30 HOW TO KNOW THE FERNS 



any number of places where this noble plant 

 " grows like a weed." The wise man does not 

 talk about such things to his friends. Many of 

 our most beautiful Ferns are saved even in 

 much-frequented places on account of the fact 

 that they grow out of reach. No doubt the 

 graceful Trichomanes of South Ireland would 

 long ago have been stamped out in the Kil- 

 larney district, were it not for the fact that it 

 often grows in situations which it is almost 

 impossible for anyone to reach. 



As far as number is concerned, the living Club 

 Mosses represent a comparatively insignificant 

 group when compared with the Ferns. In all 

 the world there are probably not more than five 

 or six hundred species. These are very widely 

 distributed, and there is hardly any part which 

 cannot offer at least a iew species. We have 

 five species of Lycopodium in the United King- 

 dom. All are rather local, though often 

 enough they occur in great abundance in 

 special localities. Only one (Lycopodium 

 inundatum) ever occurs in lowland districts ; 

 all the rest must be looked for on highland 

 moors. A few exotic Lycopodiums grow to a 

 fair size, though this is largely due to the 

 fact that their creeping stems straggle along 

 the ground for a considerable distance. The 

 Selaginellas are a much more important group 

 as far as the world generally is concerned. 

 There are certainly as many as four or five 

 hundred species, and some of these assume 

 almost a shrubby habit. A species from 

 Borneo (5. grandis] is said to attain the height 

 of two feet. In the United Kingdom we have 

 but a single species of Selaginella S. spinosa, 

 an insignificant little plant. Many exotic kinds 

 are frequently grown in greenhouses, so that a 



