1920] The Land of Ferns 101 



(Drypetes), soapberry {Sapindiis), butter-bough (Exothea), wild- 

 coffee (Coluhrina), laneewood (Ocotea), stopper (Eugenia), and 

 many others, all growing closely associated to make the hammocks. 



Nearly all the kinds of ferns of tropical Florida may be found in 

 them. The well-like lime-sinks, the hammock floor, and the trunks 

 and limbs of rough-barked trees are the habitats of the many species, 

 each and all usually forming ferneries of indescribable beauty. 

 They can be appreciated by the eye alone; even the camera falls far 

 short of doing them justice. In some places the deep well-like sinks 

 have their sides completely covered with mats of iridescent filmy- 

 ferns (Trichomanes) to the exclusion of all other vegetation, while 

 nearby tree-trunks and logs are completely covered with another kind 

 of filmy-fern. In other sinks the small halberd-fern (Tectaria) pre- 

 dominates, while in still others we find the honeycombed rock sides 

 adorned with various ferns, filmies {Trichomanes), maidenhair 

 (Adiantum), halberd-fern {Tectaria), wood-fern {Dryopteris), and 

 spleenwort {Aspleniuui), not to mention the rarer holly-fern {Sten- 

 ochlaena), which is one of the few climbing ferns of . Florida. The 

 hammock floor is another kind of fernery. There the strap-fern, vari- 

 ous wood-ferns, maidenhair, spleenworts, sword-fern, and large hal- 

 berd-fern, comprise the more conspicuous kinds. One species of wood- 

 fern {Dryopteris ampla) is, at the same time, the most conspicuous 

 and most elegant. It sometimes has an erect stem a foot and a half 

 high and elegant lace-like leaves with a spread of a dozen feet ! In 

 these remarkable hammocks there are ferns everywhere, ferns under- 

 ground, ferns on the ground, and ferns in the air. The trunks and 

 limbs of rough-barked trees are actually clothed with masses of ferns, 

 as well as with orchids, and other plants. The resurrection-fern {Poly- 

 podium), the strap-fern {Campyloneurum), and the Boston-fern {Ne- 

 phrolepsis) are the most common epiphytic kinds, while the elegant 

 vine-fern {Phymatodes) occurs plentifully in one hammock. Pal- 

 metto trees are often conspicuous ferneries. Below the crown of 

 leaves and growing from among the old leaf-bases one often finds a 

 collection of Boston-fern {Nephrolcpis), shoestring-fern {Vittaria), 

 hand-fern {Chciroylossa) , and serpent-fern {Plilcbodium). 



In passing, before taking up the additional tropical locality, it may 

 be of interest to mention a kind of iialf-way station where a few 

 tropical kiiuls of ferns have loiiiid congenial conditions, and flourish. 

 It is the magnificent hammock that clothes the eastern shores of Lake 



