FERNS. 



23 



is fully mature, and lets the many minute 

 spores escape. 



The highest of the 

 larsfe divisions of flow- 

 erless plants are the 

 Ferns. Of all plants, 

 these are probably the 

 most generally a d- 

 mired. Among 

 them are to be 

 found the great- 

 est variety of 

 forms, of size, 

 and of texture. 

 The little Tri- Fig. 25. 

 chomanes Petersii of 

 Alabama is scarcely an 

 inch high, while some 

 of the species of the 

 tropics are in size and 

 appearance like trees. 

 Some creep along on 

 the ground and over 

 rocks, while others 

 climb high on bushes. 

 They inhabit every cool retreat in wood and 

 glade, and offset, by their delicate texture, 

 the aspects of coarser plants. The species 



Fig. 24. 



