The Hard Fern 



ordinary leafy fronds, which bear no spores, are either 

 spreading or upright in growth. They are smooth, 

 dark green, leathery, and evergreen. Because of the 

 hard leathery texture of the leafy fronds and of their 

 evergreen nature, the fern has come to be regarded as a 

 hardy plant, which it truly is, if we compare it with 

 almost any native fern. We must admit, then, that the 

 common name of this fern is a very appropriate one. 



Examining again the non-spore-bearing, or barren, 

 fronds, we see that they are placed on the outer circle 

 of the tufts, and that they are pinnate at the base, but 

 only pinnatifid at the tip. The spore-bearing, or 

 fertile fronds occupy the centre of the tufts. They 

 are distinctly taller than the barren fronds, are always 

 erect in posture, and are once pinnate with the lower 

 pinnae some distance apart from each other. The 

 cutting, or divisions, of the fertile fronds have been 

 well compared to the teeth of a comb. The sori, as 

 already described, are very abundant, covering the 

 entire under-surface of the pinnae. 



Like most well-known and widely distributed ferns, 

 the Hard Fern had long ago a reputation for its 

 medicinal virtues, being esteemed of great service in 

 treating diseases of the liver. 



Its scientific name is Lomaria spicant. Loma is Greek 

 for " hem," or " border," an allusion, perhaps, to the 

 continuous marginal sori, while spicant is derived from 

 the Latin spica, a point, and is doubtless applied to 

 this fern because of the pointed toothlike pinnae. 

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