126 THE FERN PARADISE. 



Bracken are chiefly thick, varying from the thick- 

 ness of an ordinary lead pencil to that of the little 

 finger of the hand ; and the rootlets or fibrous 

 roots of this fern are few in number. We may 

 appropriately adopt, from botanical phraseology, a 

 name for the thick creeping root of the Bracken, 

 especially as we shall have occasion to use it when 

 speaking of other ferns with similar roots. There 

 is the less objection to the use of this name, because 

 it is simple and euphonious. We shall, then, style 

 the creeping root of the Bracken the rhizome. 

 From the subterranean, succulent, blackish-coloured 

 rhizome start the incipient fronds, which, when 

 they break the earth, have the appearance of little 

 hoary, hairy buds, that unfold and develop into 

 the perfect frond. 



The fronds of the Bracken stem and leaf 

 together rise to all heights ; from sometimes 

 only a few inches, when the plant is growing on 

 hard, uncongenial soil, and remains exposed to the 

 power of sun and wind, to a height of ten feet, 

 when growing in the moist, shady recesses of 

 woods and forests. The nature of the soil and 



