Fern is still found occasionally in moist thickets and open woods from Massachusetts southward, but at one time it was picked so reck- lessly for decorative purposes that it was almost exterminated. In 1869 the legislature of Connecticut passed for its protection a special law which was embodied in the revision of the statutes of 1875, “perhaps the a GROUP II FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND only instance in statute law,’ Dr. Eaton remarks, “where a plant has received special legal protec- tion solely on account of its beauty.” I have never seen the plant growing, but remem- ber that when a child my home in New York was abundantly decorated with the pressed fronds which had been brought from Hart- ford for the purpose. Even in that lifeless condition their grace and beauty made a deep impres- sion on my mind. Mr. Saunders has described it as he found it growing in com- Part ef Sartile: pinnule pany with Schzzga,in the New Jersey pine barrens: “Lygodium palmatum . . . is one of the love- liest of American plants, with twining stem adorned with palmate leaflets, bearing small resemblance to the popular idea of a fern. It loves the shaded, mossy banks of the quiet streams whose cool, clear, amber waters, murmuring over beds of pure white sand, are so characteristic of the pine country. There the graceful fronds are to be found, some- times clambering a yard high over the bushes and cat-briers ; sometimes trailing down the bank until their tips touch the surface of the water. “The Lygodium is reckoned among the rare plants of the region—though often growing in goou- sized patches when found at all—and is getting rarer. Many of the localities which knew it once now know it no more, both because of the depre- 76 GROUP Il FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND dations of ruthless collectors, and, to some extent, probably, the ravages of fire. The plant is in its prime in early fall, but may be looked for up to the time of killing frosts.” 8. ADDER’S TONGUE Ophioglossum vulgatum Canada to New Jersey and Kentucky, in moist meadows. Two inches to one foot high. Sterile portion.—An ovate, fleshy leaf. Fertile portion.—A simple spike, usually long-stalked. The unprofessional fern collector is likely to agree with Gray in considering the Adder’s Tongue “not common.” Many botanists, however, believe the plant to be “overlooked rather than rare.” In an article on O. vulgatum, which ap- peared some years ago in the Fern Bulletin, Mr. A. A. Eaton writes: “ Previous to 1895 Ophioglossum vulgatum was unknown to me, and was considered very rare, only two localities being known in Essex County, Mass. Early in the year a friend gave me two specimens, From these I got an idea of how the thing looked. On the 11th of last July, while collecting Habenaria lacera in a ‘bound-out’ mowing field, I was de- lighted to notice a spike of fruit in the grass. A search revealed about sixty, just right to collect, with many unfruitful specimens. A few days later, a GROUP II FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND while raking in a similar locality, I found several, within a stone’s throw of the house, demonstrating again the well-known fact that a thing once seen is easily discovered again. On the 23d of last August, while riding on my bicycle, I noticed a field that appeared to be the right locality, and an investiga- tion showed an abundance of them. I subsequently found it in another place. This year, on May 28th, I found it in another locality just as it was coming up, and I have since found three others, I con- sider it abundant here, only appearing rare because growing hidden in fine grass in old mowing fields, after the red top and timothy have died out, and the finer species of Carex are coming in. A good in- dex plant is the Habenaria quoted. I have never found it except when associated with this plant, ona cold, heavy soil. The leaf is usually hidden, or, if not, is easily passed by for Maianthemum or Pogonia.” In the “Grete Herbal” of Gerarde we read that “the leaves of Adder’s Tongue stamped in a stone mortar, and boiled in oyle olive unto the consump- tion of the juice, and until the herbs be dried and parched and then strained, will yeelde most excellent greene oyle or rather a balsame for greene wounds comparable to oyle of St. John’s-wort if it do not farre surpasse it.” It_is said-that “ Adder’s Spear Ointment,” made from the fresh fronds of this plant is still-used for wounds in English villages. The Adder’s Tongue was believed leisy to 8 PLATE Vii ADDER'S TONGUE 79 2 FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, GROUP Il FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND have poisonous qualities, which not only injured the cattle that fed upon it, but destroyed the grass in which it grew. 9. RATTLESNAKE FERN. VIR- GINIA GRAPE FERN Botrychium Virginianum Nova Scotia to Florida, in rich woods. One or two feet high, at times much smaller, when it be- comes B. gracile. Sterile portion .— Usually broader than long, spreading, with three main divisions which are cut into many smaller segments, thin, set close to the stem about half way up. Fertile portion.— Long-stalked, more than once-pinnate. On our rambles through the woods we are more likely to encounter the Rattlesnake Fern than any other member of the Bo- trychium group. It Rettlesnake Fern fruits in early sum- 80 GROUP Il 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. tio. TERNATE GRAPE FERN Botrychium ternatum or dissectum Nova Scotia to Florida, in moist meadows. A few inches to more than a foot high. Sterzle 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. Of late some doubt has existed as to whether &. ¢ternatum has been act- ually found in this country, although the standard Floras give no evidence of this uncertainty. Dr. Underwood is convinced that the true B. ¢ernatum Te is found only in Japan and China, and that our species is really B. dissectum, a spe- cies, 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, 81 FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, GROUP 1 FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND shady woods; that in mossy meadows of New England and Central New York the plant assumes a more con- tracted habit. He believes its segments are more apt to be divided in shady situations than in open, sunny ground. The Ternate Grape Fern fruits in the fall. Part of sterile portion of B. dissectum 11, LITTLE GRAPE FERN Botrychium simplex Canada to Maryland, in moist woods and in fields. Two to four inches high, rarely a little taller. Sterile portion.—Somewhat oblong, more or less lobed, occa- sionally 3-7 divided, usually short-stalked from near the middle of the plant, thick and fleshy. Fertile portéon.—Either simple or once or twice-pinnate, taller than the sterile portion. This little plant is sufficiently rare to rejoice the neart of the fern hunter who is so fortunate as to 82 PLATE Vi TERNATE GRAPE FERN 83 GROUP II FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND stumble upon it by chance or to trace it to its chosen haunts. It is generally considered an inhabitant of moist woods and meadows, though Mr. Pringle describes it as “abundantly scattered over Vermont, its habi- tat usually poor soil, especially knolls of hill pas- tures,” and Mr. Dodge assigns it to “dry fields.” It fruits in May or June. 12, MOONWORT Botrychium Lunari. Newfoundland to Connecticut and Central New York, in dry pastures. Th ee inches to nearly one foot high. A very fleshy plant. Sterile portion—Oblong, cut into several fan-shaped fleshy divisions, growing close to the stem about the middle of the plant. Fertile portion.—Branching, long-stalked, usually the same height as or taller than the sterile portion. The Moonwort is another of our rare little plants. It grows usually in dry pastures, fruiting in July. Formerly it was accredited with various magic powers. Gathered by moonlight, it was said to “do wonders.” The English poet Drayton refers to the Moonwort as “ Lunary”: “Then sprinkled she the juice of rue With nine drops of the midnight dew From Lunary distilling.” Gerarde mentions its use by alchemists, who called it Martagon. In the work of Coles, an early writer on plants, we read: “It is said, yea, and believed by many that Moonwort will open the 84 PLATE Ix CANCE LEAVED GRAPE FERN MOONWORT 85 GROUP II FERTILE FRONDS PARTIALLY LEAF-LIKE, FERTILE PORTION UNLIKE REST OF FROND locks wherewith dwelling-houses are made fast, if it be put into the keyhole; as also that it will loosen . . . Shoes from those horses’ feet that go on the places where it grows.” It is to the Moonwort that Withers alludes in the following lines: “There is an herb, some say, whose vertue’s such It in the pasture, only with a touch Unshoes the new-shod steed.” 13. MATRICARY GRAPE FERN Botrychium matricariafolium Nova Scotia to New Jersey, in woods and wet meadows. Two inches to one foot high. Sterile portion.—Once or twice divided, sometimes very fleshy, growing high up on the stem. Fertile portzon.—With several branched pinnae. This plant is found, often in the companionship of B. Virginianum, in woods and wet meadows, not farther south than New Jersey. It fruits in summer. 14. LANCE-LEAVED GRAPE FERN Botrychium lanceolatum Nova Scotia to New Jersey, in woods and meadows. Two to nine inches high. Sterile portton.—Triangular, twice-pinnatifid, with somewhat lance-shaped segments, hardly fleshy, set close to the top of the common stalk. . Fertile portion.—Branching. Like the Matricary Grape Fern, this plant is found in the woods and wet meadows from Nova Scotia to New Jersey. It fruits also in summer. ‘ 86 GROUP III FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE, YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS %5. SLENDER CLIFF BRAKE Pellea gracilis (P. Stellert) Labrador to Pennsylvania, usually on sheltered rocks, preferring limestone. Two to five inches long, with straw-colored or pale- brown stalks, slightly chaffy below. Fronds.—Delicate, with few pinne ; Azzne@, the lower ones once or twice parted into 3-5 divisions, those of the fertile frond oblong or linear-oblong, sparingly incised, of the sterile frond ovate or obovate, toothed or incised ; sforangza bordering the pinne of the fertile frond, covered by a broad and usually continuous gen- eral zduscum, formed by the reflexed margin of the pinnule. The first time I found the Slender Cliff Brake was one July day in Central New York, under the kind guidance of an enthusiastic fern collector. A rather perilous climb along the sides of a thickly wooded glen brought us to a spot where our only security lay in clinging to the trees, which, like our- 87 GROUP III FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS selves, had obtained doubtful standing-room. Ina pocket in the limestone just above us I was shown a very brown and withered little plant which only the closest scrutiny in combination with a certain amount of foreknowledge could identify as the Slender Cliff Brake. The season had been a dry one and the plant had perished, I fancy, for lack of water, in spite of the stream which plunged from the top of the cliffs close by, almost near enough, it seemed to me, to moisten with its spray our hot cheeks. Later in the season I found more prom- ising though not altogether satisfactory specimens of this plant growing in other rocky crevices of the same deep glen, in the neighborhood of the Maidenhair Spleenwort, the Walking Leaf, and the Parton of Bulblet Bladder Fern. My sister tells me that late in August on the cliffs which border the St. Lawrence River, refreshed by the myriad streams which leap or trickle down their sides, under the hanging - roots of trees, close to clusters of quivering harebells and pale tufts of the Brittle Bladder Fern, the Slender Cliff Brake grows in profusion, its delicate fronds rippling over one another so closely that at times they give the effect of a long, luxuriant moss. On most occasions, in these soft beds of foliage, she found the fertile fronds, which are far more slender and unusual looking than the sterile, largely predominating, though at times a patch would be 83 GROUP III FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS made up chiefly of the sterile fronds. These some- what resemble the Brittle Bladder Fern in whose company they are seen so often. ( F uh ll Wy \ N Nh i \\ \ CE a \\ _ A Np Slender Cliff Brake 89 GROUP III FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS 16. PURPLE CLIFF BRAKE Pellea atropurpurea Canada to Georgia and westward, usually on limestone cliffs; with wiry purplish stalks. Fertile fronds.—Six to twenty inches high, leathery, bluish-green, pale underneath, once, or below twice, pinnate; Jzmz@, upper ones long and narrow, lower ones usually with one to four pairs of broadly linear pzunules ; sporangia bordering the pinne, bright brown at maturity ; zzdustum formed by the reflexed margin of the frond. Sterile fronds.—Usually much smaller than the fertile and less abundant ; Zzzze@ oblong, entire, or slightly toothed. The Purple Cliff Brake is one of the plants that re- joice in un-get-at-able and perilous situations. Al- though its range is wider than that of many ferns, this choice of inconvenient localities, joined to the fact that it is not a common plant, renders it likely *hat unless you pay it the compliment of a special expedition in its honor you will never add it to the list of your fern acquaintances. But when all is said we are inestimably in debt to the plants so rare or so exclusive as to entice us out of our usual haunts into theirs. Not only do they draw us away from our books, out of our houses, but off the well-known road and the trodden path into unfamiliar woods which stand ready to reveal fresh treasures, across distant pastures where the fragrant wind blows away the memory of small anxieties, up into the hills from whose summits we get new views. Although the Purple Cliff Brake grows, I believe go FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, GROUP Ill yer DIFFERING NOTICFABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS within fifteen miles of my home in Albany, I never saw the plant until this summer some hundred miles nearer the centre of the State. During a morning call I chanced to mention that I was anxious to find two or three ferns which were said to grow in the neighborhood. My hostess told me that twenty-five years before, on some limestone cliffs about eight miles away, she had found two unknown ferns which had been classified and labelled by a botanical friend. Excusing herself she left me and soon returned with carefully pressed specimens of the Purple Cliff Brake and the little Rue Spleenwort, the two ferns I was most eager to find. Such moments as I ex- perienced then of long-deferred but peculiar satis- faction go far toward making one an apostle of hobbies. My pleasure was increased by the kind offer to guide me to the spot which had yielded the specimens. One morning soon after we were set down at the little railway station from which we purposed to walk to the already-mentioned cliffs. We were not without misgivings as we followed an indefinite path across some limestone quarries, for a plant may easily disappear from a given station in the course of twenty-five years. In a few moments the so-called path disappeared in a fringe of bushes which evi- dently marked the beginning of a precipitous de- scent. Cautiously clinging to whatever we could lay hold of, bushes, roots of trees or imbedded rocks, we climbed over the cliff’s side, still following the semblance of a path. On our left a stream plunged 92 GROUP III FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS nearly two hundred feet into the ravine below. For some distance the eye could follow its silver course, then it disappeared beneath the arching trees. On our right, many miles beyond, through the blue haze which hung over the distant valley, we could see the lake to which the stream was hurrying. We could not surrender ourselves with comfort to the beauty of the outlook, as our surroundings were not such as to put us altogether at ease. Over- head hung great rocks, so cracked and seamed and shattered as to threaten a complete downfall, while beneath our feet the path which led along the face of the cliff crumbled away, so that it was difficult in places to obtain any foothold. Having passed the more perilous spots, however, we became accus- tomed to the situation and turned our attention to the unpromising wall of rock which rose beside us. From its crevices hung graceful festoons of Bulblet Bladder Fern, and apparently nothing but Bulblet Bladder Fern. But soon one of the party gave a cry and pointed in triumph to a bluish-green cluster of foliage which sprang from a shallow pocket over- head. Even though one had not seen the plant before, there was no mistaking the wiry purplish stalks, the leathery, pinnately parted, blue-green fronds, and, above all, the marginal rows of bright brown sporangia peculiar to the Purple Cliff Brake. Soon after we found several other plants, all of them decidedly scraggly in appearance, with but few green fronds and many leafless stalks. Occasion- ally a small sterile frond, with broader, more oblong 93 FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, GROUP III YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS pinnze, could be seen, but these were in the minority. A number of very young plants, with little, heart- shaped leaves altogether unlike the mature fronds, were wedged in neighboring crannies. As our eyes grew more accustomed to the con- tour and coloring of the cliffs, the success of the day was completed by the discovery of several specimens of the little Rue Spleenwort with tiny fronds flattened against the rock. When next I saw the Purple Cliff Brake it seemed to me quite a different fern from the rather awkward plant, the mere sight of which I had wel- comed so eagerly that any unfavorable criticism of its appearance seems ungrateful. Again it sprang from limestone cliffs, even more remote and inaccessible though less dangerous than those where I saw it first. These cliffs were so shattered in places that the broken fragments lay in heaps at their base and on the projecting ledges. Here and there a great shaft of rock had broken. away and stood like the turret of a castle or the bastion of a fort. Among the shattered fragments high up on the cliff’s side the Purple Cliff Brake grew in a luxuriant profusion that was amazing in view of the surroundings. The rigid, erect fronds formed large tufts of greenish-gray foliage that, at a little distance, so blended with their rocky back- ground as to be almost indistinguishable. The fronds usually were much more compound than those I had seen a few weeks before. The separate plants had a vigorous, bushy appearance that did 94 <¢SN APSA BSOa YOYAr YIOI JO [fear Suisiuosdun ay yy GROUP III FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, \ YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS not suggest the same species. Many of \: the pinnz were so turned as to display the ripe sporangia, which formed a bright- brown border to the pale, slender divis- ions. Here, too, the small sterile fronds were very rare. Growing from the broken rocks in among the Purple Cliff Brake were thrif- ty little tufts of the Maidenhair Spleenwort. This tiny plant seemed to have forgotten its shy- ness and to have forsworn its love for moist, shaded, mossy rocks. {t ventured boldly out upon these barren cliffs, exposing itself to the fierce glare of the sun and to every blast of wind, and holding itself upright with a saucy self- assurance that seemed strangely at variance with its nature. Near by a single patch of the Walking Leaf climbed up the face of the cliff, while, perhaps strang- est of all, from the decaying trunk of a tree, which lay pros- trate among the rocks, sprang a single small but perfect plant of the Ebony Spleenwort, a fern which was a complete stranger ,,, eae te in this locality, so far as I could of Purple crtf Brake learn. 2 95 Sterile frond GROUP It FERTILE FRONDS UNIFORMLY SOMEWHAT LEAF-LIKE, YET DIFFERING NOTICEABLY FROM STERILE FRONDS 17, CHRISTMAS FERN Aspidium acrostichoides (Dryopteris acrostichoides) New Brunswick to Florida, in rocky woods. One to two and a half feet high, with very chaffy stalks. Fronds.—Lance-shaped, once-pinnate, fertile fronds contracted toward the summit ; 4iz”@ narrowly lance-shaped, half halberd- shaped at the slightly stalked base, bristly-toothed, the upper ones on the fertile fronds contracted and smaller; /ruzt-dots round, close, confluent with age, nearly covering the under surface of the fertile pinnae ; zdusium orbicular, fixed by the depressed centre. Of our evergreen ferns this is the best fitted to serve as a decoration in winter. No other fern has such deep-green, highly pol- ished fronds. They need only a mixture of red ber- ries to become a close rival to the holly at Christmas- time. Wrapped in a garment of brown scales, the young fronds of the Christmas Fern are sent into the world early in the spring. When we go to the woods in April to look for arbutus, or to listen to the first songs of the robin and the bluebird, we notice that last year’s fronds are still fresh and green. Low down among then, curled up like tawny caterpillars, are the young fronds. The arbutus will have made way for pink and blue and white hepaticas, for starry bloodroot, and for tremulous anemones; thrushes and orioles will have joined the robins and the blue- >irds before these new-comers present much of an 96 Portion of fertile frond appearance. When the tender, delicately green fronds are first unrolled they contrast strongly with their polished, dark-green, , leathery com- panions, In this plant the difference is quite conspicuous hetween the faaile and the sterile fronds. The sterile ones are shorter and apparently broader, while the fer- tile are tall, slender, and notice- ably contracted by the abundantly fruiting pine near the apex. ool Ay nye aS Nien a ce i oa ( ong SEAN) Pe “Sx \ \ wee oS ees WE UN ya.d.s, ay Nos - Wo. 2 ee RS es Christmas Fern Q7 ie Ae ’ * i, hy Ch “ i Yin he Nn Vee af My Hh We "Mle a 18 NARROW-LEAVED SPLEEN- WORT Asplenium angustifolium Canada to Kentucky, in moist woods. Two to four feet high. Sterile fronds. — Thin, smooth, lance- shaped, perishable, once-pinnate. Fertile fronds.—Taller, narrower, longer- stalked; fizm@ more narrowly lance-shaped than on sterile fronds; /rzt-dots linear, a row on each side the midvein; indusium slightly convex. If we make an expedition to the woods early in July we may, per- haps, find some plants of the Nar- row-leaved Spleenwort. At this season they are specially attract- ive, with smooth, delicate, pale-green fronds, so re- cently unfolded as to be full of little undulations, which they lose more or less at maturity, and which are as indicative of youth as the curves and dimples of a baby. 98 PLaTE XI LY aoe stacks a aes Qe NN NENG \\ ‘ ANS SO VS Yu SS wer A