258 /EKXS. 



Fi.owKRixG Wood-Ferns ^Ratti.f.sxakr Ferns-^Grape Ferns. 



The Botrychiums differ from the Adders Tongue in having the 

 barren portion of the frond divided into a series of stalked pinnules, and 

 have the fertile portion made up of alternate clusters of sporangia. The 

 IMoonworts are pretty plants, with much more of the appearance of ferns 

 than the Adder's Tongue ; but possessing many distinctive character- 

 istics which distinguish them from the Dorsal Ferns— as the Polypodies, 

 Aspleniums and Aspidiums — for instance, the forked fronds dividing the 

 stipe into two distinct parts : the sterile or foUaceous,and the fertile or fruit- 

 bearing portions ; the smooth, fleshy stipe destitute of scales ; the berry- 

 like, rolled up sporangia that contain the spores, and the thick, fleshy 

 roots, covered with a tough, leathery, brown skin, which, in the older 

 plants, is marked with indented rings, and from which, doubtless, the 

 name of Rattlesnake Fern has been derived. Another distinctive mark is 

 the collar or crown from which the bundle of thick roots springs ; the 

 central bud contains the single foliaceous frond, which is not circinate or 

 rolled up, as in the Dorsal Ferns, but is folded in a thin, white, mem- 

 branous sheath, similar to those that enclose the flowers of bulbous- 

 rooted plants. The sporangia, the coverings of the spores or fern seeds, 

 are on an upright slender stipe, much longer than the sterile frond, 

 which is sessile, or closely adhering to the main stem. These spore 

 cases are formed of altered pinnules, which are contracted and closely 

 rolled up into tiny balls, opening, by means of a slit, into two valves, 

 which allows the fine yellow or pale brown seeds or spores to escape 

 when rii)e. Of this interesting family we have several distinct species 

 and several varieties. In Britain, I believe, the only representative of 

 the Botrychiums is B. Lti/iaria, the Moonwort, a small, singular looking 

 fern, with semicircular, thickish, crenate pinnules and slender fertile 

 spike. Respecting this curious plant many incredible legends existed 

 in the days when that worthy old herbalist (lerarde wrote, but which 

 he disclaimed as not proven. 



The English peasant, though far from imaginative, is credulous 

 when once impressed, and readily accepts the marvellous, only it must 

 have the sanction of ancient custom and oral tradition, handed down 

 from father to son ; this sanctifies and gives weight to any legendary lore, 

 however improbable. It must have been a hard trial when purer faith 

 replaced the legends of the church with simple Gospel truths. Botry- 

 chiuin Lufiaria, (Swz.) has been lately found in several localities in the 

 Provinces of Quebec and Ontario, but is very rare. The commonest 

 species is 



