NORTH AMERICAN FERNS 97 



NORTH AMERICAN FERNS 



To the list of hardy Ferns which are natives of Great 

 Britain may be added some very pretty species and 

 varieties which come from North America and prove 

 hardy in this country. There are also a few from Japan, 

 which in sheltered positions prove quite hardy. Of 

 those from North America, Adiantum pedatum is one of 

 the most interesting. This is deciduous, and the size of 

 its fronds will depend much upon the strength of the 

 clumps. The large imported clumps, if they arrive in 

 good condition, will make fronds nearly two feet high 

 the first year, and they can be grown larger. For the 

 outside Rockery in any sheltered nook it is one of the 

 best Ferns we have, or grown in pots it is equally 

 effective. Though it is deciduous it does not lose its 

 fronds until late in the Autumn, and new fronds spring 

 up early in the year. 



Osmunda gracilis is another remarkable Fern. A friend 

 writing from America informs me that it is seen in 

 swampy ground growing as luxuriantly as we see our 

 common Bracken here. This Fern succeeds best in loamy 

 soil and where the roots can reach the water of a running 

 stream. Osmunda cinnamomea and O. claytoniana are also 

 desirable species. In the latter leafy pinnae are produced 

 above the contracted fertile pinnae. With strong crowns 

 these both make large fronds. 



Aspleniums, angustifolium, ebeneum, and thelypterioides are 

 useful hardy species. Allosorus acrostichoides is a pretty, 

 small, growing deciduous Fern with finely cut fronds. 

 Onochlea sensibilis is another pretty North American Fern 

 referred to elsewhere. Lygodium palmatum, though hardy, 

 is safer when grown in a cool house. Polystichum 

 acrostichoides and the variety grandiceps are useful for the 

 Rockery, and there are other North American Ferns 

 which may be planted. They all do best where they 

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