CHAPTER IX 

 THE ROYAL FERN 



UNDER the name of the Flowering Fern 

 it is probable that most people are 

 familiar with the subject we are now about to 

 consider. The title has without a doubt 

 arisen from the fact that the species bears its 

 son in masses at the termination of the fronds, 

 quite apart from the leafy portion. The Royal 

 Fern is the sole British representative of the 

 family Osmundaceae. 



Osmunda regalis. There is great diversity 

 of opinion upon the derivation of the name 

 Osmunda. The name is thought to be of 

 Saxon origin, and possibly was given to the Fern 

 in honour of a personage who bore the name of 

 Osmund. Osmunda was one of the titles of the 

 great god Thor. In other quarters the name 

 is said to be compounded of the two words os, 

 " a house," and mund, " peace." Finally, a 

 pretty story associates the name Osmunda 

 with a certain Osmund, a ferryman, who, to 

 hide his daughter from marauding Danes, 

 placed her amongst the great clumps of the 

 Royal Fern which grew so plentifully by the 

 riverside. The specific name regalis is simply 

 Latin for " royal," and is an apt reference to 

 the noble proportions of this Fern. 



The Royal Fern has a sturdy tufted root- 

 stock which in an old example may well be one 

 or two feet in height. From the crown of the 



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