WILD FLOWERS OF THE 



NORTH AMERICAN 



MOUNTAINS 



SECTION I 

 FERNS AND FERN ALLIES 



LONG BEECH FERN 



Phegopteris polypodioides. Fern Family 



Rootstock: slender, creeping. Leaves: triangular, thin, mostly 

 longer than wide, acuminate at the apex, pubescent; pinnae lance- 

 olate, sessile, pinnately parted very nearly to the rachis into 

 oblong, entire segments. Sori: small, borne near the margin. 



A common fern on the hillsides, and in moist woods. The 

 fronds are from six to nine inches long, and the two lowest 

 pinnae are bent downwards and stand forward, a trait which 

 gives the plant a most distinctive appearance, and by which 

 it may always be readily recognized. 



Phegopteris alpestris, or Tufted Beech Fern, has oblong 

 leaves which taper towards the top. 



Phegopteris Dryopteris, or Oak Fern, is extremely attrac- 

 tive, and grows very thickly in shady woods. The leaves 

 are delicate and broadly triangular, the three primary divi- 

 sions being stalked, and the terminal one slightly the largest. 

 In Shakespeare's day " fern-seed " as they called the spores 



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