I Q2 THE FANTASIES OF FERNS 



spreading leaves gives to the open common and 

 drier wild pastures. 



In Spring this "flowering" fern clan is the first 

 to assert itself, for it is their sturdy, wool-mittened 

 fists that push through the mold, under sheltered 

 banks, in company with Wake Robin, Anemones, 

 and Violets, and the unfolding of the heavy, succu- 

 lent leafage is a charming feature of the Spring 

 woods and roadside runnels. 



Of the three, Clayton's and the Cinnamon Fern 

 are the most conspicuous in their early stages. 

 When Clayton's Fern unfolds, the small fronds 

 (as Fern leaves are called) are wholly green, but 

 with the taller fronds, midway up, the color is 

 interrupted by a few pairs of fertile leaflets, or 

 pinna , as they are known in Fern lore; then the 

 green leaves are resumed again, and continue to 

 the summit. 



From this manner of bearing the fruit midway, 

 Michaux called it the Interrupted Fern, a most 

 tangible name, and one that suggests itself the 

 moment the eye rests upon the plant. After Mid- 

 summer, when the spores are ripe, and their cases 

 turn dark, these fertile leaves have a shabby look, 

 and generally die away, giving place to great, palm- 

 like tufts of the broader, sterile fronds. 



