Ill] 



THE BRACKEN FERN 



31 



blades are visible above ground. Further back again 

 are the stumps of the leaves of earlier seasons, the 

 upper parts of them having decayed. The stock gives 

 rise to numerous roots, which are dark and wiry, and 

 extend in all directions. The whole shape of the 

 plant appears at first sight to differ strongly from 



Fig. 4. Rhizome of Bracken Fern, showing the bases of successive 

 leaf-stalks (1 8) : No. 5 is the leaf of the preceding season, 

 6 that of the current year, cut so as to show "King Charles' 

 Oak," 7 that of the coming season, and 8 a still younger one. 

 ss is the apex of the stock. Hoots run out in various directions 

 from the rhizome. (From Goebel, after Sachs.) 



that of the densely tufted Ferns such as the Shield- 

 Fern (Nephrodium Filix-mas) ; but intermediate 

 conditions may be found between the two types of 

 shoot, which show that the difference depends merely 

 upon the degree of elongation of the axis : where 



