vsnnenersspremecpemena-tin+esarent~aptjreinrentoresmns mes henner tne airany Sins apnteneirmimse ta eahesieanarabebaenaynd Seika arena neh and ee pane eg a rn Eh PRR nn Nr Cornell University Library OF THE Mew Work State College of Agriculture PG 2/OL AAG 3806 ALBERT R.. MANN LIBRARY CORNELL UNIVERSITY 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://www.archive.org/details/cu31924089416774 y 680 vo6 iwi ALISHSAINA “V13NHO: OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS. PLATE Vil. THE OAK FERN. Phegoplerits Drvepteris, COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY FREDERICK A STOKES COMPANY PRINTED IN AMERICA OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS A Guide to all the Wative Species BY WILLARD NELSON CLUTE Author of “ A Flora of the Upper Susquehanna” ILLUSTRATED BY WILLIAM WALWORTH STILSON ¥ NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS he COPYRIGHT, I19o!, By FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY. CONTENTS. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. : ‘ PREFACE, : ‘ : 7 THE UNCOILING FRONDS, . ; THE OSMUNDAS, THE RATTLESNAKE ue AND THE ADDER’s- TONGUE, ; . 2 THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES, . THE BRACKEN, ; 7 ; THE CLIFF BRAKES, . . THE WOODSIAS, —. THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY Frene, THE MARSH FERN TRIBE, . : THE Woop FERNS, . , ‘ THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS, . : THE Lapy FERN AND ITs KIN, . THE POLYPODIES, . . : THE BLADDER FERNS, ‘ A THE CHAIN FERNS, . : : THE BOULDER FERN, . : CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR, THE SENSITIVE AND OSTRICH FERNS, THE WALKING FERN AND THE HArv’s-TONGUE, . THE CURLY GRASS AND THE CLIMBING FERN, BORDER SPECIES, : ; CONCERNING NOMENCLATURE, 3 KEY TO THE GENERA, P ‘ CHECKLIST OF THE FERNS, . - GLOSSARY, ; ‘ : : INDEX TO COMMON NAMES, ‘ INDEX TO SCIENTIFIC NAMES, ‘ . PAGE List of Illustrations. THE OAK FERN. Phegopteris Dryopteris. Frontispiece. ; PAGE, A CROSIER., . . . . . . . . . . 12 FLOWERING FERN. . . ° ° . * . . 15 SORI OF ASPLENIUM. ° . . . . . . . 16 SORI OF POLYPODIUM. . . . . . . . . 7 35 FIDDLE-HEADS ” . . . . . . . ° Jacing 18 A WAYSIDE SPRING. - . . . . . . ° . 20 CINNAMON FERN. Osundacinnamomea, a . ‘ JSacing 26 A FRUITING PINNA. — - . : 5 . . A . . 27 TUFT OF WOOL AT BASE OF PINNA. . . . . . . 28 HE CINNAMON FERN. Ositunda cinnamomea, a . . Sacing 2 INTERRUPTED FERN. Osunda Claytoniana. . r i Jacing 30 INTERRUPTED FERN. Osatunda Claytoniana. Fertile frond ee . 31 THE INTERRUPTED FERN. Osmunda Claytoniana. . i . Jacing 32 FLOWERING FERN. Osieunda regalis. . si . . % Sacing 34 SPORE-CASES. ‘ . f ‘ Ps s . - P 34 CROSIERS. ‘ . A : 5 : é z : é 35 FLOWERING FERN. Osmunda regalis. . : . . . Sacing 36 SPORANGIA, - . . é fs . . . . 42 RATTLESNAKE FERN, Sotrychium Virginianum. . é ‘ Sacing 42 RATTLESNAKE FERN. Sotrychiun: Virginianunt, 5 5 ° 44 ADDER’S-TONGUE, Ofhioglossum vulgatum, E . . ‘ 46 THE ADDER’S-TONGUE. Ofhioglossum vulgatum, Pilate I. ‘ Sacing 46 “THEREISANHERB” . ; ; : : 2 ; facing 50 MOONWORT. Sotrychium Lunaria. j ‘ is . . ‘ 52 COMMON GRAPE FERN. Setrychium obliquum. . . B . 56 BOTRYCHIUM OBLIQUUM DISSECTUM . . . . ° . 57 LITTLE GRAPE FERN. Botrychium simplex. . . 5 : 58 LANCE-LEAVED GRAPE FERN, Sotrychium lanceolatum. . . 59 THE MATRICARY GRAPE FERN. 2otrychium matricariafolium, Plate II facing 60 MATRICARY GRAPE FERN, Sotrychium matricariafolium. . 3 S 6r Vill LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, BOTRYCHIUM MATRICARIZ.FOLIUM TENEBROSUM BRACKEN. /%erts aguilina. Lower pinna. KING CHARLES IN THE OAK.” A FRUITING PINNA. . . . PTERIS AQUILINA PSEUDOCAUDATA. Lower pinna.. . THE BRACKEN ROOTSTOCK. ’ * * . . WINTER BRAKE. “edlea atropurpurea. . 5 * WINTER BRAKE. /ellea alropurpurea. . 7 TIP OF FERTILE FROND, £xlarged. ‘ : > SLENDER CLIFF BRAKE, /ell@a gracilis. ‘ : 5 PELLAA DENSA. Fertile frond. . é F ‘ 3 RUSTY WOODSIA, Woodsia Ilvensis. a é 2 ROOTSTOCK. . . “ . . . . FRUITING PINNA, . ‘ # . OBTUSE WOODSIA. Woodsia obtusa. . ‘ : s ALPINEWOODSIA, /loodsia hyperborea.. % a a A FRUITING FROND. . OBTUSE WOODSIA. Woodsta obtusa. - ‘ . FERTILE FROND. SMOOTH WooDSIA. /eodsta glabella. : CHRISTMAS FERN, olystichum acrostichoides. Ferule and fronds. POLYSTICHUM ACROSTICHOIDES INCISUM. HOLLY FERN. “olpstichum lonchitis. THE CHRISTMAS FERN. olystichum acrostichoides. Plate III. POLYSTICHUM BRAUNII. CROSIERS- . . . MARSH FERN. Aebitiaes Pisiypieri VENATION. THE MARSH FERN. . ALONG STREAMS AND IN DAMP MEADOWS. SORI, THE SNUFF-BOX. ‘ NEW YORK FERN, Pere Noveboracense. NEW YORK FERN. 4sfidium Noveboracense. . ‘ FRUITING PINNA.. . . . VENATION. : . . A ASPIDIUM SIMULATUM. . . . . . FRUITING PINNA, . . VENATION. . MARGINAL SHIELD FERN. 4 sArcdiuon brspibicde Sacing . Sacing facing Sacing Sucing sterile JSacing Sacing Sucing Sacing LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. THE MARGINAL SHIELD FERN. 4sfidium marginale. Plate IV. sori. Enlarged. A « a a 5 is o FRUITING PINNA, . . . . . F ‘i SORI. : . . a a . THE HOME OF THE WOOD FERNS. . . . , THE MALE FERN. . . é . . . . A FRUITING PINNA. + . . . . . . GOLDIE’S SHIELD FERN, tn*. Cae er pg ties to Mehler) Agim ate, "ip Be if Ke hg? a hy fc ul A i . AE ‘ Wj gf e a ig me mA cane a= Pe = as ag aa THE OSMUNDAS. “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.” —WoORDSWORTH. THE OSMUNDAS. MONG ferns as among flowering plants, there Aare certain species that so persistently force themselves upon our attention as to make it almost impossible not to know them. The ’ members of the Osmunda family belong to ; this class. From the time their stout woolly crosiers peep fromthe ground in spring until their pinnz are mingling with the falling leaves of au- tumn, they are among the most conspicuous of our native species. In everything the family runs to ex- tremes. Their rootstocks are the largest, their crosiers the woolliest, their fronds the tallest and their fruit the earliest. They are also as common as conspicuous. Every farmer and wanderer countryward is familiar with their graceful forms, although he may have no other name for them than “brakes.” The Cinnamon Fern. The best‘known of the Osimundas is doubtless the cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea). It grows in nearly every piece of boggy ground in the Eastern States, neighbouring with the coarse herbage of the wild helle- bore and skunk’s cabbage, but is at its best in shaded swamps and wet open woodlands where it forms jungles of almost tropical luxuriance. Frequently it takes large 26 THE OSMUNDAS. areas to itself, stretching away for long distances in level reaches of green. The young crosiers or “ fiddleheads”’ begin to peep up in plashy pastures before the grass has turned green and may be distinguished from all others by the dense coat of silvery white wool in which they are clad. As the weather warms and they expand into fronds, the woolly covering turns to a tawny hue and gradually falls away, although vestiges of it remain throughout the summer, scattered along the stipe and in little bunches at the base of each pinna. The fertile fronds are first to appear, but long before they have reached maturity the sterile have sprung up and overtopped them. It is rare for any fern to produce its fertile fronds first, and in the rapid development of the sterile fronds this species seems striving to be like the rest. An examination of the crown when the fronds are uncoiling shows that the fertile and sterile fronds are borne in separate circles and that the fertile belong to the outer circle although at maturity they are invariably surrounded by the sterile ones. The exchange is effected by a sharp bend outward at the base of the sterile frond’s stipe but is so little known that nearly every one believes the fertile fronds to belong to the inner circle. Only one crop of fronds is produced each year, un- less the first is injured or destroyed. The plant is not to be caught unprepared, however, for nestling at the crown of the rootstock are the buds for several years to come. This central portionin all the Osmundas is known as the “heart of Osmond.” Itis tender, crisp and edible, tasting somewhat like raw cabbage, and is easily obtained by pulling up the clump of half-developed fronds. The operation, of course, destroys the plant. CINNAMON FERN. Osmunda cinnaniomed. THE OSMUNDAS, 27 When full grown, the sterile fronds are often six feet high with stipes a foot long, and spread out in circular crowns like shuttlecocks or great green vases. They are lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate in out- line with twenty or more pairs of nearly opposite, lanceolate pinnae cut nearly to the rachis into numerous oblong, rounded lobes. The fertile fronds are totally unlike them; in fact, in this species the difference between the two is probably greater than in any other American fern excepting, perhaps, the little curly grass. They are stiff, club like and cinnamon-coloured and are 4 FRUITING PINNA. very noticeable in the greening swamp- lands of late spring. An examination of one of the woolly pinnz composing these clubs will discover the counter- parts of the ordinary green pinnz of the sterile frond here reduced in area and covered with sporangia. The fertile fronds are at first bright green. About the last week in May, just as they begin to assume the familiar brown hue, the spores are shed in myriads, the slightest touch sufficing to shake down a sage-green cloud. At this stage a pinnule presents a beautiful sight under a simple lens. The multitudes of tiny globes vary in colour from the deep green of the unopened spheres to the sulphur-yellow or rich brown of older empty ones, Many will be found partly open, disclosing the spores within. Most species have brownish spores, but those of the Osmundas are of a beautiful shade of green, due to the amount of chlorophyll they contain. Perhaps because of this rather perishable chlorophyll, they must germinate within a few days after they are shed or they will be 28 THE OSMUNDAS. powerless to do so at all. A single frond will produce many millions of spores and although the conditions for growth seem just right when they are shed, the com- paratively small number of mature ferns indicate very plainly that many dangers attend the sporeling. As soon as the spores are shed, the fertile spikes wither and have usually disappeared by the end of June. Under the frosts of autumn the pinnz of the sterile fronds twist and curl, and turning brown, soon loosen from the rachis. The latter remains erect and bare all winter in marked contrast to some of the evergreen species in which, although the fronds continue green, the rachids early become unable to hold them erect. The rootstock of the cinnamon fern is doubtless larger than that of any other American species. It is shaggy with the persistent bases of the fronds of other yearsand creeps along just at the surface of the soil, looking like a great shoe-brush half buried in the mud. The strong wiry roots are given off onall sidesand many are obliged to penetrate the bases of one or more stipes before en- tering the earth. One end of the rootstock is annually renewed by fresh crowns of fronds and the other as con- stantly dies. If no injury happens to the crown, there seems nothing to prevent a plant from living for centur- ies. That some are very old, an examination of the root- stock will show. A medium sized specimen often ex- hibits the persistent bases of more than three hundred fronds, to say nothing of those that have decayed and disappeared. THE CINNAMON FERN. Osmunda ctnnamomea. THE OSMUNDAS. 29 The Osmundas, like other large ferns, are commonly called brakes. The name, however, more properly be- longs to the bracken which can show cause for bearing it. In some of the Eastern States they are also known as hog-brakes, the qualifying word given, apparently to indicate their superior size, just as the words dog, horse and bull are applied to other plants. Occasionally they are called snake-brakes, popular opinion ever associating ferns and serpents. Nothing, however, can better show how unfounded is. the belief in connection with this species than the fact that the Wilson’s thrush and the brown thrasher are fond of choosing a clump of it for a nesting-site, often building in the centre of the green vase. It is doubtless this species that is coupled with the serpent in the old rhyme “ Break the first brake you see, Kill the first snake you see, And you will conquer every enemy.” In the Old World it was once believed that biting the first fronds seen in spring would insure one against the toothache for a year. Our earliest species appear to lack such desirable properties. Occasionally in a clump of this species one may chance upon a frond that is half-way between fertile and sterile. This is the form /froudosa. It is seldom twice alike. The fertile portion may be at the apex, base or in the middle, or scattered about the frond. It may be common in a locality one season and rare the next. Itis apparently caused by some injury to the rootstock which obliges the plant to turn the partly formed fertile fronds into organs of assimilation and is of special interest to the botanist for the relation it shows to exist between . the two sorts of fronds. 30 THE OSMUNDAS. The cinnamon fern is fairly well distributed in Eastern America from Nova Scotia to Florida, Mexico, Nebraska and Minnesota. It also grows in the West Indies. I have collected it in Jamaica at an altitude of 4,000 feet where it flourished in a sphagnum swamp, in company with the stag-horn club-moss in the shelter of gigantic bamboos. This species is in all probability the best known of our native ferns. The Interrupted Fern. Although the first of the Osmundas to appear in spring and fairly abundant in northeastern America, the interrupted fern (Osmunda Claytoniana) seldom becomes a reality to the casual observer because of its remark- bly close resemblance to the cinnamon fern. Fairly good observers have been known to pass it for years, under the impression that it was only a peculiar form of the latter. When both plants are in fruit, there is no chance of confusing them, but when only sterile fronds are to be had, they are not easy for the young collector to separate. Further acquaintance, however, will disclose many little points of difference. The experienced collector can dis- tinguish either species at a glance. The interrupted fern is less a lover of moisture than its kindred, and while it may occasionally be found with the cinnamon fern in some springy spot in the open grove, its preference is for the fence-row and the bushy half- wild lands that border so many of our back country roads. Here it often thrives in the face of the most untoward circumstances, frequently perched upon the top of a half-buried stone pile, through the interstices of which its strong roots ramify to the soil below. It is INTERRUPTED FERN. Oswrunda Claytontana., THE OSMUNDAS. from some such situation as this that the wise fern cultivator selects his plants for the garden, for the labour of removing the stones from about the prize is much less than is required to dig it up when growing in the soil. It is as firmly anchored as any of its rel- atives and does not come up whole without a struggle. Bothkinds of fronds begin to grow at about the same time. Although they are so nearly like those of the cinnamon fern, the eye begins to note slight differences even before the frond has unrolled as far as the blade, for the stipes are greener, slenderer and less downy. The sterile fronds grow from a circle inside the fertile ones, but as in the cinnamon fern they are on the outside at maturity. The fer- tile fronds are usually taller than the sterile and remain green all summer. Both kinds are oblong-lanceolate in outline with about twenty pairs of pin- natifid round-lobed pinnae. The spore- bearing organs are produced near the middle of the frond and consist of from two to seven pairs of transformed pinnz that look as if they might have been bodily transferred from the spike of the cinnamon fern. They look so out of place in the middle of the green blade that the uninitiated often take them to be dwarfed or blasted pinnz 31 INTERRUPTED FERN. Osmunda Claytoniana. Fertile frond. 32 THE OSMUNDAS. although in reality they are the most essential part of the frond. The sterile fronds are broader and blunter than those of the cinnamon fern and also lack the little tuft of wool at the base of each pinna. The fruiting pinne are at first dark ashy-green and at a short distance appear almost black, in pleasing contrast to the golden-green of the rest of the frond. The spores are often ripe before the tips of the fronds have unfurled and the parts that bear them soon turn brown and wither away. This species frequently presents curious transitions between fertile and sterile fronds. Some- times all the pinnules on one side of the midrib will be fertile and those on the other side, sterile ; or the dilated green sterile pinnules will be scattered among the con- tracted and brown fertile ones. Occasionally spores are borne on the underside of the frond after the manner of the polypody and most of our common ferns. A strong plant will often bear fifteen fronds, half of which are fertile. The sterile spread broadly outward but the fertile are nearly erect with only the tips spread- ing, making two tiers of green, the taller with a pretty palm-like effect. In folk-lore, the interrupted fern shares the honours with the cinnamon fern, being so near like it. It is found from Newfoundland to North Carolina, Missouri and Minnesota and is reported to grow in India. From the appearance of the fertile frond it was once called O. interrupta. Its preference for stony soil is very evident. With us it is sometimes called Clayton’s fern. The F lowering Fern. The flowering fern (Osmunda regalis) is the only member of its tribe that is common to both Europe and 11 Aff Wainy es Wace Wb THE INTERRUPTED FERN. Osmunda Claytonzana. THE OSMUNDAS. 33 America. Across the sea it is regarded as their hand- somest species and Withering alludes to it as the “ flower-crowned prince of British ferns.” We who have the ostrich fern, the Dicksonia and the cinnamon fern may not be willing to accord the palm to this species although it cannot be denied that it is a beautiful object when growing in suitable situations with room for its fronds to develop. The name of water fern, sometimes applied to it, indicates its fondness for moist situations. It loves to stand in shallow water and will generally be found in places too wet for its kin. The rootstock is frequently erect and, although it seldom rises more than a foot above the surface, has gained for the plant the name of tree-fern in some local- ities. As the uncoiling fronds begin to rise from the watery earth, the cobwebby wool that invested the cro- siers falls away in patches, revealing the glaucous wine- coloured stipes with their burden of pink or ochre pinne. As these expand, the bright green spore-cases may be seen for some time before the uncoiling has reached them, peeping through the sterile pinnae which clasp them like chubby hands. Full grown fronds often reach a height of six feet and even taller specimens are recorded from England. These great cool-green, twice pinnate fronds have little re- semblance to those of the other Osmundas, or for that matter to any other of our native species. The stout shining stipe continues through the blade as the rachis, giving off at intervals from five to nine pairs of opposite branches. These inturn bear six or more pairs of ob- long pinnules‘with finely serrate margins and heart- shaped or oblique bases. The pinnules are usually slightly stalked and those on one side of the midrib 34 TIE OSMUNDAS. alternate with those on the other. The pinne and pin- nules are set at some distance from each other giving the whole frond a light and graceful appearance. The flowering fern produces a single crop of fronds each season and: forms a clump that is more pyramidal than vase-like in shape. Apparently its lighter, looser foliage makes it unnecessary for its fronds to spread to catch the light. The rootstock often gives off short branches which form new crowns of fronds close tothe original one. Sterile and fer- tile fronds are alike, except that in the latter the several pairs of pinnz compos- ing the upper part of the frond are changed to spore-bearing organs after the manner of the interrupted fern, and like it, showing many curious gradations be- tween fertile and sterile pinnules. Forms have been reported with fertile pinnules SPORE-CASES. jin the middle of thefrond. The fruiting panicle is bright green untilthe sporesripen. It then be- comes rich brown in colour and bears no small re- semblance to a panicle of small flowers, whence the well known common name. The spores, as in the other Osmundas, are green. This species has probably received more common names than any other. Royal fern, regal fern, king fern, and royal Osmund have doubtless been prompted by the same feeling that led Linnzus to give it the name of regalts. Ditch fern is doubtless in allusion to its grow- ing near water, while buckthorn or buckhorn brake prob- ably has reference to the appearance of the crosiers. It has also been called French bracken, royal moonwort, and St. Christopher’s herb, the latter connecting it with the legend of St. Christopher. egalts. Osmunda r FLOWERING FERN THE OSMUNDAS. 35 The flower- ing fern is pretty gener- ally distribu- ted from New Brunswick to Mississippi, Nebraska and the Northwest Territory. It is also found in Mexico, Europe, Asia, and South Africa. It should b e looked for in the half shaded swamps along the shores of lakes and ponds and on the banks of streams. It will grow in cultivation but must be given plenty of water if one would have it produce the great fronds that constitute its chief beauty. This species was named from European material. American plants present some slight differences, espe- cially in the texture of the frond and the proportionate length of the stipes and may yet be proven to be a different species. In this event, our plant would be called O. spectabilis, having been described under this name by Willdenow. Authorities are not agreed as to the derivation of the word Osmunda. According to Prof. Underwood, it is from Osmunder a Saxon name for the god Thor. Others derive it from ‘“ Osmond the water-man ” of Loch Tyne, who is reported to have hidden wife and child from the Danes on anisland covered with this fern. Prof. Meehan has also pointed out that during the middle ages nodules of iron ore were known as “Osmonds.” Since these frequently contained impressions of our fern he suggests that the name may have originated in this way. There are six species in the genus, mostly in the North Temper- 36 THE OSMUNDAS. atezone. Withtwoadditional genera, of which we have no representatives, they form the Order Osmundacee which differs from other fern-families principally in the structure of the sporangia. FLOWERING FERN. Osmunda regalis. THE RATTLESNAKE FERN AND THE ADDER’S-TONGUE. “The leaves of adder’s-tongue stamped in a stone mortar and boiled in olive oyle unto the consumption of the juice, and until the herbs be dried, and parched and then strained, will yeelde most ex- cellent greene oyle or rather balsame for greene wounds comparable to oyle of St. John’s-wort if it do not farre surpasse it.”"—GERARDE. THE RATTLESNAKE FERN AND THE ADDER’S-TONGUE, *\ DMIRERS of ferns have always been puzzled ‘to understand why ferns and serpents should be so indissolubly joined in popular opinion. Just as the average individual imagines every species of snake to possess fangs and venom and regards it as something like a duty to kill it, so does he consider ferns to be the natural protectors of these creatures and to be shunned accordingly. This suspicion of the ferns may not have originated as early as our antipathy to serpents, but it seems scarcely less deeply rooted in human nature. We have hardly passed the age when ferns were supposed to be endowed with the power to work charms, discover treasure and terrorize devils. It is possible that the mys- terious way in which they reproduce their kind without visible flowers and seed and the haunts they affect in the dank thickets and gloomy ravines have contributed to keep alive the superstitions concerning them; but what- ever the cause, several of these harmless plants are still known as snake-brakes while the two to be mentioned in this chapter have been singled out as special objects of aversion. The Rattlesnake Fern. Probably there is no fern in whose haunts serpents of any kind are less frequent, than the species which bears 42 RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER’S-TONGUE. the terrifying name of the rattlesnake fern (Botrychium Virginianum). It isa woodland species but by no means to be charged with harbouring the venomous serpent for which it is named. It delights in dim moist hollows, and is quite impatient of the sun, soon disappearing from a locality when the protecting trees are removed. In southern New York, the single fronds of this species begin to push up about the last week in April. Unlike higher types of ferns, they are folded rather than coiled in the bud and come out of the earth almost erect. Many suppose that each plant has two fronds, a fertile and sterile, but this isa mistake. There is but a single frond divided into a fertile and sterile portion. The sterile half expands soon after it appears above ground but the fertile is most deliberate and requires fully a month longer to mature. In June the spores are pro- duced and then, having fulfilled its mission, the fruiting part begins to wither. It often disappears by July, al- though vestiges of it may be found on the frond all summer. This species is often three feet high and when full grown is a handsome plant. The sterile blade, borne some dis- tance above the earth by the fleshy stipe, ‘i spreads horizontally in a broad flat triangle, aye and above it the fertile portion rises several if inches. The blade is usually described as ter- nate, but it is easily seen that two of the three divisions are really the enlarged lower pair of pinne. Calling these pinnz, the frond is quadripinnate ; or tripinnate with pinnatifid pinne below, and once or twice pinnate with pinnatifid pinne above. The segments are about ovate in outline. The fertile part is two or three times pin- mo SPORANGIA. RATTLESNAKE FERN. Bolrychinm Virginianuni, RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER’S-TONGUE. 43 nate with double rows of sporangia along the midribs. Occasionally a plant bears two fertile spikes. The spores are abundant, bright yellow, and escape from the cap- sules through a narrow transverse slit. The blade is noticeably thin and when dried is exceedingly delicate. The rootstock is scarcely discernible, the stipe seeming to spring from a tangle of thick fleshy roots radiating horizontally afew inches underground. Next year’s leaf bud is enclosed in a hollow in the side of the growing stipe at base, and its tiny stipe encloses a still smaller bud which in turn encloses another, the latter destined not to develop for three yearsto come. According to Campbell's ‘‘Mosses and Ferns,” the development of the sporangia begins fully a year before the spores are shed. Within our limits, this species never has more than a single frond, except by accident, but in the West Indies it normally appears with two. The author of the “ Ferns of Jamaica” remarks, ‘“ There are two fronds to each plant, one without and the other with, the fertile division.” The writer, who recently collected fine specimens in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, discovered, however, that the fern is still true to its habit of producing but one frond a year. The frond lacking the fertile division proves to be the frond of the preceding year which the mild climate allows to remain green until the next frond is produced. The scar left by the withering of the fertile spike is quite noticeable. Another peculiarity of this species is the great disparity in the size of fruiting plants and in the large proportion of apparently full-grown specimens that are sterile. Some bear fruit when but a few inches high, but others near by, twice as large, do not. The cause of this sterility in the large plants is unknown unless it may be explained upon 44 RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER’S-TONGUE. i eats eapaly WON the supposition that they rest in alternate years. Something of this kind is hinted to exist among the adder’s-tongues, and as the Botrychiums are closely allied, they may have the same habit. The name of rattlesnake fern is probably due to the likeness which may be fancied to exist between the spikes of fruit and the rattles of the serpent. It is sometimes called the grape fern, also in allusion to its clus- ters of spore-cases, but this title more properly belongs to a _ related species. In the south- ern Alleghanies it is fre- quently known as “in- dicator’’ from the supposi- tion that ay its occur. ye Fence indi- cates the proximity Hemlock - leaved of ginseng. moonwort and Virginia moonwort are obvious derivations, the true moonwort belonging to the Botry- chium family. RATTLESNAKE FERN, Botrychium Virginianum., RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER’S-TONGUE. 45 Our plant is found from New Brunswick to the Tropics and the Pacific Coast. Throughout most of this region it is fairly common. It has numerous relatives but none resemble it enough to be mistaken for it. It grows readily in cultivation if given shade, moisture and a light soil. Specimens that have been considered indentical with our plant have been reported from Europe and Asia. The Adder s- Tongue. It is safe to say that the adder’s-tongue (Ophioglossum vulgatum) is much better known to the collector from pictures and herbarium specimens than it is from experi- ence inthe field. Although the plant is widely distrib- uted and when found at all is likely to be abundant, the many who have carefully and unavailingly searched their localities for it are quite willing to admit that this abund- ance is not general. Still, it may happen after all, that the plant has only been overlooked, for it is not conspic- uous, and some day when least expected may appear. So the search continues. All who have once found it, testify to the ease with which they subsequently find other stations for it, and incline to the belief that its single leaf is often passed under the impression that it is the leaf of some flowering plant, such as Pogonia or the two-leaved Solomon’s seal. It seems a plant that one must first discover by accident before he can find it by intention. Doubtless the most promising place to look for it is among the grasses and sedges in moist meadows, but upon this point there is considerable difference of opinion. Some years ago, several writers gave their experience in collecting it,in the Fern Bulletin. One wrote that in northern New York, he found it in “dry pastures, on and 46 RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER’S-TONGUE. about hummocks of hemlock loam”’ and added “it is sel-‘ dom found in moist places.” Another in Vermont says “in old meadows, they will grow in little hollows where it is richer and more moist ” while still another in Kentucky found it common “in dry open woods”’ and writes that “it may safely be looked for in red cedar groves,’ adding, “I know few such places where it does not grow.” In contrast to these, Mr. A. A. Eaton has found fine large plants in seven inches of sphagnum moss in New Hamp- shire swamps. The tallest specimens are seldom more than a foot high while the great majority do not attain to half this size. The blade or sterile portion is oblong, lanceolate or ovate, usu- ally with a narrow base, and is rather fleshy. It is from two to four inches long and is borne low down in the grass near the middle of the common stalk. The nar- row fruiting spike is from half an inch to two inches in length and consists of two rows of sporanges embedded in the tissue at the top of ay the stalk. This is a more ADDER’S-TONGUE. Ofhioglossum vulgatunt, PLATE | THE ADDER'S TONGUE. Ophioglossum vulsatum. COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY FREDERICK A STOKES COMPANY PRINTED (N AMERICA RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER’S-TONGUE. 47 primitive way of bearing spores than is found in most ferns and is considered an indication that the Ophioglossums are very ancient forms. The rootstock is short and produces many short fleshy roots. Here and there adventitious buds may be formed upon them and new plants result. In some species in this genus, this is said to be the chief method of propa- gation. The prothallia are apparently seldom developed, perhaps because this way of getting new plantsis so much surer. The curious manner in which the adder’s- tongue appears and disappears in the same spot in differ- ent years has given ground for the belief that the plants occasionally rest for aseason. Itis also conjectured that the prothallia may form resting bodies as the prothallia of certain other species of ferns are known to do. , In 1897 a party of botanists found a colony of small Ophioglossums in southern New Jersey, specimens of which were subsequently described as O. arenarium. This is apparently only a depauperate form of the com- mon species due to the sterile soil in which it grows. It is described as about half the size of vu/gatum with a rather lanceolate sterile portion in which there are from five to seven basal veins. The describer writes of it “It seems a little difficult to tell some of the young fronds of O7. vulgatum from the mature ones of O. arenarium, and yet the extremes are so different and the habit and habitat so distinct that I have concluded to retain them as separate species. That O. arenartum has originated from O. vulgatum and that intermediate forms may be found in young or poorly developed specimens, does not alter the view from the modern standpoint of evolution.” It is probable that the majority of botanists would con- sider this more properly placed as O. vulgatum arenarium and not as a separate species. 48 RATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER’S-TONGUE. In America the adder’s-tongue is found from Canada to Florida, Missouri and sparingly to California. In the Old World it occurs in Europe, Asia, Africa and Aus- tralia. Considering its wide distribution, some difference in specimens from remote points may be expected. In the western part of our range, there is a form named LEngelmannt. It may be distinguished from the type by the slender stipe and apiculate sterile portion with broad areolae and anastomosing veins. It is found as far east as Virginia. This also is probably a form of vulgatum and better characterised as O. vulgatum Engel. , manit, The common name of adder’s-tongue is much older than the scientific Ophioglossum and both have the same meaning. Adder’s-spear, adder’s-spit and other names formerly in use, all refer to a fancied resemblance be- tween the plant and the adder. The fronds were long used as the principal ingredient in “adder’s-spear oint- ment ” to make which they were boiled with unsalted butter. Drayton alludes to its use in the lines “For them that are with newts, or snakes or adders stung He seeketh out a herb that’s called adder’s-tongue, As Nature it ordained its own like hurts to cure, And sportive, did herself to niceties inure.” There are about twenty species of Ophioglossum known. In northeastern America, there is but a single species unless the two forms noted should prove distinct. Three other species are sometimes found in tropical parts of the United States. THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. Z a Fon ais hia fe ante Se HERE is an herb, some say, whose virtue’s such It in the pasture, enly with j a touch “ Unsheoes the new-shod steed.” Withers. THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. r ae ITH the exception of the rattlesnake and common grape ferns, the members of the Botrychium family, although somewhat widely dispersed in eastern America, are very little known, even to the botanizing public. In the books they are usually set down as rart, but whether this is really the case, or whether their small size enables them to es- cape observation, it is difficult to say. It is pos sible to find most of our ferns by diligent search in suitable situations but the Botrychiums usually elude such attempts to discover them and are likeliest to appear when one is looking for something else. Once discovered, they are often found in considerable numbers and are not rare in collections, although comparatively few have seen them growing. The Moonwort. The moonwort (Botrychium Lunaria) is a fat little plant that delights to grow in old fields in many parts of the world but is exceedingly rare in the United States. Like all the Botrychiums it bears but one frond annually, divided after the usual manner into a fertile and sterile portion. This comes up out of the earth stiff and erect although the tip of the sterile part is slightly bent down- 52 THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. ward as if half inclined to coil after the manner of the true ferns. It seldom grows more than a few inches high, twelve inches being probably the maximum height. The blade is usually sessile, longer than wide, and borne at or above the middle of the stem. It is usually pinnate, though some- what disposed to vary, and has from two to eight pairs of lobes or pinnz which may be set close together or some distance apart. In outline, they are fan-shaped, or with a rounded outer edge which gives them enough the shape of a half-moon to suggest the common name. { The fertile division is sometimes no longer than the sterile and is twice or thrice pin- nate. The frond is annual, dying at the } approach of winter. The bud for the next year is enclosed in the base of the stipe. In the Old World, this plant was once held in great repute for its supposed power of working all sorts of wonders. Its old names of ‘“‘blasting-root’”” and “spring- wurzel” were given it under the impres- sion that the strongest locks would give way if it were merely brought in contact with them. To a more matter-of-fact generation it will doubtless seem strange that noone thought to make a test of its pow- MOONWORT. Botrychium Lunaria, THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. 53 ers and so set the matter at rest. The old botanist, Culpepper, who wrote about 1650, says of the moon- wort’s reputed power to unshoe horses “ Moonwort is an herb which they say will open locks and unshoe such horses as tread upon it; these some laugh to scorn, and these no small fools neither, but country people that I know, cal it Unshoe the Horse; besides I have heard commanders say that on White down in Devon- shire near Tiverton there were found thirty hors-shoes pulled from the feet of the Earl of Essex, his horses being there drawn up in a body, many of them but newly shod and no reason known which caused much admira- tion ; and the herb described usually grows upon heaths.” Another ancient writer has done the idea into rhyme, as follows :— “ Horses that feeding on the grassy hills, Tread upon moonwort with their hollow heels, Though lately shod, at night goe barefoot home, Their maister musing where thir shooes be gone. O moonwort, tell us where thou hid’st the smith Hammer and pincers thou unshodst them with, Alas, what lock or iron engine is’t That can thy subtile secret strength resist, Sith the best farrier cannot set a shoe So sure, but thou so shortly cans’t undoe.” There was, however, some protest against these beliefs as may be seen from this quotation from Parkinson. “It hath beene formerly related by impostors and false knaves, and is yet believed by many, that it will loosen lockes, fetters and shoes from those horses feete that goe in the places where it groweth; and have been so audatious to contest with those who have contradicted them, that they have been known and seene it to doe so; but what observation soever such persons doe make, it is all but false suggestions and meere lyes.” Accord- 54 THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. ing to the “Doctrine of Signatures” the shape of its pinnules showed this plant to be under the influence of the moon and therefore good for all diseases of a peri- odic character and especially valuable for the cure of lunacy which was supposed in some way to be caused by that luminary. To be efficient, it had to be gathered at full moon and by its light. “Then rapidly with foot as light As the young musk roe’s, out she flew, To cull each shining leaf that grew Beneath the moonlight’s hallowing beams.” The moonwort is a boreal species. It is found in Greenland, Alaska and in the United States as far south as Connecticut, New York, Michigan and Colorado. Near its southern limits it is extremely rare, the records usually resting upon avery limited number of specimens. In British America it is said to be not uncommon. It is also found in Northern Europe and Asia. Across the water its habitat is given as ‘‘open heaths, moors and elevated rocky pastures.” It is regarded as “local, rather than rare” in England. The Common Grape Fern. The common grape fern (Botrychium obliquun) is not rare in eastern America, but owing to its retiring dis- position cannot always be found when wanted. It de- lights to grow in half-cultivated lands where some friendly rock or stump protects it from the tread of cat- tle and the implements of the farmer. One often finds it as he climbs over an old stone wall or crosses a bushy pasture, especially if the spot be moist, but on other occasions he may search the countryside in vain for specimens. THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. 55 The triangular, much divided blade and heavy fruiting panicle of this species gives it considerable superficial resemblance to the rattlesnake fern but there is little chance that they will be confused in the field. The rattlesnake fern has shed its spores and the fertile part has withered and gone, long before the grape fern has thought of coming up. Of all our species, this is latest to appear. Often it does not start into growth until late in July and the spores are not ripe until September or October. It also has the distinction of being our only evergreen Botrychium. At the approach of cold weather the fertile portion decays while the sterile merely takes on a rich bronze hue and braves the frost and snow. In late fall and early spring it is quite con- spicuous and the collector often locates his specimens at such seasons, returning later to collect them. The old frond usually remains until the new one has developed, just as that of the rattlesnake fern does, further south. The grape fern is from six to eighteen inches in height and quite fleshy. The blade approaches the triangular in outline and springs from the common stalk near the base. It is itself long stalked, the latter feature serving to distinguish it from its allies in northeastern America. There are six or more pairs of stalked pinne each of which is again pinnate with lobed or incised pinnules. The blade is frequently described as ternate, because the lowest pair of pinne are nearly as large as the rest of the frond. The pinnules and segments are quite variable in shape and cutting and these differences are often con- sidered of sufficient importance to warrant the making of numerous varieties or even species. The sterile part of the frond spreads nearly horizontally but the fertile is much taller and quite erect. The latter is about three 56 THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. times pinnate. The plant often shows a remarkable tendency to double the fertile spike, and specimens with three complete fertile panicles, each on a separate stalk, are not rare. The rootstock, as inall the Botrychiums, is short and sends out numerous fleshy roots. The base of the living stipe com- pletely encloses the buds for succeeding years. Frequently the buds for four years to come may be discerned. The rootstock is reported to occasionally bear two fronds as the ad- der’s-tongue does. Throughout most of the grape fern’s range, especially near the seaboard, there is an interesting va- riety whose principal difference is that the foliage is very finely dissected, the ultimate segments ending in slender Y-shaped divisions, that give it a very fine and lace-like appearance. This was formerly known as the variety d7s- sectum but some botanists now incline to give it specific rank. If this is a distinct species, its resemblance to BL. obliquum is truly re- markable. It affects the me > same habitats, fruits at R the same time and has the same trick of waiting until COMMON GRAPE FERN. Botrvchium obliquum. THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. 57 July to produce its new frond. The sterile part is also evergreen. Intermediate forms are not uncommon and the geographical distribution is essentially the same. In view of these facts, it seems best to regard it as only a variety of obliquum. It probably attains its best devel- opment in places where there is more moisture than is agreeable to the type. Along the coast it is nearly as plentiful as B. obléquum and pro- duces luxuriant deeply- cut blades. Inland the blade tends to become less dissected. Until recently botanists have considered our spe- cies a variety of Botrych- zum ternatum. The latter was discovered in Japan by Thunberg and there seems to be good reasons for believing ours to bea | different species. It is found from New \ Brunswick and Ontario to Minnesota, Mex- ico and Florida, frequenting shady fencerows and swampy woods. There are four forms in the West and one in the South that are closely related to our species and are often classed as varieties of it. Small forms from New York and New England are sometimes referred to B. Matricarig of Europe, and a form with larger blades on shorter stalks is the form ¢zterime- dium. The species and the varieties Botrychium obliquum dissectum. 58 THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. take kindly to cultivation if taken up with plenty of soil and, after replanting, left to themselves. They resent any digging about their roots. The Littl Grape Fern. The little grape fern (Botrychium simplex) is among the rarest of our Botrychiums, Whether this is alone due to its small size, or whether it really is rare in the south- ern part of its range, we have scarcely enough data to decide. It has been re- ported from a few localities in Massachu- setts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland and Wyoming and appears to increase in num- bers as we go northward. In Dodge's “Ferns and Fern Allies of New England,” it is reported as “abundantly scattered over Vermont, its habitat usually poor soil, especially knolls of hill pastures.” By oth- ers the habitat is given as “moist woods, meadows and swamps.” Mature plants are usually less than three inches high although luxuriant specimens may reach twice that height. The plant has a reputation for being extremely varia- ble as may be judged from this description taken fromarecent botanical work. ‘“ Ster- ile portion ovate, obovate or oblong, entire, lobed or pinnately parted, borne near the we pees base of the stem or higher, sometimes above ium simplex. the middle; fertile portion a simple or slightly compound spike, sometimes reduced to only a few sporan- gia. Spores large for the genus.” Six varieties have been described but it is not difficult to select a complete suite THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. 59 of intergrading specimens. The plant is quite fleshy and usually has the sterile part stalked and attached to the main stem near the base. It also occurs in Europe. The Lance-Leaved Grape Fern. In some parts of its range, the lance- leaved grape fern (Botrychium lanceola- tun) is very abundant but it is not un- common for collectors to search for years without finding it. As yet, compara- tively little is known about its habitats. In Canada it is said to grow on ‘the shaded mossy banks of streams and in rich moist woods and low pastures.” In central New York it is reported to be found “in shade, but generally in shaly soil that is almost barren of undergrowth and has buta slight covering of vegetable mould.” In Pennsylvania the author has seen hundreds of these plants growing in the rich moist hollows of beech and maple woods at an altitude of about 2,100 feet. The underground portion of this spe- cies consists of atangle ofstout roots, one of which, descending perpendicularly, gives off irregular whorls of other roots, at intervals. Single roots are frequently sev- 7 eral times longer than the part of the plant above ground. The frond is some- what fleshy and from three to nine inches high with the sterile division sessile near —~f the top of the stem. It is somewhat Lancr-LeaveD . : 2 * GRAPE FERN. Botry- triangular in outline with two or more “Shin danccolatum 6o THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. pairs of opposite pinne, the lowest pair, of course, much the largest, as befits a Botrychium. The pinne are them- selves usually pinnatifid with lobed or sharp-toothed seg- ments, but show a decided tendency to vary. In general aspect, the blade resembles a very small specimen of the rattlesnake fern. The fertile portion but slightly overtops the sterile and is twice or thrice pinnate. Inthe southern part of its range, the spores are ripe about the last week in July. Botrychium lanceolatum is found from New Jersey, Ohio, Colorado and Washington to the far north. South- ward it appears to be an upland species and should be sought in moist level stretches of deciduous woods. In such places it is often found very plentifully over several acres. One of its constant companions isthe rattlesnake fern. The species is also found in both Europe and Asia. The illustrations for this and the following species were drawn from specimens collected by the author at Ararat, Penna., where they were found growing in company. Matricary Grape Fern. All that has been said of the lance-leaved grape fern, may with equal truth be applied to the matricary grape fern (Botrychium matricariefolium) with which it is al- most invariably associated. Good botanists have often held that the two are but different forms of the same species. There are many intergrading forms, but each type remains fairly constant in a few particulars that seem to warrant usin considering them distinct. The most important is the difference in the time of fruiting. The present species fruits nearly a month earlier than lanceolatum, its spores often ripening by the middle of PLATE il. a THE MATRICARY GRAPE FERN. Sotrychium matricariafolium. COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY FREDERICK A STOKES COMPANY PRINTED IN AMERICA THE MOONWORT AND ITs ALLIES. 61 June. It is also a taller, fleshier plant and rather the more common of the two. The fronds are from four to twelve inches high and the blade, which is in- clined to be ovate in outline, is situated a short distance below the fruiting spike. In small plants it may be only pinnatifid but in the larger species it is usually twice pinnate. In all, the final divisions are rather blunt. The fertile portion is usually taller than the sterile and twice or thrice pinnate. The ster- ile division differs from that of danceola- tum in being stalked after the manner of B. oblequum although the frond it- self is more nearly like that of B. Lunarta. In North America this species has the same range as B. /anceolatum and in Europe both species are found to- gether. Recently botanists have ques- tioned the identity of our species with the European one. If they are not the same, our plant would be known as B. neglectum. In 1898 Mr. A. A. Eaton discovered in a New Hampshire sphagnum swamp a large number of peculiar Botrychz- ums which have since been described as anew speciesand named Botrychium tenebrosum. Many botanists incline to regard these specimens as forms of 2. MATRICARY GRAPE FERN. Botrychium matricariafolium, 62 THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. matricariefolium that have grown in situations unsuited to them. Ilhey would therefore seem more properly named &. mutricariefolium tenebrosum. The smallest are only an inch high with tiny threadlike stems and minute fertile and_ sterile parts, while the larger sometimes reach a length of nine inches. They can hardly be called nine inches high, since in such specimens the stem is usually decumbent with two or three inches of the stipe under ground. Like B. sampler, this form is ex. tremely variable. In speaking of it at the Boston Meeting of the Fern Chap- ter in 1898, Mr. Eaton said: “ The av- erage height above ground is two inches and most commonly the sterile lamina is sessile or slightly stalked, less than one quarter of an inch long, the edge inflexed and top bent down just as it covered the fertile divison. . In this state the sterile division bears one lobe or notch on each side and the apex isemarginate. Often it bears a sporangium and may even bear one or two on each lobe. From this there may be found a regular series up to ‘ the fully developed form, one and three fourths of an inch long, of which three fourths of an inch is petiole. There are in this two or three pairs of Botrychium matricarie. semi-lunate lobes, the lower of which Joie unirom®: see alternate and all decurrent. « In small specimens the fertile division is overtopped by the sterile, but in the larger plants, the sterile division THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. 63 reaches only to the base of the fertile. The latter varies in size from a short stalked division bearing one or two sporangia to a spike two inches in length.” Mr. Eaton writes me that ¢excbrosum can always be distinguished from its allies by the notch in the tip of the sterile portion and by the spores which are nearly twice as large as those of szimplex. The plant’s small size and variable nature have caused it to be regarded as a variety of B. simplex also. Tenebrosum grows on the borders of maple swamps. Where the earth is deeply covered with leaves, many specimens are never able to reach,the light and air, but bear fruit, nevertheless. Thus far it has been reported from Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York. It is likely to be found elsewhere within the range of the other small Botrychiums. In some spots, two hundred and fifty specimens have been collected in anhour. Our illustration was made from specimens col- lected by Mr. Eaton. The name of the genus is derived from a Greek word meaning a bunch of grapes and was given to this family in allusion to its clustered spore-cases. There are twenty- five or more species, widely scattered on the globe. In America, they are exceedingly variable and present some puzzling questions to the student. ‘Judging from size and external appearances alone,” writes Prof. Under- wood, “a regular gradation of forms might be arranged from the most diminutive undivided fronds of B. semplex to the largest of B. Virginzanum. THE BRACKEN. ‘As a coming screen grows the bracken green; Up springeth it fair and free, Where in many a fold, grotesque and old, Twineth the hawthorne tree; A covert meet from the noontide heat, Or should you steal anear, You may chance to discern, neath the spreading fern, The antlers of the deer. “Jt boasteth a name of mystic fame, For who findeth its magic seed A witching and weirdly gift may claim, To help him at his need: Unseen, unknown he may pass alone Who owneth the fern-seed’s spell ; Like the viewless blast, he sweepeth past, And walks invisible ! “Have ye to learn how the eagle fern Doth in its heart enshrine An oak tree like that which the hunter Hearn Haunted in days ‘lang syne?’ An oak tree small is repeated all Complete in branch and root, Like the tree whereunto King Charles did flee, When pressed by hot pursuit. “O eagle fern, when I thee discern When thy withered leaf I meet, In places the careless foot might spurn, The crowded mart or street, Thou takest me back to thy birthplace fair, Where thou wavest in thy pride, And the form of the hare and the deer’s close lair Doth mid thy stems abide.” —Mary ISABELLA TOMKINS. THE BRACKEN. ' Tis no easier to account for the likes and dislikes of ferns, than it is for those of more highly organized beings. Our ferns annually cast their spores by millions upon the wind to be sown broadcast, but the majority have seldom been able to get beyond their rather restricted limits, although the adjacent territory seems just as favourable to their growth. There are a few conspicuous exceptions to this rule, however, such as the cosmopolitan polypody, bladder fern and maidenhair spleenwort, but none of these are at home in so many places as our single representative of the brackens. There are nearly a hundred other species of this genus scattered about the world, but our plant has a wider range, both geographically and altitudinally than all the rest of its family together. Wherever the bracken (Preris aguilina) grows, it forms a conspicuous feature of the landscape. In British song and story it is constantly associated with the wildness and desolation of heath, moor and mountain side. “ The heath this night must be my bed The bracken curtain for my head.” sings Scott, while Cowper, drawing a picture of untamed nature, speaks of “ The common overgrown with fern, and rough With prickly gorse.” 7O THE BRACKEN. Less mention of this species is made by our own writers, though it is surely not for lack of occasion, as it fills a distinctive place in our scenery. It is perhaps the commonest American fern. Found both in the wood- land and the open field, its favourite haunt is in neither, but in that half-way ground where man leaves off and Nature begins—the copse or thicket. Unlike most ferns, it seems to care little for shade. Given a scrubby hill-top or a neglected roadside half grown up to weeds and bushes and the bracken is sure to be there. It is the dominant fern of the half reclaimed lands. Indeed, it is said that the word brake, by which the fern is often known, is from an old Saxon word for fallow or clearing and that it was given to this fern because it is the first green thing to spring up in such places after they have been burned over. The word has since come to be applied, though less properly, to many of our larger ferns. The prevalent idea that brakes differ in some mysterious way from true ferns is without foundation in fact. The most prominent characteristics of this fern are strength and coarseness, qualities well in keeping with the tangles in which it dwells. In eastern America it seldom grows more than three feet high with fronds that spread more than a yard across, but in more favourable localities it reaches a much larger size. Specimens thir- ‘teen’ feet long have been recorded from Ireland. Wil- liamson notes that in the Alleghanies it covers large tracts and becomes the favourite haunt of the deer. Although the bracken is not particular as regards habitat its presence is supposed to indicate a thin and barren soil. The rootstock is black, smooth and about as thick as ones little-finger. It is rather deep in the earth and THE BRACKEN. 71 creeps for long distances. A good strong plant fre- quently has a rootstock measuring twenty feet or more in length. In endeavouring to avoid obstructions in the soil, it has been known to go to depths of fifteen feet. It branches freely and secondary rootstocks are frequently given off from the base of the stipes. Although very abundant in northern countries, this species is quite sensitive to cold. A late spring frost frequently cuts down the young crosiers and the mature Oars A TUN N A BRACKEN. Preris aguilina. Lower Pinna. fronds early turn brown under the frosts of autumn although they commonly remain erect for most of the winter. The crosiers are quite characteristic and easily distinguished from all others. They are covered with a fine silvery-gray pubescence and the three divisions un- rolling separately from the stiff stipes look not unlike the claws of some large bird. No doubt this accounts for the name of turkey foot fern, sometimes applied to it. 72 THE BRACKEN, The fronds are produced all summer, rising from the rootstock at intervals of from six inches to six feet. They are triangular in outline and ternately divided ; that is, the lowest pair of pinne are so much larger than the rest, that the frond appears as if made up of three nearly equal divisions. Counting these lowest divisions as pinne, the frond is three times pinnate below and passes by every gradation upward to the pinnate apex. In very large specimens the basal pinnules on the lower pinne are again lobed or parted, making this part of the frond nearly quadripinnate. The pinnules are narrow, two or three times longer than broad and set fairly close along the midrib. The fruit is borne in a continuous narrow line on the margin of the pinnules and is covered by an indusium formed of its reflexed edges. There is said to bea second indusium, also, attached within the receptacle and spreading beneath the sporangia but this is not to be discerned in most specimens. When young the outer indusium forms a silvery-white edging on the underside of the pinnules, but as the spore-cases mature, they peep from under it, and turning a deep rich brown, cause the frond to look as if embroidered. The bracken has many common names. Brake, bracken and eagle fern are the only ones in ordinary use in America. The last, as well as the specific name aquilina, is supposed to have been given to the plant from some eagle-like characteristic, but whether this is found in the claw-like crosiers, the broad fronds like an eagle’s wings, or the spread-eagle which some fancy they see in a section of the stem, is not apparent. Erne fern, an old name for this species, is merely another variation for eagle fern, erne or herne, signifying eagle. The name THE BRACKEN. 73 of umbrella fern refers to the spreading character of the fronds, and oak fern is another allusion to the appearance of a cross section of the stem. In Arkansas it is reported to be called upland fern. The word bracken forms part of many English surnames, and fern, farn and fearn, probably referring to the same species form part of as many more. The superstitions that cluster about the bracken are very numerous. A cross section of the stem presents a curious arrangement of the vascular tissues which some have likened to the letter C. Accordingly the plant was supposed to be good to protect one from goblins and witches “because it bears the initial of Christ upon its root.” The ‘canny Scot,” on the other hand, sees in this sec- tion the mark of the devil’s hoof. The appearance may also be fancied to resem- ble an oak tree and is frequently called “King Charles in the Oak.’ One an- cient writer says, “If you cut the root of the bracken slantwise you will see the picture of an oak tree. The more per- «kKInG CHARLES fect the representation, the more lucky IN THE OAK.” youwill be.”” By others the arrangement was held to form the initial of one’s sweetheart. The smoke from burning ferns also had its virtues. Parkinson says, ‘“ The fume of ferne being burned, driv- eth away serpents, gnats and other noisome creatures ” and that ‘the sent of. it is very gratefull to the braine.”’ In the seventeenth century it was customary to burn the bracken when rain was needed. It is said there is still in existence aletter from an early English king, who, desirous of having fine weather during his visit to Staf- 74 THE BRACKEN. fordshire, enjoined the High Sheriff to forbear burning the bracken. The bracken is also the species originally reputed to bear the “ mystic fern seed” and was called the female fern. According to the legend, fern seed could be ob- tained from this ” “Wondrous one-night-seeding fern ” only on midsummer eve. “ But on St, John’s mysterious night, Sacred to many a wizard spell, The time when first to human sight Confest, the mystic fern seed fell : I'll seek the shaggy, fern-clad hill Where time has delved a dreary dell Befitting best a hermit’s cell ; And watch ‘mid murmurs muttering stern The seed departing from the fern, Ere watchful demons can convey The wonder-working charm away, And tempt the blows from arm unseen Should thoughts unholy intervene,” At dusk the plant was supposed to put forth a small blue flower which soon gave place to a shining, flery seed that ripened at midnight. If it fell from the stem of its own accord and was caught in a white napkin, it was supposed to confer upon its possessor the power to be- come invisible. Thus one of Shakespeare's characters is made to say, “We have the receipt for fern-seed ; We walk invisible.” For another way of obtaining fern seed, I quote an ancient authority. “ Although that all they that have THE BRACKEN. 75 written of herbes have affyrmed and holden that the brake hath nether sede nor frute, yet have I dyvers tymes proved the contrarrye. . . . I have foure yeres to- gether, one after another upon the vigill of Saynte John the Baptiste . . . soughte for this sede of brakes upon the nyghte and indeed found it earlye in the mornynge before the daye brake. The sede was small, blacke and like unto poppye. ... 1 gathered it after this manner. I laid shetes and mollen leaves underneath the brakes which receyved the sede that was by shakyng and beatynge broughte out of the branches and leaves. . . I went about this busy- ness, all figures, conjur- ings, saunter’s charms, wychcraft,andsorceryes sett asyde, takyng wyth me two or three honest é PRE are men to bere me com- panye.” If the charm failed to work, no doubt it was because all “ sorceryes ” were “ sett asyde.” Those who observed all the rules and waited for the small blue flower, no doubt came home disappointed. ‘‘ Watching the fern,” as this practice was called, had too much of black art in it to suit the Church, and in France a Synod condemned all who should gather ferns or fern seed on St. John’s eve. This is also one of the few species for which uses have been found. Asa packing for fruit, fish and vegetables it has the reputation of keeping off mildew and decay. In 76 THE BRACKEN. Europe, in times of scarcity, the roots have been ground and mixed with flour in making bread, and also brewed with the beer. The young crosiers may be cooked and eaten like asparagus. It is said that these are often offered for sale in the Japanese markets. The fresh plants contain much tannic and other acids and have been used in tanning light leathers. In Scotland they were formerly burned while green and the ashes made into balls and used instead of soap. The fronds make a brisk fire, and according to Withering, have been used for burning limestone. The ashes have also been used in making glass. Houses have been thatched with the fronds and in many parts of the world they are cut asa bedding for stock. Pteris aguilina pseudocaudata. Lower Pinna. “In June and in August, as well doth appeare, Is best to mowe brakes of all times of the yeere.” The bracken is seldom found in the fern garden, per- haps because it is so common in field and wood as to THE BRACKEN. 77 almost justify its being considered a weed. The great spreading fronds, however, are not without their place in effective plantings. The species is one of the most diffi- cult to transplant. The long running rootstock can rarely be taken up entire and those who can make it grow in new quarters regard it as an accomplishment. It is about as hard to start in a new place as it is to root it out when it has once obtaineda hold. Those who intend to cultivate it should take up very small plants with plenty of earth early in spring. A few months will suf- fice to produce fine large fronds. In dry sandy soil there is a variety of bracken known as pseudocaudata which differs from the type in its longer, narrower and more distant pinnules. It is found from Long Island to the Gulf of Mexico and Arizona, and is especially abundant in the pine barrens. The part ofa frond shown is from a Long Island specimen collected by the author. It has frequently been confused with P. caudata, a species common in the Tropics and which also occurs in the southern part of the United States. In western America the common bracken gives way to the variety known as lanuginosa or pubescens which in ad- dition to being much taller is densely woolly underneath. The generic name, Prers, is an ancient name for ferns in general, from a Greek word meaning a wing. Its application to this class of plants, containing as it does so many feathery forms, was exceedingly appropriate. The term is now restricted to the bracken family. Since our plant differs from other species of Prerzs in occasionally possessing a second fugacious indusium it has been pro- posed to place it in a separate genus as Pteridium but this seems an over refinement. THE BRACKEN ROOTSTOCK. THE CLIFF BRAKES. atc wt Far upward ‘neath a shelving cliff Where cool and deep the shadows fall, The trembling fern its graceful fronds Displays along the mossy wall. The wildflowers shun these craggy heights— Their haunts are in the vale below; But beauty ever clothes the rocks Where Nature bids the ferns to grow. Let others cull the flowers that bloom By wood and field, by stream and hedge ; For me there grows the dainty fern That droops upon the stony ledge. THE CLIFF BRAKES, HE bracken is now considered to be the sole representative of its genus in northeastern America. Time was, however, when other species were classed with it, but owing to some slight differences in the manner of fruiting, these: latter are now placed in the genus Pellea. Superficially examined, the fruiting seems to be identical, but there is this difference: in q Pteris the sporangia are borne on a continuous receptacle connect- ing the ends of the veins, on the margin of the pinnules; in Pellea the sporangia are borne in dot- like masses at the ends of free veins, inside the margins. The indusia are similar and when the spore-cases of Pellea are ripe, they frequently appear to form : _> a continuous line, Ble as in Preris. WINTER BRAKE, Pellea atropurpured. 84 THE CLIFF BRAKES. The Winter Brake. Those who dwell in other than limestone regions, have not a very good chance of finding the winter brake (Pellea atropurpurea) at home. It is not entirely con- fined to calcareous rocks, but its occurrence upon other kinds is sufficiently rare to be noteworthy. Next to limestone, its preference is for sandstone, though even on limestone it is peculiar in its choice of situations and is common only here and there. It seems impatient of deep shade and not very particular as to moisture, in this showing one of the bracken’s traits. It often thrives on dry cliffs in full sun. Several things combine to make the winter brake a striking species. Especially is this so in regard to the colours it displays. The short creeping rootstock is covered with hairlike, bright brown scales, the stipes are dark, purplish brown and the fronds are bluish green, quite unlike the hue of ordinary species. The blade is about as long as the stipe, the whole frond measuring from four to eighteen inches in length. In a general way the blade may be described as twice pinnate below, grading upward to the pinnate apex, but it is noted for its irregularity. Small fronds may be twice pinnate and larger ones simply pinnate; an entire pinna may stand opposite a pinnate one; one side of the secondary rachis may bear lobed pinnules and the other entire ones, while eared and forking pinnules are com- mon. In sterile fronds the pinnules are oval or elliptical, but the fertile, which are somewhat taller, have broadly linear pinnules, due to the fact that part of each margin is reflexed to form the broad indusium. The infant fronds are undivided and nearly circular in outline, the WINTER BRAKE. Pell@a utropurpurea. THE CLIFF BRAKES. 85 next to appear are eared at base and in those that fol. low, the ears grow more distinct until they become sep- arate pinnules. One fancies that all the pinnules of a large frond were successively cut off from the terminal one in this way. The fronds remain green through the winter, the leathery texture of the blades enabling them to endure the cold, while the rootstock, which is frequently on the surface, is warmly wrapped in its protecting scales. When the fronds die, the pinnules drop from the rachis leaving the new growth surrounded by an_ unsightly tangle of dead stems. From the colour of the blade this is often called the blue fern, while the colour of the stipe has suggested the specific name atropurpurea as well as the common one of purple-stemmed cliff brake. The winter brake is found in suitable situations from British America to Georgia, Northern Mexico and Cal. ifornia. Its natural habitat is rocky ledges, though it occasionally grows upon the masonry of bridges and other structures. Notwithstanding its predilection for limestone, it thrives in cultivation in any good soil if not kept too wet. A fruiting pinna of this species is shown in the Key to the Genera. The Slender Cliff Brake. The slender cliff brake (Pellea gracilis) is even more closely associated with the limestone than its relative. There appears to be no record of its having been found on any but rocks of this character. In southern New York it grows on shales that contain but a small percent- age of lime, which seems to be as far as it ever gets from 86 THE CLIFF BRAKES. its natural place of growth. It is a frail and delicate species, little fitted to battle with wind and weather. It therefore seeks the shelter of shady dripping ledges and spreads its thin veiny fronds in the dim light, covering the shelving crags with graceful drapery. The fertile fronds are taller than the sterile and more erect. Occasionally they may reach a length of nine inches although usually not more than half solong. The blade is lanceolate, and, in heavily fruited fronds, twice pinnate with linear pinnules. When less fruitful the frond is usually simply pinnate with ovate pinne cut into oval or lanceolate segments, the terminal one longer and narrower than the rest. The sori are close to the margin and covered with a broad and con- spicuous indusium usually extend- ing entirely around the pinnule. The sterile fronds are generally simply pinnate with pinnatifid pinne and broad, obtuse seg. ments which are entire or irregu- larly notched. The stipes are as TIP OF FERTILE FRoNp long or longer than the blades ENLARGED. and are straw-coloured. There seems to be a complete gradation from wholly sterile fronds to those most heavily fruited. Thisis one of our most delicate species and is able to live only in deep shade and moisture. It withers at the first sign of dryness, often disappearing by the first of August in situations subject to summer drouths. The greater part ofits range appears to be north of the United SLENDER CLIFF BRAKE. Pellea yracél?s, THE CLIFF BRAKES. States. The most southern stations are in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa and Colorado, mostly in cool and elevated regions. It is quite remarkable that this thin-fronded plant which seems so little adapted to ex- tremes of temperature should be found only in cold northern countries. It is plentiful on the sides of many ravines in Central New York especially in the habitats of the hart’s tongue. It grows in Northern Asia, also. The systematists have had much trouble in placing this species satisfactorily. It was long known to American botany as Preris gracilis, Later it was called Pellea gracilis and until recently was known by that name. Then it was changed to P. Ste/lert and still later placed in another genus as Cryffo- gramma Stellert. It is likely that the major- ity of botantists will continue to call it by the name we have given at the beginning of this description. The plant figured was collected near Binghamton, N. Y., at an altitude of about goo feet. The Dense Cliff Brake. The dense cliff brake (Pellga densa) prop- erly belongs to the northwestern part of North America, being found from California and Colorado northward to Alaska, but it also strays as far east as Mt. Albert in Quebec. In this part of its range it is ex- tremely rare. Only one other eastern local- Pellwa densa. Frond, Fertile 88 THE CLIFF BRAKES. ity is known for it, namely near Durham, Gray county, Ontario, This species grows in the crevices of rocks in moun- tainous districts. The rootstock is rather small, and the wiry, purple-brown stipes, several times longer than the blades, are densely tufted. The blades are ovate-tri- angular in outline, pinnate at the summit and often four times pinnate at the base. So great is its tendency to fruit that sterile fronds are seldom seen. When they do occur, the pinnules are somewhat broader than those of the fertile fronds and are sharply serrate. In fruit the Marrow pinnules are recurved over the sori in such a manner as to have the appearance of sharp-pointed, linear, half-open pods. They vary in length from a quar- ter to half an inch and are placed very closely together. There are upwards of fifty species of Pellga. The ma- jority are inhabitants of warm regions. In California and the Southwest, there are about a dozen species, all found in rocky places. Some grow exposed to the full sun and during drouth curl up and become dry and brittle. When rain comes again the apparently dead fronds unfurl and take up vigorous life once more. The generic name is from the Greek and means dusky, in allusion to the stipes of most species. THE WOODSIAS. Across the mountain’s crest of stone Behold ! an emerald garland thrown In many a fold, as soft and fair As day-cloud idly lingering there ; And now it ripples in the breeze That scarcely stirs the forest trees ; And now it shimmers in the light In hues of brown or silvery white. ’Twould seem a vandal act to tread Where such a dainty fabric’s spread. But drawing nearer, we discern Naught save the banners of the fern; The Woodsia fern that scorns to dwell By shaded cliff, in shadowy dell, But on the gray ridge rooted fast, Fears neither sun nor tempest’s blast ; And is, like pillared saint of old, In summer’s heat, in winter’s cold, Content above the world to brood In silence and in solitude. THE WOODSIAS. HE fern collector who lives ina region abounding in shaded yin ledges of limestone may count himself fortunate, since it is in such places that the families of rock-loving ferns attain their best development. Rocks of any kind, however, unless per- fectly dry and exposed to the full sunshine, have strong at- tractions for ferns and even the sunny cliffs are not always un- tenanted, so that all are worth searching. Explorations of this kind are among the most pleasant phases of botanizing. There is such an attractive element of chance in it. It is possible that we may find only common species, but it is also possible that the next turn in the cliffs or a climb toa higher ledge may bring to our hand some rare and graceful denizen of the rocks for which we have long been looking. The Rusty Woodsia. An interesting little member of one of these rock- loving families is the rusty woodsia (Woodsia Ilvensis). In its chosen haunts it has few companions and no com- 94 THE WOODSIAS. petitors, for it elects to dwell in places where most others | cannot exist. It delights in the very crests of exposed precipices, often growing in full sun. In the region about Little Falls, N. J., it isan abundant and character- istic species, growing in dense tufts on the rugged trap- rock hillocks. A climb up the loose and crumbling ledges is not without its adventures, but one feels fully repaid for the scramble by the first sight of the woolly little plants at the top. It isa decidedly social little species ‘and is usually found with rootstocks and fronds so matted and _ inter- twined that it is difficult to decide how much belongs to any one plant. The rootstocks nestle in the shallow crevices and produce fronds all sum- mer. The young crosiers are cov- ered with a dense coat of silvery- white, hairlike scales and present an attractive picture when unfolding amidst the browns and dark greens of mature fronds. Doubtless this hairy covering is of service in pre- venting too great evaporation dur- ing the heat of summer. On old fronds the upper surface is usually little if at all hairy, but underneath, they are so woolly that the fruit-dots RUSTY WOODSIA. . (bode Vio ensiy. are almost concealed. At maturity this wool turns to a rusty brown and gives occasion for the common name. THE WOODSIAS. 95 The stipes are comparatively short and remarkable for possessing an obscure joint an inch or more above the root- stock, at which point they separate when the fronds die, leaving the bases asa sort of stubble still attached to the rootstock. Thissingle characteristic may be depended upon to distinguish the species from RoorsTock, Cheilanthes vestita, a fern which other- wise very much resembles it, evenas to habitat. The fronds seldom attain a length of more than eight inches and the average length is several inches less. They are rather stiff, long-lanceolate in outline and pinnate with numerous pinne that are themselves cut nearly to the midribs into short, rounded, close-set lobes. Occasion- ally the lobes nearest the rachis are distinct. The sori are borne on the backs of the veins on the underside of ordinary fronds and near the margins, but owing to the hair-like scales by which they are sur- rounded are seldom very noticeable. They are round in shape and have the indusium fixed underneath the sorus. The indusium, however, is scarcely entitled to the name except by courtesy. It consists simply of a few slender hairs which curve over the sporangia in youth “as if attempting to protect what they cannot conceal.” Woodsia Ilvensts is a northern species, being found in Greenland and throughout British America as well as in northern Europe and Asia. In the United States it ranges to North Carolina and Kefttucky and while it is by no means a common species, it is abundant in certain localities. It is found upon various rocks but seems to have a preference for those of igneous origin. In Canada, it is reported to lose its fronds at the approach of winter, 96 THE WOODSIAS. but further south it appears to be half evergreen. Among its common names are oblong Woodsia, hairy Woodsia and hair fern. A living plant of this species is illustrated in the initial design for this chapter. The Obtuse Woodsia. The obtuse Woodsia (IVoodsta obtusa) is the only com- mon member of the genus in eastern North America. It is to be looked for on shaded ledges and in the loose talus at the base of cliffs and seldom occurs in the ex- posed situations affected by //vensis. When it does find itself in the sun, the change is apparent at once since it takes on a yellow-green colour and becomes thicker and more erect. In length the blades vary from six to fifteen inches. They are oblong ovate in outline and once pinnate with triangular-ovate, rather distant pinnae. The pinnz are pinnatifid, or pinnate near the base, with oblong, slightly lobed pinnules and segments. Both pinnules and pinne are quite blunt. This feature is one of the points by which it may be distinguished su- perficially from Cystopterts fra- gilis with which it is very often confused. The stipes are about a third as long as the blades, light in colour and bear scattered brownish -scales. Similar scales are found on the rachis. The * blades are nearly always minutely glandular-hairy and the rootstock is short. The sori are round and borne near the edge of the segments on ordinary fronds. Under a lens they are among the most beautiful of their kind. As inall the FRUITING PINNA. tt i iit! “Ala OBTUSE WOODSIA. Woodsia obtusa. THE WOODSIAS. 97 Woodsias, the indusium is fixed to the frond underneath the sorus. In the beginning, it surrounds the sporangia, but early splits into several segments which spread out in star shape when the sorus considerably resembles a small green flower, the indusium answering to the corolla and the sporangia to the essential organs. The range of the obtuse Woodsia is almost wholly in the United States. One station in Nova Scotia is all that is known beyond our limits in the East. Southward it extends to Georgia, the Indian Territory and Arizona. It isalso reported from British Columbia and Alaska. It may occur on any shaded ledge but it is not always to be found in what appear to be suitable situations. It is usually less common than its counterpart, Cystopteris Sragilis. In the southern part of its range, the fronds are evergreen but their texture would indicate that this condition does not prevail northward. A small and more glandular form has been described as the variety glandulosa. The common form in fruit is illustrated in the Key to the Genera. In the West the obtuse Woodsia is represented by two other species which are occasionally found as far east as northern Michigan. The first of these, Woodsia Oregana, is chiefly distinguished by its narrower blade covered beneath with flattened hairs and stalked glands, its oblong-ovate, toothed pinnze and the much narrower segments of the indusium. The second species, Woodsia scopulina, has shorter, nearly smooth fronds, with tri- angular-ovate pinnae the lowest of which are noticeably shortened. The indusium, which consists merely of a few hair-like divisions, is difficult to see in ordinary speci- mens. In appearance and habitat, both species are much like the obtuse Woodsia and at various times have been described as varieties of it. 98 ALPINE WOODSIA. Woodsta hyperborea. The largest fronds are scarcely six inches long and half an inch broad and grow in little tufts from a short rootstock. They are linear- lanceolate, pinnate with ovate or ovate-oblong pinne cut nearly to the midrib into rounded lobes. The blades are smooth or slightly chaffy and the indusium consists of a few hair- like processes that radiate from beneath the THE WOODSIAS. The Alpine Woodsia. The rare little alpine Woodsia (lVoodsia hyperborea) is an inhabitant of the colder parts of both Europe and America. It is usually supposed that it was first discovered in the United States by C. G. Pringle at Willoughby Mountain in Vermont, but it was col- lected in the Adirondack Mountains in New York by Prof. C. H. Peck nearly ten years earlier. At that time the specimens were referred to Il”. glabella and it remained for B. D. Gilbert to discover their identity. His announce- ment of this, however, was somewhat later than Eaton’s announcement of Pringle’s discovery. It has since been found at a few other stations along our northern border in Maine, Vermontand New York. In these, it is never found ex- cept at considerable eleva- tions and is always so rare as to be considered a great prize by the collector. OBTUSE WOODSIA. Woodsza obtusa. THE WOODSIAS. 99 round sori as in W. //vensis. The stipe is brown and jointed near the rootstock. Many botanists have considered this species but a smooth form of W. Jivensis. Except for its size and lack of scales there is very little to distinguish it from its larger relative. Its habitat is reported to be on moist rocks. North of the United States, it is found sparingly from Ontario to Labrador and Alaska. The plant was for a long time known among botanists as Woodsia alpina. The Smooth Woodsia. The smooth Woodsia (IVoodsia glabella) is nearly allied to the alpine Woodsia and is found in the same places. It may be distinguished by its shorter fronds, fan-shaped, often three-parted, pinnules with toothed margins and by the straw-coloured stipes. Like IV. hyperborea it is also found in Europe and although probably more plentiful than its ally,is nowhere common. Mr. W. W. Eggles- ton, who has had abundant opportunities for studying these rare ferns in the field, writes of them in the Fern Bulletin as follows: ‘‘ Many of our best botanists collect both, thinking they have nothing but this species [Ayperborea (alpina)|. Alpina, however, has a black or brownish rachis with scattered palaceous hairs, while that of g/adela is entirely smooth and green. A/pina, also, has alarger, coarser ap- pearance in the field... . Weare more often deceived, now, by smooth forms of Jlvensis than by gladella; in fact, some smooth forms of the former require an expert to separate.” FERTILE FROND. 100 THE WOODSIAS. The smooth Woodsia is found from New Hampshire, Vermont and Northern New York to the far North and Northwest. Our illustrations of this species and of IV. hyperborea were made from specimens collected in Vermont by Mr. Eggleston. The genus IWoodsta was named in honour of Joseph Woods, an English botanist. It contains a dozen or more species all confined to the colder parts of the world. tig ea bo Ze SMOOTH WOODSIA. array et - ft oe ne s a ae yt oe Woodsta glabella, THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. When frost has clad the dripping cliffs With fluted columns, crystal clear, And million-flaked the feathery snow Has shrouded close the dying year ; Beside the rock, where’er we turn, Behold, there waves the Christmas fern. No shivering frond that shuns the blast Sways on its slender chaffy stem ; Full-veined and lusty green it stands, Of all the wintry woods the gem. Our spirits rise when we discern The pennons of the Christmas fern. With holly and the running pine Then let its fronds in wreaths appear, *Tis summer’s fairest tribute given, To grace our merry Yuletide cheer. Ah, who can fear the winter stern While still there grows the Christmas fern. THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. OWEVER much we may admire the summer species, we can scarcely fail to have a higher regard for ae those sturdy ferns that remain oo pt eo through cold and snow to make the woodlands and thickets less dreary. For the most part they are among our coarsest species—delicate fronds have little chance against the frost —and for this reason are likely to be overlooked or neglected in a milder season. But when in dark and stormy weather the green fronds wave us a welcome from icy ledge or snowy thicket, the day seems suddenly to brighten. Foremost among our winter species must be placed the members of the Polystichum family. These are often classed with the wood ferns in the genus Aspidium or Dry- opteris. The wood ferns indeed are their nearest relatives, but there is this important difference between them: in the Polystichums, the sori are round and covered with a circular indusium which is fixed to the frond by its de- pressed centre; while in the wood ferns, the indusium is usually reniform and attached to the frond by the sinus. Like the wood ferns these species are sometimes called shield ferns and buckler ferns. 106 THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. The Christmas Fern. To the hunter, the trapper and the rambler in the winter woods, the Christmas fern (Polpstichum acroste- choides) is a familiar species. In summer it is not espe- cially noticeable, but in the snowbound season, the cheerful, fresh-looking fronds are sure to attract the eye. lt isa most abundant species and suitable localities within its range where it cannot be found are exceedingly rare. All the Christmas fern’s fronds are produced early in spring. They rise in circular clumps from a stout root- stock and when uncoiling are thickly covered with silky- white scales that make them conspicuous objects in the vernal woods. As the fronds mature, the scales turn brown and many remain uponrachis and stipe, especially the latter, through the season. The fronds occasionally reach a height of three feet, and are thick, narrowly lanceolate, acute and once pinnate. The numerous narrow pinnules have finely serrate margins and are arranged alternately on the rachis. Each has a triangu- lar ear on the upper side at base. The fertile fronds are taller than the sterile and differ in having the upper third or half suddenly decreased in size, this part bear- ing the sporangia. The sori are arranged on the under surface in two or more rows lengthwise of the pinnules with two other short rows on the earlike projections. They are partly formed before the fronds unfurl and ripen early in the year, being among the first of our species in this respect. The sporangia early push out from beneath the peltate indusia and make the fruiting pinnules look like little assemblages of tiny brown ant- hills. One of these pinnules is shown in the Key to the Genera. fea CHRISTMAS FERN. Polystzchum acrostichotdes. Fertile and Sterile Fronds. THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. 107 The variety zuciswi is frequently found with the typical plants. It is distinguished by the deeply toothed pinnules and by the way in which the soriareborne. These are not confined entirely tothe narrowed upper part of the frond, but continue downward on the tips of the other pinne, growing fewer in number toward the base. In rich shady woods,one sometimes comes upon another form which is here named variety crispum. In this there seems to be a super- abundance of tissue in the fronds and the pinnules are beautifully crisped and ruf- fled. It is by far the hand- somest of the common forms and does not lose its peculiar characteristics under culti- & vation. Fronds are oc- casionally found with the pinnules again pin- nate. Owing to the endur- ing nature of the fronds, they have been exten- sively used in floral dec- orations in recent years. Millions of them are now used annually in all our large cities. It is doubtless from this use of its fronds during the winter holidays that the plant derives its name of Christmas fern. Polystichum acrostichoides incisum. 108 HOLLY FERN. Polystichum lonchitis. THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. The fronds of an allied species are similarly used for decorations in the West. The Christmas fern is found from southern Canada to Florida, Missis- sippi, Arkansas and Wisconsin. Its favourite haunt is probably a rocky “side hill,” sloping away from the south and covered with a variety of deciduous trees, but it does not disdain the evergreen woods or even the scrub- .. by roadsides. Even after the shelter- ing copse is cut off, it manages to exist for some time in the sunlight though with stunted and dull coloured fronds. In the West, our species is repre- sented by P. munitum which has the same eared pinnules and looks much like it but lacks the narrowed tips in the fertile fronds. Our plant is frequent in out-door cultivation, its hard- iness making it one of the most satisfactory species for this purpose. The Holly Fern, It is quite in keeping with our ideas of such matters that the holly fern (Polystichum lonchitis) should be an_ ever- green and nearest of kin to the PLATE Ill. THE CHRISTMAS FERN. Polystichum acrostichoides, COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY FRECERICK A, STOKES COMPANY PRINTED IN AMER'CA THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. 169 Christmas fern. Half the appropriateness of the name would be lost if the plant dropped its fronds at the beginning of winter. Its name, however, was not given because of its presence during the holiday season, but because the pinnules are set with bristle-tipped teeth which gives them a considerable resemblance to holly leaves. That .it loves the cold, is shown by its range which extends over the northern parts of both Hemis- pheres. In America, its southern limits are nearly identical with the northern limits of the Christmas fern, as if Nature had assured herself that there should be no rivalry, by keeping separate two species so nearly alike. The holly fern is rather smaller than the Christmas fern but in many ways suggests the relationship. Like it, the fronds are narrow, lanceolate, once pinnate with eared pinnules, and growin circular clumps. They differ, however, in the shorter, broader and scythe-shaped pinnules, in the basal ones being reduced to small green triangles and in producing sori on the backs of ordinary fronds. The pinnules are often so closely set as to over- lap and the margins are sharply toothed. The stipes are also shorter. The sori are confined to the upper part of the frond and are arranged on the pinnules in two rows midway between the margin and the midrib, and also on the eared bases. This species is found in most of British America, being rarest in the Southeast. It doesnot occur in the Eastern United States but is found sparingly in Wisconsin, and in the West extends as far south as Utah and California. It is a lover of the rocks, its favourite dwelling place being the talus of broken stone at the base of shaded cliffs. 110 THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. cones Ruston se: Ay EPP Se aenus Polystichum Braunti, Braun's Holly Fern. The last of this trio of Polystichums —P. Braunti—is, like the holly fern, an inhabitant of the more northern parts of our continent. It is a sin- gularly decorative and_ beautiful species and belongs to a type that is found the world over. The typ- ical species is called Polystichum aculeatum and our plant was long thought to bea variety of it. It is now considered by most botanists to be a distinct species. The rootstock is short and thick and the fronds usually reach a height of twofeet or more. They are lan- ceolate in outline on short stipes and twice pinnate. The pinne are linear-oblong, usually acute, and broadest at base, their ovate or ob- long divisions appearing like small duplications of the holly fern’s pin- nules, even to the ear on the upper side at base. Both stipe and rachis are densely clothed with short hair- like growths as well as with the ovate, brown scales common to its allies. The sori are on the backs of ordinary fronds and not very con- spicuous. The fronds remain green through the winter but the stipes are unable to hold them erect. On ac- count of the resemblance of the pin- THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. ITI nules, the holly fern was once believed to be an immature form of this species or of the closely allied, P. aculeatum. According to Dodge’s “ Ferns and Fern Allies of New England,” this species is common along the mountain brooks of northern New England. In Canadait is found sparingly in the Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Sco- tia and Quebec. Southward it ranges to the mountains of Pennsylvania, having been collected at several localities in that State. Itis also found in Michigan. In the West it is replaced by the true P. aculeatum as wellas by the varieties Californicum and angulare. The genus Polystichum as now defined contains about thirty species, pretty generally distributed throughout the world. The name is derived from two Greek words signifying many rows. It is difficultto understand its application here unless it refers to the rows of sporangia. CROSIERS. THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. “ As gracefully as ladyes fair Bend o’er their mirror’s sheen, ' So o’er the turbid water’s breast, Thy plumes are waving green; As sweet and fair as ladyes bright, Thy plumes gleam in the morning light.” THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. eae “wr N Eastern America, two families of ferns divide nearly half our species between them. One of these is known as the genus Aspidium or Dryopteris, the other as Asplenium. *_. cluded a diversity of forms, some of which have but recently been re- moved to the genus Polystichum. Those that remain fall very natur- ¢ ally into two divisions as regards form and habitat, and to the smaller of these, of which the marsh fern may be taken as the type, we have for.convenience given the title of the marsh fern tribe. The species have a strong family resemblance—almost too strong, the young student may be inclined to say when he comes to study them—but a little study will soon fix the characters of each in the mind, after which they may be distinguished at a glance. The Marsh Fern. Any one who has visited a bushy swamp in the north- eastern States, where alders, button-bushes and cat-tails flourish, has doubtless seen the marsh fern (A spidium Thelypteris). It is one of our commonest species, and al- though, as its name indicates, the marsh is its favourite 118 THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. Ak Ee wer dwelling place, it is also found ee in the wet woodlands, along OE ec streams and in damp mea- ore dows. It avoids actual water but en soft watery mud is its delight. In as ical open places it grows as thickly as ye grass, often to the exclusion of maf Y f other vegetation, and seems to ¥ . 3 court the sun if it can obtain a TaN supply of moisture. ll ry pan) Early in spring, before other marsh plants have come up, the TIER A slender crosiers of the marsh fern raster eee nate ’ begin to push above the black soil. AUER, They are not flattened laterally as ; Ne: are the crosiers of most ferns but f shaped like little green spheres, ARRON Rao, These attractive looking objects Wy i nodding at the tops of the long CUPS Nien Mogae stipes in the swampy wastes, are era on so characteristic of the species that one may frequently identify the plant from the crosiers alone. The slender, cord-like rootstock creeps about freely just beneath the surface and produces fronds throughout the sum- mer. The early ones develop very quickly and may often be Mg seen with fy the lower VENATION. MARSH FERN, pinne ful- ; : Aspidium Thelypteris. ly spread while the upper are still coiled. THE MARSH FERN, “ Along streams and in damp meadows,” THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 11g The first fronds are always sterile. They are thin, lanceolate, broad at base and once pinnate, with the pinne set at right angles to the rachis. The latter are ob- long-linear, pointed and cut nearly to the midrib into many close, short, rather SORL rounded lobes. Bipinnate fronds with toothed or pinnat- ifid pinnules also occur. : It isnot until about the middle of July or later that the fertile fronds are produced. They are like the sterile in form, except that the pinnules are somewhat narrower and appear as if pointed, owing to the margins being re- flexed over the fruit when it is young. The sori are borne in a double row on each pinnule and are well on the way toward maturity when the frond unfurls. The indusium is kidney-shaped and soon withers. The spor- angia then spread out and often completely cover the under surface of the pinnule. Fronds midway between fertile and sterile also occur. In these the pinnules are flat and the less abundant sori are confined to the upper part of the frond and the tips of the lower pinne. In deep shade, the marsh fern grows tall and slender but fruits sparingly; in sun, the fruit is abundant but the fronds lose much of their beauty, becoming thicker, yel- lowish and with pinne strangely contorted. Both sorts of fronds are borne on long stipes, in some cases twice as long as the blades. The plant is commonly not fra- grant, though specimens have been reported that emitted an agreeable odour when drying. After the first sharp frost the fronds in exposed places wither, but in sheltered situations they remain green for a month or more longer. This species is frequently known as the lady fern—in- deed, its specific name signifies as much—but the real lady 120 THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. fern belongsto another family. In the Isle of Wight, ac- cording to Britten, it is called ground fern, while an- other English writer alludes to it as the creeping water fern. In some parts of America it is called the beaver meadow fern probably from its abundance in the wet Open. savannas known as beaver meadows. The name of snuff- THE SNUFF-BOX. box fern will no doubt be thought particularly appropriate by all who examine fully matured fertile fronds. The pinnules curl over the abundant sporangia in such a way as to appear very much like tiny half-open snuff boxes. Per- haps quill fern is also in allusion to the revolute pinnules. The marsh fern is found from Canada to North Caro- lina, the Indian territory and Kansas and occurs also in Europe and Asia. It thrives well in the fern garden but can scarcely be said to be a beautiful species and is therefore little cultivated except upon the borders of small lakes and ponds. The New York Fern. Just as the marsh fern loves wet situations, the New York fern (Aspidium Noveboracense) loves dry ones. It is not meant that either is strictly confined to its favourite domain, but that their habitats seldom overlap to any great extent. In dry, shady woodlands, this is an abundant—possibly the most abundant—species. It par- ticularly loves the shade of oak, birch, maple and beech but avoids direct sunlight and seldom remains long after the sheltering trees are removed. NEW YORK FERN. Aspzdium Noveboracense. THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. The slender crosiers of this species resemble those of the marsh fern, with I2Ir blades rolled into similar green balls, but the stipes are much shorter. The Sah mature fronds are very thin and deli- cate, of a light yellow-green colour, SE and are produced in tufts along a ss slender creeping rootstock. In shape ae) they are broadly lanceolate, pinnate, and taper from about the middle to the acuminate apex. Below, the pinnz grow farther and farther apart, and coon are gradually reduced in size until the lowest are mere green ears. The pinne Sa are lanceolate, acute and _ pinnatifid, with numerous, narrow, round-ended pinnules. The fronds are often finely hairy under- neath and strewn with minute glands. When the foliage is bruised these glands give out a pleasing odour which has been called lemon- like, by one writer and vanilla-like, by others. The fact is, however, that it can hardly be likened to the odour of any other substance. It is the same ferny scent common to numet- ous species but in this one sweet and strong. One of its allies, Aspidium oreopteris, is called sweet-scented fernin England. It is described as having the under surface sprinkled with shining, yellowish, resinous globules, and even the crosiers are fragrant. One of its admirers writes of it, ‘‘Few things in nature are more beautiful than a great number of these plants NEW YORK FERN. Aspidium Novebora- cense, 122 THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. FRUITING PINNA. before they are unfolded. The grass seems strewn with silver balls and as you reluctantly tread en them and brush by them, the scent is delicious.” Prof. Peck has described a variety fragrans of the New York fern which is principally distinguished by the odour, and later, Eaton made a variety suaveolens of which he says, “Fronds narrower, slightly more rigid, very sweet scented in drying, the under surface copiously sprinkled with minute glands.” This is apparently only a form which, exposed to the sun, has made some slight changes to adapt itself to the new conditions, as other ferns are known to do. The fertile fronds are produced a little later than the sterile and scarcely differ from them except that heavily fruiting fronds are slightly taller and narrower. As in all of the Aspidiums, the sori are round and covered with akidney-shaped indusium. In this species the indusium is dotted with little glands and the sori are rather small and borne in a double row on each pinnule near the margin. Young collectors frequently mistake this for the marsh fern, and indeed the early botanists were themselves in some doubt about it. Several gave it the specific name of thelypteroides because of its resemblance to Thelypteris,and others called it the variety Moveboracense of the latter. The two, however, are very distinct. Ifit is remembered that in Woveboracense the pinnae are always much decreased toward the base of the frond, it will not be THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 123 casy to confuse it with its ally. In fact, the single char- acterisitic of the re- duced basal pinne serves to distinguish this species from all the other members of its genus in eastern America. The New York fern is found from Newfoundland to North Carolina, Arkansas and Minnesota. It seldom reaches a greater height than two feet and is one of our most delicate woodland species. In the vicinity of New York City it is very abundant and it grows luxuri- antly on the wooded crests of the Palisades in New Jersey. It is reported to occur also in the mountains of Southern Asia. In California there is a species (A spz- dium Nevadense) which very closely resembles the New York fern, even to the reduced pinnules at the base of the frond. It has, however, a stout rootstock and the fronds are produced in circular crowns. Our species is easily cultivated. In some books it is called bear’s-paw, aname without apparent meaning. VENATION. Aspidium Simulatum. Counting from the time of christening, Aspidiuim stmu- fatum is our youngest fern. It hasbeen known to science for barely half a dozen years. When its discovery was announced and the features in which it differs from other ferns pointed out, those who had trampled it under foot for years, supposing it to be merely a form of Noveboracense or Thelypteris, were quite astonished, and the wonder grew when it was subsequently found to be 124 THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. ff fairly plentiful over a wide. range of territory. When one becomes acquainted with its appearance it is very easily distinguished from its congeners, but its superficial resemblance to the marsh and New York ferns is close enough to make trouble for the novice. When this species was first col- lected, is perhaps not known. There isa note in Eaton’s “ Ferns of North America” regarding a form of Thelypteris ‘with most of the veins simple and the lower pinnz a little contracted’ which is doubtless to be re- ‘ep tton Ud ferred to this species, and Lawson seems to have had the same thing in mind when Zeya he described in the Canadian Naturalist his variety z¢xtermedium of Aspidium Thelypteris. Mr. Raynal Dodge, however, was first to notice its specific differences. He originally collected it about 1880 near Sea- brook, N. H., and after referring it for some time from Thelypteris to Noveboracense and back again without being satisfied of its identity, came to the conclusion that it was neither It was subsequently named szm- ulatum by Mr. Geo. E. Davenport. Aspidium stmulatum is certainly a very dis- tinct species, but in habit and habitat it is so nearly like its allies as to suggest the thought ; that it may be a hybrid. It seems about Aspidium simulatun. midway between the two in everything, even as THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 125 to the place in which it grows; for while Thelypteris loves the sunny swamps and Noveboracense, dryish shades, the present species demands the moisture of the one and the shade of the other and is to be found in deep wet woodlands. The rootstock, as might be inferred, creeps near the surface of the soil and sends up bipinnatifid fronds which are like those of Zhelypteris in general appearance but like those of NMoveboracense in colour, texture and the graceful curve of the blades. In technical language they may be described as lanceolate, acuminate, pinnate with numerous sessile, lanceolate, long-pointed, pinnatifid pinnez and narrow obtuse segments. In the vicinity of New York, the fertile fronds appear FRUITING PINNA, in July. They are slightly taller and more erect than the sterile and bear the medium-sized sori in a double row on the pinnules. The indusia are thin and rather more conspicuous than those of its nearest relatives. Although the frond may be heavily fruited, the pinnules appear never to become revolute as in 7helypteris. When seen growing in masses this fern seems almost identical with Moveboracense but single fronds show a very decided difference. While the lower pinnz may be slightly smaller than those in the middle of the frond, they are never so greatly reduced as in Moveboracense. The stipes are also muchlonger. The marks by which it may be distinguished from 7helypteris are the flat fertile 126 THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. pinnules, lanceolate pinnae and simple veins. In 7he- lypteris the veins normally fork once. Aspidium stmulatum is at present known to grow in most of the New England States, New York, Penn- sylvania and Maryland. Its partiality to spruce and tamarack swamps is most pronounced. In the two locali- ties known for the fern in New York State, it grows in dark cedar swamps in company with I} vodwardia angus- zzfolta and an occasional marsh fern, It isa singular fact that it thrives best in spots too shady for Thelypteris to be fruitful, and in moisture too great for Noweboracense to be common. It is the opinion of many botanists that this species is nearly as widely distributed as the ferns it mimics but is not reported because confused with the others. There is a tendency in some sections to call this the Massachusetts shield fern. But since the fern is not confined to that State, and is common in localities far re- moved from New England, such a name is both unfortu- nate and misleading. Many suppose that this species was named szmu/atuim because of its resemblance to Noveboracense and Thelypteris. While this thought may have occurred to its AP YEG, describer, he writes ; LA IIWUO SS that it was so named because it simulates j a narrow woodland VENATION. form of the lady fern (Athyrium filix-famina). Even the young col- lector, however, ought to be able to distinguish it from the latter. Our illustrations are from specimens collected by the author near Babylon, Long Island, The generic name, spideum is from the Greek and THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 127 means a little shield, in allusion to the shape of the in- dusium. Many of the common names given to members of the genus are also derived fromthis shape. Dryopteris, sometimes used instead of Aspidzui, is also from the Greek and literally means oak-fern. There are upwards of one hundred and fifty species distributed throughout the world. It is probable that the generic name Nephrodium will ultimately be used for these species in America. It is the name commonly used abroad. THE WOOD FERNS. “What means this persistent vitality? Why were these spared when the brakes and osmundas were stricken down? They stay as if to keep up the spirits of the cold-blooded frogs which have not yet gone into the mud, that the summer may die with decent and graceful moderation. Is not the water of the spring improved by their pres- ence? They fall back and droop, here and there like the plumes of departing summer, of the departing year, Even in them I feel an ar- gument for immortality.’”—THOREAU. THE WOOD FERNS. ‘OUBTLESS the majority of our ferns grow in forests, or at least in shady places, and so might without im- : propriety be called wood ferns, but se the members of the genus Aspidium are so noticeably abundant in all forested areas that the name seems by right to belong to them. In the matter of names, however, this genus has been rather unfairly treated so faras a permanent name is concerned. As fo the number of its names, nothing can be complained of. In the vernacular, the species are known as shield- ferns, wood-ferns, boss-ferns and buckler-ferns and the scientists are divided as to whether the genus shall be known as Aspidium, Dryopteris, Nephrodium or Lastrea. In the Old World, the species are oftenest called Lastrea or Nephrodium; in American books they will usually be found in the genus Aspidium. It is but recently that the proposal to substitute the name Dryopteris has been made. This latter may perhaps be the oldest name, and therefore, according to the much cited rule of priority, the proper one for the genus, but it has thus far failed of acceptance by most botanists. Whatever confusion exists in regard to the names, does not extend to the plants themselves. They may at once be distinguished from other ferns by bearing their sporan- giain roundish sori covered with a kidney-shaped indu- sium that is attached to the frond by the sinus. 134 THE WOOD FERNS. The Marginal Shield Fern, In rocky wood- lands, especially in hilly country, the marginal shield fern (al spidium marginale) isa commonand well- known species. It de- lights to nestle among the buttressed roots of large trees or in crevices between the rocks where a light soil has accum- ulated, putting up EE ERLE ype? its graceful circles of CP ois ex fronds wherever it can obtain a_ foot- MARGINAL SHIELD FERN. Aspidium marginale. old nold. This species has the heaviest rootstock of any of the wood ferns. It is rather short, although occasionally ris- ing a few inches above the earth and is densely clothed at the crown with long chaffy brown scales. The half dozen or more fronds are produced early in spring. They are thick, almost leathery in texture and of a peculiar dark, blue-green colour, lighter beneath. They are two or three feet long with lanceolate twice pinnate blades, at least below. The pinne are lanceolate, broadest at base, with numerous narrow, slightly falcate pinnules which, especially in the lower part of large fronds, may be again lobed or pinnatifid. The stipes are rather short and denscly chaffy. PLATE IV. THE MARGINAL SHIELD FERN. Aspedtam marginale. COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PRINTEO IN AMERICA THE WOOD FERNS. 135 The sporangia are borne on fronds simi- lar to the sterile ones ‘ and appear almost SORI, ENLARGED. as soon as the fronds unroll in spring. The conspicuous indusia are convex, white or lead colour when young, and owing to their thickness, do not wither so soon as : FRUITING PINNA. the indusia of most ferns. The sori are found on the margins of the pinnules and so close to the edge as to often appear to project beyond it. There is no crowd- ing of the sori. Each is separated from its neighbour by an appreciable interval and if one happens to be missing, its place is not encroached upon by the others. This manner of fruit- Wy, ing is so characteristic that it WM 7 alone serves to distinguish this species. It is to be regretted that the strictly American ferns have so little folk-lore connected with them. Our country was apparently settled at too late a period of man’s mental development for the ferns to be viewed with the same degree of wonder and speculation that Old World species inspired in earlier generations. Most of our folk- lore has been imported and such of our species as do not occur on the other side of the world usually have no 136 "THE WOOD FERNS. interesting superstitions connected with them. Thus, marginale has no reputed mysterious powers to its credit, but is considered of much value as an anthelmintic, a quality which it shares with the male fern. The marginal shield fern is found from British America to Alabama and Arkansas, being fairly abun- dant throughout most of thisarea. It is sometimes called the evergreen wood fern, but in latitudes where several of the wood ferns are evergreen, this title is somewhat misleading. It may be added, however, that it endures the winter better than any of the others. The name of rock fern is somewhat more appropriate. The species is an excellent one for cultivation in shady situations about dwellings. The Male Fern. The male fern (Aspidium filtx-mas) is a widely dis- tributed species. It is plentifulin many parts of Europe and Asia and is found in Greenland and the mountains of South America. In North America, its range is mostly beyond the limits of the United States. It is not uncommon in Canada and has been found in Michi- gan. In the mountains of the West, it is reported to extend as far south as Arizona. In general appearance this is so much like the margi- nal shield fern, that one description would almost answer for both; in fact, short-sighted botanists have called them but two forms of the same species. They are, however, not likely to be so classed by any one who has seen them growing. The frond in this species is broadest above the middle and at base is usually appreci- ably narrowed. The pinnules are conspicuously toothed THE HOME OF THE WOOD FERNS. THE WOOD FERNS. 139 toward the apices and the rather large sori are borne near the mid-vein instead - of on the margin. The fronds are somewhat thinner than those of the marginal shield fern, have not the peculiar blue-green colour and are not evergreen. From the way in which its fronds stand in close circles, it is sometimes called the basket fern. Among its other names are knotty brake fern, sweet brake and vermifuge, the latter referring to its anthelmintic properties. ? The stem and roots are bitter and pgs astringent and have been used in lieu ue: of hops in brewing. Its ashes have Nie also been used in glass making. The Cees Bp ti curious ‘St. John’s hands” once sold to the credulous as charms against WREga% magic and witchcraft were made from @ the rootstock and unexpanded fronds } of this species. The rootstock yields the Filix-mas of the pharmacist. Goldies Shield Fern. Ron 3 In an order of plants so varied in form and texture as the ferns, there may THE MALE FERN. easily be several standards of beauty. ABER CI SEE TA Some, indeed, can scarcely be called beautiful except when seen in masses, others only when taken singly, while still others owe much of their attractive appearance to the setting of mossy rock or shaded brook and lose 138 THE WOOD FERNS. greatly when removed from their natural surroundings. Tried by any of these standards, Goldie’s fern (A spzdium Goldteanum) will scarcely be found wanting. It is a magnificent species, the tallest of the wood ferns, and almost equalling the Osmundas in size. The fronds are ovate or lanceolate in outline, often four feet high and more than a foot wide and grow from a creeping horizontal rootstock as thick as one’s thumb. The stipes of the young crosiers are covered with large pale-brown scales that near the base shade into a deeper tint. The fronds are nearly twice pinnate, the stalked lanceolate acuminate pinne being cut nearly to the midrib into long, obtuse, slightly serrate, falcate pinnules. The texture is thin but firm and the colour a peculiar deep blue-green shade, lighter beneath. In colour and cutting of the fronds, this is much like the mar- ginal shield fern, and small forms may sometimes be con- fused with it, but the pinne are not so deeply lobed and the sori are never on the margin as in that species. The fertile fronds are like the sterile and are well fruited by the middle of June. The sori are rather large and borne in a row on each side of the mid-vein and near to it. Goldie’s fern is found from Canada to North Carolina, Tennessee and Minnesota. It delights in deep moist woodlands at medium elevations where there is not much yo SEs Sie 55S sassces f ANS N\O0 Vo See se ace) oP No — at ae J 5 28, O ce 2, Eee ony aus A FRUITING PINNA. GOLDIE’S SHIELD FERN. Asfidium Goldieanum. THE WOOD FERNS. 139 undergrowth. Itis not generally distributed in its range, is often rare or missing over large stretches of coun- try, and is seldom as plentiful as marginale. It is easily cultivated and its stately fronds form a valuable addition to the fern garden. A form of this fern, from the Dismal Swamp has been described as the variety celsum. It differs from the type in being narrower, more erect and with pinnules and pinne further apart. The Crested Fern. When one’s rambles happen to take him through a piece of wooded swamp full of hellebore and skunk’s cabbage, where early in the season the marsh marigold and spring beauty cover the earth with bloom and later in the year the Canada lily hangs out its orange-yellow bells, he is likely to come upon the crested fern (A spzdtum cristatum) with its tall narrow fertile fronds quite erect in the dim light, as if disdaining the mud in which it is rooted. But thisisin summer. If one passes that way again in winter, no fertile fronds are to be seen, but the sterile still remain, fresh and green, though prostrate on the frozen ground and scarcely recognised as belonging to the same plant. Few species make a more striking distinction between sterile and fertile fronds. It seems to have the nature of two plants in one. The fertile fronds are tall, erect, and found only in summer ; the sterile are shorter, spreading and conspicuous only in the winter. In both, the outline is narrowly oblanceolate and acute, and both are pinnate. The pinnz are broadest at the base, the lowest pairs al- most triangular and the upper tapering outward to the tips. All are deeply cut into close, broad, obtuse pin- 140 THE WOOD FERNS. nules which are crenulate or finely serrate. Occasionally the pinnules nearest the rachis are separate. Fertile fronds sometimes reach a height of three feet and a width of six inches, but these dimensions are rare. The sori are borne in a double row on each pinnule and the in- dusium is broad, thin and conspicuous. A fruiting pin- nule is illustrated in the Key to the Genera. The rootstock is of medium size, horizontal and creeping. Aspidium cristatum, Middle pinnas. The crosiers are covered with broad, light-brown scales, many of which remain on the stipes after the blade has unfurled. This species is very sensitive to varying amounts of light and the pinne, especially those of the fertile frond, have the trick of assuming a nearly horizontal position like slats in a blind, to accommodate themselves to the illumination. In fronds that do not naturally receive sufficient light, the individual pinne will twist around until at the proper angle. Even when a frond is fastened with the upper side down, they will manage to turn so as to face the light. The crested fern is found from northern Canada to North Carolina, Arkansas and Idaho and occurs again in Europeand Asia. Its favourite haunt is the woodland CRESTED FERN. 2 JASNA wml G Wt ct Gap ctins FRUITING PINN&, NARROW-LEAVED SPLEENWORT.