FLOWERING FERN. ROYAL FERN. 



Osmunaa regalis L. 



^ I ^ ALL ferns Avith compound leaves, tKe upper parts of 

 -■- some being fertile. Pinnae in several pairs, opposite 

 and separated, a few inches long. Pinnules numerous, alter- 

 nate, distinct and separate, often w^itK sKort stalks, oblong- 

 ovate to lanceolate, finely tootKed, especially near tbe apex; 

 oases oblique, truncated or even cordate or eared, tbe upper- 

 most often lobed. Spores green, m large naked, globular, 

 sbort-stalked spore-cases wkicK open by a longitudinal slit. 

 Upper pinnae of fertile fronds very mucn contracted and 

 destitute of clorophyll, bearing the spore-cases on tbe margins 

 of tneir stem-like divisions in long cylindrical brown clusters. 

 Leaves tv^o or more feet Kigb, tbeir blades smooth, Avitb 

 forked veins, light green, finally turning brown; stems stout, 

 light brown, arising in clumps from a thick rootstock in spring. 

 There are three Osmundas in the Dells. Fhe flower- 

 ing fern shows its relationship only in t\vz fertile parts; it 

 may easily be mistaken for a seed plant bearing a panicle of 

 small flow^ers. It grovv^s in large patches in shaded Avet 

 ground along the borders of streams. 



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