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New York 14609 USA ^S ('"') **2 - O.'OO - Phone ^S (716) 288 - 5989 - Fa» iPiiPi ;ii;::;.. 'fii 11:' m IM li-\ ' id i [m I m it ;tni if mm AMY. ■t". •^m I'l.i f;i;l!fii!l' ftS i''ir'*^'i('!i!'.t' i!*' i.'i 1: ,! y !W WW' , 1 .1' " 1<. it -.Wiiim|«|iHfii«iniWMii»iir<'wiiiilu|iiiiiV«t»^ ^iiiuo. ■ni«ii#:y.«» 1,1 iiiiiiiii iiTir.»^i..^t^., •■.Ti'ii- 'ii, 'iii .1!!' „»li: ,1 .' 1 ' ')! M mx\ ■ 1 MIV I ill { l>iM O'll l'! 11 1 * .jifepiHi'iV -.;)) OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS. -»v ^±!Cy'^' .# I .^^ % SS««?L :^r'' PlATF. Vii THE OAK FERN. /'-;, ,./.',/■/. Ih\.-pt.ris. OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS B <3ut&e to all tbe flattve Species BY WILLARD NELSON CLUTE Author o/'* A Flora of the Upper Husquehantta " ILLUSTRATED BY WILLIAM WALWORTH STILSON 1r Toronto William Briggs r~r- OKsas -07 Copyright, igoi, By Frederick A. Stokes Company. AND -LIKS, Fe UN- HE Adder's CONTENTS. List of Illustrations. Preface, The Uncoillxg Fronds, The Osmundas, The Rattlesnake Fern TONGUE, The Moonwort and rrs Ai The Bracken, The Cliff Brakes, . The Woodsias, The Christmas and Holli The Marsh Fern Tribe, The Wood Ferns, . The Rock Spleenworts, The Lady Fern and its Kin, The Polypodies, The Bladder Ferns, The Chain Ferns, . The Boulder Fern, Cheilanthes and Maidenhair, The Sensitive and Ostrich Ferns. The Walking Fern and the Hart's-' The Curly Grass and the Climbing Fern. Border Species, Concerning Nomenclature, Key to the Genera, Checklist of the Ferns, Glossary, Index to Common Names. Index to Scientific Names, Tongue. rAi.E vii / 21 37 49 (35 /9 89 lOI i'3 l2g »5i 175 191 205 215 225 233 249 261 273 283 291 301 3J3 321 327 330 161309 'J List of Illustrations. THE OAK FERN. Pktgo^teris Dryofttru. A CROSIER. FLOWERING FERN. ... SORI OF ASPLENIUM. SORI OF POLYPODIUM. FIDDLE-HEADS" .... A WAYSIDE SPRING. ■ . . . CINNAMON FERN. OimuHda cinnamomea. A FRUITING PINNA. • • . . TUFT OF WOOL AT BASE OF PINN>€. . "HE CINNAMON FERN. Osmunda cinnamomta. INTERRUPTED FERN Oimunda Claytoniana. INTERRUPTED FERN. Osmunda ClaytoHiana. Fertile frond THE INTERRUPTED FERN. Osmunda C/ayteniana. FLOWERING FERN. Osmunda regalit. , SPORE-CASES. CROSIERS FLOWERING FERN. Osmunda recalls. . SPORANGIA. HATTLESNAKE FERN. Botrychiutn Virpnianum. RATTLESNAKE FERN. Botrychium rirgininnum ADDER'S-TONGUE. Ophloglossum vulgatum. THE ADDER'S TONGUE. Opiiioglossum vu:,-tum. Plate I. " THERE IS AN HERB " . . . . MOONWORT. Botrychium Lunaria. COMMON GRAPE FERN. Botrychium oit.'juum. BOTRYCHIUM OBLIQUUM DISSECTUM LITTLE GRAPE FERN. Botrychium simfltx. LANCE-LtAVED GRAPE FERN. Botrychium lanceolatum. THE MATRICARY GRAPE FERN. Botrychium matricari„/olium. MATRICARY GRAPE FERN. Botrychium matricari^/^Hum. Frontispiece. PAOE. . 13 «5 i6 «7 fating i8 30 facing a6 '7 aS facing 38 facing 30 3' facing 33 facing 34 34 35 facing 36 4* facing 43 44 46 facing 46 facing 50 Sa S6 57 58 59 Plate 11 fkcingfa 61 vm LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. BOTRYCHIUM MATHICARI/CFOLIUM TENEBROSUM BRACKEN. I'terh aquilina. Lower pinna. " KING CHARLES IN THE OAK." A FRUITING PINNA. PTERIS AQUILINA PSEUDOCAUDATA. Lower pinna, THE BRACKEN ROOTSTOCK. WINTER BRAKE. l\U„a iit>o/furea. . WINTER BRAKE. I\llu;i alro/'urfurea. . TIP OF FERTILE FROND. 1-nlargcd. SLENDER CLIFF BRAKE. I'iUtra gracilis. PELL/tA DENSA. Fertile frond. . RUSTY WOODSIA. li'oodsia llvensis. ROOTSTOCK. FRUITING PINNA. .... OBTUSE WOODSIA. li'oodsia obtusa. ALPINE WOODSIA. M'ooiiiia hyfirborea. . AFRUITINBFROND. .... OBTUSE WOODSIA. IVoodsin obtusa. FERTILE FROND. .... SMOOTH WOODSIA. H'l-odsia gtabitU. . CHRISTMAS FERN. Polystithum lutostichoidi fronds. .... POL/STICHUM ACROSTICHOIDES (NCISUM. HOLLY FERN' J^f^i'y^tichtnu lonchitis. THE CHRISTMAS FERN. Polystickum acrostichoides. POLYSTICHUM BRAUNII. CROSIERS MARSH FERN. Aspidium Thelypteris. . VENATION. ..... THE MARSH FERN. " ALONG STREAMS AND IN DAMP SORI, THE SNUFF-BOX. .... NEW YORK FERN, Aspidium Koiehorncense. NEW YORK FERN. Aspidium Noveboracense. FRUITING PINN,€. .... VENATION. ASPIDIUM SIMULATUM. FRUITING PINNA. .... VENATION. ..... MARGINAL SHIELD FERN. Aspl.timii nKtrfina/f I'AUK. ■ 62 71 7J • 75 • 76 • 78 8, • fiuing 84 • 86 • facing 86 • 87 94 • 95 • 96 facing 98 • 98 98 facing 96 99 facing 100 eriiie and sterile facing io6 107 108 IMale III. firing 108 no . 113 !:•: 118 MEADO/VS. filing 118 119 120 facing 120 121 122 125 • 124 I2S 126 . '.14 f1 ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. THE MARGINAL SHIELD FERN. AsJiiUium mnr^inaU, SORI. Klllar;;ctl. • . . . . FRUITING PINN/C SORI. •■■.., THE HOME OF THE WOOD FERNS. THE MALE FERN A FRUITING PINNA. GOLDIE' shield FERN. Ai/.i,iium Col.lUaiium. ASPIDIUM Ci 'STATUM. Miiiillc pinna-. . CRESTED ERH ■Is/'i.liuiii ,• islatum. . ASPIDIUM CRIST ATUM CLINTONIANUM. Middle pin ASPIOIUM BOOTTII. ..... ASPIDIUM CRIST ATUM CLINTONIANUM. ASPIDIUM BOOTTII. I-i)Wesl pinna. SPINULOSE SHIELD FERN. Asphliiim sf.inulosnm int, CRESTED FERN. Asfidiuin cristatum. Sterile frond A PINNULE. MuchcnlarBcd. ASPIDIUM SPINULOSUM DILATATUM. I-oucst pinna. FRAGRANT FERN. ■i,/'i,lium franrans. A FRUITING PINNA. FRAGRANT FERN. Is/iiifhini frngrnns. FROND OF MAIDENHAIR SPLFENWORT. GREEN SPLEENWORT. .\sfl,„ium -I'iride. FROND OF GREEN SPLEENWORT. SMALL SPLEENWORT. Asf/.nhnii /!,iiiiim ruta-murarla. Thre MOUNTAIN SPLEENWORT Aspl,-,,,;,,,, monlanum. FERTILE FROND OF MOUNTAIN SPLEENWORT. ASPLENIUM BRADLEYI FRUITING PINN/€ OF ASPLENIUM BRADLEYI. . ASPLENIUM PINNATIFIDUM. A fertile frond. THE PINNATIFID SPLEENWORT. A,/-h,tiu,n /.i„„„t ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES ASPLENIUM FONTANUM LADY FERN. Alhyrhim f,nx/odium inciiHum. 3EECH FERN. I'litgofUris folyfodioidts. BEECH FERN. l'''i'Sotterh polyfodioides. BROAD BEECH FERN. Phe£0/>teris /le.ragono/itera. . 'the BROAD BEECH FERN ISA LOVER OF DEEP, SHADY WOOD LANDS." COMMON BLADDER FERN. CyslK/iteris /rngilis. CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS. A rare form of frond. BULBIFEROUS BLADDER FERN. Cystofteris hulbi/era. COMMON BLADDER FERN. Cystofteris fragilU. MOUNTAIN BLADDER FEMN. Vyitof>teris montana. . COMMON CHAIN FERN, ll'oodwardia I'irginka. WOODWARDIA VIRGINICA. A fruiting pinna. . NARROW-LEAVED CHAIN FERN. I^'oadwardia angusti/<>/iC. HYMENOPHVLLACE/E. POLYPODIACE/E. SCHIZ.CA. ONOCLEA. 8TRUTHIOPTERIS. LYQODIUM. OPHIOGL088UM. BOTRYCHIUM. POLVPODIUM. PHEGOPTERIS. NOTHOL/ENA. TRICHOMANES. PTERIS. ADIANTUM. PELL/fA. CHEILANTHES. CRYPTOGRAMMA. WOODWARDIA. POLYSTICHUM. PAGE. . 156 facing 356 facing 258 facing li/b • 367 afg facing 370 facing 178 facing »8o aSi a84 ■Aft i>87 a88 389 193 293 a94 a44 394 394 395 305 305 305 306 306 306 307 307 307 307 308 308 308 308 308 309 309 It I t I ( ! XII ASPIDIUM. CVSTOPTERIS. WOODSIA. DICK80NIA. SCOLOPENDRIUM. CAMPTOSOHUS. ASPLENIUM. ATHyRIUM. LIST OF ILLUSIRA I IONS. PAOK. (»( .!<«> 30 310 3"" 110 3 "J "The feathery fern, the feathery fern. It groweth wild and it groweth free, liy the rippling brook and the wimpling burn, And the tall and stately forest tree ; Where the merle and the mavis sweetly sing. And the blue- jay makes the woods to ring.'" And the pheasant tlies on whirring wing Beneath a verdurous canopy. " The feathery fern, the feathery fern. An emerald sea, it waveth wide. And seems to flash, to gleam and burn. Like the ceaseless flow of a golden tide ; On bushy slope or in leafy glade, Amid the twilight depths of shade, By interlacing branches made And trunks with lichens glorified." ^ PREFACE In recent years there has arisen a widespread interest •n ferns from the popular point of view, creating a de- mand for more detailed information regarding their haunts and habits than is found in the text-boks de- voted to the subject. It is the aim of the present volume to supply this information ; and in such a manner that while conforming strictly to scientific canons, it shall make the way as smooth as possible for the beginner whose desire is, first of all. to know the names of the ferns. Few families of plants are at once so generally admired and so little known. Many whc have been attracted to their study by the grace and beauty of the individual species, have been prevented from con- tinuing It by the apparent difficulties in the way Al though we have long had manuals from which the names of the ferns might be learned, the characters upon which the Identification of the species is based are so different from those employed in the better known flowerin- plants, and the descriptions are written in such brief and technical language, that they have served to discourage all save the most persevering of students. As a mstter of fact, ferns are probably easier to identify than flower- ing plants when one knows how. and the knowing how may be acquired with less labour. After mastering the names of our ferns, the student who has desired to go deeper into the subject and learn something of their haunts, habits and folk-lore, has been < 4 PRtHACb. oblij;cd to seek liis knowledge in many buuks and periodicals, some of which arc rare, others out of print, and the majority ni forcitjn origin. A volunie wiiich would brin;,' tiiese scattered facts together in convenient form has been ^^reatly needed. In comparison with other countries, our fern literature is very limited. The history of American fern books begins in 1878 with the publication of John William, son's modest little volume on the "Ferns of Kentucky." Tins went through three editions and has long been out of print. It is remarkable that the few years imme- diately following the appearance of this book should form our most prolific period as regards fern literature. In 1S79 John Robinson issued his " Ferns in their Homes and Ours," a manual for the cultivator; in 1880 the first edition of Prof. Undervvood's text book *' Our Native Ferns " appeared and during the same period the two magnificently illustrated but expensive volumes of Prof. D. C. Eaton's " North American Ferns " were published. All of these have remained alone in their special fields. For nearly twenty years, no fern book that could compare with them in importance made its appearance. Several minor works, however, treating of the fern-flora of limited areas were published, chief among which may be mentioned Dodge's " Ferns and Fern Allies of New England," Lawson's " Fern-flora of Canada" and Jones' " Ferns of the West." Still more recently have appeared Mrs. Parsons' excellent " How to Know the Ferns" and Miss Price's " Fern Collector's Handbook." This completes the list of books, but a list of American fern publications would scarcely be com- plete without some mention of the Fer/i Bulletin which enjoys the unique distinction of being the only journal ■f PREFACE. , in the world devoted exclusively to ferns. In its pajjcs now appears tlie bulk of the periodical literature of ferns. Eifjht volumes have been issued. In this book have been included descriptions and illustrations of every species known to grow in North America north of the Gulf States and east of the Rocky Mountains, this area forming a mure or less natural floral region. With few exceptions they have been treated in related groups and arranged as nearly as possible ac- cording to season, those first to fru't coming first in the book. By means of the illustrated Key to the Genera it is believed that no one will have difficulty in ascertain- ing the name of any specimen he may find. In view of the present unsettled state of botanical nomenclature, it has seemed best to adopt, in this volume, the botanical names longest in cotninon use. They will certainly be less likely t.^ confuse the be-inner, since they are the names used u a majority of fern students and those by which the species are usually mentioned in other books. Botanists have recently proposed many changes in the interests of a more stable nomenclature, but these changes have not been generally accepted.' Until they have been, they cannot properly be used in a volume of this nature. A complete account of these changes, however, has been inserted in the text for convenience of reference and in addition, a check-list has been included at the end of the book, which gives the other names by which the various species have been known in America. The early botanists were mainly engaged in describing new species and have left for us the pleasanter task of discovenng the curious and interesting facts about them. In this direction still lies a practically virgin i « 6 PREFACE. field. Our knowledge of spores and sporelings is far from complete ; the protliallia of some species have never been seen ; the phenomena of fern hybridization have scarcely been touched upon ; while the study of the natural variation in species will afford much profita- ble work. There is also the ever delightful occupation of exploring unfamiliar territory and the possibility of thus adding to our knowledge of the distribution of species. The range of each species has been given in accordance with our present information, but it is ex. pected that many will prove to be more widely dispersed and that some now marked rare will ultimately be found to be more abundant. I shall be pleased to receive further information upon these points and will also undertake to identify any ferns that may be sent me provided that good fruiting specimens with rootstock, when possible, be selected for the purpose. In the preparation of this volume, I have had the hearty cooperation of American fern students and take this opportunity to express my indebtedness to them. My thanks are especially due to Mr. William R. Majion for data regarding the range of many species, to Mr. George E. Davenport for verifying the nomenclature of the Check-List, to Mr. B. D. Gilbert for carefully reading the proof-sheets, and to Prof. L. M. Underwood for much valued information. WlLLAUU N. Clute. Binghamton. N. Y. April 12, 1901. THE UNCOILING FRONDS. " The vjreeii and graceful icni, H(nv beautiful it is. There's not a leaf in all the land, So wonderful, I wis. " Have ye e'er watched it hiHidincf, With each stem and leaf ura|)|)ed small, Coiled up witiiin each oilier Like a round and hairy ball ? " Have ye watched that hall unfolding Each closely nestling curl Its fair and feathery leaflets Their spreading forms unfurl ? " Oh, then most gracefully they wave In the forest, like a sea, And dear as they are beautiful Are these fern leaves to me." — Twa.mi.ev. '4 \i i THE UNCOILING FRONDS. HE first call of Spring awakens the Icrns. Before the last snow-banks have vanished tronx the shady hol- lows and while meadows are still bare and the woods deserted, the impa- tient young crosiers begin to stir the dead leaves in sheltered nooks. By the middle of April, in this latitude, millions arc putting forth. Some, like tiny green serpents, uncoil in the shelter of rock or fallen log ; others hang from the shelves of mossy prec- ipices; while still others boldly appear along woodland streams, in fence corners and in open thickets, and soon the whole under-wood is filled with their waving pennons. When Thoreau wrote that " Nature made ferns for pure leaves, to show what she could do in that line " he voiced a thought which must often come to those who contemplate this beautiful race of plants. Whether it be a denizen of our own fields and woodlands or the lordly tree-ferns of the Tropics, we are obliged to confess that in these we have, indeed, " the proudest of all plants in the structure of their foliage." All the grace and beauty that may exist in mere leaves is here perfected and the title of "Nature's lacework " is well merited. Nature, however, is too clever to make all ferns beau- 12 THE UNCOILING FRONDS. tiful. There arc many, especially in tropical countries, that are coarse and u«jly, but so far as our own are con- cerned, the few plain species make very welcome foils for tlie others. The fronds of a fern are essenti- ;^J^ ally complete in the bud and their development into those graceful and delicate objects that wave in the summer breeze is mainly a pro- cess of unrolling and expanding, ""ill those species that produce their fronds in whorls or circles there may be seen within the circle of expanded fronds, sev- f._ eral circles of buds, each successively "smaller toward the centre. These are the fronds of comin;^ years and strik- ingly remind us how many morrows the ,/ fern tribe is prepared for. Although known as fronds, these organs are really leaves and may be called leaves without impropriety. They are, however, more frequently called fronds, the expanded leafy portion being known as the b/ade and the stalk that supports it, the sti/>e. The continuation of the stipe through the blade, or beyond the beginning of the leafy portion, is the rachis. Since many species have no stipes, the use of the word frond, to designate the blade alone, is common. As regards the pro- duction of fronds, our species may be divided into two classes. In the one, they are prodiced only in spring unless A CliOSIKU. THE UNCOILING FRONDS. >3 the first crop is destroyed, and commonly appear in cir- cular clumps. This habit is nearly confined to species with short, stout, slowly creeping rootstocks. In the other, the fronds are produced throughout most of the summer In the latter class, long, slender, extensively creeping and frequently branching rootstocks are the rule. Nature's pattern for fern buds is the spiral. Indeed, so inflexible is she upon this point, and so rarely docs she adopt a similar pattern for other plants, that this forms one of the chief characters by which the whole fern tribe may be identified. No matter how varied in outline or different in size the mature fronds may be, in the bud all true ferns are coiled like a watch-spring. And not only are the fronds as a whole coiled thus, but each of the remotest divisions is rolled toward the i.ext largest, these in turn toward the rachis, and then, begin- nin'g at the apex, rachis and stipe are rolled down to the crown. During winter, the buds are protected from the cold and wet by a multitude of papery or hair-like scales, usually tawny brown in colour. When the fronds de- velop, these often remain upon stipe and rachis, adding not a little to the picturesque appearance of the crosiers. The down and hairs so common on the stems and leaves of flowering plants are comparatively rare in the ferns, scales taking their places. There are nearly four thousand species of ferns in the world, but an examination of the rocks has shown that the present number is but a handful in comparison with those that flourished when the earth was younger. In the warmth and moisture of the long ago, they grew to a great size and with the allied club-mosses and scouring- rushes played an important part in the formation of the i H THE UNCOILING FRONDS. |i: coal measures. The presence of great beds of coal in lands that are now covered with ice and snow for a larye part of each year, indicate that they once supported a luxuriant fern-flora. Tiie temperature was then, of course, much hi<;her. The tree ferns' descendants still retain their love for warmth, shade and moisture, and perhaps are still as abundant upon tropical islands as ever, but there is scarcely a spot on the globe witliout one or more species, unless it is an absolute desert. Nearly all ferns are perennial, although individual fronds seldom live more than a year. Many, even in a climate like that of Canada, are evergreen. The tree- fern with an erect trunk and a tuft of fronds at the sum- mit is probably the typical form. Our common species are supposed to be without trunks because they do not rise above the eaith but one has only to dig up the nearest species to find that if it has not a true trunk, it has what is equivalent to one. This is usually a hori- zontal axis, bearing the crown of fronds at one end antl giving off roots especially from the under surface. It is occasionally found upon the surface and seldom very far beneath it. In some the axis branches and in most the growing tip is advanced some distance each season, just as the crown of the tree-fern is lifted higher in air. The conditions under which our species exist, especially in winter, are not favourable to the formation of aerial trunks and they have therefore been modified for a life under ground. Ferns bear no flowers, — although one species is by courtesy called the flowering fern— and " fern-seed " is still as elusive and uncertain a thing as it was in the time of the Ancients. Many absurd ideas were entertained regarding it, some of which are mentioned in the chap- THE UNCOILING FRONDS. 15 tcrs on the bracken and the lady-fern. As a sort of extension of the " Doc- trine of Signatures " it was assumed that since the seed is invisible, would rcmlcr its pos- sessor invisible also. It was supposed to have many other virtues, and could be obtained only by the exercise of the greatest care and endurance. An old legend accounts for the fern's lack of flowers by asserting that all ferns bore them until the Nativity. In honour of that event, the plants that were mixed with the straw in the stable put forth their flowers. The ferns, alone, did not, and were therefore condemned for ever afterward to be flowerless. Even the early botanists rould not understand a proc- ess which in such a mysterious way produced new plants without the intervention of a flower. As late as 1828, Sir J. E. Smith wrote of the idea that ferns do not bear seeds, as follows:—"! see no advantage in applying a new denomination to the seeds of these and other cryp- togamous plants. Iledwig gave the Greek name sj^ora to the seeds of mosses because he conceived them to difTer in their structure and gcrmiiuition in some indef- inite manner from seeds in general. The most malicious rival of his immortal lame could not have i.nagined any- thint: more subversive of that fame or of his luminous FLOWERINQ FERN. \ 16 THt UNCOILING FHONDS. discoveries." And a^^in : "The production of perfect yerminatmir seeds contained in capsules .... is as clear in ferns as in mosses though nothing is certainly known of their stigmas any more than of their anthers We arc nevertheless content to plead ignorance on the subject and to presume by analogy that such parts exist, rather than to assume the idea of some other mode of nnprcgnation, hitherto unknown, wiiich would be going contrary to the first principles of Philosophy." What really happens in the generation of new ferns and the way it is accomplished, is as follows. About mid-summer, there appear upon the underside of the fronds of most species, numerous small dots very reg- ular in size and shape. These are the " fruit-dots" or son (singular, sonis) and under a simple lens are seen ilil^^W *° ^^ collections of tiny stalked globes. zit^^^ ^" *''^ majority of cases, each sorus is ■•r. covered with a membrane called an iiuinsium which conceals the tiny globes until nearly ripe. In these globes, collectively called sporangia, are pro^ ^ duced many smaller one-celled bodies known as spores. At maturity these "spore-cases" open, and with a snap scatter the spores upon the wind. Ordinarily they germinate soon after leaving the capsules if a suitable sit- uation is encountered, but failing in this, some species are able to retain their vitality for nearly twenty years. Spores must not be mistaken for seeds, however. In no way do they resemble them except that they may serve to carry the species through a resting stage, as seeds do. When a seed is planted, a plant like the parent will come up, but a germinating spore does not give rise to a sor: OF ASPLENIUM. THE UNCOILING FRONDS. ,j fern. Instead, there appears a peculiar flat, {jrccn, heart- siiaped body, scarcely a quarter of an inch across, known as the J>ro//ia//m>u. On the underside of this are borne two sets of orjjans and finally by a union of their contents, a new fern is produced. It is small wonder that this complicated process was so long a puzzle to investigators of plants. The knowledge of the subject grew very slowly. In 1648 the nature of the sporangia was first made out, and in 1669 the spores themselves were dis- covered. In 1715 Morrison Is said to ha\'e raised young plants from spores but it was not until 1788 that the office of the prothallium was known and more than thirty years later before its development was observed. Lastly it was not until near the middle of the nineteenth century that the functions of the small organs on the prothallium were discovered. The time required for a fern to come to maturity from the .spore is from three to seven years. As may be imagined, many dan- gers threaten the young sporeling, and some species have devised vari- ous " short-cuts " by which to avoid the perils that often seem to threaten the very existence of their race. One of the bladder ferns produces spores in abundance and in addition, little bulblets grow from the under surface of the fronds. The spores are scattered far and wide and may or may not land in a favourable place for germi- nation, but the bulblets drop into the soil beside their parents, ready to form new plants. It is interesting to know that the first fronds from these bulblets are much SORI OF POLY PODIUM. 18 THt UNCOILING J-HONIiS. more mature f.ian the first ones from the prothallium uiul will produce spores much sooner, being born "grown up" as one might say. In this plant, the bul- blcts seem to be the chief means of continuing the species.while the spores travel about seeking new territory. Some species send out stolons which form new plants at their tips ; others produce tubers upon their roots that may be- come new plants ; and still others root at the tips of the fronds. None of them, however, VENATION' OF A PINNA IN ASPiuiuM. are lacking in the ordi- nary means of propagation. A tropical species of Ncphrolipis has both tubers and stolons. A frond that bears sporangia is called fertile to dis- tinguish it from the unfruitful or sterile ones. In a large number of species the two are scarcely different, except for the presence of sporangia, but in others the fertile are more or less changed in appearance and reduced in size. When the blade of a frond is divided entirely to the midrib, it is said to be pinnate and the divisions are called pinme. When the pinnas themselves are divided to the midrib, the frond is said to be hi-pinnate and the second divisions arc called //«««/fj or secondary pinnce. When frond or pinna is not completely pinnate, it is said to be pinnatiful and the divisions are segments. A frond may be several times pinnate or pinnatifid in which case 111 ,' ^ FIDDLE. HfcADS." i'i r f I I mi THE UNCOILING FRONDS. »9 we have ultimate pinnules or ultimate segments for the smallest divisions, though pinnule is often loosely used to designate them all. Another peculiarity of fern fronds is the way in which they are veined. Instead of giving off branches at inter- vals, as in flowering plants the veins fork near the base and each fork may fork and fork again. Thus one vein is usually equal to any iher in the frond. Commonly the veins do not connect \ it h one ano. her, when they are said to he free. If connecting they are said to he anasto- mose and the meshes of the net-work thus formed are termed areolcs. Ferns are separated into families upon characters taken chiefly from the rootstock, the manner of veining, and the shape and position of the sori and indusia. The indusium is a remarkably unvarying feature, and of itself forms a kind of family escutcheon from which the genus can usually be determined at a glance. Thus the indusia in the Polystichums are circular ; in the Woodsias, star- shaped ; and in the Aspleniums, linear. The distinguish- ing characteristics of the other genera may be found by referring to the " key " at the back of the book. t . II ^T-^r^ - k " 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." — WoRnswoRiH. I r i M I ^ THE OSMUNDAS. MONG ferns as amonj^ flowering plants, there [arc certai" species that so persistently force themselves upon our attention as to make it (almost impossible not to know them. The members of the Osmuuda family belong to JjT this class. From the time their stout woolly crosiers peep from the ground in spring until their pinnae 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 tliem than "brakes." The Cinnamon Fern, Tlie best known of the Osiiniinitis is doubtless the cinnamon fern (Osiniiiiiid cinnainouica). 't 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 N 36 THB OSMUNUAS. .areas to itself, stretching away for long distances in level reaches of green. The young crosiers or " fiddlcheads " begin to peep up in plashy pastures before the grasj 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 portion in all the Osinundas is known as the " heart of Osmond." It is 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. Osmiiiuia ciHHaiiioiiu\i. THE OSMUNDAS. ar A FBUITINO PINNA. When full grown, the sterile fronds arc 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 i)airs of nearly opposite, lanceolate pinna; 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 very noticeable in the greening swamp- lands of late spring. An examination of one of the woolly pinnae composing these clubs will discover the counter- parts of the ordinary green pinnae 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 THH OSMDNDAS. powerless to do so at all. A si„,Ic frond will produce many nuil.ons of spores and although the condit ons for growth seen, j.st right when they arc shed, the com parat.ve ly sn.all number of mature ferns indicate very plainly tlut n.any 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 pinn.e of the sterile ronds tw.st and curl, and turning brown, soon loosen f'om the radus. I he latter runan.s erect and bare all winter m marked con'trast to some of the evergreen spec.es.n which, although the fronds continue green, the . finds 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 vv.th the persistent bases of the fronds of other yearsand creepsalong just at the surface of the soil. looking like a great shoe-brush half buried in the mud. The strong ^viry roots are given off on all sides and 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 hap])ens 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 hundre.l fronds, to say nothing of those that have decayed an.l disappeared. THE CINNAMON FERN. Osmun.hx lintuviiomea. 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 sire, 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 arc 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 frondosa. 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. It is 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. h^ 30 THE OSMUNDAS. i :i ! li The cinnamon fern is fairly well distributed in Eastern America from Nova Scotia to Florida, MexiciJ, Nebraska and Minnesota. It also grows in the West Indies. I have collected it in Jamaica at an altitude of 4,ckx) 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. T^e Interrupted Fern, yVlthougli the first of tlic Osmitndas to appear in spring and fairly abundant in northeastern America, the interrupted fern {Osmnnda 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 tliem, 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 kinrlred, 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 X c z 5^ THb OSMUND AS. 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 'A^ithout a struggle. Both kinds 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 dilTerences even before the frond has unrolled as far as the blade, for the stipes ar : 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 pinna;. The spore- bearing organs are produced near the middle of the frond and consist of from two to seven pairs of transformed pinnae 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 pinn.-c I INTERRUPTED FERN. Otmundn Ciaytflniana, Fertile frunJ. 32 the: osmundas. although ni reality ihcy 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 pinn.ne are at first dark ashy-green and at a short distance appear almost black, in pleasing contrast to the golden-grcen 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 .Iransitions 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. intcrrupta. Its preference for stony soil is very evident. With us it is sometimes called Clayton's fern. T'he Flowering Fern. The flowering fern {Osmiinda rcgalis) is the only member of its tribe that is common to both Europe and 11 H i i i J ; 1 1 THE OSMUNDAS. n America. Across the sea it is reg.irdcd 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 pinnae. 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 in turn 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 14 Tilt OSMUNDAS. alternate with those on the other. The pinna: antl pin- nules are set at some distance from each other giving the whole frond a lij^ht 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 li^ht. The rootstock often gives off short branches wliich form new crowns of fronds close to the original one. Sterile and fer- tile fronds are alike, except that in the latter the several pairs of pinna; compos- ing the upper part < ' 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 sj'OKK CASES, in the middle of the frond. The fruiting panicle is bright green until the spores ripen. 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 Linnaius to give it the name of regalis. Ditch fern is doubtless in allusion to its grow- ing near water, while buckthorn orbuckhorn 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. --♦'t?LL4r^ l^7^k . '^i^V;i:/ . "4 m'^m*^^^ '"'■' .^t 10^- FLOWERING FtRN. Osinitfit/n rri^nfis. iht OSMUNDAS. Jl The flower- ing fern i s pretty gencr- ally distribu- ted from New Brunswick to Mississippi, Nebraska and the Northwest Territory. It is also found in Mexico, Europe, Asia, and Soutli 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 Osmimda. 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 an island 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. ate zone. With two additional jjcncra, of which we'.'.' no representatives, they form the Order Osmundacea; which differs from other fern-families principally in the structure of the sporanfjia. FLOWERING FERN. Osmumfa regalis. THE RATTLESNAKE FERN AND THE ADDER'S-TONGUE. " The leaves of adders-tonj;ue stamped in a ston.; 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."— Gkkakue. 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 RATTLliSNAKB FERN AND ADDER'S-TONGUE. tlie terrifying name of tlic rattlesnake fern {Botrychium Virginiamim). It is a woodland species but by no means to be charjjed 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 wiien 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 eartli almost erect. Many suppose that eacli plant has two fronds, a fertile and sterile, but this is a 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 full\- 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 disapj)ears by July, al- though vestiges of it may be found on the frond ail 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, Jp spreads horizontally in a broad flat triangle, *,?' and above it the fertile portion rises several 1^ inches. Tlie blade is usually described as ter- f'^* nate, but it is easily seen that two of the three divisions are really the enlarged lower pair of pinna:. Calling these pinnae, the frond is quadripinnate ; or tripinnate with pinnatifid pinnai below, and once or twice pinn -le with pinnatifid pinn.ne above. The segmehts are about ovate in outline. The fertile part is two or three times pin- 8POR.VN(iI.V. RATTLESNAKE FERN. Holncliiinn Virgini,nuim. RATTLESNAKE FEKN AND ADDER'S-TONGUE. 4} nate with double rows of sporangia along the nudribs. Occasionally a plant bears two (er»'lc spikes. The spores are abundant, bri^h. yellow, and escape from the cap- sales 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 a few 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 stiH smaller bud which in turn encloses another, the latter destined not to develop for three years to 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 spe^ es 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 lar-je, do not. The cause of this sterility in the large plants is unknown unless it may be explained upon Ill llf 4.» RATTI.HSNAKJ-; FKRN AND AUDLRVTONGUE:. the supposition that they rest in alternate years. Somcthini; ol this kinil is hinted to exist among the atlder's-ton^ues, and as the liotryihiums 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 sporc-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 i t s occur- rence indi- cates the proximity of ginseng. Hemlock - leaved moonwort and Virginia moonwort are obvious derivations, the true moonwort belonging to the Botry- cliium family. I RATTLbSNAKE FtHN ANU AUDbR'S-TONGUE. 45 Our plant is found from New Brunswick to the Tropics and the Pacific Coast. Throughout most of this rcyion it is fairly common. It has numerous relatives but nonr 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 VH/ga/um) is much better known to the collector froni pictures and herbarium specimens than it is from experi- ence in the 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 thisabund- 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 Jt 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 IhilUtin. One wrote that in northern New York, he found it in "dry pastures, on and 46 RATTLESNAKE FtKN 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 j;;row in Utile 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, " 1 know few such places wiure it does not grow," In contrast to these, Mr. A. A. Katon has found fine lar^'e plants in seviii inches of sphagnum moss in New llamiv shire swamps. ■^ The tallest specimens are seUlom 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 coinmon 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 the stalk. This is a more ADDKR'S-TONHl'K Hfhntghn.um vulgalmm. PLATE I 1 HE ADDERS TONGUE Or'x.J.'^.m : ,..^.uu>n. tTOMi» COUP*'** RATTLESNAKb FbRN AND ADDER'S- rON(3UE. 47 primitive way of bearinjf spores tliaii is found in most ferns and is considered an indication that the Ophioslossums 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 prothalHa are apparently .seldom developed, perhaps because this way of getting new plants is 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 a season. It is 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 OphioglossHiHS in southern New Jersey, specimens of which were subsequently described as O. ar'itarium. 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 vulgatum 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 O. vulgatum from the mature ones of O, arenarium, and yet the extremes are so different and the habit and habitat so distinct th^t I have concluded to retain them as separate species. Thr O. arenarium 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 mo'leru standpoint of evolution." It is probable that the majority of botanists would con- sider this more properly placed as O. vulgatum annarium and not as a separate species. 48 KATTLESNAKE FERN AND ADDER-S-TONGUE. In America tlie adder's-ton<;ue is found from Canada to Florida. Missouri and sparingly to California. In the Old World it occurs in Europe. Asia, Africa and Aus- tralia. Considerinjj 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 Engclmanni. 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 prijbably a form of vnli^iXtum and better characterised as O. vulgafiim lingcl. maititi. The common name of adder's-tongue is much older than the scientific Ophioglossiim antl both have the same meaning. .\dder'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. I HERE w an herb, a»nio say, wl)<»« virtur'A such ' It in the pastuw, »iily with /^ a t»»uch " Unshoeb the new-»h«d steed ." fli THE MOONWORT AND US ALLIES. ITU the exception of the rattlesnake and common K^ape ferns, the members of the hotryihium family, altliouyh somewhat widely dispersed in eastern America, arc very little known, even to the botanizing public. In the books they are usually set down as rare, 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 Hotryihiiiiiis usually elude such attempts to discover them and are likeliest to appear wiien 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 Moomvort, The moonwort {Botrychium Linmria) 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 altlu>ugh the tip of the sterile part is slightly bent down- 5-' THE MOUNWORT AND I IS ALLIHS. W ward as if half inclined to coil ^*/' after the manner of the true ferns. It seldom grows more than a few incjjes hij^h. twelve inches beinj; probably the maximum height. %ll I''*-' lilade is usually sessile, longer than wide, and borne at or above tin- middle of the stem. It is usually pinnate, though some- what ilisposed to var>-, and his from two to eight pairs of lobes or pinna: 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 {\u 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 yiar is enclosed in the base of the stipe. In the Old World, this plant was once held in great repute for its suppcjsed power of working all sorts of wonders. Its olil names of "blasting-root" and '"spring- 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 no one thought to make a test of its pow- wurzel TUB MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. %i crs and so set the matter at rest. The old bounwt, Culpepper, who wrote about 1650, says of the moon- wort's reputed power to unshoe liorses " Moonwort is an herb which they say will open locks and unshoe such horses as tread up..n it; the^ • some laugh to scorn, and these no small fools neither, but country people that I know, cal it Unshoe the Hoise; besides I have heard commands 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 ; — " Horse* that feeding on the grassy hills. Tread upon moonwort with their hollow heels. Though lately shod, at night goe bareloot home. Tlicir maistcr musing where thir shooes be gone. O m )onwort. tell us where thou hid'st the smith Hammer and pincers thou unshodst them with. Alas, what lock or iron engine ist That can thy subtile secret strength resist. • Sith the best farrier cannot set a shoe So sure, but thou so shortly cans't undoc." . ,. # There was. however, some protest against these beliefs as may be seen from this quotation from Parkinson. "It hath bcene 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, th.it they have been known and scene it to doe so ; but what observation soever such persons doe make, it is all but false suggestions and meere lyes." Accord- MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No^ 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 I If m " 2.0 140 1.4 1.8 ^ APPLIED INA^GE Inc ^^ I65J East Mam Street r^ Rocr-ester. New York 14609 USA ^S (716; *82 - 0300 - Phone ^ (716) 288 - 5989 - Fa« S4 THE MOONVVORT AND ITS ALLIES. "ig to tlic " Doctrine of Signatures - the shape of its p.nnules showed this plant to be under the influence of the n,oon and therefore good for all diseases of a peri- odic character and especially valuable for the cure of hmacy vvh.ch was sup,^sed in some way to be caused by that lunnnary. fo be efficient, it had to be gathered at full moon and by its light. b*«-"crea " Then rapidly with foot as light As the young musk roe's, out she flew, To cull each shining leaf that grew lieneath the moonlight s hallowing beams." The moonwort is a boreal species. It is found in Greenland. y\laska 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 a very 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. T^he Common Grape Fern, The common grape fern {Botrychinm obliqunui) 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 f^nds .t 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. jj The tri.mi^Hilar, much divided blade and heavy fruiting panicle of tills species gives it consiilerable 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 pinn.-E each of which is again pinnate with lobed or incised pinnules. The blade is frequently described as ternatc, because the lowest pair of pinnai 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. Tlie sterile part of the frond spreads nearly horizontally but the fertile is much taller and quite erect. The latter is about three 56 THH MOONVVORT 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 in all the Botrychiums, is short and sends out numerous fleshy roots. The base of the living stipe com- pletely encloses the buds for succef>ding 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 ■^^iS^^^^i^^prWii* of the grape fern's ''Wlj^^^i^'- 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 d/s- scctnm but some botanists now incline to give it specific rank. If this is a distinct species, its resemblance to B. obliqHiim is truly re- markable. It affects the same habitats, fruits at the same time and has the same trick of waiting until COMMON OR.VPE FKKX. /.•,./;.•.///„,/, ollioi.un, THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. July to produce its new frond. The sterile part is also evergreen. Intermediate forms are not uncommon and the geoo,ry,h. D'^sc ot ilie stcui or liiglicr, sometimes above """""'^'"- the middle: fertile portion a simple orslightly 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 £tMSitn^ of intcrgradiii^ 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 La7ice- Leaved Grape Fern, In some parts of its range, the lance- leaved grape fern {Botrychittm lanceola- tuiii) 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 but a 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,loofeet. The underground portion of this spe- cies consists of a tangle of stout roots, one of which, descending perpendicularly, gives off irregular whorls of other roots, at intervals. Single roots are frequently sev- 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 the top of the stem. It is somewhat ,,ancf..i.eaved triangular in outline with two or more '^Mum^/I'^^aifium' \ 6o THH MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIRS. pairs of opposite piniuu, the lowest pair, of course, much the largest, as befits a Botrycliitim. The pinna: arc them- selves usually piiinatifid with lobed or sharp-toothed seg- mcnts, but show a decided tendency to vary. In jjeneral 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. In the southern part of its range, the spores are ripe about the last week in July. Ihitrycliimn laiiccolatum is found from New Jersey, Oliio, Colorado and Washington to the far north. South- ward it appears to be an ujiland 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 is the 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 trutli be applied to the matricary grape fern {Rotrychium tnatricariccfoliuni) 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 faiily constant in a few particulars that seem to warrant us in considering them distinct. The most important is the difference in the time of fruiting. The present species fruits nearly a month earlier than lanccolatnm, its spores often ri[)ening by the middle of i'^ PLATE il. THE MATRICARY GRAPE FERN lloKyJiium i,uU>i.„ri.if\'/ui,n. LOPYtilGHT, fJOl. BY rHEOEMICf A STOkE ', (OMP*'*" PRlSTFD IS AMERCA I SI :;u:l i l.!| THE MOONWORT AND ITS AI.LItS. June. It is also a tailcr. ncshicr plant and rather the more coimnoii of tlic two. The fronds are from four t(. twelve inches high and the blade, which is in- clined to be ovate in outline, is situated a short distance below the fruitin^j spike. In small plants it may be only pinnatifid but in the larger species it is usually twice pinnate. In all. the fina 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 lameola- turn m being stalked after the manner of B. obliquum although the frond it- self is more nearly like that of /,'. Lunar ia. In North America this species has the same range as B. lanceolatum 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. iiegUctunt. In 1898 Mr. A. A. Eaton discovered in a New Hampshire sphagnum swamp a large number of peculiar Botrychi. urns which have since been described as a new species and named Botrychium taiebrosum. Many botanists incline to regard these specimens as forms of B. MATRICARY (iKAHE FRRN ^"tryc'uum M„lyu,,r,,,/oi,um. 63 THK MUUNWURT ANlJ Us Al.Ul.S. matncnucjolmm that have grown in situations unsuitcd to then. liuy would therefore seem n.orc properly named /.". mn I ruanu folium Uiubrosum. The smallest a.c only an inch 1,1^1, with tiny threadlike stems and minute fertile and sterile parts while the laryer sometimes reach a knythof nine inches' I li.y can hardly be calle.i nine inches Ingh, since in such si.cc.mens the stem is usually decumbent with two or three inches of the stipe under ground. Like /;. sitnpUx, 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 ht i<:ht above ground is tw«) inches and most commonly the sterile lamina is sessile or sli;^ditly stalked, less than one cpiarter 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 ape.x isemaiginate. 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 ^«/rt.,///«w„M/r,,,.>^,>. scmi-lunate lobes, the lower of which folium tentbrosum. i. , i ii , are 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. 6j 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 tetubrosuin 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 simplex. 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 arc never able to reach the light and air, but bear fruit, nevertheless. Thus far it has been reported from Vermont, New Hampshire, M; ssachusetts and New York. It is likely to be found elsewhere within the range of the other small Botrychitims. In some spots, two hundred and fifty specimens have been collected in an hour. 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. simplex to the largest of B. Virginianmn. " As a coming screen grows the bracken green ; Up springcth it fair and free, Wfiere 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. " It 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. 1'!^*! THE BRACKEN. r is 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 cf 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 {Pteris aquiUna) 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 braclccn 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. " 7° THE BRACKEN. |i 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 ofT 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- een feet Ion- have been recorded from Ireland. Wil- hamson not., 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 .ts presence is supposed to indicate a thin and barren soil. The rootstock is black, smooth and about as thick as It is rather deep in the earth and ones iittle-finfier. o THE BRACKEN. 7> creeps for long distances. A good stron;^' 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 rootstocksare 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 BRACKEN, ritrii aquilina. 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 stifT stipes look not unlike the claws of some large bird. No doubt this accovmts for the name of turkey foot fern, sometimes applied to it. 72 THt 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 divideu ; that is, the lowest pair of pinna are so much larger than tiie rest, that the frond appears as if made up of three nearly equal divisions. Counting these lowest divisions as pinna;, 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 pmns 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 rcflexed edges. There is said to be a second mdusium, also, attached within the receptacle and spreading beneath the sporangia but this is not to be discerned in most specimens. When young the outer mdusium 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 111 America. The last, as well as the specific name aqiiihna, is supposed to have been given to the plant from some eagle-likc 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 heme, signifying eagle. The name THK 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 ;o6t." 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- i\l| 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- fect the representation, the more lucky you will 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 feme being burned, driv- eth away serpents, gnats and other noisome creatures " and that "the sent of it is very gratefuU to the brtine." In the seventeenth century it was customary to burn the bracken when rain was needed. It is said there is still in existence a letter from an early English king, who, desirous of having fine weather during his visit to Staf- 'KING CHARLES IN THE OAK.- 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 tl,c legend, fern seed could be ob. tamed from this " Wondrous one-night-secding fern " only on midsummer eve. " But on St. John's mysterious night, .Sacred to many a wizard .spell. The time when first to human si^jht Confcst, the mystic fern seed fell : t'i i I i MI seek the shaggy, fern-clad hill Where time has delved a dreary dell IJetitting best a hermit's cell ; And watch 'mid murmurs muttering stem The seed departing fronj 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 floucr which soon gave place to a shining, fiery seed that r-ened 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 anotlicr way of obtaining fern seed, I quote an ancient authority. "Although that all they that have THE BRACKEN. 75 written of herbes have afTyrmcd and holdcn that the brake hath nether st.de nor frutc, yet have I dyvers tymes proved tlie contrarryc. ... I have foure yeres to. gether, one after another upon the viyill of Saynte Jolin the Baptiste . . . soughte for this sedc of brakes upon the nyyhte and indeed found it earlye in the nioruynge before the daye brake. The scde was small, blackc and Uke unto poppye. ... I gathered it after tins ni.inner. I laid shetes and mollcn 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.andsorcerycs sett asyde, takyng wyth me two or three honest 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. As a packing for fruit, fish and vegetables it has the reputation of keeping off mildew and decay. In w A FRUITING PINNA. 76 THh BRACKKN. I-«.ropc. .n times of scarcity, tlic roots have been ground a.u m.xed with flour in niakintj bread, and also brewed w.tli the beer. The yount' crosiers n.ay be cooked and eaten like asparagus. It is said that these are often offered for sale in the Japan.-se 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 n.ade into balls and used instead of soap. The fronds make a brisk fire, and accordin- to Withering, have been used for burning limestone. The ashes have also been used in making glass. Mouses have been thatched with the fronds and m many parts of the world they are cut as a bedding for stock. Urn nquilina /'in,,fo,,,iui.,la. Lower I'i " In June and in Aujrust. as well doth appeare Is best to mowe brakes of all times of the ycere." The bracken is seldom found in the fern garden, per- haps because it ,s so common in field and wood as to THE BLACKEN. 77 almost justify its being considered a weed. The great spreading fronds, however, arc 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 accumplishment. It is about as hard to start in a new place as it is to root it out when it has once obtained a 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 iA 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 especiJ abundant in the pine barrens. The part of a frond sh Am is from a Long Island specimen collected by the author. I* 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 underneatji. The generic name, Pteris, 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 far.iily. Since our plant differs from other species of Pteris 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. ! Far upward 'neath a shelving cliff \Vhere 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 flowei., that bloom By wood and field, by stream and hedge ; For me there grows the dainty fern That droops upon the stony ledge. 0-' 'm\ THE CLIFF BRAKES. HE bracken is now considered to be the sole representative of its genus in northeastern America. Time was, however, v.hcn other species were chissed with it, but owing to some slight differences in the manner of fruiting, these latter are now placed in tiie genus Pi'llwa. Superficially examined, the fruiting seems to be identical, but there is this difference : in Pteris the sporangia are borne on a continuous rccrptacle connect- ing the ends of the veins, on the margin of the pinnules; in Pclld'a 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 Pcllaa are ripe, they frequently appear to form a continuous line, as in Pteris. WINTER BRAKE. Ptlltta atropurpureu. ^l v^r 84 THE CLIFF BRAKES. T^he Winter Brakt, Those who dwell in other than limestone regions, have not a very good chance of finding the winter brake {PcUiea atropnrpurea) 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 moist i.e, 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 hairlikc, 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 undiv.'ded and nearly circular in outline, the II \ ■ ^-'VVi^^' ,pO"^ WINTER BRAKE. Pellua uiropurpiirea. THE CLIFF BRAKES. gj next to appear are eared at base and in those that fol- low, the ears grow more distinct until tliey 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 atropiirpiirea 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 {Pcllcea gracilis) is even more closely associated with the lime-tone than its relative. There appears to be no record of us 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 h6 THE CLIFF BRAKES. hi: its natural place of ^irowtli. 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 ligiit, covering the shelvinj,' 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 so long. The blade is l.mceo'ate, and, in heavily fruited fronds, twice pinnate with linear pinnules. When less fruitful the frond is usually simply pinnate with ovate pinna,' 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 pinnai and broad, obtuse seg- ments which are entire or irregu- larly notched. The stipes are as TIP OK FKRTii.E FROND ^^"S OT longer than the blades ENi.AKGED. and are straw-coloured. There seems to be a complete gradation from wholly sterile fronds to those most heavily fruited. This is one of our most delicate species and is able to live only in deep shade and moisture. It withers at the first si-n of dryness, often disappearing by the first of August in situations subject to summer drouths. The greater part of its range appears to be north of the United / s^/ .• SLENDER CLIFF BRAKE. Pdlcni :^rnci'i^ THB CLIFF BRAKKS. States. The most southern stations arc in rcnnsylvaiiia, Illinois, It)\va and Colorado, mostly in cool and olevatcd regions. It is quite remarkable that this thin-frondcd plant which seems so little adapted to e.\. tremes of temperature should be found on!- 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 tonjjue. 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 Pteris gracilis. Later it was callctl Pillica gracilis and until recently was known by that name. Then it was changed to /'. Stcllcri and still later placed in another genus as Crypti)- gramma Stcllcri. It is likely that the ntajor- 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 900 feet. The Dense Cliff Brake, The dense cliff brake {Pclhca dcusa) prop- erly belongs to the northwestern p.irt of North America, being found frt>ui California and Colorado northward to Alaska, but it also strays as far east as Mt. Albert in Quebec. In this ])art of its range it is ex- tremely rare. Only one other eastern local- ^vaw ,,',»«,.. Fertile Frond. 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, arc densely tufted. The blades are ovate-tii- 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 narrow 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 Pellaa. 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 dr>' 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. 11: 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 t.ses ; And now it shimmers in the light In hues of brown or silvery white. TW'Ould seem a vandal act to tread Where such a dainty fabric's spread. 15ut drawing nearer, we discern Naught save the banners of the fern ; The Woodsia fern that scorns to dwell By shaded cliff, in sliadowy 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 c ^Hector who lives in a region abounding in shaded ledges of limestone may count himself fortunate, since it is in such places that the families '^^PIESB^^^^ °^ rock-loving ferns attain their ' ^ ' JzWM^K^mLr' 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 v" / ' 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 to a higher ledge may bring to our hand some rare and graceful denizen of the rocks for which we have long been looking. T/)e Rusty JFoodsia, 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 VVOOUSIAS. i 'i f; l)clitor.s, for it elects to dwell in places where most others cannot exist. It delights in the very crests of exposed precipices, often throwing in full sun. In the region about Little Falls. N. J., it is an abundant and character- istic species, <;rowini/<,/la. • s 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. OWEVKR much \vc may admire the summer species, we can scarcely fail to have a higher regard for those sturdy ferns that remain 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 Polystkhum 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 Polystichuins, the sori are round and covered with a circular indusium which is f^xed 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. lo6 THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. The Christmas Fern, To the hunter, the trapper and the rambler in the winter woods, the Christmas fern {Polystichum acrosti- choidcs) is a familiar species. In summer it is not espe- cially noticeable, but in the snowbound season, the cheerful, fresh-lookin-; fronds are sure to attract the eye. It is a 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 uncoiliii 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 upon rachis and stipe, especially the latter, through the season. The fronds occasionally reach a height of three feet, and arc 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 car 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 littk assemblages of tiny brown ant- hills. One of these pinnules is shown in the Key to the Genera. CHRISTMAS FERN. Pofystkhum acrostichoides. Fertile and Sterile Fronds. rWE CHRISIMAS AND HOLLY FbKNS. 107 The variety incistim is frequently found with the- typical plants. It is distinguished by the deeply toothed pinnules and by the way in which the sori are borne. Tiiesc are not confim.-d entirely to the narrowed upper part of the frond, but continue downward on the tips of the other pinniu, {^rowing fewer in number toward the base. In rich shady woods.onc 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 i Polyttichum acrosiickoHfs incitum. lo8 THE CHRISTMAS AND HOL NS. The fronds of an allied species are similarly used for decorations in the West. The Christmas fern is found from southern Canada to I'loriila, Missis- sippi, Arkansas and Wisconsin. Its favourite liaunt is prob.ibly a rocky "side liill,'" slopin^f away from the south and covered with a variety of deciduous trees, but it does not disdain the cvertjreen 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 witii stunted and dull coloured fronds. In tlie West, our species is repre- sented by r. vtuiiittim which has the same cared i)innules and Kioks much like it but lacks the narrowed tips in the fertile fronds. Our plant is frequent ■:-->« ~ „— > '» out-door cultivation, its hard- "^''^V^^---l '"^"^^ making it one of the most %^^|'^^>- s.itisfactory species for this purpose. The Holly Fern, It is quite in keeping with our ideas of such matters that the lioUy fern iPolyslichum loncliitis) should be an ever- green and nearest of kin to the 0 5^ ll'>I I.V FKRN. PLATE 111. THE CHRISTMAS FERN /\>iystuhinu ,urostirfu^u1fs. THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FBKNS. 109 Christmas fern. Half the appropriateness of the name would be lost if the plant droi)pccl its fronds at the beginninjj 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 loaves. That it loves the cold, is shown by its range which extends over the northern parts of both Hemis- pheres. In America, its southern li lus are nearly identical with the northern limits of the «Jhristmas 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 (jarcd pinnules, and grow in circular clumps. They difTer, 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 does not 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. no THE CHRISTMAS AND HOLLY FERNS. I % ^ K^-i sy r»? 162^. rotytiiiltum Braunii. Brauns Holly Fern, The last of this trio ui Poly stic hums — P. Braiinii—ia, like the holly fern, an inhabitant of the more northern partsof 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 Polystichtan aculeatum and our plant was long the ight to be a 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 two feet or more. Tiiey are lan- ceolate in outline on short stipes and twice pinnate. The pinnse 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 arc on the backs of ordinary fronds and not very con- spicuous. The fronds '■emain 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. iii nules, the holly fern was once believed to be an immature form of this species or of the closely allied, /'. acuUatuvi. According to Dodge's " Ferns and Fern Allies of New England," this species is common along the mountain brooks of northern New England. In Canada it 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. It is also found in Michigan. In the West it is replaced by the true P. acnleatum as well as by the varieties Californicum and augiilare. The genus Polystichum as now defined contains about thirty species, pretty generally distributed throughout the world. The name is derived from two G-eek words signifying many rows. It is difficult to understand its application here unless it refers to the rows of sporangia. ti'.t- ^t Ml ; CkUblEKS. THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. m II ' 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.' • I li ^ THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. N Eastern America, two families of ferns divide nearly half our species between them. One of tl>esc is ^fT known as the genus Aspidium or Dryoptcris, the other as AspUnium. ■r^^ As the genus Aspidium has been 2|f' understood in America, it has in- ^Z-^ eluded a diversity of forms, some of 1^ " which have but recently been re- moved to the gonus Polystichum. Those that remain fall very natur- ally into two divisions as regards form and habitat, and to Mie 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 . 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 {Aspidium Thelypteris). It is one of our commonest ?>pecies, and al- though, as its name indicates, the marsh is its favourite lis THE MARSH FbKN TRIBE. MARSH FERN. A ipi.iiH m Iheht'l' > is. dwelling; place, it is also found in the wet woodlands, along streams and in damp mea- dows. It avoids actual w ater but soft watery mud is its dclii-ht. In open places it ^jrows as thickly as grass, often to the exclusion of other vcyetation, and seems to court the sun if it can obtain a supply of moisture. Early in spring, before other marsh plants have come up, the slender crosiers of the marsh fern begin to push above the black soil. They are not flattened laterally as are the crosiers of most ferns but shaped like little green spheres, These attractive looking objects nodding at the tops of the long stipes in the swampy wastes, are 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 seen with the lower pinn;e ful- VENATION. spread whilf the unprr are still coiled. THE NURSH ftm. Along streams and in damp meadows.' %«rfrv THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 119 SOKI. Th- 5t fronds arc always sterile. They are n, lanceolate, broad at base and once pinnate, with the pinnae 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 rounded lobes. Bipinnate fronds with toothed or piimat- ifid pinnules also occur. It is not until about the middle of July or later that the fertile fronds are produced. They arc 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 a'-c 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 pinna:. 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 pinna 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 I20 nil; swubii m;rn tkihb. (liu bclt)ii;,;si() aiiotlicr family. In tliu Isle of Wight, ac- cording; to Hiittiii, it is calkil ground fern, while aii- t)tlRr Kn^lisli u ritcr 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 PiMii'wii a>i ueaver J meadows. T ii e name of snulf- rilH SNTKK HOX. bo.\ fern will no r tIiiMi;;ht particularly appropriate by all who examine full}- matured fertile fronds. The pinnules curl over the abundant s])orangia in such a way as to appear \ery much like tiny half-open snuff boxes. Per- haps (piill fern is also in allusion to the rcvolute pinnules. The marsh fern is fouml from Canada to North Caro- lina, the Indian territory and Kansas and occurs also in Kurope anil Asia. It thrives well in the fern garden but can scarcely be said to be a beautiful species and is therefore little cultiv.ited except upon the borders of small lakes and p(jnils. T/)e New York Ferft. Just as the marsh fern loves wet situations, the New York fern {.Is/iiiiiiini XiKulhtrdicnsc) loves dry ones. It is not meant that either is strictly confined to its favourite doniain, but that their habitats seldom overlap to an\- j^reat extent. In tlr\-, shaily woodlands, this is an abundant — pf.ssihly the most abundant — species. It par- ticularly loves the shade of oak, birch, maple and beech but avoids direct s\inli;^lit ami seldom remains long after the sheltering trees are removed. NEW YORK FERN, AspiJium NiAuhoraceme. THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 121 1^ % The slender crosiers of this species resemble those of the marsh fern, with blades rolled into similar green balls, but the stipes are much shorter. The mature fronds arc very thin and deli- cate, of a light yellow-green colour, and are produced in tufts along a slender creeping rootstock. In shape they arc broadly lanceolate, pinnate, and taper from about the middle to the acuminate apex. Below, the pinnae grow farther and farther apart, and are gradually reduced in size until the lowest are mere green cars. The pinna 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 numer- ous species but in this one sweet and strong. One of its allies, Aspidium orcoptcris, is called sweet-scented fern in England. It is described as having the under surface sprinkU-d with shining, yellowish, resinous globules, and even the crosiers are fragrant. One of its admirers writes of it, *' F"ew things in nature are more beautiful than a great number of these plants \~„. .V«^ ,,<"V ^, ^ c^ NEW YORK FERN. AsfiJiitm SoTtbor,\- emit. 122 THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. !' -s^^ FRUITING PlNNiB. before they arc unfoUlcd. The grass seems strewn with silver balls ami as you reluctantly tread on them and brush by them, the scent is delicious." I'rof. Peck has described a variety fragrans of the New Vork fern wliich is principally distinguished by the oiiour, and later, Katon made a variety suavcoUns of which he says, " l-'ronds narrower, slightly more rigid, very sweet scented in drying, the under surface copiously si)rinkled 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 arc produced a little later than the sterile and scarcely differ from them except that heavily fruiting fronds are slii;htly taller and narrower. As in all of the As/>i(iiiiiiis, the sori are round and covered with a kidney-shaped iiulusium. In this species the indusium is dotted with little glands and the sori are rather small ami 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 sonic doubt about it. Several gave it the specific name of l/ithftcroiiiis because of its resemblance to Thclyptcris,&nd others called it X\\c VAx\c\.y No'nboracctise o{ the latter. The two, however, are very distinct. If it is remembered that in Xortlioraniisc the pinn.x are always much decreased tow.ird the base of the frond, it will not be THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. laj VENATION. the other members of its genus in easy to confuse it with its ally. In fact, the single char- acterisitic of the re- duced basal pinna:' serves to distinguish this species from all 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 Now Jersey. It is reported to occur also in the mountains of Southern Asia. In California there is a species {As/>i- dimn yct'itdense) 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, a name without apparent meaning. Aspidium Simulatum, Counting from the time of christening, Aspidium siiitn- latum is our youngest fern. It has been 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 Noveboraci'Hse or T/wlyptcris, were quite astonished, and the wonder grew when it was subsequently found to be 124 TUB MARSH FERN TRIBE. "^J^) f.iiily plentiful over a wide range of territory. When one becomes ac(iuaiiUed with its appearance it is very easily distinguished from its congeners, but its superficial resemblance to the marsh and New Vol k ferns is close enough to make trouble for the novice. When this species was first col- lected, is perhaps not known. There is a note in Eaton's " Ferns of North America*" regarding a form of Tlulyptcris " with most of the veins simple and the lower pinna; a little contracted " which is doubtless to be re- ferred to this species, and Lawson seems to have had the same thing in mind when ^u> he described in the Canadian Naturalist his variety iiitertnedium of Aspidium Tlulyptcris. Mr. Raynal Dodge, however, was first to notice its specific differences. He oriltris the veins nDrni.illy fork once. Aspiiinim simnialHin is at present known to jjrow in most of the New Kngland States, New York, I'enn- sylvania and .M.iryiand. Its partiality to spruce and taniai.ick swamps is most pronounced. In the twolocali- tics known for the ftin in New Voik State, it grows in ilark ced.ir swamps in company with XWhuhcardia angui' tijolia and an occasional marsh fern. It is a sin^jular fact tli.it it thrives best in spots too shady for Thelypttris to be fruitful, .iiui in moisture too great for Soviboracmse to be common. It is the opinion of many botanists that this spci ies is nearly as widely distributed as the ferns it minucs Init is not reported because confused with the others. There is a tciulency in some sections to call this the Massachusetts shield fern. lUit since the fern is not confmcil to that State, and is common in localities far re- moved from New England, such n name is both unfortu- nate and misleading. Many suppose that this species w.is n.tmed simuhitum because of its resemblance to SiK'iboracciisc and TJu/rftirii. While this thought may // ^/n/T) \^!ivc occurred to its ■T/y^''^^ilWij}Jl^ls^S^kia. describer, he writes uuD /ukHo nl^^^^^^^^^^^ *'''^* '* ^^^^ ^° named \^\j\j\j\jA«> because it simulates a narrow woodland VENATION. form of the lady fern (Athyriiim Filix-fa-miiia). Even the young col- lector, however, ouj^ht to be able to distinguish it from the l.itter. Our illustrations are from specimens collecteil by the author near Habylon, Long Island. The generic n.inu', .Ispiiliiiin is from the Greek and I THb MAKSli I bKN TKIBH. ia7 means a little shield, in allusion tu the shape nf the in- dusium. Many uf the common names given to members of the genus uic also derived from this shape. Dryoptcris, sometimes used instead of A:>pidium, is also from the Greek and literally means oak-fern. There arc upwards iM one hundred and fifty species distributed throughout the world. It is probable that the generic name Nephrodium will ultimately be used for these specie^ in Amcr'ca. It is the name commonly usc«l abroad. MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART lANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2) 1.0 I.I 2.8 1^ fr 13.6 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.6 ^ APPLIED IIVHGE I ^^^ 1653 East Mam Street y*a Rochester, New rork 14609 USA "■^a; (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^S ^^1^) 288 - 5989 - fax m Mill. ^]'iM .. What means this persistent vitahty ? NN y w^e ^ ^p.ru when the brakes and osniundas were stricken down ? The> sta a Tf to keep up the spirits of the cold-bU...ied frogs wh.ch have not > 11 into L t^ud'that the sun^n.er n.ay die wuh ^'ecent a.^.^u. e^ moderation Is not the water of the spring miproved by the.r pres Tnce "They fall back and droop, here and there like the plumes of departing summer, of the departing year. Even m them 1 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 "5. .-- the members of the genus Aspidiuvt 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 unfair y treated so far as a permanent name is concerned. As to the number of its names, nothing can be complamed 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 klwn as Aspiduan, DryopUris. ^^P'^^'^ZZ. Lastrea. In the Old World, the spec.es are oftencst failed Lastrea or Nepkroduan; in Amer^an books they will usually be found in the genus Asptdtum. It is but Te ently that the proposal to substitute the name Dryoplris has been made. This latter may perhaps be the oldest name, and therefore, accordmg to the much cited rule of priority, the proper one for the genus, but it has thus far failed of acceptance by most botanists. , , j„.o 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 beanng the.r sporan- gia in roundish sori covered with a kidney-shaped mdu- sium that is attached to the frond by the s.nus. «34 THR WOOD FERNS. 'The Marginal Shield Fern, MAKdlNAI. SlIlKI-O FERN. AsJ-hlium iiiarghKilf. In rocky wood- lands, especially in hilly country, the marginal shield fern {A spidiu III ma r<^iiiah) is a common and 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 its graceful circles of fronds wherever it can obtain a foot- hold. 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 pinna; are lanceolate, broadest at base, with numerous narrow, slightly falcate pinnules which, especially in the lower part of large fronds-, may 1)0 again lobed or pinnatifid. The stipes are rather short and (Kiiscly chaffy. 'LATE IV THE MARGINAL SHIELD FERN. .•/../;„/»/« m.n-inaL (^(•THiCjMT. lyot. PHINTED \H AMERICA tOKeS toMPAS' THB WOOD FtWNS. ns The sporangia are borne on fronds simi- "| lar to the sterile ones and aiJDcar almost a" soon as the fronds unroll in sprin-,. The consp.cuous ^ndusia are convex, white or lead colour when youn,. and owing to their thickness, do not w.ther so soon as FRUITING PINNiK. the indusia of most ferns. The sori are found on the margins of the pinnules and so close to the ed,e as to Xn appear to project beyond it. There is no cvowd- i„l of ^l^ sori. Each is separated from its ne^hb.n '"^ by an appreciable interval and if one happens to be missin.^'. its place is not encroached upon by the others. This manner of fruit- Ing is so characteristic that it alone serves to distinguish this species. It is to be regretted that the strictly Americai^ ferns have so little folk-lore connected with them. Our cou.itry was apparently settled at too late a P-'-^ ^ -^^ Tental development for the ferns to be -- -d 't^ - Tame degree of wonder and speculation that Old W o 1 d spTciesfnspired in earlier generations. Most of our folk- W ha been imported and such of our spec.es as do no occur rthe other side of the world usually have no SORI. ^^ THt VVOUU It HNS. .,„,.,i,y -bid. U slurcs »Uh .ho male ..r„. ^^^.^.^^ .::;:" ■c:rA;;:L:^:iA;:.a::a,; ..« .... a.u. °:.,c.ain„. .. may be "^aed bo.eve. «« .end re, rr.^r;:- •: r,™;.:'. mit ";;- • ^bc ,pecie, is r excluen. one .or cultivation in sbady s.tuat.ons about dwellings. The Male Fern, The male fern {Aspidium fiUx-mas) is a^'^^ly ^i*^ * v ...,1 .oecies It is plentiful in many parts of Europe l:;a Asia an "; found 'in Greenland and the mountains : South America. In North America Us range mostly beyond the limits of the United States. It is mostly Dcyuii ^ Michi- not uncommon m Canada ^"^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ed to gan. In the mountams of the West, it is repo evtend as far south as Arizona. n tne^l appearance this is so much like the margi- na sh "id fern that one description would almost ; or boti;-. in fact, short-sighted botanists have called them but two forms of the same spec.es. They a to^er. nor likely to be so classed by any one ZL as seen them growing. The frond in this species is :radest above the middle and at base is usua y apprec. ably narrowed. The pinnules are conspicuously toothed THE HOME OF THE WOOD FERNS. THE WOOD FERNS. t$7 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 '^J^^^^JS^l^ properties. The stem and roots are bitter and astringent and have been used in lieu of hops in brewing. Its ashes have also been used in glass making. The curious " St. John's hands " once sold to the credulous as charms against 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. In an order of plants so varied in form ^^ and texture as the ferns, there may th».^male fer^. easily be several standards of beauty. 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. ij greatly when removed from their natural surroundings. Tried by any of these standards, Goldie's fern {Aspidium Goldieanum) 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 ai 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 art nearly twice pinnate, the stalked lanceolate acuminate pinnai 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 pinnae 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 IMNXA. THt WOOD FERNS. «39 undergrowth. It is not generally distributed in its range, is often rare or missing over larye stretches of coun- try, and is seldom as plentiful as viarginak. 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 cclsum. It differs from the type in being narrower, more erect and with pinnules and pinnae 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 {Aspidium cristahim) with its tall narrow fertile fronds quite erect in the dim light, as if disdaining the mud in which it is rooted. But this is in 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 pinnjc 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- I40 THE WOOD FERNS. nules which are cicnulate 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 Indies, 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- mile is illustrated in the Key to the Genera. The >o<.t^tock is of medium size, horizontal and creeping. A sfiJium cristntum. Middle pinna. The crosiers are covered with broad, light-brown scales, moiiy of which remain on the stipes after the blade has unfurled. This species is very sensitive to varying amounts of hsht and the pinnne, 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 pinnre will twist around until at the prober 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 Europe and Asia. Its favourite haunt is the woodland 'r^^ CRESTED FERN. Aspidium cristatum. (I THE WOOD FERNS. 141 swamp, though it may be found aloni; streams, m mo.st thickets and occasionally in the open ground. A form principally distinguished by us much larger and broader fronds is known as the variety Cluaomanum It is found in rich wet woods in America but has not been reported from the Old World. It may sometimes be mistaken for Goldicanum but is easily distinguished bv its broad triangular lower pinna;. Mr. Davenport has recently described a curious plant with characteristics intermediate between this spec.es and ItarHnaU which he calls A. cnstatum X utargwale. He cSTrs it a hybrid and describes it as having the upper pa" of tU frond like ;«.r,W. and the lower third like llfstlon, with veining and texture like the latter. The rootstock is erect and the frond is very P-ne to ..n; and to nroduce abortive and misshapen fronds. The son are borne near the margin of the pinnules and the indusiunj •s onvex ast „J,i„alc. Thus far it has been found in various places if all the New England States and in New Jersey. A,pidiu^ crUtatum Clintonianum. Middle pinna. Aspidium Boottii, In appearance Aspidium Boottii stands half way be- tween the crested and the spinulose sn.eld ferns ad 1 sometimes thought to be a hybrid between them. It has 143 THE WOOD FERNS. i ! V»^ also been described at different times as a variety u( buth species. Present day students, huwever, unite in con- sidering it distinct. Nevertheless it is a form to puzzle the novice, since it is so easily confused with other species that it often requires careful study to separate them. In the cutting of the fronds it is most like sfinulosuin ; \\ (^vf " shape it approaches cristatum. This species attains a height of from two to three feet. The fronds are half erect and oblong-lanceolate in outline. The blade is about twice pinnate. In the lower part, the pinnai are triangular- ovate and again pinnate with oblong, bluntish divisions, the largest of which are cut into blunt segments with bristle- like teeth at the apex. In the upper, the pinn.TE are lanceolate, broadest at base with broad, bhint-toothed seg- The frond is always twice pinnate be- low, a point that makes its separation from the 'rested fern easy. It is, however, somewhat variable in its cutting and some forms are likely to be often referred to spinulosum. The fertile fronds are much like the sterile in shape though usually slightly taller and more deeply cut. The sori are rather smaller than those of cristatum and borne in a similar double row on the pinnules. Nearly all specimens have a tendency to produce one or more sori on the teeth of the pinnules as well, thus obscur- ments. As/iiiiium luK'llii. Aspidium cristatum ClintonLinHm. As^/i/imm fitwtlii. l.ownl pinna. THt WOOD FERNS. M3 ing the regular- ity of the rows. The iiidusia are minutely glandu- lar. According to some authors a third set of fronds internR-di- ate in size be- tween fertile and sterile and which may or may not bear sporang.a is produced in late summer. J'"* /^^tf" ment would seem to need confirmation. The fronds show their kinship to cris/atnm by the fact that the fer- tile wither : ..utumn. while the sterile rema.n green throuch the V .ter. ,,• • • This species is found from Nova Scot.a to \ .rgm.a and Minnesota and is also reported from Alaska It is most abundant in wet shady places and is especial y fond of swampy alder thickets. It appears to be fa.r y com- mon, although In comparison with other wood ferns, it is rare in collections. ne Spinuiose Shield Fern. Thespinulose shield {cuy{Aspidium spviulosum)^t^A\ts varieties are among our commonest species but their abundance in no wise detracts from their beauty. They are most plentiful in deep moist woods where they flour- ish in the shelter of rocks and large trees or arch along the mossy banks of streams. The species may be distinguished from its relatives and from nearly all our other ferns by its finely divided •44 THE WOOD FERNS. foliage. The blade is nearly three times pinnate, the ultimate pin- nules being small, oblong, blunt at the ends and s p i n u 1 o s e toothed. The cutting, however, varies greatly. The secondary divisions are not always com- pletely pinnate but they are al- ~~ways so near it as to give a very delicate, lace-like effect to the frond. The pinnules on the in- ferior side of tlie pinna; are fre- '-., quently elongated especially in the lowest pair, a characteristic very com- mon in this family. The sori are borne on the backs of ordinary fronds in what approximates a double row on each of the secondary divisions, a sorus being located at the base of each pinnule. It not infrequently happens, however, that the pinnules themselves bear one or more sori which breaks up the regularity of the rows and makes the arrangement of the fruit dots loss definite than it is in other species. The indusium is kidney- shaped and smooth. The sporangia early turn to a shining black and do not be- come brown until late in the season. The fronds are produced from a short stout rootstock and all appear in early spring. The two varieties of this species are so much like it in appearance that good students cannot always agree as to SPINULOSE SHIELD FKRN. Aspidium spinuloiuvt intermedium. CRESTED FERN, A The Fragrant Fern. The fragrant fern {Aspidium fragrans) cannot be mistaken for any of its relatives, but there are many collectors who would gladly mistake it for anything, if by so doing, they might add it to their collections. It is a rare and hardy little species, growing in clefts in the face of precipices in the northern parts of our country and yields only to the en- during and persistent fern hunter. The f ro n d s are usually not more than eight inches long and grow in circular tufts. They are narrowly lanceolate and twice pinnate, the oblong pinnules being deeply toothed. The short stipes that bear them are covered more ^ or less thickly with chaffy brown scales. Both sides of the frond are glandu- lar, the under surface most so. The sori are borne on the narrow pinnules and are covered with unusually large membrana- ceous indusia. These often entirely conceal the whole under surface of the frond. A collector who has had the pleasure of finding this fern in a new station, thus writes of it in the Fern Bul- letin. "There could be no possible quest:, a of its identity, this time. It was way up on the bare dry face of the cliff, far out of reach ex. FRAGRANT FERN. A spidium fragra ns. 148 THE WOOD FERNS. II A Fruiting Pinna. cept by some sort of a ladder. But it was so unlike any other species with its dry, curling, snuff-coloured fronds of last year, that I knew it was the one I wanted. ... Its chief characteristics are, first, that peculiar ap- pearance of the old fronds : you couldn't curl them more gracefully than they appear drooping over the edge of the rocks; second, the glutinous fronds — grass and leaves adhere to them ; third, its pecul'ur fragrance. Gray says aromatic ; that doesn't half tell the story. I gathered a clump of it on the cliff and dropped it down in my pocket handkerchief and the perfume lasted for days. I think it is like new mown hay composed largely of sweetbriar rose leaves. It grows on the dryish cliff sides where anything else would be scorched by the sun's heat. Look for a place where there is a bare cliff, overhanging, a little, perhaps, so that the rain cannot reach it and up above all the trees so that it can have no shade at all, and if you find a fern there, test it by its fragrance, its stickiness and its beautiful brown curls." The fragrance has also been likened to that of primroses, strawberries and raspberries and the plant is known sometimes as the sweet polypody. The greater part of the fragrant fern's range is north of the United States. It has been found in a few ele- vated stations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Northward it extends to Alaska and Greenland and is reported to be the commonest species in some districts. It is found also in Northern Europe and Asia and is there occasion- ally used as a tea, being valued as an anti-scorbutic. Al- FRAGRANT FERN. Aspidiuni .fnii^tum THE WOOD FERNS. 149 though subjected to great cold for a large part of the year, its fronds are evergreen. The illustrations are from Vermont specimens. The derivation of the names Asp idium and Dryopteris will be found in the chapter devoted to the marsh fern tribe. The name Lastrea by which this genus is com- monly known in Great Britain was given in honour of De Lastre a French botanist. As the wood ferns are now grouped there are several well-marked tribes and it is likely that each will ultimately be recognised as a sep- arate genus. In this case certain exotic species with anastomosing veins and circular, peltate indusia will be entitled to the name of Aspidium, the free-veined species (which include our wood ferns) to that of Nephrodium and those in which the veins connect at the tips to Lastrea: though this latter name is really synonymous with Nephrodium. The word Nephrodium is from the Greek and is in allusion to the reniform indusia. ..Th.r^ be cmoiricks or blind practitioners i.f this «i{0 who teach ZLnns of spleenwort by night and other most v.une th-nS^ ^^'^^ a found scattered here and there in old books, from -^-^^^^l the later writers do not abstaine who many times fill "P "^"^'^ P^^" with Iks Ind frivolous stories and by so doing do not a httle dece.ve young students."— Oeraru. THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. IHE spleenwort family is one of the dominant fern families of the world, and is represented in eastern America by more species than any other. A strong family resemblance runs through them all, though they present few of the problems in identity so common in other ferns. The young collector will vote them very satisfactory to study. As a group they may be recognised by their bearing sporangia in linear sori that are covered w.th indlaf^xed b^ their inferior sides and opemng tow-^^ the midrib. In size and habitat the spec.es all into two afrly natural groups, the small ones being all rock-lovmg pTanL and the la^ge ones preferring to grow .n nch earth! The rock spleenworts will be treated of m th.s chapter. The Maidenhair Spleenwort, The dainty little maidenhair spleenwort {Asplcnium r.T^:,«../although not the smallest of^- *.«. i, ,h, smallest of our common ferns. After ttie poiy pody. tTs probably the most abundant of all the s.r.ctly dryish, shady cliffs where it roots ,n the smallest crevices "56 THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. and spreads its fronds in green rosettes with very decor- ative effect. The stipe and rachis are a shining dark brown and the tiny, roundish, or slightly elongated pinna;, with entire or toothed margins, are scattered along the latter on very short stalks. Sometimes they are slightly dilated on the upper side at base. The whole frond is seldom more than eight inches long and half an inch wide. The number to each plant depends upon its strength and vigour. From ten to twenty is near the normal number, though plants with more than fifty living fronds have been collected. The sporangia are borne in linear sori on the backs of ordinary fronds, several on each pinnule and ob- lique to the mid-vein. This species has also been known to produce a few sori on the upper surface of the pinnules. Although so small and delicate, the fronds last through the winter and spring. Then, instead of tiie entire frond dying, only the pinnules fall, leaving the polished daik rachids standing in a circle about the new growth. One seldom finds a plant without these relics of other days which often greatly outnun ber the living fronds. It is said that only the early sterile fronds last through the winter, but this needs verification. A few years ago, it was discovered that under certain conditions the fronds are capable of movement. The phenomenon is placed on record in the Botanical Gazette. The observer found that by quickly bringing a pot con- taining the growing plant from the ordinarily shaded position into sunlight, or even bright daylight, the fronds made rapid motions back and forth in a direction at right angles to the plane of the frond and " more rapid than the second hand of a watch, but with occasional stops in the course of each half vibration." Only the fruiting fronds have been found to move thus and these THE ROCK SPLEENWOF^TS. ■57 for only a few minutes after being brought into the hght. The inotions are most vigorous in the middle of the day. Among the many common names for our ^ plant are wall spleenwort, dwar' spleenwort, black-stemmed spleenwort, English maiden- hair, waterwort fern and baby fern. All are derived from the size or appearance of the plant or from the locations it effects. Its fronds are said to be somewhat mucilaginous and astringent and were formerly often substi- tuted for those of the true maidenhair {Adtan- tinv Capilhis-Vcneris) in compoundirj the famous " Syrup of CapiUare." The drymg fronds have a sweetish odour which often re- mains in the herbarium specimens. The maidenhair spleenwort is one of the most cosmopolitan of ferns. It is found throughout almost all of North America and Qp is as common on the other side of the globe. A British writer says, " The walls of loose stones piled on each other which skirt the road in North Wales are often green for miles with tufts of this fern." It is often supposed that our plant grows only upon calcareous rock but this is certainly a mistake. It is seldom miss- p^„„j ^^ ing entirely from any shaded ledge, and is mmoenhajr likely to be among the young collector s hrst specimens from such places. It takes kindly to the arti- ficial rockery and if planted in the chinks of a rough stone wall will soon cover the gray rocks with its delicate fronds. , The variety incisum with leaflets deeply cut has been reported from various parts of our range. The inci.sed 1 58 THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. form from California is now regarded as a dis* species. The Green Spleenwort, The green sj)leenwort {Aspleniuin viride), a rare and delicate little inhabitant of rocky ledges in the North, is at first glance extremely like the maid- enhair spleenwort and was once considered to be a variety of it. But while the resemblance is strong, the differences i n structure are stronger and there can be no doubt o f its being distinct. The texture of the frond is m u c h thinner than in A. Trichomanes and the stipe and rachis are less wiry. The latter is also clear green in- stead of polished brown. These characteristics alone serve to distinguish this from the com- moner species. The fronds are short, pinnate with short-stalked, ovate, round-lobed pinnules and seldom reach a length of six incl:es. They grow in little tufts from a diminutive rootstock and form dense mats in suitable situations. The sori are GREKN SIM.KKNWORT. Ai/'/tHiiiin ririiir. Frond of GREEN SPLEEN- WORT. THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. '59 borne on the backs of ordinary fronds, several on each pinnule and slightly nearer to the middle than the marein. The indusium, of course, is linear. In the eastern United States, the green spleenwort is found only in Vermont. Further north it is slightly .nore abundant and is generally distributed throughout British America, reappearing in our Western btatc in the mountains of Oregon, Wyoming a .d Washington It is also found in Greenland and in the colder parts of the old world. Over seas this species grows with the maindenhair spleenwort and in our own c«""7 ^^j"'^ much the same habitats. It is occasionally called green maidenhair. We illustrate a Vermont specimen. The Small Spleenwort, The small spleenwort {Aspknium parvulum) is a south- ern species which careless collectors might gather for the maidenhair spleenwort or perhaps the ebony spleen- wort It grows in tufts on shaded, or sometimes on sunny clifis, the fronds spreading from a short half-erect rootstock. The stipe and rachis are very dark brown and polished but are much more rigid than in the maid- enhair spleenwort. The fronds are also thicker, almost leathery in texture and much broader. In shape the fronds are linear-lanceolate and once pin- nate with many pairs of opposite, oblong, blunt pinnules that are usually slightly eared on the upper side at base. In the larger fronds, which may occasionally reach a length of ten inches, there is a tendency to produce an ear on the inferior bases of the pinnules also. This is espe- cially noticeable in the shortened lower pinnules which thus often become triangular. The sori are borne on l6o THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. the backs of the ordinary fronds in a single row near the edge of each pinnule, the individual sori oblique to the rachis. In size, shape and habitat, this species seems to stand halfway between the maidenhair and ebony spleenworts. It was once considered a variety of the latter and is sometimes called the little ebony spleenwort. The points by which it may be distinguished from the maidenhair spleenwort have been mentioned. It may be well, also, to contrast it with the ebony spleenwort. For all their re- semblances, it will be found upon comparing the two that they have very little in common. In parvuluin the fronds are small, thick, stifT, with en- tire, deflexed pinn;e. Fertile and sterile fronds are of the same size. In ehcneutn the fronds are larger, thin, flexible, with serrate horizontal pinnie and the fertile fronds are much the taller. Asplcnium parvuluin is found from Virginia and Kan- sas soutii and southwestward to the tropics. In the mountains of Jamaica it frequently grows on wayside banks and old stone walls, often in full sun. The Ebony Spleenwort, The ebony spleenwort {Asplcnium ebeneum) loves the rock as much as any of its kin, but only rarely is it found on the shelving sides of cliffs. I have found it thus along the Palisades of the Hudson, but it had evi- dently strayed down from its home at the top. It espe- cially delights in thin stony soil and comes to its best in half wooded lands in a tangle of small bushes, brambles and clumps of the New York and boulder ferns. It also i ■-'.•i.'. •■•.'■ ./ .7.-. •#" -. K SMALL SPLEENWORT. AspleHtum parvuluin. fMH |l' I . THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. manages to exist upon many shaly hillsides where the (ailing fragments are constantly crowding its fronds. The fronds are borne on very short stioes in tufts from a small rootstock. There is a noticeable difference between fer. tile and sterile blades. The latter arc seldom more than six inches long and an inch wide and spread close to the earth. They are once pinnate with close set, short, blunt and obscurely serrate pinnules eared on the su- perior side at base. The fertile are three or four times longer, stiffly erect, in marked contrast to the others. The pinnules are also much longer, often an inch or more in length, usually con- spicuously serrate ^nd inclined to be eared on both sides at base. They are about linear-oblanceo- late, tapering acutely below and with pin- nules much farther apart than in the sterile frond. The rachis in both kinds of fronds is dark shining brown. The sori are borne in a double row on each pinnule at some distance from the margins. When young the white indusium is conspicuous, but it soon withers and the sori, becoming confluent, cover most of the under surface of the frond. The fertile i6i EBONY SPLEENWORT. Fertile frond. l63 THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. fronds do not survive the winter, but the sterile are ever green. In this, as well as in the way the plant carries its two sorts of fronds, it stron-ly suggests the crested fern. I'art of a fruiting frond is shown in the Key. The ebony fern derives its name from the dark rachids It IS sa.d that the word ebony is from the Hebrew eben incanmg a stone. In its application to this species, it is l)articularly appropriate, since it may be taken to refer to the colour of the rachis. or to the .em's habit of grow- ing among the rocks. It is also called screw fern because the alternate fertile pinna- are set upon the rachis in such a manner that they resemble the threads on a screw. While the plant is growing, the resemblance at a short distance is very striking. This species is found from Maine and southern Can- ada to the Tropics and westward to Colorado. It is not abundant except in rocky soil. It grows well in cultiva- tion and is said to occasionally root at the apex. The pinnules incline to vary in the depth of the serra- tures. Deeply incised forms have been described as the varieties iucisuin and serratuvt. Fronds with pinnatifid pinns and serrate pinnules have also been reported. This species, like the maidenhair spleenwort. is some times sweet-scented in drying. The odour seems to come from the roots or rootstock and often remains for some time in the dried plants. Until recently our fern has been called by the specific name of ebeneum. There is a much older name and if we should go back to this, our plant would be known as AspUniiim platyneuron. The IFall Rue, The wall rue {Asplenium ruta-mtirarid) is usually found in limestone regions. It loves the sheltered ts n. !s. 'n is ;r i'- iC n a it EBONY SPLttNWORT. Asplcnium d'cncum. THb R(3CK SPLHHN WORTS. nooks on dry cliffs aiul often yro'. luxuriantly in the smallest crevices. In comparison with many of its allies it may be called common and next to A. Truliomanes is the spleenwort oftencst found on cliffs. The fronds grow in tufts from a short rootstalk and are seldom more than five inches long, while fruiting specimens only an inch high arc not rare. In shape, they vary from ovate to oblong-ovate and are twice pinnate with stalked pinnit and pinnules. The pinn;e are shaped like the frond, and the pinnules arc ovate, obovate or fan shaped with the outer margin slightly toothed. Occasionally the pinnules are lobed or again pinnate. In texture the fronds are thick and leathery and they en- dure the winter without injury. Several sori are borne on each pinnule and nearly every frond is fertile. The indusium soon withers and the sori becom confluent over nearly all the under surface. Small as this species is, it does not lack for common names. Among them, wall rue and stone fern are in allusion to its place of growth, and white maidenhair from its being confused with the maidenhair spleenwort. Its old name of tent-wort was originally taint-wort and was given because the plant was supposed to be a specific for a scrofulous disease called " the taint." The fronds were once considered good for coughs and for diseases of the liver and spleen, but their use for such things has now been abandoned. The rue spleenwort is found from Vermont, THE WALr RI'R. As//rHium ruta-muraria. Three form* of frondi. '64 THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. :'l r I li p. lil southern Ontario and Michigan to Alabama and Mis- souri, always on rocks. It is also widely distributed in the Old World. Newman in his " British Ferns " says that throughout the northern, southern and western counties of England and also in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, this fern is to be found upon almost every ruin. It is never so common with us and the collector who dis- covers it in a new place is fortunate. Mrs. Parsons, in " How to Know the Ferns," mentions a clump of this fern no larger than the palm of one's hand, in which forty-five fresh fronds were counted. The plant is not very easily cultivated. T6e Mountain Spkenwort, The mountain spleenwort {Asplaiiiim viontannm) greatly resembles the wall rue in everything except numbers, but the latter characteristic will pre- vent its often being mistaken for that species. It was first dis- covered in the Carol in as by Michaux who supposed it to be an Old World species, Asplcnunn Adianttim-nigrum. The points by which it may most readily be dis- tinguished from the wall rue, are .,^. the less fan-shaped pinnules and MOUNTAIN SPLEIJNWORT. , , , Aspieniumn. ntanum. the louger aud narrower fronds. The rootstock is small and short-creeping, often produc- ing short stubby lateral branches. The fronds are spread- ing and when full grown are from two to six inches long. They are about ovate-lanceolate, twice pinnate at the THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. •65 broad base and graduated upward to the pm - ful apex The lower pinna, are stalked and elongated-tr.angu ar u shape, with lanceolate and sharply toothed p.nnulcs. as a e al o the pinnules near the tip of the frond. None o them appear to be decidedly wedge-shaped. The short oi are borne on most of the fronds and early become Tonfluen. over the under surface as .n the waU -^ Orcasionallv the lower sori are double. Pionds ten hKheirg are reported from Kentucky, and Williamson is quoted as hav'.g collected a plant in that state hav- ing more than fifty fronds. The mountain splecnwort is found sparingly from Connecticut and New York to Georgia and Arkansas. It is an inhabitant of the precipices in mountainous regions and frequently grows in inaccessible niches. Lantern Hill in Connecticut, near the Rhode Island State line is its limit, northeast- ward so far as known. Writing of this station for it, in the Fern Bulletin, Dr. C. B. Graves says, " Asplenium inonta- man is able to maintain itself on the driest and most exposed cliffs provided there are holes and crevices which af- ford a holding place. In such sit- uations it is much stunted and incon- spicuous, the fronds sometimes fruiting when less than half an inch in length. It reaches its best development on moist, shaded, over- hangin<^ ledges." This species usually chooses situations similar'to those selected by the wall rue, and may be looked for wherever the latter is found. No doubt there Fertile frond of MOUNTAIN SPLEESWORT. i66 THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. are many stations for it in the eastern Slates that await a discoverer. Aspknium Bradleyi, It was once sugjjested that Asplcniiim Bradleyi might be a hybrid between tlie ebony and mountain spleen- worts, but the idea seems more ingenious than phiusible since a well developed specimen has as much individuality about it as any other member of this group. Like the others, it loves the rocks and is often able to thrive in full sunshine but is at its best in shady places. The fronds grow in tufts from a short and nearly erect rootstock and often reach a length of ten inches. They are rather narrow, slightly broadest at base and taper up- ward. The pinnules nearest the apex are oblong or ovate and serrate, those next below are deeply serrate while those at the ba-^e are again pinnate with oblong, blunt, sometimes toothed pinnules. The basal pinnie have broad bases and blunt tips and are slightly stalked. The stipe and rachis are dark brown and the sori are as in the other Aspleniiims. Tin's species ranges from New York to Georgia and Miss- ouri. It is supposed to keep pretty close to the limestone, but has been found on sand- stone in Missouri and Ken- tucky and on gneiss in Maryland. As yet it is not known to be very abundant anywhere but will no doubt be found in many more localities. There is much dififer- FruiliriK pinna; of Asplinium BraJleyi. I -i nv. til . 1 , ■ ill THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. ence between the extremes of variation in the fronds. In appearance certain forms approach very closely to forms of A. montanum. Mr. L. E Waters, in the Fern Bulletin, gives this rule for distinguishing them, " In montanum the stipe is brown only at the base and the upper part of the stipe and the entire rachis .s flat- tened, with two parallel grooves in front, in Bradleyi the entire stipe and lower part of tne rachis is brown while in place of two grooves we have a single distinct one with a slight rid-e running down the centre." Our ulustra- tion was made from plants collected m M.ss- .67 ouri. T:he Pinnatijid Spleenwort, ttwt It is always a red letter day in one s cal- endar when he chances upon the crinkly, dark- -reen, tapering fronds of the pinnatifid spleen- wort {Asplcnium pinnatifidum) peepmg from a cleft in some gray cliff. This species is one which the collector ever has in mind when searching the shady ledges, for it belongs to that rare class of plants whose location cannot be determined beforehand. One visits the woods, the swamps and the ravines in perfect confidence of being able to find certain species, but the pinnatifid spleenwort is not one of them Although it has a considerable range it is common only in a few restricted areas To most of us, it comes as a sort of gift ^^ ^^^e ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ gods, and makes memorable the day on whicU ^ j^^^^,^ j,„„j. it was found. 168 THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. The rootstock is short, nearly erect and iisu.tliy roots in a crevice well out of ordinary reach. The fronds, some six inches or less in len-,'th, are broadest at base and taper outward to a long slender tip that often roots after the manner of the wilking fen ; in fact tiie whole plant su-;- gests the latter species and it is not surprising to leani that it was once considered a variety of it. It is, however, clearly distinguished by its free veins, and mostly single indusia, not to mention its pinnatifid fronds. The fronds are thick and evergreen. At some dis- tance from the tip they begin to be round lobcd and these lobes grow larger and the cutting deeper as the base is approached, until the lowest often become separate pinns, rather rounded triangular in outline. The stipes arc. usually short, but vary in length with the location of each plant, being always long enough to lift the blade clear of the crevice in which it is rooted. There is consid- erable variation in the fronds. Forms that are pinnate nearly to the summit, with ovate pinnae, have been found. ' and others with long, sharp-pointed pinna: at the base of the frond are known. The sori are borne both upon the lobes and the tapering apex, many of them opening toward the inferior edges. The pinnatifid splcenwort is found from New York to Illinois, y\rKnnsas and Georgia. Throughout most of its range it is extremely rare though in some small sections it is not uncommon. It has been found on limestone, gneiss and sandstone and will probably yet be found on shale. Within its range the collector is always warranted in expecting it. thou-h he is probably destined to be very frequently dis.ippointed. PLATE V THE PINNATIFID SPLEENWORT. .(,,/A«///« r"»"'('J'^'"'''- COP^niGHt -O. B.>REOtRlCK A ST0«t5 COMPANY pu,S'ED I"* AMtH C* THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. i6q Aspknium Ebenoicles» Still rarer than the pinnat- ifid spleenwort is Aspleniiim ebenoidcs. It can hardly be said to have a definite range. Here and there plants have been found over a wide terri- tory, and new stations be- yond its known distribution are occasionally reported, but in nearly every case the surroundings are such as to indicate the possibility of its being a hybrid between two more common ferns, Asplc- n'luni ebcncum and Camptoso- riis rhisophyllus. Much ink has been wasted in arguing for and against this theory of hybridity and botanists are still divided in opinion regarding it. Those who favour the theory point as evidence to the facts that the spores are generally abortive, that its fronds are exceedingly variable in shape, and that it occurs only here and there as a chance hybrid might do and always in the vicinity of its supposed parents. Those who believe it to be a distinct specie; AifUnium ibittoidis. 170 TUB ROCK SPLEENWORTS. (i^i reply that th.)ii};li widely scattered, in no case is its habitat exactly like tiiat of its supposed parents ; for while the eb- ony splecnwort grows at tiie tops and bases of clifTs, and Camptosorus grows on the shelving sides of mossy rocks, AspUnium idaioii/rs prefers the niches under overhanging ledges. In addition, the processes of reproduction in ferns are such as to alTord very small chance for hybridiza- tion. If, following Lowe's successful experiments in crossing ferns by sectioning the prothallia and bringing tile anthcridia of one fern in contact with the archegonia of another, we could produce a plant like cbcnoidcs from the sectioned prothallia of its supposed parents, the fact of its hybridity miyht be regarded as proven. Exper- imcntsare being made in this direction at present, but until we have definite results, it seems better to consider this a distinct species. In outline the fronds are much like those of the pin- natifid spleenwort, but are not easily confused owing to the fact that the pinnules are thinner, narrower, longer and pointed. The blade tapers from a broad base to a slender tip and is fully pinnate below and deeply pinnat- ifid above. There is great diversity in the shape and arrangement of the pinnules, however. Some are eared on one side, some on both, others not at all but are at- tached to the rachis by a broad base. The pinnjE are very unequal in length, the longest often standing next to one that is merely a short green ear. Some fronds, which appear to be juvenile examples, have a broad blunt apex and the lower portion merely toothed or lobed. In this feature of producing some fronds without tapering tips, it resembles the walking fern. The figure in Eaton's "Ferns of North America" does not much resemble average specimens. Like the pinnatifid spleenwort, this THE ROCK SPLEENWORTS. «7« den check, as by cold, just as ^»^^ ' ° ,^^ ^^j.^- said to greatly increase it. I" ^"^^^J °^^^^. .^^.^^n S.; wh"e;etu;:re„.Uu>-a deep ravine near Havana, ^'rUnaer.ooa..ocoUee.a^U^^^^ ^r:,;:::::;^*'«bu. .ir,rona u ..^ ....ner .,„,, in Tat species. In habitat, however, .t .s very c o»e to hat sDecteErowing under overhanging rock, ; .n th,< relet '. s fotally unlike both A.el.a.,m and C.„„f. r»" its supposed parents. It appears to be mult.ply. "as many young plants were ^'-'"f"^'"^''^;, This myth of hybridity may be put aside, (or As/,/.,.„m 217s is as clearly defined a species as we possess ,n "us AspMum and has no near relatives outsule Us own genus." The plant figured was collected b, Prof. Underwood at the Alabama station. There are two other spleenworts for which a place is sometimes claimed among American ferns, though the proof of their occurrence .in this country rests upon If 1 1 1 i 1 ; j i ' 11 Im >72 THE ROCK SPLLt NVV(JUrS. somewhat doubtful evidence. Tlic first is Asf>/iiituiii mariiium which fifty years ago was reported from Nuv.i Sct)tia and Newfoundland. No specimens of it from America are known at present and it is supposed ii.at the fern was referred to this country by mistake. 1 he plant is not uncommon along the coast on the otiicr side of the Atlantic and may yet be found in New England on some rocky ledge near the sea. It is an evergreen species, growing in tufts, with thick linear-lanceolute fronds of a deep glossy green. They are usually auuut si.x inclies long and borne on short dark-brown sttjars. The blade is simply pinnate with short, broatl, bitoit. toothed pinn.L- connected along the ratliis by a narmu wing of tissue. As to the second species, Asplcnium /oiitatiinii. the evidence is fully as uncertain. It is supposed to have been collected near VVilliamsport, Lycoming Co., Penn., in 1869 and sent with other specimens to Prof. T. C. Porter of Lafayette College, where it lay unrecognised for twenty years. By the time the plants were identified as specimens oi A. foil fan urn and con- nected with the VVniliamsport locality, the collector had died and with him died the knowledge of the exact locality for the plant, if, indeed, he ever collected it. Two sharp-eyed collectors who at once ransacked the general region returned empty handed and no trace of it has since been found. Later another locality for the plant was reported from Ohio, also by Prof. Porter, who found specimens among plants distributed by a local collector. No locality for these specimens has since been found and it would seem that the plant has been mistakenly ascribed to America. The fern is common in the Old World, however, and possibly may THfc KOCK bPLtBN WORTS, I7J occur here. It is descibcU iis foil.AVs : Roulstuck sliort. ascc.id.ng; stipes tuftcil. ...,c tn iluoc inches lung, su.uc- vvlial bl.ickisi» at base especially on the inner side, usually glabrous; fronds Linccolate. broadest above the nuddle. tlim. two to three pinnate, three t<> mx inches \>ng, acuminite at the apex, narrowed at the base ; segnients deeply dentate with spinulosc tcetl\ ; sori one to four on each se^'inent. The indu- sium is sli,htly curved, and for this ...--«>---" reason it is often proposed to place tins spcc.es with the U/irnnms. Our illustration is drawn from specimens from Central Europe, in the author's herbarium. The generic name Asphnium is derived from the Greek and means without a spleen in allusion to the belief once current that herds which fed upon this plant were with- out spleens. In an old volume we find the statement that " If the asse be oppressed with melancholy, he eates of this herbe and so eases himself of the swelling of the spleen." There are about three Inindred and fifty spe- cies in the world. I i n i ! s ' " If you would see the lady fern In all her graceful power. Go look for her where woodlarks learn Love-songs in a summer bower. • • • ' Go look for the pimpernel by day, For Silene's flowers by night. For the first loves to bask in the sunny r^- And the last wooes the moon's soft light; But day or night the lady fern May catch and charm your eye, When the sun to gold her emeralds turn Or the moon lends her silvery dye. But seek her not in early May For a Sibyl, then, she looks. With wrinkled fronds that seem to say, * Shut up are my wizard books.' Then search for her in the summer woods Where rills keep moist the ground. Where foxgloves from their spotted hoods Shake pilfering insects round ; Fair are the tufts of meadowsweet That '^aply blossom nigh, Fair are the whorls of violet Prunella shows hard by ; But not by burn, in wood or dale. Grows anything so fair As the plumy crests of emerald pale Of the lady fern, when the sunbeams turn To gold her delicate hair."— Campbell. m THE LADY FERN AND ITS KIN, N our latitudes the earth-lov- ing splcenworts are all tall and graceful plants with very little in their bearing to suggest a relationship to the members of the family that grow on rocks. They are more like some of the wood ferns a<^d no " ~^ doubt are frequently mis- taken for them. A glance at the sori on mature fronds, Wevr is quite suf^cient to settle the question. suKe .t •show t' e Aspknioid character of the hnear soru These species have always been classed as ^f^'-^-'-^ America but owing to the fact that the mdus.a n some are more or less curved on the side attached to the frond and when young often appear to be "early semj- circular. it is now considered better to follow the BrU.sh practice and place them in the genus ^/A^riwm. The Lady Fern, Our ideas as to which of the ferns is most abundant are likely to vary somewhat with the t.me of ye^r and the locality in which we may happen to be. In early mL. we arc inclined to award the palm to the cmnamon fcr,r; in J,.ly, to the bracken ; while a vis.t to some mo.st i I i i LADY FKRN. AthyriHm/ili.r-JirmiHii. THE LADY FERN AND ITS KIN. shady woodland at any time of year might decide us in favour t)f some wood fern. But the matter can not be regarded as decided until the claims of the lady fern {Athyrium filix-foem- inn) have been considered. While it may not be the most abundant in any one locality, its wide range of habitat from deep woodlands to open swamps, stony pastures and dusty roadsides gives it a larger representation than one would at first imagine. In any event it is always common enough to be found by the young collector and attrac- tive enough to be worth the finding. Although a pretty and decorative species, the lady fern seems scarcely to deserve all that the poets have said of it. it is barely possible that much of this praise is due to the fact that the poet seldom feels sure of his species, owing to a defect in his botanical education, and so the few he does know come in for all the credit. Scott's four lines. "Where the copse-wood is the greenest, Where the fountain glistens sheenest, Where the mountain dew lies longest. There tiie lady fern is strongest." have been quoted in every fern book since they were written, which must be our excuse for in- cluding them. Less familiar are the fairly descriptive lines by Edwin Lees of which three stanzas are here given. THE LADY FBKN AND ITS KIN. '»' « When in splendour and beauty all nature is crowned The fern is seen curling, half hid in the ground, But of all the green brackens that rise by the bum. Commend me alone to the sweet lady fern. By the fountain I see her just spring into sight. Her texture as frail as though shivering with fright; To the water she shrinks. I can scarcely discern In the deep humid shadows the soft lady fern. Where the water is pouring, forever she sits And beside her the Ouzel, the Kingfisher Hits; There supreme in her beauty, beside the full urn ^ In the shade of the rock, stands the tall lady fern. The following lines from Howitt were sent to the author by a lady who suggests that the last o..e may have been intended as a hint to those vandals who dd-ght to uproot and carry away all they can find of a rare plant, simply because it is rare. "And when thou art in lonely glen. Keep by the running burn. And do not pluck the strawberry flower Nor break the lady fern." In my opinion the most quaint and descriptive poem upon Pinna of variety natnm. A common lorm. this species is the one by Calder Campbell, parts of which preface this chapter. • ...i„ tuff; The fronds of the lady fern spnng m circular tufts from a large horizontal rootstock and often reach a 182 THB LAUy FHKN ANU IIS KIN. Iciigtli of tlircc foet. The crosiers are of interest from the colours tliey present early in tlie year. In some va- rieties tiie stipes are a clear wine colour with light, thin scales and contrast very prettily with the yellow-green of the uncoiling blades. The blades themselves are on long stipes and are exceedingly variable in the cutting of the piimules. Nearly a hundred varieties from Europe have been described. The com- monest form with us is prob- ably tiiat with oblong-ovate, acute, twice pinnate fronds with the secondary pinn;e again lobed or toothed. The primary pinn.e are about oblong-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, and set at sufficient distances from each other to render the frond light and graceful. Mr. H. D. Gilbert has recently identified some twenty varieties from Amer- ican localities, none of which are the results of cultivation. This species is noted for having pinnules missing here and there throughout the fronds. Ordinarily there is scarcely any difference in the ap- pearance of fertile and sterile fronds. The sori are borne in a double row /I -i Fruiting pinnule cnlart;cd. ??>., on each pinnule and the indusia are attached to the frond by a curving edge. a form from sunny thickets. When young they e.\ti.nd in the shr^.pe of a horse-shoe across the veins which bear them. The novice who ex- amines them at this stage of their growth may jump to the conclusion that his plant is some species oi AspUium but later the sori become almost straight as in the true THE LADY F£RN AND US KIN. 183 Asrlamnns. It is a nice ciucslio.i to decide whether or not the position and behavior of the indusium entitle this fern to be put in a separate genus. The name of lady fern is of very ancient origin, going back to the time when this was supposed to be the spe- cies whicli bore the " mystic fern seed," so valued for its reputed power to render its possessor invisible. In those days it was not lady fern, but female fern, the male fern being Aspidium filix.mas. The original female fern was the bracken, but when the name was transferred to this fern, many of the miraculous powers ascribed to the bracken seem to have come with it. Some curious stories '^m^^^ A woodland form. are told of this wonderful fern seed. In one. a man passing through a wood when the seed was ripe, got Lmc hUo his shoes without knowing it. which of course eiTdered him invisible. Reaching home he entered, but his presence was not noticed. When he spoke, the family were startled at the sound of his voice and supposed lum o be hidin^'. At length, hearing him walking about the room they U.ought of the fern seed and calhng to him to take of! his shoes, he did so, and became visible again, '^'n Rlia.in addition to its other virtues, fern seed^.s supposed to confer second sight. It is related that a nr^vvnt out to search for his cattle, when some fern seed fell into his shoes. He at once ^---^-^ ^^^^J. ^'^ were and discovered a buried treasure besides. Going ■ 84 THH LADY FERN AND ITS KIN. home for a shovel with which to dig it up, his wife unfortunately in- duced him to change his shoes, when the fern seed fell out and was lost and with it went all knowledge of the treasure. In Swabia it was believed that fern seed brought by the devil near mid- night would enable one man to do the work of thirty. It must be confessed that fern seed received in such a manner would go a long way toward con- vincing one of its powers. The lady fern is found in nearly all parts of North Amer- ica and is equally com- THE HAUNTS OF THE LADY FERN. THH LADY F' RN AND ITS KIN. '«S mon in the Old World. It is one of tlie easiest of ferns to cultivate and will grow in almost any soil if K'vcn moisture and partial shade. This species is frequently called a brake, and is also occasionally known as back- ache fern. The rhizome of the European species is erect or ascending and commonly rises a few inches above the soil. That of our plant is long and creeping, which seems to indicate that the two arc not identical. In this case our plant would be known as Athyriuvi Mnliauxn or perhaps more properly Athyrium filix-famiua Muh- auxii. In northwestern America there is a form that is taller and broader, with indusia so curved that they ap- pear almost ci. cular with a narrow sinus. It was formerly considered a variety of the lady fern and named cycloso- rum. It is now generally thought to be a distmct species. The Silvery Spleenwort, The best place to look for the silvery spleenwort (Athyrium thelypterotdes) is in the rich moist wo.m , on the borders of the crested fern's haunts where it delights to grow among the Jack-in-the-pulpits, Trilliums. Solo- mon's Seals and other lily-like plants. It is an unas- suming plant as ferns go, with few characteristics suflfi- ciently striking to make it prominent among its sister species. Unless one is making a clean sweep of every woodland, it is possible for it to exist in his locality for years without being discovered. When growing in clumps, its resemblance to s.nne of the wood ferns, especially the marsh and New York ferns, is quite . close. , The rootstock is thick, horizontal and creeps >ear the surface. The fronds are produced sin-ly from the ^i ow- 186 TUB l.AUY FHRN AND ITS KIN. in^ end but soon form a nearly circular clump two or three feet liiijli. The stout youn^; crosiers arc covered with larjic brown scales which .seldom persist until the froiuls m.iture. The stipe and rachis are strewn with slender chaff and the upper surface of the fronds is often covered with longish hairs that yive it a peculiarly velvety effect when growinij. It is not very noticeable SILVERY SI'LEENWORT. Athyr,»mthihpttroidu, in herbaiiuni specimens, and the books arc silent upon the subject, althoujjh in the field one can often identify the species by this single feature. The blade is about oblong, tajjering both ways from the middle, but is never so groiitly reduced below as is that of the New York fern. It is thin and delicate, with oblong, acuminate pinna; cut nearly to the midrib into short, close, rounded, obscurely serrate lobes. When the fronds are exposed to the sun, the blades become thicker, narrower, more erect and yellow-green in colour. Curiously enough, although they do not grow in full sunlight from choice, they are most fruitful in such situa- tions. The stipe is about one third the length of the fioiul. SILv tRY SeLttNWUKf .ii„y ui»i lu^'\pti;r^iil'-i. \t\)i LADY FERN AND ITS KIN. 187 Fertile an^ terile fronds are much alike and tlie former are si . . »ly distinguished from those of other spe- cies by their rc1:ular rows of clear-cut sori. Beginning at the base of each pinnule, these alternate on each side of the midvein almost to the tip. They are usually set close together and curve slightly outward at an oblique angle nearly to the edge of the pinnule in a very- pleasing pattern. Occasionally the lower sori are double, opening away from each other, and on the long slender tips of the pinn* they are nearly always so. In heavily fruited fronds the fruit covers nearly all the under surface of the blade. The indusia are rather thick and for most of the summer retain the silvery white colour of their youth thus giving the common name to the plant. 1 he fronds do not survive the frosts. This species is found from Canada and Minnesota to Alabama. It also occurs in Eastern Asia. It is con- sidered a fairly common species-never so common as hclady fern, perhaps, although often forming dense thkkets'in small areas. After studying it fornriany years. I am inclined to agree with the author of "How L Know the Ferns " that " although it cannot be classed among the rare things, it is absent from many promising Lllities." American authors frequently give this spec^ the name of As/>h',nnm acrosUchoidcs. Tin. is the older by three years, but has never been commonly accepted. The Narrow-Leaved Spleenwort, The rarest of the larger /l./A«/«;;/Hs without doubt tlJnarrow-leaved spleenwort ^Asplenuun ^"^'-^^'^^ According to Eaton, it has no very near relatives an>- Cherf It is a true Aspleuiu.n and not an Aihyruon, I88 THE LADY FERN AND ITS KIN. but except for its fruitiiij; characters, it is more nearly like the species in the latter genus and has therefore been included in this chapter. It is found in low wood- lands in situations similar to those chosen by the silvery spleenwort though seldom if ever so abundant as that species. The fronds grow in tufts from a creeping rootstock and sometimes reach a height of four feet, though they are usually at least a foot shorter. They are exceedingly thin and delicate, very sensitive to frosts and are often destroyed by summer storms. The oblong-lanceolate, icute blades are simply pinnate with many long, narrow, entire or crenulate pinnules which taper outward from a rounded, sessile, or shortly stalked, base to the slender tips. The fertile fromis are usually the taller and the pin- nules much narrower with the whole under surface cov- ered by the long, sharply defined sori in two rows along the midrib of each pinnule, much as in the silvery spleenwort. Normally sterile fronds sometimes have a t;;^_. few pinnules that are fertile in which case the spore- ^^-'iv^l bearing parts are narrow like the pinnules of the fertile frond, showing how close is the relationship between FRUITI.SG HINNiK. NARROW LEAVED SPLFFNWORT. Asfi-nium angustt/olinm. Sterile Frond. ii THE LADY FEHN AND ITS KIN. 'By spore-bcarintj and diminished leaf surface in this spc- cies. The narrow-Ieaved spleenwort is found from Cjuebec to Wisconsin. Missouri and Tennessee. It is hkcliest to be found in woods that are free from undergrowth. Its liking for wet places obtains for it the name of swamp spleenwort in some places and it is also called Kidney-fern. It is easily cultivated and makis a very pretty adilition to the fern garden where tall species with simply pin- nate fronds are not common. There are probably less than a dozen species in the genus Atliyrunn as it is at present defined. '1 he genenc name is from a word meaning opened and refers to the appearance of the sori. The origin of the name Asple- mum is given in the chapter on the Rock bpleenworts. •• It is very pleasant and cheerful nowadays, when the brown and withered leaves strew the ground and almost every plant is fallen, to come upon a patch of Polypody .... on some rocky h.lls.de .n the woods, where in the midst of dry and rustling leaves, defymg frost, it stands so freshly green and full of life. My thoughts are with the polypody a long time after my body has passed. ... The forest floor is covered with a thick coat of moist brown leaves, but what is that perennial and springlike verdure that clothes the rocks, of smal green plumes pointing various ways. It is the cheerful community of the polypody. It survives at least as the type of vegetation to remind us of the spring that shall not fail.- Thokkau. THE POLYPODIES. II K polypodies l)cK)iijj In the lari;c^t of the fern families. There are nearly four hundred spc. ies in the world, mostly in the Tropics, Only five species extend into nortlicastern America, and three o f these are considered by many botanists to belong,' to a closely allied pen us which they name JVici;«/>- tcris. This name, it may be said, was once the n.inie of a section of the ^enus rktic-ft.rii nryxpitri:. Pol\fodium and those who call our plants species of Plic^optcris, simply consider this section worthy of ReMcric rank. As in the true poly- podies, the fruit dots are without indusia of any kind but tlie phej^opterids differ in havinj; the fruit on the luuls of the veins while in the Polypodiums they arc on the I mis. In Polypodium. too. the stipes are jointed to the rootstock, while in /'///•.c-^/ZtT/.v, as in most of our common ferns, they are not. Phcgopteris is also very closely al- lied to the wood fern genus, differing principally in the lack of an indusium. In habit, also, the species are much like the wood ferns and it is probable that they will MICROCOPY P'SOIUTION TEST CHART lANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2l 1.0 I.I 1.25 IIIM 1^ 1^ 1" illi^ 1: 1^ 111^ 1. ^ III '1 1.4 1 ^-^ 1 _^ -APPLIED IIVMGE Inc ^^ 1653 EqsI Mam Strfel S"«a Rochester. New Yofk 14609 USA '-^S (716) 482 - 0300 - Dhone ^S (^'6) 288 - 5989 - Fg, 196 THE POLYPODIES. ultimately be included in this family notwithstanding the absence of the indusium. For our present purpose we shall include them with the other non-indusiate forms. The Common Polypody, Wherever there is a shaded ledge of rocks in the northeastern States one is almost sure to find the polypody {Poly- podium vu'gare). There is no question as to choice of location with this sturdy species. All are alike to it, provided there are rocks upon which it can grow. The only preference it has is for the tops and upper shelves of the rocks where the soil is moderately dry. So characteristic is it in such situations that when one sees a fern clad rocky summit from a distance too great to discern the individual fronds he identi- fies them with confidence as this spe- cies. The fronds of the polypody are thick and leathery and remain green all winter. They grow from a slender, brown-scaly, branching rootstock that creeps at the surface of the soil, and are produced during most of the early summer. They are ordinarily about a foot long with a short slender stipe and narrow pinnatifid or pinnate blade. The pinnules are linear, usually blunt at the ends, and COMMON POLYPODY. Polypodium vulgar PLATE V! THF COMMON POLYPODY. Poiypoiiium vuigare. -.6' FftECtmCK A 8T0<(E» COMPANY THE POLYPODIES. ■97 broaden somewhat as they join the rachis. Occasionally they are slightly serrate. It sometimes happens that fronds of this species are mistaken by the novice for those of the Christmas fern which are also pinnate, but the latter may always be distinguished by the eared pinnules. About the middle of June the bright yellow-brown sori begin to appear. They are found on the backs of ordinary fronds in a double row near the margins of the pinnules and mostly in the upper two thirds of the frond. They are round, very regular in arrangement and so large as to be quite conspicuous, looking like little buttons. Except the narrow-leaved chain fern, none of our species produce sori so large. There is no indusium. Among its common names are adder's fern, golden polypody, golden-locks, moss fern, stone fern, stone brake and wall fern. Most of these are of obvious deri- vation. It was once considered valuable as a pectoral and, boiled with sugar, was a remedy for the whooping cough. Little, if any, use is made of it at present. Ac- cording to some authorities, this is the original oak fern although Phegopteris Dryopteris now has the title. The polypody has numerous varieties but few of them are worthy of special note. The most famous is the Welsh polypody which has a frond much broader than the normal with the pinnae cut nearly to the midrib into narrow segments making a bipinnatifid frond. It is called the variety Cambricum, and is supposed to be always sterile. It was originally found in Wales and has seldom been noted in this country but is likelv to occur in any locality where the type is common. The other varieties reported are angustiim with narrow serrate pin- nules, rotundattim with short, round-ended pinnules and ujS THE POLYPODIES. cristatuin with pinnules variously forked and crested. A form from West Virj;inia has recently been described as J\ vu/g(irc dcciptuin. It differs from the common form in beiny; somewhat larger with narrower, pointed pinna;. This was earlier considered a mere form and named hisirratum. Considering the unimportant differ- ences it displays, the earlier view seems the correct one. In North America the polypody is found from Alabama to the far north and northwestward. Its 'natural habi- tat is upon rocks but it is occasionally found upon trees and logs where the atmosphere is moist. In the moister climate of England, it is said to be very commonly found on trees. In our western States, it is rare or absent, but its place is taken by several allied species that much resemble it. It is a tough and hardy species able to en- dure great extremes of temperature and is found in nearly all parts of the world. "The Gray Polypody, The little gray polypody [Polypo- ifiinii incanutu) may be termed a strag- gler into our territory from a warmer region. It is most abundant in the Tropics, where it grows on rocks, trees, walls and even on tlie roofs of the houses. In the northern yint of its range, it is usually found on rocks or about llic roots of <.KAV POI.VPODV }\>iypo. iiii in i iicti n ;i t/t . BEECH FERN. Phfi;oplnis polypodioides. THE POLYPODIES. '99 trees, although in the Gulf States it may be found high upon the trunk or branches. In appearance it is nearly an exact duplicate of the common specijs with the same creeping, scaly rootstock and leathery, pinnatifid, or pinnate, fronds. It is, how- ever, rather smaller and further distinguished by having the stipe and under surface of the blade tiiickly covered with gray, or brownish, peltate scales with darker centres. The upper surface may be slightly scaly, though it is usually smooth. The sori are of medium size and borne near the margins of the pinnules but are seldom notice- able owing to the scales by which they are surrounded. Usually they are so deeply sunk in the blade as to form little bosses on the upper surface. Since this species grows in situations where moisture is a very uncertain quantity, it has acquired the trick of curling up its fronds when drought comes and remaining in a comatose condition until the next rain, when they are again unrolled and life proceeds as before. During a drouth the fronds have been known to uncurl in a heavy dew. Among its common names are hoary polypody, scaly polypody, tree fern and resurrection fern. Tree fern is from its habit of growing in the treetops, and resurrection fern refers to its habit of revival after a drought. This species is found as far north as Virginia, Illinois and Missouri but is not common except in the Gulf States. According to strict priority, this species should have polypodioidcs for its specific name. This being translated would mean, simply, a polypody that is like a polypody ! Incanmn is a name far better known to bot- anists and is the one generally used. «» THE POLYPODIES. The Beech Fern, To find the beech fern {riicfroptcris polypodioidcs) in its greatest luxuriance the collector must visit the cliffs and ravines where dripping ledges provide dwelling places to Its liking. One soon comes to associate it mentally with the drip and splash of falling water, and the gurcle of small streams. The rootstock is long and cord-like with many branches and wanders extensively just beneath the surface. In spnng, long before the fronds unfurl, the clusters of crosiers covered with small light-coloured scales just peeping above the earth are often noticeable along the rocks, in appearance suggesting the budding horns of the deer. The fronds are produced all summer and owing to the branching and interlacing of the rootstocks are usually found in dense clumps, filling every inch of the ledge on which they are rooted. When young there is a bend where stipe and blade join so that the soft, limp blades hang downward while unfolding like the wings of a newly hatched butterfly. Mature fronds are often eighteen inches long. The blades do not vary greatly in size but the stipe is long or short as necessity demands, being always of sufficient length to extend the blade out into the light. The stipes commonly grow nearly upright, but the blades make a sharp angle and bend gracefully outward, especially when growing in a niche in the rocks. In shape they are triangular, somewhat longer than broad and once pin- nate. The pinnre arc rather long, narrow and acute and cut nearly to the midrib into oblong, blunt segments. In the upper part of the frond, the pinnae are decurrent ■^^'vli/.// BEECH FERN. P/ugopf.ris polypodioides. THE POLYPODIES. mi on the rachis, forming a lobcd border along it, but the lower pinna: are separate. The lowest pair are lanceolate instead of linear and are brought forward and downward in a striking and characteristic manner. In herbarium specimens, owing to the flattening of the frond, much of this appearance is lost, but when the plant is fresh this feature may almost serve to identify it. The fronds are thin, glandular beneath, and slightly scaly on the rachis and ribs. Sometimes both surfaces are pubescent. The fronds are not evergreen and wither early in autumn. The sori begin to appear in June. They are borne on both edges of the segments of ordinary fronds and are without indusia as in the true Polypodies. They are quite small and rarely extend to the tips of the seg- ments. The name of beech fern is said to have been given to this species from a supposition that it is partial to the shade of the beech tree, but a wet rock would seem to be nearer its first requisite, at least with us. It is also called sun fern, perhaps from its growing in exposed places. Many botanists call this Phcgopteris Phcgupteris. When Linnaeus named it, he thought it was a Polypodium and called it Polypodium phcgopteris. Later it was taken out of this genus, and pJaced in a new one created to re- ceive it, and christened Phcgopteris polypodioides. The question as to which specific name it shall bear depends entirely upon whether or not we should allow it a new specific name when the ori-rinal one has been taken as the name of the genus. Botanists, generally, dislike the practice of making generic and specific names the same. This species is found from Virginia, Iowa, and Wash- ington to the far North but is seldom found except in the vicinity of rocks. It also grows in northern Europe 202 THE POLYPUDIES. and Asia. It takes readily to cultivation and is excellent for plantin- on rockeries, each small bit of rootstock soon producing a thrifty colony. The Broad Beech Fern, The indiscriminatin- collector might gather the broad beech fern KPhcgoptiris hcxagonoptcra) for many seasons and not surmise that he had anything more 'than the common species, so near alike are they in shape, habit and the cutting of the fronds. The differences, however, are quite apparent when once pointed out and all botanists agree that each is a distinct species. The broad beech fern is a lover of the deep shady woodlands and cares nothing for rocks. It delights in moist soil, but does not avoid dryish shades and Ls often to be found in the company of the New York fern. The rootstock is slender and creeping and the fronds are scattered along it at short intervals. The slender, erect, straw-coloured stipes are nearly twice the length of the tri- angular blades and the latter are pinnate with deeply pin- natifid pinna;. The blades arc usually broader than long and the pinn.x are also broader, approaching a lanceo- late form, in this differing from the common beech fern. The lowest pair of pinna; are much the largest, broadly lanceolate, narrowed at base with narrow, crenulate- toothed or lobed segments, the longest nearly an inch in length. They may sometimes be deflcxed though com- monly they are not. The decurrcnt pinna; form a con- spicuous angled wing along the rachis that usually extends to the lower pair. The sori are borne on the backs of ordinary fronds. They are mostly near the margins of the segments and rather small. This species averages somewhat larger than the com- ^^^^J^^^S^^mmmm^ "^mm^- "^^^^^^ , BROAD BEECH FERN. Plugoptcris hcxagonoptcra. THE POLYPODIES. ao) mon beech fern and the fronds are more erect. They are also thinner with fewer hairs and scales. The crushed fronds of both species emit a peculiar ferny odour from the minute glands scattered over their blades. This odour differs slightly with the species and one with an acute sense of smell might bring it into use in identifying them. In the matter of range hexagonoptera again shows a difference. It is a southern species, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. It has not as yet been found in the Old World. The angular wings of the rachis have suggested the specific name and also the common one of six-angled polypody. Specimens inter- grading between this and the common beech fern are said to be occasionally found. The Oak Fern, Should the collector in crossing a piece of rich moist woods find nestling among the violets, mitreworts and trilliums, a tiny fern with a blade " like three fronds in one " that would pass for a good miniature of the bracken, he will be warranted in concluding that it is the oak fern {Phegopteris Dryopteris). The rootstock is like that of the beech fern — slender and creeping — and the fronds are produced all summer. They sometimes at- tain a height of more than fifteen inches but are usually much shorter. The stipes are very slender and the blade triangular, ternate, and of a delicate shade of yel- low-green. At the top of the stipe the blade divides into three nearly equal, triangular, stalked divisions, each of which is pinnate with sessile, deeply pinnatifid, blunt- lobed pinnae. The middle division of the blade is slightly the largest and the pinnules of the lateral divisions are 204 THE POLYPODIES. lon^^cst on the lower side. Even in unfurling, the blades show their ternate character, each division being rolled up separately. These three little green balls on their slender thread-like stalks are exact miniatures of the conventional sign of the pawnbroker. The ultimate segments are often slightly toothed and the rather in- conspicuous sori are borne near their margins. A form of the oak fern, often called the limestone poly- pody {Phegoptcris Dryopteris Robcrtiand) is occasional in Canada and the northwestern United States. It is distinguished by its larger size, glandular fronds, greater rigidity, and in having the lower pinnules on the lateral divisions of the frond scarcely longer than the others. It is frequently considered to be a distinct species and named P.calcarca, but the opinion of the majority places it as a variety of the common form. The oak fern is found from Virginia, Kansas and Col- orado to the far North and also in Europe and Asia. The variety is also found in the Old World. The plant is a lover of moist and rocky woods and makes an excel- lent species for cultivating at the base of the artificial rockery. The initial for this chapter shows a frond of this fern. The name Polypodiian is from the Greek and means many feet. By some, this is conjectured to be in allusion to the branching rootstocks of certain species, but it seems quite as likely to refer to the numerous roots which nearly all produce. One writer observes of our common species that " the rhizome when destitute of the fronds has the appearance of some kind of sea polypus." Phcsoptcris means literally beech fern. As the latter genus is defined at present, it contains nearly a hundred speties. The broad beech fern is a lover of tlie ilcej) sliatly wooillaiids.' THE BLADDER FERNS. ' Mark ye the ferns that clothe these dripping rocks The crosier-headed ferns, most fresh and rare, Their hairlike stalks, though trembling neath the shock Of falling spraydrops, rooted firmly there. ' What quaint varieties. The leaflets grow With a metallic lustre all their own ; And velvet mosses, fostered by the flow Gain a luxuriance elsewhere all unknown." THE BLADDER FERNS. hi; 1)1;rIiIlt fern family comprises less than half a dozen species distributed nearly throughout the world though most abundant in the North Temperate Zone. The ^5 j;cneric name, Cystoptcris, is the (^^^3J^ Greek for bladder fern and is ap- "* plied to these species in allusion to the ^J/(ff iiulusium which is liood-shaped and slf^'^^'/.ittached to the irond by the broad base on the inferior side of the sorus and arching over it. The species are mostly inhabitants of rocks and nr isu- ally plentiful in mountainous i. ms. Recently the attempt has been made to change the generic name to Fi/ix. This name without doubt was used for the genus before Cystoptcris was, but the latter has been universally used by botanists for so long that it is very unlikely that Filix will ever be accepted. The Commoft Bladder Fern, Shaded rocks in almost any locality are likely to har- bour the common bladder fern {Cystoptcris frngilis). It is fond of a niche in the cliff where its fronds may droop gracefully outward but also grows on the talus of broken rock at their bases and is often found in moist woods. In the extent of its distribution, it yields only to the aio COMMON rtLAUDER FERX Cystofteris /ragilis. THE BLADDER FERNS. bmckcn. It nccms equally at home in the Tropics or in lands where snow and ice abound for nearly half the year. Of ail our native ferns, this fragile little species is first to put forth its fronds in sprinpr. They start into growth at the first hint of a warmer season, being often fully spread before those of stouter ami what appear to be hardier species have be^un to uncoil. Fronds continue to be pro- duced all summer w hen the sea- son is favourable, but frequent- f the plant disappear before August if exposed to drought. It is not unusual, however, to find fresh and green fronds even to November in the latitude of southern New York, and the plants that wither in suirmer may revive and put forth new fronds later in the year. The rootstock is rather slender and creeps about in the chinks between the rocks. The fronds are seldom more than fifteen inches long, the stipe making up a little more than half of this length. Mature fronds, however, may reach a length of two feet, while moun- tain forms may be reduced to four or five inches. The blade is thin, narrowly oblong- THE BLADDER FERNS. 211 ovate, acute and pinnate, the pinna: rather distant, broadest at base and themselves piiinatifid or again pin- nate. The pinnules are narrow, bluntish, lobed or toothed and usually decurrent on the rachis. There is, however, a wide range in the shape and cutting of the fronds. Our illustrations show two interesting forms of American specimens. A pinnule is also shown in the Key to the Genera. Not only is this species the first to put forth its fronds, but it is one of the earliest to fruit and, unlike other species which fruit early, fertile fronds may be found all summer. Nearly every frond bears sporangia. The sori are rather small and thickly scattered on the lobes of the pinnules. Owing to the early withering of the indusia, they usually appear as if naked. Only in the young- est sori can the indusium be seen to advantage. It is ovate, very thin, and taper pointed. From the shape of the arching indusium, this species was anciently known as the cup fern. The fronds of this species are very easily confused with those of Woodsia ohtnsa, with which it often grows, and the difficulty in separating them is increased by the evanescent nature of the indusia in both species. In Cystoptcris, however, a careful search will usually reveal enough shrivelled vestiges of the indusia to make identi- fication sure. In Woodsia, too, the pinnae and pinnules are ordinarily broader and blunter. In America, the common bladder fern is found from British America to Georgia and Arizona. It is frequently called the brittle bladder fern, a translation of its specific name. The name of white-oak fern has also been given it, though for what reason does not appear. Several varieties have been named but none of them are very 212 THE BLADDER FERNS. striking and little attention is paid to them. The variety dcntata has narrow bipinnate fronds with blunt pinna; and pinnules, the latter toothed. The variety atigustata has broad, nearly tri- pinnatc fronds witli acute, rather lan- ceolate, pinnules with sharply toothed lobes. Variety laciiiiata has the pinnules cut into irregular narrow teeth. The author once collected this species in the mountains of a tropi- cal islan('. where it grew in the crevices of a ledge that interrupted the flow of a mountain torrent. When the rainy season swells the volume of water, all the fronds arc washed away, but as soon as it subsides, a new crop is produced. Since there are two rainy seasons in this place the plant seems regularly to produce two sets of fronds each year. BUI.BIFRROUS BLADDER FERN. Cy/'tfl/'tfris hulii/cra. The Bulbiferous Bladder Ftrn, Wherever there is a line of shaded, dripping cliffs, especial- ly in limestone regions, one may look for the bulbiferous bladder fern {Cystopteris rsr COMMON BLADDtR FtRN. Cviloptiiii /rti^^/iti. THE BLADDER FERNS. 213 btilbifera). In such places it grows in great luxuriance and is a singularly decorative species, with long narrow fronds hanging downward over the face of the rock in such profusion as to cover it like a curtain. Full grown fronds are frequently four feet long. They are on short stipes and twice pinnate, the oblong pinnules toothed, or the lowest deeply lobed. In cutting, the pin- nae have considerable resemblance to those of C. fragilis, but the frond as a whole is very different, being widest across the basal pinn.-E and tapering outward with regular gradations to the long slender apex. The blades are finely glandular underneath and very fragrant specimens are occasionally reported, the fragrance being doubtless due to these glands. In appearance the fertile and sterile fronds do not differ materially. The sori are borne in what approximates a double row on each pinnule, a sorus near the base of each tooth. The indusium ig not quite so evanescent in this species as in C fragilis though it usually withers when the spores are ripe. In young fruiting fronds it may be very clearly seen. Its apex is truncate. Although this species produces spores as freely as any, its principal means of propagation is probably by the bulblets which nearly every mature frond bears upon its under surface. These are about the size of a grain of pepper and are borne on one or several of the pinna; usually in the apical half of the frond. They are in the nature of adventitious buds and consist of two or three cotyledon-like masses enclosing one or more rudimentary fronds. When these come in contact with the soil, they put forth roots and are ready to begin life for themselves. They form new plants much sooner than spores could and the early fronds have less of the juvenile form. "4 THE BLADDER FERNS. Cystopteris biilbifcra ranges iVoin Canada to Tennessee, Arkansas and Wisconsin and is also reported from Alaska. It is ratlier irregularly distributed, being very common in some localities and entirely absent from others that seem equally favourable to its growth. It if- found on many rocks other than limestone and is excel- lent for the rockery in the fern garden. This species shares with the maidenhair the honour of being first to be sent to the ( *Id World by botanical e.xplorcrs. In Great Britain it is occasionally known as the berry-bearing fern. The Moimtain Bladder Fern, The mountain bladder fern {Cystopteris moiitmia) is not likely to be found by the eastern collector. It is a rare species within our limits, coming south only as far as Labrador and Northern Canada. It has also been found north of Lake Superior and in the mountains of Colorado. In Northern Europe and Asia it is rather more abundant. It may be distinguished from the other bladder ferns by its almost triangular fronds on long straw-coloured stipes. It is usually about a foot high and grows along woodland streams in deep shade. The blade is thin, three to four times pinnate, the pinna; much like the frond in shape. The pinnules are deeply toothed and the sori abundant. The indusium is pointed at the free end, and soon withers. Our illustration is from a plant, rather smaller than ordinary, collected in the Cape Nome gold fields. !! THE CHAIN FERNS. \Vc paused besiilc tlic pools tlial lie boujjh ; were a little sky pan Under the forest seemed ::.ac (iulfed ill a world below : A firmament of purple ligiit Which in the dark earth lay, More boundless than the depths of night And purer than the day ; In which the lovely forest grew As in the upper air More perfect both in shape and hue Than anv spreading there." — Shki.LF.V. <«,..»-• m a ■/^ /. -.. ?7/<< THE CHAIN FERNS. |m; chain ferns arc most at home m tlie sandy swamps along the Atlantic seaboard, and unless the collector lives within a short distance of the ocean, he is likely to see compara- lively little of them. One species, it is true, is found sparin:-;ly in inland swamps throughout m o s t of the northeastern States but it is never plentiful cnou-h to become com- mon. One is likely to always re- member the day upon which he first found it in his locality. The family is distingui-shed from others by the f.ict that the species bear their spor- .uijjia in ohlon-,' sori parallel to the midvein, differing in this respect from the Asplaiiums whose sori arc ..Inique to the midvcin. Otherwise the fruit dots are not so very unlike. The Common Chain Fern. It is a frequent occurrence for collec- to's to mistake the fronds of the common chain fern {Woodivanna Vir^inicd) for those of the ubiquitous cinnamon fern. When growing in dense clumps they are practically indistinguishable until one is 220 ; I THK CHAIN FhHNS close to them. Then their separation is veiy simple and one marvels at nature's versatility in making two species so alike and yet so unlike. Their resemblances arc ccn- fiiied entirely to the sterile fronds, their differences are everywhere. The chain fern fruits on the backs of the fronds; the cinnamon fern in a club-shaped spike: the one has a slender rootstock and the fronds rise singly ; in the other the rootstock is thick and the fronds grow in crowns. Even the beginner, therefore, has no excuse for confusing them. The rootstock of the chain fern is about a quarter of an inch in diameter. It creeps extensively in the mud W'tyodzvardia \'iy^inicu. A fruiung pinn.i. and ooze of its boggy haunts and sends up its fronds at intervals all summer. These often reach a height of five feet with stipes nearly as long as the blades. The latter arc oblong-ovate and pinnate with oblong-lanceo- late, acute pinn.E cut three-fourths of the way to the midrib into slightly falcate, obscurely crenate, bluntish pinnules. Although rather thick in texture, they do not survive the winter. There is no perceptible difier- encc in the form of fertile and sterile fronds. The oblong sori are borne on tiie apical portion, one series in a double row, near to and parallel with the midvein of each L, \T^' .4\-»^ ..V . ^. - *■ V 'I COMMON CHAIN l-tRi>i. ll'votiwiinUn litg/iiua. ! 1 THE CHAIN FERNS. 221 pinnule, and another scries of larger sori parallel with the midribs of the pinna;. They appear as if partly sunk in the issues of tlie frond and are covered with a leathery indusiuin as with a lid. It does not require a very lively imagination to see in the oblong sori placed end to end a resemblance to the links in a chain and the common name is therefore quite apjjropriate. From its delight in mud and water, it is sometimes called the bog fern. This species is also illustrated in the Key to the Genera. The chain fern is found from southern Canada to l-'lorida, Louisiana and Michigan and also in Bermuda. It is frcfpicnlly found growing in several inc'.^cs of water near the coast where it is often so abundant as to al- most fill the swamp, like a field of grain. Inland it is likely to be found in sphagnum swamps among Pogonias, pitcher-plants and other semi-aquatic vege- tation. According to Eaton, the fronds may face in any direction in bushy swamps, but when they are exposed to the sun, all face toward the south. It is an excellent species Tor cultivating on the borders of artificial lakes in the fern garden. On the western coast of America, there is a tall and robust species— Jf. rm/icans— which is much like ours in general appearance, but is darker green in colour. This is the only western species and is widely distributed in other parts of the world. T/)e Narrow- Leaved Chain Fern, Like its relative, the narrow-leaved chain fern {U'ood- wardia angustifolm) has the misfortune to resemble a more plebeian species. This species is the sensitive fern and the resemblance, as in the case of the other, extends 222 THE CHAIN FERNS. . 1 o tl c sterde iron.U. Since botl. the sensitive f.n .>iK the cha.n fern fru.t late in the year, tliere is a o 1-r of the season when tluy are easily confused -p. c. ly .f the collector has never seen botl. grouing.' 1 1' .' not to be n.ferred, however, that it is in^p^ssible. or eve c ^^ficult, to separate the species .ij sterile W, ;Sj:/'"'^^''-^'-'^ ---■->'- of .is: The rootstock is quite slender and crecpintj and the ronds son.euhat scattered alon,. it. TlL .^ler e twelve to twenty inches Ion. with slender, straw-colon ed s .pesand<.vate blades cut nearly to the ..idrib in o Obion,, acute lobes. Toward the base, the lobes incline to be separate, the part nearest the rachis bein^r ^apidlv narrowed n,to a broadly winged stalk. This nrakef the blade appear pinnate, at least at base, but ther-. is usually a "arrow wing of n.embrane connecting even the lowest clms.on wuh the rest. All the pinnules are finely ser- rate on the edges. ^ In June the taller fertile fronds begin to come up. l^,\rr T/^" '''P"' "^^ ''''''' ""^'''^ ^'>^' sterile f onds. Lven the sfpe is of a different colour, being bbck and pohshed. while the blade is distinctly jiinnatJ with long, narrowly-linenr. distant pinnules that seen, just wide enough to l.old the two lines of large, heavy sunken sor,. None of our other ferns have anlndusiu.n' so th ck and corky, and perhaps for this reason the fer- tile fronds are much heavier than the sterile. Lon^. aer.ts usefulness has departed, this indusium remains attached to the frond. There are n.any curious grada- tions between fertile and sterile fronds both in the shape oLt of !;■""" ""V" ^'•^"■^^^''-■- ^'^ the northern part of us range, at least, this species is not evergreen NARROW-LEAVED CHAIN FERN. lVooiia aiigustifolia. F'ertile and Sterile Fronds. ■[ i I i * ii J ,! P ii THE CHAIN FERNS. 223 but the fronds arc amonj; tlic last to yield to the frost. The fertile, although apparently dead, remain erect for a L^rcat part of the winter and it is probable that many of the spores are not released until spring. This species is found along the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Florida. Inland it is reported from stations in Arkansas, Tennessee and Michigan, but if it occurs at points between, the fact has not been noted. Within the limits marked by these stations, it is not im- probable that more localities for it will be found. Ap- parently it docs not ^row in salt marshes although it loves their vicinity. It is most frequently found in springy places in the twilight of pine and cedar groves. I have found it neiglibouring the little Sc/iiz(ea in New Jersey, and on Lon;^' Island its usual companion is Aspidiitm siinuLitttin. 1 1 is frequently called Woodwardia arcolata in tlie books, in reference to the interesting series of aureoke formed by the veins of the sterile pin- nules. The genus was named in honour of Thomas Woodward, an Englisli botani-^t. Tiiere are about si.K species, mostly confined to the North Temperate zone. t? i r;-|V.. .^W^"^ '■ ^%^ =%f ^ PLATE VIII. THE BULBIFEROUS BLADDER FERN. Crsf.fun^ huiiij,'a. COP'TBIGMT l-O BY fRtOEHICPI • STOKES COMP«N» PKINTCO IN AMeitlCA I : ,i 3 ! ] i I Diiksoiiia j^rowftli in thickets ilix-p. WluTi' tlie )>;r()tisc ;mil llif ral)l)it hide ; liiit slie iDvctii bfst tlic Iwiildt-r rock On the desolate moiiiitaiii side. And there, tiunij^h sliaken l)y wind and storm, The ulint of lier fronds is seen, As she wreathes about the liclieiied stone A circle of delicate green. Fitted by Nature's loving hand To dwell in the fairest bowers, She has grace and beauty in every line And the fragrance of the tlowers. But oh, she loveth the free wilds best And the cold, gray boulder's side And there, adorning the rugged steeps, Korever she will abide. THE BOULDER FERN. HE boulder fern {^Diiksonia pilosiuscula) is one of the most beautiful and dec- orative species of our entire fern flora. Whether growing in clumps in our lowland woods or spreading over large areas in mountain pas- tures and thickets, its shimmering fronds are sure to catch the eye. In many uplands the scenery cannot be properly men- tioned without taking this fern into account. Those who visit such places about midsummer will scarcely for- get the picture formed by the broad gray-green fields in which every boulder and rocky outcrop is outlined by the brighter green of its fronds. Its predilection for rocky fields is very marked. It seems never to grow more thriftily than when clustering in little colonies about some half buried rock fragment. By this trait, alone, one can often identify the fern with certainty at distances of half a dozen miles or more. The rootstock creeps extensively near the surface of the earth and frequently branches. Fronds are produced all summer and form dense, tangled clumps. The stipe often gives off a runner near its junction with the root- stock and this also produces fronds, being in fact a sort of secondary rootstock. In strong plants the blade is often twenty-five inches or more in length and ten inches wide at the base from whence it gradually tapers to the apex. 230 THE BOULDER FERN. i i ^ Occasionally it is slightly luinowcd below. It is twice pinnate, the primary pinniL- being oblong-lanceo- lale and the secondary oblong- ovate, deeply lobed and the lobes again toothed. The stipes are a shininc chestnut-brown and about half the length of the fronds. There is not much difference in the appearance of fertile and ster- ile fronds ; indeed the sori are so inconspicuous that one has to look rather closely to see them at all and a magnifier is required to satisfactorily make out their parts. They are mostly situated on the outer margins of the pin- nules at the base of the segments. The indusjum is fixed under the spor- aneia and is held by a reflexed tooth of the segment. Under a lens it looks like a tiny green cup filled with round spore-cases. The fronds are minutely glandular-hairy and when bruised in the hand give off a strong, sweetish fragrance. The odour is very noticeable in the drying plants. During the haying season, whole noui.DER counties in eastern Pennsylvania are /i/v£"«*/;. thoroughly perfumed by the fronds cut with the hay. Among its common names are fine-haired ^ BOULDER f-tKN. Dtcksonia pilosiuscula. THE BOULDER FERN. aji mountain fern, hairy Dicksonia, gossamer fern and hay- scented fern. All but the last have reference to the delicate structure and handsome cutting of the fronds. To call this the hay-scented fern is certainly to *' damn with faint praise." The boulder fern is found from Canada to Alabama and Minnesota. It is seldom entirely missing in any locality in the northeastern part of its range, but one must visit the stony uplands to see it at its best. It is an excellent species for cultivation in the fernery but the farmer has no desire for its presence in his fields. Cattle will not eat it and it is almost impossible to eradi- cate from stony soil. Some botanists assert that our plant and the tree-like species in other parts of the world are not of close enough kinsliip to be placed in the same genus. They would therefore call our species a Dcnnstadtia reserving the name Dicksonia for the arborescent species. The genus Dicksonia was named for James Dickson an English botanist. There are about fifty spec.es in the world twenty of which would be placed in Dennstcedtta if that genus were recognised. There is but a single ^ecies in North America. A FRU'TING PINNA. CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. M " It is a quiet j{lcn. as you may see, Sluit in from all intrusion by the trees That spread their giant brandies, broad and free, The silent growth of many centuries ; And makes a hallowed time for hapless moods. A Sabbath of the woods. " And still the waters trickling at my feet Wind on their way with gentlest melody. Yielding sweet music, which the leaves repeat Above them to the gay breeze gliding by ; Yet not so rudely as to send one sound Through the thick copse around."— SiMMS. CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. T first glance the maidenhair fern seems to have very little in common with the various species of Cheilan- thcs, but the way in which they all fruit brings them very close together in the opinion of botanists. Both genera belong to the tribe of which the bracken is a prominent member and, like the species in that genus, bear their sori close to the margins of the pinnules. But here the likeness ends, for there are many patterns after which marginal sori may be arranged. In the bracken the fruit is in long lines and covered with linear indusia ; in the maidenhair it is under a re- flexed tooth of the pinnule ; while in Cheilanthes the edges of the pinnules simply curl over the fruit, and scarcely form an indusium at all. Cheilanthes Vestita, This interesting little species is rather southern in its distribution, beginning to be rare north of Maryland. It once grew in what is now the northern part of New York City and this is generally supposed to be the fern's northern limit, but a station still further north has been known to a few botanists since 1892 when the plant was discovered near New Haven, Connecticut. This is its northeastern limit, so far as known. 2J8 CMEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. ^ Cluihtnthis vcstita is a conspicuous example of a rock- loving ft-Tii tliat is not partial to limestone. It sh«\vs a strong preference for igneous rock. At the New Haven station it is described as growing in the crevices of a basaltic cliff and in nortiiern New Jersey it is most frequently found on gneiss ledges. Superficially it has a decided resem- blancc to Woodsia Ilvcusis ami is not in- frequently collected for it. Its fronds are about the same size and shape, are hairy, and the plant has the same fondness for growing in dense little clumps on ex- posed rocky crests. The species are not difficult to distinguish between, when one has both in hand ; the difficulty comes when one collects a single species and would be sure which it is. When other signs fail, Chcilantlus may be known for a certainty by its lack of a joint in the stipe. The fronds are also somewhat slenderer, and the pinnules narrower and further apart. The plant has a short, creeping root- stock covered with hairlike brownish scales, and shows its southern nature by producing fronds until late autumn as if there were no such things as frost and snow. F.ven in the north, it appears to be evergreen. The fronds are usually from six to eight inches long, on short stipes and narrowly lanceolate in outline. They are twice pinnate, the primary pinna; about ovate, ChtilitHtkts ftttila. CHEILANTHKS AND MAIDbNHAlR. «39 and the secondary ohUm^ and deeply lobcd. Both .idcs are invested with lon^; wliitish hairs which are most abundant upon the under surface. The fronds are daiiv j^rayish-tlieen, and the stipe and rachis are dark chestnut-brown and covered with tiny hauhke scales. The sori are very small and are borne on the lobes of the pinnules wliosc tips roll over them in little pocket- like indusia. These are always i;reen and have fanU likeness to the indusia of other ferns. In old fronds li»e ci)nfluent sori push out from the indusia and cover a lar-je part of the pinnules. In the Key to the Genera, a fruiting pinnule of this species is shown. Ckciliinthcs vestita is found southward to Georijia and Texas, and westward to Kansas. It is probably not an abundant species in any locality but where there are ex- posed cliffs of igneous rock there is always the possibility of finding it. The name of hairy lip-fern, by which this species is frequently mentioned in the books, is rarely used in speaking of it. Recently the specific name lanosa has been given this species. Both names have reference to the hairy fronds, and all that has been gained by the change is the addition of another scientific name to per- plex the beginner and the satisfying of certain demands fur priority. Our illustration is from specimens col- lected by the author at Milburn, N. J. Cheilanthes Tomentosa, It is usually difficult for the young collector to identify the species of Clwilanthcs. Some will consider them fully as difficult as the wood ferns. Cheilanthes tomeittosa, however, is one that need not be mistaken. It has a general resemblance to C. vestita, but is taller, woollier :.' ■ ! 240 CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR and til ICC times pinnate. It is also of more southern distribution, extending to Mexico and the West Indies and barely reaching Virginia and Missouri on tiie north. Like most of its rela- tives it loves dry and exposed situations and is often tound in places where it does not receive a drop of water for weeks or even months. '^%^i^^ ^ '''■' ^'°"^^ »■■« rather long and narrow, and ^'"Jl green in colour. The primary and second- ary pinna; vary from ovate to lanceolate and are usually broadest at base. The ultimate pinnules arc very small and roundish in out- line like little yreen beads. The terminal seg- ments are about twice as large as the others. The stipe is chestnut-brown but the colour is liidden under the dense coat of hairs. The sori arc marginal and arranged in such a way as to appear to form a continuous line on the edges of each pinnule. In youth the edges are flattened over them in a pale green indusium, but later they push from under it and may be seen dividing the margin from the tuft of to- mentum in the centre of each pinnule. From its coat of tomentum, this species is some- times called, in the books, the woolly lip-fern. Cheilanthes Lanuginosa, This species is likely to impress the observer as possibly a diminutive hybrid between C. ,k,uuutk,s.o,n,nio.a. ^'"''''^ *"^ ^- fonu'itosa. Thc Cutting of the fronds is similar to that of vcstita while the woolly covering of the uiulcr surface is like that of to- CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. 241 mentosa. It is easily our smallest Chcilanthcs. Ordi- nary specimens are but two inches high, while the tallest do not reach a length of more than six inches. The fronds form dense tangled mats and the rootstocks are so interwoven that it is usu- ally impossible to separate single plants without injuring them. The blade is about ovate-lanceolate in outline and is twice pinnate with pinnatifid pinnules, or even three times pinnate. It is further distinguished by bearing the lowest pair of pinniE at some distance from the others. All the pinnules are so crowded that the frond appears to be less divided than it really is. The sori and indusia are similar to those C. vcstita. In old fronds the wool on the under surface is deep, dark brown 1 quite conspicuous. A fruiting pinna will be found in the initial il- lustration for this chapter. Cheilanthes lanuginosa grows on exposed ledges from Texas and Arizona to Illinois, Minnesota and British Columbia. In part of its range, at least, the species is evergreen. This plant has had its full share of change at the hands of the nomenclaturist. It was long known as C. lanuginosa. Later the name of gracilis was decided to be the older and was accordingly adopted. Still more recently it has been renamed C Feci in deference to the rule of priority, this last name having been discovered to be still older. Whether this is the final change remains to be seen. CheiUulltii litHuaiiiJ^a. 242 CHtlLANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. if Cheilantbes Alabamefisis, I'roin all the sjjccies of Cheilaiithcs \vitliin our limits, this species may be distinguished by its smooth blades. The froiuis grow to be a foot or more long and are borne on slender, wiry, black stipes. Tiiey are lanceolate in outline and about twice pinnate with numerous ovate- lanceolati-. short-stalked pinn.u. The pinnules are oblong, broadest at base, often with an ear- like process on the outer edge, and variously toothed. The indi'sium is pale, membranous and more or less interrupted by the toothing of the fronds. The species grows on rocks from Illinois and Virginia to Ala- bama and Arizona. Cheilanthcs is named from the Greek and may be translated as lip-fern. Its application is due to the lip-like indusia of some species. There are fifty or more members of the genus in the warmer parts of the world. The Maidenhair Fern, The maidenhair fern {Adiantum peda- tinii) is one of the few species with which those who make no pretense to botanical knowledge arc usually acquainted. Be- cause of its delicate beauty it is much sought i)y those who delight in woodland rambles, while its peculiar shape and manner of growth, so unlike that of i'fuiltiuthi-s . I iafuimitHsis. CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. 243 YOL'XO KRONDS. Other ferns, prevent its being easily for- i;otten. There is perhaps, no other fern family so sharply distinguished as the one to which the maidenhair belongs. The botanist recognises its members at a glance without looking at the fruit, so cliaracteristic is the cutting of the fronds Of late years the exotic species have come into great favour for decorations and no florist considers his stock complete with- out them. Since he is accustomed to call them by the generic name, the word Adu antnm is beginning to have more meaning to the general public than most generic fern names. Soon after vegetation starts in spring, the slender crosiers of the maidenhair begin to appear on moist shaded slopes and in low woods. Before they push up, they aie protected by many brown, hairlike scales and when uncoiling usually have a few scattered, light- coloured ones along the stipe. At first the stipes are covered with a bluish bloom and the immature pinnae are of a dull red colour, imparting a not very pleasing lurid hue to the underwoods At maturity stipe and rachis are smooth, dark and shiring — among the handsomest of their kind. At the summit the stipe divides into two parts; each of which makes a sort of half circle away from the other and nearly at right angles to the direction of the stipe. The pinnasgrow from the upper or outer sides of what may thus be called the two rachids. The pair nearest the forks are the largest, often a foot long and two inches wide, and the others gradually decrease in size making the outline of the whole frond nearly circular. The 244 CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. pinna: are broadest about the middle and are again pin- nate, with a large number of alternating, slender-stalked, lobcd or toothctl pinnules, which are peculiar for being /If one sided, the *' midrib " running along '^^ f: 1 the lower margin. These pinnules af- A- ■pr---'1. ^"'''^ e.xcellent examples of thecharac- ' ^ ^> ttiistic veining of the fern tribe. j,>X^ and branches freely, giving off numerous black, wiry r^ots. Fresh fronds are ^^mA .> <^^^ the fyj, The rootstock is found just at the / /.^v surface of the earth. It is />- .~v-v~- slender, widely creeping C--"''*liiA'^Wt:,^>^'^^^^ produced all summer and „i3rit^>J^ ' I'^S'^ the little colonies of the plants ♦i^^'^';^-^n;V7 •i.^-v,^'^'''" I'glit. open clumps. Where blade joins the stipe, there is sharp bend which causes the frond to hang downward until ex- panded. Nearly every frond is fertile. The sori are scattered along the outer margins and are covered with a rather conspicuous gray indusium formed by the reflexcd and altered segments of the pinnules. It is said that this species and Cystopteris btilbifera were the first American ferns to be taken to England. I'ntil the time of Linnaeus it was known as Adiantuvi Canadcnsc. The present specific name is said to be de- rived from the branching rootstock, but another denva- tion is given in an old English book which speaks of our j)lant as the " foot-shaped Canadian maiden hair." Some of the pinnules are certainly not very unlike the MAIDENHAIR FERN. A it ill Htu III feiiulu m. CHEILANTHES AND MAIDENHAIR. -45 human foot in outline. The name of maidenhair was originally applied to Adiantum Capillus- Veneris ^nd is said to be in allusion to the slender black stalks Some however, would derive the name from the colour and appearance of the roots. . v « • Our plant has some repute as a pectoral and Kalm is authority for the statement that the Indians o eastern America commonly used it in all cases of difficult breath- ing The fronds have also been much used as an ingredi- ent in "Syrup of Capillare," for compounding which the following recipe is given. Maidenhair Leaves, 5 oz. Liquorice root, peeled, 2 Boiling water, 5 P'"^^. Let stand six hours and then add Loaf sugar, 1 3 '^s- Orange water, • ?•"*• The maidenhair is found from Canada to the northern portions of the Gulf States and as far west as Arkansas. It is also found in Utah, California and northward near the coast to Alaska, and again appears in eastern Asia. In British Columbia a form is found with deeply cleft, longer stalked and more erect pinnules. It is not very well known and further study may result in its being made a separate species. At present it is called the variety rangifertnum. Our plant takes readily to cultivation and may be propagated with- out any difficulty. If the branches of the rootstock are separated and planted by themselves, they will soon form strong clumps. a:fruiting pinnule. V t !i i 2Afi } CHEILANTHES AND MAlOfi.NHAIR. T/)e Fenus-hair Fern, Tlic Vcnus-liair fern {Aiiiantum Capillns-Vcneris) encir- cles the world in the Tropics and in both Hemispheres spreads toward the Poles as far as it finds suitable dwell- ing places. In the Old World it extends to Great Hritain and in North America to Virginia, Kentucky, Mis- souri, Utah and California. It de- lights in moist and sheltered situa- tions and in the northern parts of its range should be looked for in ra- vines. It may be distinguished from the common maidenhair by its dark, wiry undivided rachis and fan- shaped, drooping pinnules on ex- ccetlingly slender black stalks. The rachis gives off alternate branches and the pinnules are also arranged alternately. The blade is usually twice pinnate below and simply pin- nate above and the pinnules are not one sided as in many species of Adi- antum. Their outer edges are rounded, rather deeply notched and serrate. There is great variation in the form of both pinnules and fronds. When the pinnules die, they drop from the rachis which remains erect for some time longer. Nearly every frond is fertile. The sori scarcely differ from \.\\o^c oi A. paUitum. Specimens have been reported in which the spores gave rise to young plants while still on the frond. VKNIS-HAIR KKRV. A liitt Htum Capillus- \ 'tHfris, CHBlLANTHtS AND MAIDENHAIR. >47 All sorts of medicinal virtues were once ascribed to tins plant, but at present, little or no use is made of it. It is slightly astringent and is the species originally used in making " Syrui) of Capillare." In 189S a large colony of this fern was found along a stream fed by hot springs, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Its occurrence in this place, at so great a dis- tance beyond its ordinary limits, is no doubt to be ex- plained by the fact that the warmth of the water modifies the temperature of the region in winter rendering it similar to that which prevails in the stations further south. The species has also been reported from New York and Pennsylvania, but the evidence is hardly con- vincing. The name Adiantum is from two Greek words mean- ing without wet, and has reference to the fact that the fronds of most of the species are so smooth that water runs off without wetting them. There are about seventy- five species, mostly in the American Tropics. Some of these are among the handsomest of ferns, and no species in the genus is unattractive. IS I THE SENSITIVE AND OSTRICH FERNS. i^ I i 5 i And there the full broad river runs, And many a fount wells fresh and sweet, To cool thee when the mid-day suns Have made thee faint beneath their heat."— Br van r. I THE SENSITIVE AND OSTRICH FERNS. I DTANISTS have always been divided in opinion as to whether the ostrich and sen- sitive ferns should be con- sidered members of the same family. They have an un- mistakable likeness and must be considered as cousins if not of nearer kinship. The princi- pal differences are that one has a running rootstock, scattered fronds and anastomosing veins, while the other has an upright rootstock, fronds in crowns and free veins. Tlic first is the type of Onoclca, the second of Strutliioptcris. Onoclca is named from two Greek words meaning a vessel and to close, in allusion to the berry-like, fruiting pinnules. Strutliioptcris is also from the Greek and may be literally translated as ostrich fern. As modern botanists view them, there is but a single species of Onoclea in the world, and but two of Strutliioptcris. The Sensitive Fern, The sensitive fern {Onoclca scnsihilis) is one of our most abundant species. Wherever the soil is moist, in woodland, thicket and the open field, it is likely to occur, =54 THE SENSITIVE AND OSTRICH FERNS. while it forms a more or less continuous border to all our streams antl ponds. Very few of those who pass it or wade throu<;h it have any idea that it is a fern, for its broad coarse fronds are far from the common conception of fern le.ivcs. The rootstock is as thick as a pencil and creeps just at the surface of the earth, freijuently branching;. In addi- tion to the fronds, it produces, here and there, append- ai^es exactly like tiie bases of tlie stipes but which end in a \nn\n and never become more than two or three inches ioii^. The fronds are produced all summer but the youn^ crosiers are most noticeable early in the year when they push up in such numbers in all low grounds as to make their tawny pink hue the prevailing one for some liavs. Seen in tlic mass, the young fronds can scarcely be calletl beautiful, but a single one taken just as the pin- nules arc unrolling and viewed from base to apex in the plane of the blade will show such a succession of scrolls anil arches as to suggest a miniature of the interior of some old cathedral. When the sterile fronds are fully spread they are, to most eyes, coarse and ugly. They are ovate in outline, pinnate below and pinnatifid toward the apex. The pinnules are linear-lanceolate, the upper nearly entire, the lower sinuate-toothed or lobed. The fronds are borne on long stipes and often reach a height of more than two feet. About midsummer the fertile fronds ap- pear. They arc shorter than the sterile, bipinnate, and the pinnules resemble rows of little green berries strung along the midribs. Many suppose each berry to be a sort of sporecasc like tiiose of the rattlesnake fern, but it is easy to see that they are simjjly closely rolled pinnules enclosing the sori. Kach sorus has an indusium but it SF.NSlTIVt FElRN. C: ,u/,;i stUiiMis, Youiijf Fronds. - •■It I i ■ -i ■ 1 ; I 1 THE SbNSITIVt AND OSTRICH FERNS. 25S is so very fugacious tluit il is scldoin seen by any save the inquisitive scientist. It is liood-shapcd, somewhat like that of Cysio/'tcris, and attached to the frond on the inferior side of the '* blackberry-like " sorus. It can be found only in the youngest fronds. Part of a fertile frond is shown in the Key. At the approach of cold weather, the sterile fronds wither but the fertile remain erect all winter. The latter are most noticeable against a background of snow-clad earth, but would never be taken for a fern by the ordi- nary rambler. The berries remain tightly closed through the winter and the sporecascs commonly do not release their spores until spring. Even then the fronds do not fall. It is easy to find plants with fertile fronds of three seasons still in place. The spores promptly germinate in spring. The origin of the common name is involved in some obscurity, and several ingenious theories have been ad- vanced to account for it. One suggests that it has refer- ence to the fact that the frond withers so soon after being cut ; another that it is because the fronds are sensitive to autumn frosts. Eaton says that the young fronds are oc- casionally cut down by late spring frosts, but this is not a common occurrence. There is still another theory which accounts for the name by the assumption that the grow- ing fronds wither if touched by the human hand, but withstand the touch of other bodies. The German botanist, Sprcngel, is quoted as having proved this by numerous experiments, and in Britten's " European Ferns " we read that " the barren fronds arc so thin and delicate in texture that they will wither, even when grow- ing, if drawn once or twice through the hand." Those w ho are acquainted with our plant, will no doubt wonder 356 TUli SliNiJlTIVli AND OSTRICH FbRNS. DHuiilobaUi wliLTc tliis author obtained his specimens. In the fourth edition of Amos lialon's botany published in 1834, the author says: " Tiie leaflets slowly ap- proach cacli other on squeezing the stenj in the hand." Many observers will testify that they cannot be made to do so in these %(.#^^;^_ degenerate days. The species is some- ^ r .ftir^ limes called oak fern or oak-leaved fern. In some ancient botanical works it is mentioned as " dragon's bridges," though for what reason, no one seems to know, Tiie sensitive fern is abundant in nearly fi*il* '''* ^''^ territory from Canada to the (iulf ^5^ of Mexico and west to tlie Mississippi. Scatteretl colonics occur as far west as Wyoming, and the same species is again noticed in Japan. In Montana, this species, or one exceed- ingly like it, has been found as a fossil. Growing with normal fronds, there is often found a form h.df-w.iy between fertile and sterile. It was once considered to be a permanent type and given the varietal name of ohttisilolhita, but it is now known to be due merely to the destruction of the early sterile fronds. It usually contains less leaf surf.ice than the ordinary sterile frond and in cutting resembles the twice pinnate fertile one. Commonly it bears a few abortive sori, all of which sliow it to be a partially transformed fertile frond. Prof. Geo. V. Atkinson, who made cxtrnsive experiments with this j)Iant, found tliat he was able to produce the variety at w ill, by simply cutting off the early sterile fronds. SENSITIVE FERN. OnocUa sensibilis. Fertile and Sterile Fronds. f ' .: > ■ > ': TUB SENSITIVE AND OSTRICH FERNS. *57 The Ostrich Fern, The ostrich fern {Strut/iioptcris (Jermaiiica) is the tallest uf eastern American ferns and by many regarded as the liandsomest. It is at its best in the wet, sandy soil of a half-shaded island or river shore and in such situations puts up magnificent crowns of fronds that often reach a length of seven feet. In the northern United States, there are many jungle-like thickets of this species in which a man of ordinary height may stand and be com- pletely hidden. The rootstock is thick and erect, usually projecting slightly above the surface. During winter the crosiers are covered with an abundance of coarse brown scales, but when they begin to grow these are soon thrown ofT. They develop very rapidly, often lengthening six inches in a day. The fronds rise in circular crowns and spread gracefully outward in shuttlecock fashion after the manner of the cinnamon fern, which this species, in general appearance, greatly resembles. They are ob- lanceolate, broadest toward the apex and gradually re- duced downward to the short stipes. They arc pinnate with very many pairs of long narrow pinna; which are again cut nearly to the midrib into close, short, slightly falcate, acute or obtuse lobes. The lowest pinna; are often less than an inch long, while the longest often exceed eight inches. The early fronds are always sterile. About July the fertile fronds come up in their midst. They are quite short, stiff and simply pinnate, and look so much like stunted sterile fronds as frequently to deceive the am- ateur cultivator. The fruiting pinna; are necklace-like ajS ilU: blNSinVI; AND USiUK.II I liRNS. in shiipo, and upon cx.imin;iti(>n prove t«> be nuich like the sterile pinn.e, except that e.icli ed^'e is tiijhtly rolled over to the iniilrii), forming two p.irallel chambers in which the sori arc encloseil. Cut across the end, a pinna reminds one of two tiny jjun-barrels and the likeness is heifjhtcned by the black, powdery spores that sift out. The books are cither silent in regard to the indusium, or assert that this species has none, but according to Raton there is a scale-like indusium at the base of each >orus. This is only to be seen in very young fronds and resembles that of Onocha. Fronds intermediate be- tween fertile and sterile are occasionally found, and may be produced artificially by cutting off the sterile fronds early in the year. The sterile fronds die in au- tumn but the fertile, like those of the sensitive fern, survive the winter, although to all appearances dea»l. The spores are not releascil until spring, when they readily germinate. Since they contain chlorophyll they arc not able to retain their vitality for much longer than a year. When the ostrich fern gains a foothold in a locality, it spreads rapidly by means of stolons. These are de- velopcd from adventitious buds on the rootstock at the bases of the olil fronds. Large numbers of them remain dormant but a few usually develop into slender runners that wander ailiout in the earth and finally throw up a new crown of fronds from the tip at some distance from the parent plant. The common name is due to an imagined likeness of the fronds to an ostrich feather. It is sometimes known as ostrich-feather fern. In Europe it has been called two-ranked fern because its fertile fronds have two rows of fruiting pinnules. The name of shuttlecock fern is J,[!i' '(■- ^:k Jl''. .id not be surprising if they did not r .ognisc them as ferns. There is very little that :.s fern-like in their forms, and scientists, drawing a nice distinction from the structure of their sporangia, place them in a separate family known as the Schizieace.e. The Curly Grass. To see the curly grass {Schizica pusilld) in its haunts, one must visit the southern part of New Jersey where it is fairly common on the border of many sandy cranberry bogs. For a long time this small state con- Gained all the known stations for the plant, and it is still the only section in which it is plentiful. Although never found far from the sca-coast, this is a ■, t Ml Mi i -VS THE CURLY GRASS AND THE CLIMBING FERN. plant of the frcsli water swamps and bogs. When full L^rown it seldom attains a height of six inches and the slender fronds present so little surface for the eye to rest upon that it is one of the most difficult of our ferns to distinguish from its surroundings. It is only in mid- summer or later, when the spikes show a glint of brown, or in a mild winter when the absence of vegetation renders the sterile fronds conspicuous, that one can search for the plant with much hope of finding it. Even tiien one must often get down on hands and knees to see it. The sterile fronds are an inch or more long and scarcely wider than pencil marks. They arc twisted or half coiled in loose open spirals and spread about as if trying to lay hold upon the vegetation near. In July the" fertile fronds push up on thread-like stems. They are quite as inconspicuous and have no greater likeness to fern leaves than have the sterile ones. At the top of the stipe are four or more pairs of finger-like pinn.-c enclosing the sporangia. The lowest pair are longest and all are set closely together in a little brown spike that resembles a tiny fist. The fruiting fronds remain on the plant during the winter and occasionally until the middle of the followiiig year. Possibly they do not release their spores until spring. Sometime after the curly grass was discovered in New Jersey, a few plants were found in Nova Scotia by Mrs. E. G. ]5ritton and still later, in 1896, specimens were col- lected in Newfoundland by Rev. Arthur Waghorne. This is not the first record for Newfoundland, however. In the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, are specimens col- lected long ago by De la Pylaie and labelled Newfound- land, but until the fern was rediscovered there, they were Tl Si ///:u'(i puiilUi, 11*! i| : S) THE CURLY GRASS AND THE CLIMBING FERN. 279 believed to have come from New Jersey and to have been wrongly labelled. In parts of New Jersey, this plant may be said to be fairly common, and new stations for it are frequently discovered. It delights to grow in wet open plac-^ in the midst of sphagnum and cranberry vines, with Lyco- podiuvi Caroliniaiium, L. alopccitroidcs and the sundews for companions. Usually there are cedar swamps in the vicinity. When all these plants are present, one may have great hope of finding the fern. New stations for it have been predicted from a distance by means of its com- panion plants, and the prediction subsequently verified I ; the finding of specimens. New stations, however, are .iiost frequently found by accident. The one at Tom's River is said to have been discovered by a botanist who, in placing his open press on the ground to put in some plants, found Schizcea peeping up between the sides. Besides the name of curly grass giver, it from the form of the sterile fronds, it is sometimes called one-sided fern because the fertile pinnae appear to be all on one side of the rachis. Lawson, in his " Fern Flora of Canada," gives it the fanciful name of Atlantis fern, but this, like most manufactured names, has not come into general use. At present, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia arc the only places outside of New Jersey in which this fern is known to grow, if indeed, it is now found in Nova Scotia at all. The station, which was a small one, is sr>"d to have been dostioyed by fire. In the vast stretches of country between Newfoundland and New Jersey there are bogs with many variations of soil and temperature, some of which should be suitable to its growth, and it is not unlikely that our plant may yet be found at other » ! • \ 11 ;ii 2S0 Tllli CURLY GRASS AND THli CLIMBING FERN. points. It would scarcely surprise botanists to hear that it had been found on Long Island where there are many- spots that exactly duplicate its favourite New Jersey bo: :i ' Orcw a little fern leaf iirccn an^ skntcr. Ucinint) tclicatc an^ fibres tcnfcr; XQarina wbcn tbc win^ crept ^own »o low; . ,, IRuebee tall, an? mo6». ant iiras* atcw rou.iS it. playful sunbeams tartef in ant fount it, Crops of tew stole in bv. niflbt ant crowt•.v^ .. —M. B. Jiratuh. ; r ;i m CONCERNING NOMENCLATURE. N the scheme of the vegetable kingdom, ferns are accorded a place below the flowering plants. With the Fern-Allies the club-mosses, quillworts and scour- ing rushes— they form the highest group of the so-called flowerless plants. On the one hand they are related to such simple flowering plants as the pines, palms, sedges and grasses, and on the other to the mosses and liverworts. Among themselves they differ widely, and several natural groups may be recognised. Formerly these groups were all included in the single order Filiccs ; but the modern and more scientific view makes them separate orders. One of the chief points of difference between them is found in the formation of the sporangia. In all but the most primitive, there is a ring of stronger cells extending around each sporange, which in most species bursts at maturity, scattering the spores. The position of this ring is of much importance in placing the genera in the proper orders. There are five of these orders represented in our fern-flora, four of which are relatively insignificant. Their principal characteristics and the tribes and genera they contain may be arranged in a series, from simple to complex, as follows. The relative size of the spore-cases are shown in the illustrations. -'94 CONCKKNINC] NOMHNCLATURK. OPHIOGLOSSAC/E. Sporanjiia without a ring formed of the interior tissues of the leaf, borne in spikes or panicles and discharging their spores through a transverse slit ; fronds erect or in- clined in vernation ; roots usually fleshy; piothallia subterranean. Gkn f.ra — Ophioj^ lossum, Botrychium. OSMUNDACE/E. Sporangia spherical on altered portions of the fronds, opening longitudinally; ring rudimentary ; rootstock very large ; fronds in circular crowns. (• K N I • s — Osntioicia. SCHlZ^ACEit. .Sporangia egg-shaped, borne usually on a contracted portion of the frond, opening long- itudinally; ring apical; rootstock short or creeping; rachis often twining. Si /u'z(ra, l.ygodium. HYMENOPHYLLACE/E. Sporangia sessile along a bristle like ^^ _ receptacle and surrounded by an urn- ^^ ^m^'' shaped or funnel-form, two-lipped in- ""~ ""* volucre ; ring transverse, opening verti- H>-— !*/«"- cally; rootstock creeping; fronds very delicate often but one cell thick. I ; K \ L' s — Trichoiiiiincs. »9S t CONCtRNIN(i NOMENCLATIJWK. POLYPODlACE/t. Sporangia stalked, borne on the back or margin of tlic lri)nd, opening transversely ; m ring vertical and elastic ; rootst" k short 11 or extensively creeping ; fronds scatteri d ^.^ or clustered ; prothallia green, not subter- ^'- ranean. Trihes and Genkra. Tribe I.— PoLYPODiE.t.. C.knls. rohpodium. Tribk II.— Grammitiue.i-:. Gknus. Xothohma. Tribk hi.— ITkridkk. ('.kskra. Adiantum, Pterh, Chet- Innlfies, I'clhra, Cryptfl^^nvnma. TRlHKlV.-Bl.KCHNK.t:. Gksus. WOiHhvcirduU TRiBK V.-ASFI.EME.T.. Gknkra. Asphnium, Athyfium. Scolo- TRIBE VI.-ASPU.IE.F.. GENERA. r/u^opUns, A.puUum, Toly stichum, Cystopteris. OnocUa, Struihioptcris. TRn!EVlI.-\VOODSIE.«. Geni's. IVoods/.t. TRIBE Vlll.— Dicksoniea:. Genus. Dicksonia. In the early days of botany, plants were named in a very loose and haphazard manner and several more or less descriptive words were usually combined to form the name of each species. These cumbersome titles were in common use until the time of Linnsus but tha acute naturalist perceiving the advantage of shorter and more exact names originated a system of naming both animals and plants in which the name of each kind consists of but two words; the f^rst or group name standing for the family and the second or individual name standing for the species. Linnaeus was not the f^rst to have a clear .conception of genera and species, nor yet the first to give a double 206 CONCERNING NOMnNCI.A PUrM:. I name to a i)laiit, but since Itc was tlic first to rccoynise tlie utility of a binomial system of nomenclature, and to estal)lisli sucli a system upon a sound basis, botanists have unanimously a-;reed to bc^Mii their nomenclature with the publication of his " Species I'lantarum " in 1753. In this work was inchuled every species of plant known to Linn.'Luis and the names he there gave them arc the ones botanists are supposed to use. One thing, how- ever, has conspired to make a large number of changes in these names not only permissible but necessary. Tins is the broad view of genera taken by Linn.eus. He placed all the ferns in a very small number of genera. In his genus /V/j'/ h. Sterile portion more or less w» r. Sporangia in ohioiig or lunate sori. under a refle.xtit tooth of the pintuile ; itidusiuni broad ; stipe and rariiis dark and shininvj. iMaiden- hair . . Adiantum. ^42 c. Sporangia in roundish masses. t Indusiuni broad, nearly continu- ous ; fronds smooth ; stipes usually dark; rock species. Cliff brakes. PELLiEA. t Indusium narro^ver, seldom con- tinuous, often inconspicuous ; fronds usually hairy. Cheilanthes. t Indusium of the reflexed edges, at first reaching nearly to the mid- rib, later nearly flat ; fruiting pin- nules, long, podlike ; sterile fronds broad ; stipes pale. Rock brakes. Cryptogramma. 38 !37 :S7 KEY TO THE GENERA. 309 •#. IWyrtklniM Cyslop^f"* Sori various : indusium never formed of the margin of the frond. it, Sori and indusium od/oti^'. par- ailel with the midrib, somewhat sunken in the tissues of the frond ; indusium opening toward the mid- dle of the pinnules ; water-lovmg species. Chain ferns. WOOUWARUIA. a. Sori and indusium roundish. + t Indusium pellatt, fixed by the centre ; evergreen species in rocky woods. Shield ferns. POLYS'ICHUM. rAci. 216 106 1 1 Indusium reniform or cordate, fixed by the sinus ; large, mostly woodland species. Wood ferns. ASPIDIUM. 117 1 1 Indusium hood-shaped, attached to the frond by its broad base. beltm< the sorus and arching oyer it. soon withering : moisture loving species. Bladder ferns. CvsTOPTERis. 209 1 1 Indusium star-shaped, of a few irregular broad or narrow seg- ments fixed beneath the sorus and enclosing it when young. Not easily seen in most species. Rock- loving plants usually somewhat chaffy. WOODSIA, 93 3'o KEY TO THE GENERA. DbkMmi* + * Indusium inf>-shiipfii, tixc! be- neath ihe sorus ; son nimutc on a tdoth of tilt- ultimate pint)uir>> . fronds very liuely cut. Houldcr fern. . . , Dicksunia 229 CMOpt Atfkniun 55 180 KEY TO THt GENEKA. KEY TO THE GRAPE FERNS. (Hottyifitum.) u...r.lp tx)riion much divided Plant large. (ru>un« in spHn^. stcr.le poru^ , ,,^,„,..«,., PJant smaller. • • ' „;„_ Lns stalked, triangular Fruiting in autumn, slenlc port.on long ^_ ^,^^^,„„, 3" PAUR. 42 54 mcnts. . • • . Plant less fleshy. . • • . jjj, ' f j^e Stehlc purtu.n short st.dked. ^^^^ ^^^^^..^ol'u.n. ^ Sicp.:rtionsulWedusuaUyhelowthc.^d,e^o.U. ^^ Scpordon -ilenearthetopofthe.em^^^^^^. ^^ KEY TO THE WOOD FERNS. Fronds pinnate, the pinna pinnatitid. Blade thin, deciduous. Lower pinns reduced to mere lobes ^ ^r^„^,racense. 1 20 Lower pinn=. not or little reduced. ^^ . ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^ Veins simple . • ^ yv,<7,'//.r«. H7 Veins forked Blade rather thick, evergreen. ^^^rrr/^ 147 Fronds small, narrow, rock spec.es A. fragu.m. 47 Fronds large, two or more feet high. ^,^„, , 39 Lower pinns. nearly triangular A. crtstatum. 39 Lower pinnae longer. Sori close to the margin. A. margtnah. I35 Sori nearer the midvein. Frond lanc.-olate . A.fiUx-mas 36 Frond ovate . A. Goldtcanun. 37 Fronds twice pinnate with lower pinnules P^nnatifid. _..^ AW.. ^4^ Fronds nearly thrice pmnate . • • ' 313 KKY TO THE GENERA ' KEY TO THE SPLEENWORTS. (Aspleiiium. ) Fronds pinnaut'id or pinnate below, apex long tapering. Blade iliick, lobes rounded . , A. pinnutifidum. Blade tiiin, lobes pointed P'ronds pinnate. Rachis green or straw-coloured. Less than six inches high. Taller, pinna- long pointed Rachis dark. rinnules not eared at base Pinnules cared at base. ^Mostly opposite Mostly alternate Fronds more than once pinnate. Stipes green, blades inclining to triangular pinnules f.m-shaped. A.ruta-murari'a. Stipes darker below, blade longer and narrower . . .A. montanum. Stipes and rachis dark. A. lirndleyi. (.See. also. Athyrium^ A, fbenoides. A. viride. A. attguslifolium. A. Trii/itimants, A. pixrvulum. A. ebeneiim. 167 169 158 188 '55 '59 160 162 164 166 KEY TO CHEILANTHES. Fronds nearly smooth Fronds hairy, twice pinnate Fronds tomcntose. thrice pinnate. \'ery small species, stipe nearly smooth. Larger, stipes tomentose C. Ahibivnemis. C. xiestita. C. /iinui^iiiosii. C. totneuiosii. KEY TO WOODSIA. Stipe not jointed. .... ^V- obtusa. Stipe obscurely jointed near the base. Frond more or less chaffy . . IV. Ilveusis. Fronds smooth or smoolhish. I'lnn;** ov.ate. deeply pinnatifid . W. i^labflla. Pinna' rounded ovate, 5-7 lobed. \V. hyperborea. 242 237 240 239 96 93 99 98 CHECKLIST OF THE FERNS OF NORTHEASTERN AMERICA. (NORTH OF THE GULF STATES AND EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.) ADIANTUM L. 1. Adiautuin CHpUlim- VeueriH L. 2. Ailiantitm peUntum L. ASPIDIUM Sw. 3. Aspidium Boottti Tuckerm. Dryoptcris Hoot tit Underw. Afpidlum crlatiifuin Sw. Dryoptcris cristata A. Gray. 1 idiam crlsttttHin CHutoniamim D. C. Eaton. Dryoptcris cristata Clintoniana Underw. A»pUlinm cHstatnm x Marginale Dav. A»lridiiiiii tin. I -lit an Sw. Dryoptcris filix-mas Schott. 8 Attpidhim finqrnni* Sw. Dryoptcris fragrans Schott. 9 A»pidimn V.otdUanmn Hook. Dryoptcris Goldieana A. dray. A^pUUnni C.oldteauHm f. celmm Palmer. 10. Anpidlnm mnrglnale Sw. Dryoptcris iiiarginalts A. Oray. II AHpidi»myovehoraceHtte^^\. Dryoptcris Nirveboracensis A. t.ray. Aspidhon XoveborareuHcf. fvugvan. Peck. 12. AHpidiinn HhHidittiiin Dav. Dryoptcris siiiuilata Dav. 4- 6. 7- I 3>4 CHECKLIST OF THE FERNS. 13. ^tupiilinm MpinitioiiuiHSw. Dryoplcris spinulosa Kuntze. 14. Anpidlatn npinuloHiiin intermedium D. C. F.aton. Dryoplcris spinulosa intermedia Underw, 15. Attpittium M/uHiiloHum tliltttatum Hornemann. Dryoplcris spinulosa ililafata Underw. 16. AspiUium Thelyptei'ia'Sw. Dryoplcris Thelypleris A. Gray. ASPLENIUM L. 17. AMfdenium niiffimti/'oliiim Michx. 18. Aajtleiiium Ui'tuUeifi D. C. Katon. 19. AHjtleHium ebeneam Ait. Aspleniuni plalyneuron Oakes. AHjtlenium ebeneam f. Hervatum A. Gray. 20. Af*jdeni»m ebenoideM Scott. 21. Asjtleiiium moHfaniim Willd. 22. AMftieHiitm parriUnm Mart. & Gal. 23. AniUeniam pinnatifidnm Nutt. 24. Asitleniinu vuta-mut'aria L. 25. Attjtleuium TrirhomaneM L. AHplenium THchomnneit f. incinum Moore. 26. AMjdfHiiim viride Huds. ATHYRIUM Roth. 27. Athffrimn thelypteroides Desv. Asplenium acrostichoides S\v. Asplenium Ihelyplcroidcs Michx. 28. Athyrimn fiUx-fwrnitui Roth. Asplenium filix-fa'inina Hernh. Asplenium fili.x -fit inina Michauxii Mett. BOTRYCHIUM S\v. 29. Bott'iichinm Utnceolatum Angs. 30. Botfuchitim Liimtria Sw. CHECKLIST OF THB FERNS. 3'5 3'- 32- 33- 34. 35- 36. 37- 38. 39- 40. 41. 42. 43- 44. Botrychlum nuaHcariatfolium A. Br. Botrychium negUctum Wood. Boti'VcMum matricarltefolium tenehromm. Botrychium Unebrosum A. A. Eaton. Botrychium obliqimm Muhl. Botrychium ternatum obliqmim Milde. Botrychium oMiquu.n f. intermedium D. C. Eaton. Botrychium obliquum ditmectum. Botrychium ternatum dissectum MUde. Botrychium dissectum Sprengel. Botrychium simidex Hitchcock. Botrychium VirgiHianum Sw. „ „ . Botrychium Virginianum f.graclle Pursh. CAMPTOSORUS Link. CamntofforuH rhizophyUuH Link. C«S?o«or«« r/U«o,>/»*,«««/. i,Uermedius Arthur. CHEILANTHES Sw. CheUaufhes AlabameH»lit Kunze. CheUaiUhe» lanuginom Nutt, Cheilanthes Feci Moore. Cheilanthes gracilis Mett. Cheilanthes vettita Sw. Cheilanthes lanosa Watt. CheilatUtieft tomentom Link. CRYPTOGRAMMA R. Br. Cryptogramma acrosticholdes R. Br. CYSTOPTERIS Bernh. Cystopteris biUbifera Bernh. /^i7/.r bitlbifera Underw. CyatopterlH fragUis Bernh. /"/■//^ fragilis Underw. CyttopteriB fragiliaf, dentma Hook. 316 CHECKLIST OF THE FERNS. 45. t'lfntojitei-itt moufaua Bernli. /V//.1' montana Underw. DICKSON 1 A LHer. 46. Dickttonia pUoniuttvulu Willd. Dicksonia puiutilotula A. Gray. Dninstiedtiii punctilobula Moore. IHt'kttoniu pUoHiHHriilii f, rritUata Dav. LYGODIUM Sw. 47- Lygotllum palmattiiu Sw. NOTHOL/ENA R. Br. 48. Xotholnna dealbutn Kunze. Notholuna tiivea I'-alhata Dav. ONOCLEA L. 49. Ouoclea HenHibilis L. Onoclea scnuibins f. t^ttusilobutn Torr. Ol'HIOGLOSSUM L. 50. OpMogloMHiu rnfffatuin L. OphioglosHHia riitgntinu f. arenarium. Ophioi;lossuin arcnariitm E. G. Hritton. OphioyloHHUin iii/ffafnin f. EugelmaHnl, Ophioi^lossitm F.ngelmanni Frantl. OSMUND A L. 51. Ouniundu ctuuttinoiiwa L. Onmunda cliiuninomea f. f>ontlo9ti A. Gray. 52. OHiuHudn f'lafftoHinna L. 53. OHinuutla reyallH L. PELL/EA Link. 54. Pel/rt'a ntropit "pitrea Link. 55. I'cfttfu (leHHfi Hook. 56. Peltiva ffrneifis Hook. A/Aaj Stilleri Watt. Crypto^ramma Stflleii I'rantL CHECKLIST OF THE FERNS- rHEGOPTERlS Fee. e? rheaopteH* ni-uoifterls Fee. J'heyoitteriH DtuoifteHn Jiobettlana Dav. Phcgopteris Calairea Fee. 58. PhegoitteriH hexagonoptera Fee. CO rhegojtteriH polyiMnli olden Fee. Phejioptcris I'hegopterts Underw. POLVroUIUM L. 60 i'«»i//i«w«rt»»ti"^"""'" •'*• Polypodium polypodioides Hitchcock. 61. rftlifpodintuvulanieh. j'Uut^odium vulgaref. Camhriiinn W lid. I'olupoilUun vtdgaref. binerrat,,,,, M.Mspaugh. Polypodium vutgare oreophilum Maxon. Polypodium vulgare deceptum Maxon. POLYSTICHUM Roth. 62 PolyHfichum acroMehoideH Schott. Aspidiitm acrostic hotdes Sw. 63. PoluHtichum Itraunil Lawson. Dryopleris Braunii Underw. 64. PolyHfichum tonehltli* Roth. Aspidium lonchitis Sw. Dryopteris lonchitis Kuntze. PTERIS L. 65 Pterin aqnilina L. Pteridium aquilinum Kuhn. f/, Pievin aquUimi pMeadocaudata CMe. Ptcris aquilina caudata Hook. 3'7 3«« CHECKLIST OF THE FERNS. SCHIZ/EA J. E. Smith. 67. Schixasu pusiUa Pursh. SCOLOPENURIUM Allans. 68. Scolopendrlum vuigare J. E. Smith. Scolopeniiriiim Scolopendrium Karst. PhylUtis Scolopendrium Newman. STRUTHIOPTERIS Wilid. 69. StnitthioiiteHH Germanica Willd. Onociea Strut/iiopteris Hoffm. MiUteuccia Struthiopteris Todaro. Struthiopteris Germanica Pennsylvanica Lawson. TRICHOMANES L. 70. THchomaneM PeterMii A. Gray. 71. Ti'ichomanes raiUcauM Sw. 72 73 74 75 76 77 WOODSIA R. Br. Woodttia glabra R. Br. Woodoia hyperhoren R. Br. IVoodsia alpina S. F. Gray. WoodHia IlvennlK R. Br. IFoodMa obtusa Torr. WoodHia obtHHa f. glandidoMi D. C. Eaton. It'oodida Oregttnn D. C. Eaton. WootMa HcoptUhia D. C. Eaton. WOODVVARDIA J. E. Smith. 78. WoodwartUa tingustffolla J. E. Smith. Woodwardia areolata Moore. 79. Woodumrdia Virgiuica J. E. Smith. CHECKLIST OF THE FERNS. 3'9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE CHECKLIST OF FERNS. LHer. C. L. L'Herilier. L. Linnxus. Man. & Gal, Martens & Galeotti. Mctt. G. Mettenius. Michx. A. Michaux. Muhl. G. H. E. Muhlenberg. Nutt. T. Nuttall. Sm. J. E. Smith. Sw. O. Swartz, Torr. J. Torrey. Underw. L. M. Underwood. Tuckerm. E. Tuckerman. K. S. Willdenow. A. Br. A. Braun. Adans. M. Adanson. Ait. W. Aiton. Angs. J. Angstroem, Bcrnh. J. J. Bernhardi. R. Br. Robert Brown. Dav. Geo. E. Davenport. Desv. N. A. Desvaux. G. F. Hoffman. W. J. Hooker. W. Hudson. Karsten. Willd. Hoffm. Hook. Huds. Karst. GLOSSARY. Acui.F.ATF..-Armed with prickles. AciTMiNATK.-Tapering to a slender point. Acute— Pointed; endins in a sharp point. AuvKNTiTlous.-That which comes from abroad ; as a plant in- troduced by chance. ADVKNTlTious UUDS.-Buds produced without order on any part of the plant. . , ANAsr..Mus.NG.-Forming a network ; as veins umtmg with one another. ANNULUS.-A ring, especially that which surrounds the spore-cases in most ferns. ANTHERii>iA.-The male organs on the prothalhum. Ai'icuLATK.-Tcrminating abruptly with a small point. Archkconia.— The female organs on the prothalhum. Areola (Pl. Areol*).-A space enclosed by anastomosmgvemlets. Areolate.— Having areola;. , Articulated. -Jointed or having the appearance of a joml. AURicLED.— Eared. AuRicuLATE.— With ear-like appendages. BiPiNNATE.— Twice pinnate. BiPlNNATJFiD.— Twice pinnatifid. Blade.— The expanded, leafy portion of a frond. BRISTLE.-A stiff hair ; any slender outgrowth from the plant as m the fruiting parts of filmy ferns. BULBIFEROUS.— Bearing little bulblets. BULBLET.-A small bulb, especially such as are borne upon leaves or in their axils. Caudate.— With a slender, tail-like appendage. Caudex. —A trunk, especially that of a tree-fern. Chaff.— Slender, papery scales. Chartaceous.— Having the texture of parchment. Chlorophyll.— The green colouring matter of plants. 3«« GLOSSARY. CiLlATE.— Fringed with fine hairs. CiRciNA IE. -Coiled, as the buds of ferns, from tip to base. Clavate.— Club shaped. , ,k. f,„„H COMPOUNU.-Uivided into two or more portions, said of the frond. Confluent.— Ulcndcd together. 0)RDATE.-Heartshaped; ovate with a sinus at base. Coriaceous.— Lilce leather in texture. C REN ATE. -With rounded teeth ; said of margins. CRENULATE.-Scallopcd with small rounded teeth. Crosier.— An uncoiling frond. CROWN.-Thc growing end of the rootstock or caudex. Cuneate.— Wedge shaped. CUSPIDATE.-Terminating in a sharp, hard point. DEClouous.-Not evergreen ; subject to being shed at certain sea- sons. Decompound.— Several times compounded or divided. Decumbent.— Not erect ; bending along the ground. DECURRENT.-Extended downward along the rachis; said of the bases of pinnse, etc. Deflexed.— Bent abruptly downward. Dentate.— Toothed ; said of the margins. Denticulate.— Finely toothed. Depauperate.— Starved : prevented from coming to its natural size through lack of nourishment. DicHOTOMOUS.— Forked in pairs ; two forked. Dimidiate.— Halved, or as if one half was wanting, as in the pin- nules of some Adiantums. DIMORPHOUS.— Of two forms; said of ferns whose fertile and sterile fronds are not alike. Dissected.— Cut into many lobes or divisions. Elliptical.— Oblong with rounded ends. Em ARGIN ATE.— Notched at the summit. Entire.— Not divided ; said of fronds or pinnules whose margins are without notches or teeth. Falcate.— Scythe shaped ; curved upward. Fertile.— Producing spores. Flabellate.— Fan-shaped. Filiform.— Threadlike. GLOSSARY. yi auAlfc bu. Irequcmly i. » ».d«n.ply >oto.ga«. the l»ly portion. Fruit.— Sporangia. FRun-i>o'.— A sorus. Fugacious.— Shori-livcd; falling early. Glabrous.— Smooth. „,„allv Gland.- A minute globular or pear-shaped organ which usually st( retcs a resinous, waxy, ^ummy or aromatic product. Glandular.— Furnished v h glands. GLAUCOus.-Covercd with a very fmc. powdery substance, as plums arc. . GLUTiNous.-Covered with a sticky exudation. Habit -The gen. al appearance of a plant. HAB.TAT.-TSe natural dwelling place of an an.mal or plant. Hirsute.— Having coarse stiff hairs. i , „„ - Lmbr"ca;ed. -Overlapping or breaking joints like shingles on a roof. ,»vot"«r-Th.e»p.»h.H p,~.s.es surrounding .h. ,po».^ in the mmy (eras ; an indumum. ally tapering at base also. LAMINA -A blade : the leafy portion of a frond. LiNEAR.-Long and narrow. , OBF.-Onc of the small divisions of a frond. J UjjATE.-Shaped like a half-moon. M.,c=,KA..-Si,ua.ed on. or ■='- ^° -^^ ^'f „ „, fl„i„.. forming a point. J-'4 GLOSSARY. OBi.ANtKoi.ATK.— The reverse o( lanceolate ; broadest near the apex. Oiii,ON(i.— Two or three tiine» longer than broad. Obovatf..— The reverse of ovate. Obtuse.— Hiunt; without point. Orbicular.— Circular. Ovate.— Egg-shaped ; the broadest part near the base. Paleaceous.— Clothed with chaff. I'Ai.M ATE.— With spreading divisions like the fingers of the hand. Panicle.— A cluster of fruit in which the stems branch more or less. Pa pyraceous.— Paper-like. PKOICEL.— A tiny stalk ; especially the stalk of the sporangia. Peltate.— Shield-shaped ; said of scales and indusia that are at- tached to the frond by their centers. Persistent.— Not falling away ; remaining on the plant. Petiole.— Same as stalk and stipe. Pinna (Pl. Pinn.*). — One of the primary divisions of a frond. Pinnate.— Consisting of several leaflets arranged on each side of a common petiole or rachis. Pinnatifid. — Divided in a pinnate manner, but with leaflets not entirely separate. Pinnule. — One of the small divisions of a pinnate leaf. Procumbent.— Lying along the ground. Proliferous.— Giving rise to new plants. Prothallium ,Pl. Prothallia).— The minute scale-like growth from the spore of a fern. Pubescence.— A covering of soft, short hairs. Pubescent. — Covered with fine, soft hairs. Quadripinnate.— Four times pinnate. Rachis. — The continuation of the stipe through a compound frond. Receptacle.— The part of the frond to which the sporangia are at- tached, especially in the Filmy Ferns. Rf.flexed.— Abruptly bent downward or backward. Reniform.— Kidney shaped. Revolute.— Rolled backward, as the margins of some fronds. Rhizome.— An underground stem ; a rootstock. ROOTSTOCK.— Same as rhizome. The portion that produces the fronds in most of our species. Scales.— The chaff on the stems of ferns. GLOSSARY. J Spleenwort, wall, 157. Spring wurrel, 52. St. Christopher's herb, 34 St John's hands, 137. Stone brake, 197. Stone (ern, 163, 197. Swamp spleenwort, 1S9. Sweet brake, 137- Sweet polypody, 148. Sun (ern, 201. TfcNT-NVoRT, 163. Tree (ern, 33, I99- Two-ranked (ern, 258. Turkey(oot (ern, 71. Umbrella (ern, 73. Unshoe-the-hoise, 53. Upland (em, 73. Venus-Hair (em, 246. VermKuge 137. Virginia moonwort, 44. Water (em, 33. Waterwort (em, 157. Walking (ern, 265. Wall (em, 197. Wall link, 267. Wall rue, 162. Wall spleenwort, 157. White maidenhair, 163. Whiteoak (em, 2U. Windsor fern, 281. Winter brake, 84- Woodsia, alpine, 98. Woodsia, oblong. 96. Woodsia, obtuse. 96. Woodsia, rusty, 93. Woodsia, smooth, 99. Woolly lil)-(ern, 240. *- Index to the Scientific Names. Synonyms anil exotic species are ihiliciseJ, Adiantcm, 247. Caiiiideusc, 244. Capillus- Veneris, 246. pedatum, 242. pcdiitum raui^iferiuin, 245, Asl'IDIUM, lOJ, 117, 126, 133. liuottii, 141. criNtatiiin, 139. iTJ.statiiiu (.'iintoniantim, 141, cristatuin x niaigiiMii.', 141. filix-nias, 136. fragraiis, 147. ('■■lUlieaiuini. 138. (. ccl>um, 138. marginale, 134. A'(T i/, 112. AsiLKNH M. 173, 179. iiiii'itii/u'iJfs^ 187. aiif,usti(oliiim, 188. Uradleyi, 166. clicniim, 160. (. inci'sum, 162. f. iierratum. 162. cl)enoides, i6<). Jilix-Jarmiiiii, 179. foiitiiHum, 172. maniium, 172. montaiuim, 164. parvuluni, 1 59. pinnatifidun), 167. platyneuron, 162. ruta-niuraria, 162. Trichomancs, 155, f. iiiciscm, 1 57. viride, 158. Atiiyrium, 179, 189. cyclosorum, 185. filix-foemiita, 180. Jilix-famina Mi,/hiii.\ii, 185. A/ii/iiiiixii, 185. thelypteroides, 185. UoTRvriiii M, 51, 69. lancculatuin, 59. I.iinaria, 51. matricariiF, 57. niatricarixfoliiim, 6c. niatricarixfoliutn teiichro- 8uin, 60. iie^lt'iliim, 61. obliquum, 54. f. dissectum, 57. f. iniennedium, 57. simplex, 58. Itmhrosum, 61. Vifginianum, 42. Ca.mi'Tusorus, 268. rlii^o])hylIus, 265. f. interinedius, 2^)8. INDKX ro rilK SCIENTIFIC NAMKS. 33' SiHrkus, 268. Chhilantiiks, ;37. 242. Alabamensis, 242. Fai, 24'- gnu His, 24 •• laiiosa, 239. lanuginosa, 240. tomentiisa, 239. vestita, 237. CRVrnxiKAMMA, 286. acrosticlioiiles, 285. StilUri, 87. CvsToPTEKls, 209. bulbifera. 212. {ragilis, 209. f. angustata, 2t2. f. dentata, 21-'. f. laciniata, 212. montana, 214. DcnnstudtiiU 231. DicKsoNiA ,231. pilosiuscula, 229. Dryopitris, 105, II7. 127. '33- /■///>, 209. Liistrea, 133. 149' Lygodium, 280. palmatum, 280. Matteuccia Stnitlinfteris, 259. /. Pfniisyhiiniia, 259. Ntphrodium, 127, 149- NOTHOL/KNA, 287. dealbata, 286. «/r angustifolia, 221. artotata, 223. Virginica, 219.