9 o HOW TO KNOW THE FERNS 



portion, and is of a light green colour. The out- 

 line of the leafy part is triangular in form, and 

 on either side of the rachis are the tapering pinnae. 

 At the top the frond is pinnatifid, whilst the 

 lower pinnae are deeply cut. A very distinctive 

 feature of the Beech Fern is the way in which 

 the lower pair of pinnae point downwards away 

 from the tip of the irond. 



Nearly the whole of the underside of the 

 frond bears the son. These are placed quite 

 near to the margins of the lobes of the pinnae. 

 Like all the Polypodies the clusters of sporangia 

 have no indusia. 



The Beech Fern cannot be called a common 

 species, though it is often abundant in certain 

 localities. It is much more frequent in Scot- 

 land than elsewhere, and may be looked for 

 hopefully in almost any moist wood. It also 

 occurs abundantly in some parts of the North 

 of England. Unless the Beech Fern can be 

 given a moist position it is not an easy plant to 

 grow in the -open garden. It is, however, suc- 

 cessfully cultivated in the greenhouse. The 

 plant dies down in the winter, and the new fronds 

 do not appear until somewhat late in the spring. 



Polypodium dryopteris. Here the specific 

 name is derived from two Greek words drus, 

 " an oak," and pteris, " a fern." Here again 

 it is not easy to see a resemblance between this 

 fern and an oak, unless it be that the newly- 

 developing fronds are in colour something like 

 the delicate green of the tree when it is decked 

 in its new foliage. The Oak Fern or Three- 

 branched Polypody. 



This plant has a thin creeping rhizome from 

 which the fronds arise. The stipes is of a pale 

 green colour, and it is usually longer than the 

 leafy portion. Actually the frond is divided 



