THREE DAINTY FERNS 35 



placed alternately on either side of the rachis. 

 The pinnules are deeply cut. The veins of the 

 frond are very strongly marked. All the divisions 

 of the leaf are more or less curled, so that the 

 frond as a whole presents a curled appearance. 



The sporangia of the Bristle Fern are borne 

 of the veins in the lobes of the fronds. These 

 are produced in curious cup-shaped processes 

 which are really formed by the margin of the 

 leaf. The veins pass right through these re- 

 ceptacles and project beyond the outer edges, 

 thus giving a curious bristly appearance to the 

 frond as a whole. 



The Bristle Fern, as has been indicated, 

 chiefly occurs in the South of Ireland. It has 

 been discovered in several counties, though it 

 seems to be best established in the Killarney 

 district. Any attempt to cultivate this Fern 

 will prove a failure, unless the plants are kept 

 continuously under a close glass cover where 

 the atmosphere is saturated with moisture. 

 The Bristle Fern is evergreen. 



Hymenophyllum tunbridgense. The generic 

 name is derived from two Greek words 

 hymen, " a membrane," and phyllon, " a leaf " ; 

 tunbridgense has reference to the fact that the 

 species was first of all noticed at Tunbridge 

 Wells. The Tunbridge Filmy Fern. 



The fronds, rarely more than two or three 

 inches long, are of a very dark green colour, 

 and rise from a slender, creeping rhizome 

 which produces immense quantities of fine 

 roots. The texture of the fronds is of a delicate 

 nature, and the veins are strongly marked ; 

 in colour the leaves are dark green. The 

 outline of the fronds is roughly ovate ; that 

 is, it tends to be broadest towards the centre. 

 The pinnae branch alternately from either 



