THE BLADDER FERNS. 219 



drainage of broken flower-pot or bricks. Like 

 Cystopteris fragilis our little Cystopteris regia has 

 a tufted root-stock, from which spring up clusters 

 of beautiful, delicate, herbaceous, charmingly-green 

 fronds. 



3. THE MOUNTAIN BLADDER FERN. 

 Cystopteris montana. 



ONE of the very rarest of our rarer native species 

 is the Mountain Bladder Fern, found only in one 

 or two localities in the Highlands of Scotland. It 

 has a creeping root, which finds its way underneath 

 the moss and other vegetation, amongst which the 

 charming little plant grows. Its fronds are re- 

 markably distinct from those of the other species 

 of Bladder Ferns which occur in this country. 

 The stipes is about twice the length of the leafy 

 portion of the frond, the entire length of which is, 

 however, rarely found to be more than some eight 

 inches. The frond, from the commencement of 

 the rachis, has a very distinct three-branched 



