FERNS. 257 



Cinnamon Fern — Osmunda ciiiiiauioi/iea, (I..) 



This fern is so called from the reddish-brown wool that clothes the 

 fronds in their early stage of growth, and also from the colour of the 

 sori of the fertile frond which occupies the central crown of the root- 

 stock, quite different, and easily distinguished by its reddish colour 

 and contracted pinna;, ^from the upright, coarse, foliage of the sterile 

 fronds. 



The Cinnamon Fern is found in wet, grassy places, growing in large 

 clumps, sometimes from very large, hard, fleshy root-stocks, which are 

 occasionally eaten raw and are said to resemble some nuts in flavour 

 The singular-looking red-brown fertile frond rising from the midst of 

 the plant, soon perfects its seeds, and the long weak stipes fall and lie 

 prostrate on the ground, curled up and withered. Though the sterile 

 fronds are coarse and less elegant than those of any of the Osmundas 

 the very young leaves are remarkably handsome. The pinnules which 

 are roundish and blunt are usually entire and crowded, nearly over- 

 lapping on the short chaffy stipes, the free forked veins easily discerned. 



Adder's Tongue — Ophioglossiiin vulgatmn^ (L.) 



The Adder's Tongue in general appearance hardly realizes the idea 

 of a fern, although in reality it is one. Closely allied to the Adder's 

 Tongue, and belonging to the same Natural Order, are the Moonworts. 

 This order which Botanists name Ophioglossacetc, includes those ferns 

 whose leaves instead of being rolled are folded up in a straight or 

 inclined manner. The sporangia are formed of the interior tissue of the 

 frond, and are spiked or panicled. The copious, sulphur-coloured spores 

 are discharged through a transverse slit which divides the spore case into 

 two valves. The roots are fleshy and instead of sending up several 

 fronds produce one double frond every year, which is divided into a 

 leafy barren portion, and a fruitful portion, which is simply a spike or 

 cluster of sporangia. The Adder's Tongue is not very common in 

 Canada, it is found in open spots, among grasses, near woods. The 

 leafy portion of the frond is simply an undivided, entire, egg-shaped, 

 fleshy frond of a light green, and is beautifully veined. The fertile spike is 

 borne above this expansion on a slender stem, and consists of two rows of 

 spore cases, one on each side of the stem, forming a double row about 

 an inch long. When the spores are ripe these cases split open and have 

 the appearance of a double row of teeth ; it is from this state of the plant 

 that the name Adder's Tongue, which is a translation of the classical 

 name, is taken. The height of this strange little fern is about six inches. 

 There is generally only one frond from the same root ; but occasionally 

 two may be found. 



