LIFE HISTORY OF A FERN 



coiled up from the tip. As the leaves grow they unroll, 

 and in some ferns, at certain stages, they often closely re- 

 semble the neck of a violin (Fig. 6). The leaf-blade 



FIG. 8. Sporophylls of two ferns. At the left, a species of Polypodium 

 (Phymatodes), having no indusium; at the right, Diplazium zclanicum. 



possesses veins of fibre-vascular bundles that pass down 

 the leaf-stalk and through the stem to the roots. Because 

 of the possession of these vascular bundles, ferns (and 

 all other plants of which this is true) are called vas- 



