Ferns of the Woods 



are to be found near the margins of the leaf segments 

 of the trifoliate fronds. 



The Oak Fern, which is seldom more than from 

 9 to 1 2 inches in height, dies down annually at the first 

 approach of the frosts of autumn. 



Dryopteris is formed by two Greek words meaning 

 " oak " and " fern," though there is no apparent reason 

 why the fern described above should be styled the Oak 

 Fern. 



Not far removed from this colony of Oak Ferns we 

 come upon the best known and, perhaps, the most 

 beautiful of all our woodland ferns, the tall Lady Fern, 

 with its bright green delicate fronds bending gracefully 

 outwards from the tufted rootstock. Though prefer- 

 ring situations where it can obtain abundant supplies of 

 moisture and protection from direct sunlight, it appears 

 to be able to adapt itself to what we might imagine to 

 be less favourable habitats namely, dry hillsides, hedge- 

 rows, and rocky places. 



The botanical name of this fern is Asplenium Filix- 

 fcemina. When we recall what we learned in a previous 

 chapter about the linear indusium of the genus Asple- 

 nium, we may be a little surprised, on examining the 

 very numerous sori of the Lady Fern, to find that 

 some of the clusters appear to be covered with indusia 

 resembling those of the Buckler Ferns. For this 

 reason some botanists will not admit this fern to the 

 genus Asplenium. We must be careful, then, to examine 

 the sori of the Lady Fern before the spores are 

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