THE FERNS 149 



perate regions in New Zealand and Southern 

 China. Many of them are fine, handsome Ferns, 

 the fronds reaching a length of twelve feet in 

 Angiopteris, the one most common in cultivation. 

 The stems are usually short and massive; the 

 fronds, commonly much divided, are smooth and 

 almost free from the chaffy scales usual in other 

 Ferns (fig. 16). A characteristic point is the 

 presence of two fleshy outgrowths (stipules) at 

 the base of the petiole. 



The structure of the stem is very complex, the 

 vascular system consisting of a number of cylin- 

 ders of various forms, often ranged in two or 

 more concentric circles, and fusing with one an- 

 other to form an elaborate network. Each leaf 

 receives a large number of vascular strands from 

 the stem. The roots, which are themselves larger 

 and more complex than those of other Ferns, arise 

 near the apex of the stem and burrow down 

 through the cortex till they become free and 

 reach the soil. In their vegetative structure the 

 Marattiacese are perhaps the most highly organ- 

 ised of all Ferns; their reproductive arrangements 

 are also of a high type. 



In most Ferns, it will be remembered, the spo- 

 rangia, though commonly grouped together in 

 definite clusters or " son," are quite distinct one 

 from another. In the majority of the Marattiaceae 

 a number of them are joined together to form a 



