Ferns of the Moors and Mountains 



description of this fern only need be given, as it can be 

 quickly recognized from one feature alone namely, the 

 upturned margins of the fronds, which give the fern 

 quite a curled or crisped appearance. This upward 

 curling of the margins also renders the upper surface 

 of the fronds concave, another feature useful as a guide 

 to its identification. The rootstock is tufted, and bears 

 reddish leafstalks, covered with scales torn at the edges. 

 The fronds are twice pinnate. As the lowest pair of 

 pinnae arelonger than those above, and as each succeeding 

 pair decreases in size, the frond has a triangular shape, 

 from which feature it takes one of its popular names. 

 Its alternative common name requires no explanation. 

 On the under surface of the fronds are the little glands 

 similar to those of the preceding ferns. The botanical 

 name of this fern is Nephrodium <emulum. JEmulum 

 is a Latin word meaning " comparable with," a reference 

 to this fern's similarity to Nephrodium spinulosum, of 

 which many botanists regard it as a mere variety. 



On turning our faces homeward, we are sure to 

 notice the Hard Fern nestling at the base of a clump of 

 heather, or among the low bushes which fringe the 

 banks of the mountain rills. It is one of the best 

 known and commonest of British ferns, and is the only 

 representative in this country of the genus Lomaria. 

 The chief mark of this genus is the linear sori on the 

 recurved margins of special^spore-bearing fronds. This 

 curving of the margins partly conceals the thin dry 

 indusium which is thus apt to be overlooked. The 

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