-* The Liberian Flora 



coast region the cosmopolitan bracken fern the " dear, familiar 

 bracken " is a common object, and a pleasant one to a 

 European, its appearance and its smell when crushed recalling 

 an English common and the brakes of English woods. Mr. 

 Reynolds asserts the existence of Tree ferns on the hills of the 

 interior. A Polypody fern, with very large fronds and a creeping 

 root, grows on tree trunks, and in common with other species 



244. THE "DEAR, FAMILIAR BRACKEN" 



of ferns makes a home in the interstices of the frond-bases of 

 the oil palm. It is a familiar sight in Liberia and other parts 

 of West Africa to see the oil palms just below the stems of 

 their lowest fronds festooned with a beautiful green fernery. 

 Also growing as a parasite on tree trunks is the singular and 

 picturesque staghorn fern Platycerium. This is a familiar 

 object in most tropical " ferneries " : it is one of the commonest 

 features of the forest in Liberia. 



567 



