364 POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. 
are long and narrow, and hang gracefully drooping, when 
growing on banks or steep places, which they sometimes 
cover with elegant drapery. They first appear above ground 
in April, and the seed becomes ripe m August and Sep- 
tember, the leaf continuing green and vigorous during the 
winter. 
PTERIS. (Brakszs.) 
Generic Character. Seeds arranged so as to form a narrow 
border to the edge. 
Preris aquitina. Common Brakes. This is the most 
abundant and common of our Ferns, covering almost every 
heath, wood and forest in the kingdom. It is very variable, 
sometimes being ten or twelve feet high, though the general 
size is about three. The frond is triangular in shape, and the 
whole plant elegant ; the roots are brown and velvety, and in 
the spring the young leaves or fronds come up bent or double ; 
they are often destroyed by the late frosts, and im the autumn 
are killed as soon as the frosts set in, turning of a deep 
brown colour, but do not fall for some time. It is a useful 
plant in many cases, beng mown down when dry, and 
used as fodder for cattle; also for packing fruit or fish. 
