OAK FERN 



Ptiegopteris dryopteris (L.) Fee 



T EAF ternate, of three triangular divisions, tne central 

 -L-/ largest, eacn pinna again aivided. Pinnules oblong, 

 ratner blunt, diminishing in size toward tne top, tne lower 

 separate, cut nearly or quite to the midriD into oolong blunt 

 divisions, tne upper merely scalloped and united; pinnules of 

 tne lateral pinnae longest on the lower side. Son small, round, 

 witnout indusia, close to tne edges of tne ultimate divisions. 

 Blade tnin, smooth, light green, sometimes six inches long, its 

 divisions spreading more or less at right angles to the stem, 

 Avhich is very long, slender and scaly at the base, and arises 

 from a creeping rootstock. 



This IS one of ths most delicate and beautiful of the 

 ferns, and a very common one. It grows thickly in the 

 crevices of moist ledges, associated with the long beech fern. 



Page Thirteen 



