FERN TRIBE atl 
rich green mosses which surround it, and its pale green hairy fronds some- 
times glistening with drops of the spray dashed from the fall. It is a com- 
mon fern in Cumberland, growing on the very summit of some of the 
mountains. It has no just claim to its common name of Beech Fern; for, 
though found in moist, wooded places, it does not hang from the branches of 
that noble tree, but its brown rootstocks creep over the damp rock, or among 
the scattered leaves. The frond rises in May, and may be found in fructi- 
fication throughout the summer and autumn. It varies in height, from six 
inches to about a foot, the stalk being generally about twice as long as the 
leafy part, and slightly scaly at the base. Its roots are black, wiry, hair- 
like fibres. The frond is very distinct in its outline, being triangular, and 
tapering at the upper part into along point. The lower part is pinnate, the 
pinne being narrow, cut nearly to the mid-rib, and very acute at the point. 
They are usually in pairs, the lowest pairs being at some distance from the 
others, and turning backwards towards the ground. They are united to the 
stem by their mid-rib only ; but the other pinnz, which all point forwards, 
are united to the stem by their whole width, and are also connected with 
each other in a pinnatifid manner. This turning backwards of the lower 
pinne gives so peculiar a character to this fern, that those who have once 
seen it rarely find any difficulty in recognising any further specimens which 
they may meet with. 
The lobes of the pinnx have each a slender vein running up the middle, 
from which lateral veins, chiefly unbranched, issue alternately, and extend 
to the margin, each bearing a cluster of capsules at its extremity, so that the 
fructification is nearly marginal. The clusters are circular, and of a brownish 
hue. The young fronds unfold their coils very early, and these often droop 
backwards before fully expanding. It is a very delicate plant, perishing when 
placed in culture where it is not protected from the sun, and dying away 
with the earliest frosts. 
3. Oak Fern (P. dryépteris).—Fronds with three branches, the divisions 
pinnate, their pinnz cut into segments nearly to the mid-rib, blunt, the 
uppermost entire ; clusters of capsules nearly marginal. This very elegant 
species is sometimes called by the very characteristic name of Tender Three- 
branched Polypedy. The triple fronds are a marked character of the plant, 
and it is slender in form, thin, smooth, and fragile in texture. The height 
of the frond is from four to six inches, and its colour is of a brighter green 
than that of almost any other British fern, though it loses this brightness if 
placed in a spot exposed to the sun. Its mode of unfolding the young fronds 
is veryremarkable. In March and April these emerge from the soil, exactly 
resembling, as Mr. Newman has said, three balls on wires. These folded 
scrolls daily uncoil to the air and shaded light, till, by the end of June, not 
only are the three graceful branches developed, but the dark-brown masses 
of spore-cases are crowding upon their under-surfaces. Like many another 
plant, however, which rapidly attains perfection, it is somewhat short-lived, 
not surviving the earliest frosts. The stalk is very slender, about twice the 
length of the leafy part of the frond, of dark purplish colour, very brittle, 
with a few scales at its base. The three branches of the frond are triangular, 
each having a short stalk, and the three uniting in an angular manner with 
