KILLARNEY BRISTLE-FERN. 21 



clustered at the bottom of the cup, and it extends beyond the 

 mouth of the cup until it is several times the length of the latter. 

 In the typical form of the Killarney Fern the indusium has a 

 slight wing corresponding to the wings of the stipes ; but in 

 the var. andreivsii, found in Kerry, there are several more 

 pronounced wings to the indusium, and the receptacle is longer ; 

 the frond is more lance-shaped also. Mr. Druery mentions a 

 variety he names proliferum, which bears bulbils from which 

 he has reared plants. 



Although popularly supposed to be restricted to Killarney 

 where in these islands it was first discovered the Killarney 

 Fern is happily of wider range. In the Irish counties of Cork, 

 Kerry, Waterford, Limerick, and Wicklow, as well as the Arran 

 Isles, it may be found ; also in Argyll and Wales, North and 

 South. More precise indications it is inadvisable, for obvious 

 reasons, to publish. The charm of finding such a fern is much 

 enhanced by the fact that it has had to be searched for care- 

 fully ; and those who really desire to see it in its proper habitat 

 will not grudge the trouble of exploring, knowing that such 

 trouble is the price that must be paid if such rare species are to 

 retain their places in the British flora. It must be sought for 

 in the neighbourhood of waterfalls, where the rocks stream 

 with water and the atmosphere is kept moist with spray. In 

 some cave where the direct rays of the sun are shut out, or 

 under some rock just above running water, where the mere 

 trophy-hunting tourist is not likely to observe it, is the place 

 where the real lover of Nature may hope to find it. If he find 

 it, let him be content with sketching or photographing it, or 

 at most with carrying off a frond and leaving the rootstock 

 undisturbed. In vertical range it extends to about 1200 feet 

 above sea-level. 



The name of the genus is one that was applied by the ancient 

 Greeks to certain species of ferns, whose identity, however, 

 cannot now be ascertained. It was applied to the present 



