68 WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND FERNS. 



Male-fern, too, has the distinction of retaining a place in 

 the modern pharmacopoeia as an anthelmintic, though Maiden- 

 hair and Ceterach have long been excluded. 



In the matter of names, also, the Male-fern has an advantage 

 over many other species. It is so called in the " Niewe 

 Herball" of Henry Lyte (1578), and appears to be in common 

 use. It was apparently named with regard to its robust habit 

 in contrast with the more graceful drooping of the Bracken, 

 which was then the Female-fern. There are several other 

 names in use locally, such as Basket-fern in Cornwall and 

 Hampshire ; Fearn Brackins in Cumberland. In the Border 

 country it is known as Dead-man's Hands, from the resemblance 

 of the unrolling frond-buds to a clenched fist. Filix-mas is 

 merely Male-fern in Latin. 



Little need be said about the distribution of the Male-fern, 

 which is general throughout the British Isles, and the temperate 

 regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is also to be found in 

 India, Africa, and in parts of America, North, Central, and 

 South. In Yorkshire it has been found at an elevation of 

 2400 feet. 



Rigid Buckler-fern (Nephrodium rigidum). 



The Rigid Buckler-fern is one of our rarest species, and one 

 that is little likely to attract attention except from those who 

 are specially on the look out for it. The probability is that 

 it will be taken at first sight for some form of Nephrodium 

 spinulostitn. A glance at the teeth of the pinnules, however, 

 serves to settle that point, for in rigidum the teeth of the 

 pinnules do not end in long spine-like hairs. 



The rootstock is tufted, and covered like the stipes with 

 long reddish-brown scales. The entire frond is from a foot to 

 two feet in length, of which as much as one-half may be ap- 

 pointed to the stout stipes. The dull-green frond is in outline 



