CHAPTER X 

 FOUR CURIOUS FERNS 



THE three species which must now be de- 

 scribed would hardly be recognized as Ferns 

 at all by most people. It has been indicated in 

 an earlier chapter that there is really some doubt 

 as to their true position, but for the sake of con- 

 venience they are here included amongst the 

 Ferns. All the British species of the family 

 Ophioglosseae are somewhat inconspicuous plants, 

 owing to their habit of growing mixed up with a 

 lot of herbage. 



Ophioglossum vulgatum. The generic name is 

 formed of two Greek words ophios, " a snake," 

 and glossa, " a tongue " ; a reference to the fact 

 that the barren leaf was thought to bear a 

 resemblance to a snake's tongue, though it 

 must be confessed that the likeness is not 

 very apparent. The word " vulgatum " is, of 

 course, Latin for " common." The Common 

 Adder's Tongue. 



In this species the frond is very definitely 

 divided into two parts, a leafy portion and a 

 spike. These are borne on a stalk about six 

 inches in length which arises from a fleshy root- 

 stock. The roots of the Common Adder's 

 Tongue are quite coarse and entirely unlike the 

 wiry roots of the majority of ferns. The leafy 



or barren portion of this curious frond is not 



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