192 HARDY FEBNS. 



yard in height, once-divided, but with the pinnae again divided 

 almost to the base. They are of a lively green colour. 



O. CINNAMOMEA (Cinnamon-coloured). This plant is found 

 in both North and South America, and we have specimens 

 which were collected in the West Indies. In this plant the 

 fructification is produced upon a frond by itself: in other 

 words the sterile and fertile fronds are distinct. The name 

 refers to the colour of the fertile fronds, which stand up in the 

 centre, and are taller than the green barren ones. It is a very 

 beautiful plant. 



O. REGALIS (The Royal Fern). The well-known Flowering 

 or Boyal Fern, the best and most beautiful of our native 

 species. Good strong old plants will sometimes make fronds 

 4 feet high. The demand for old plants has been so great that 

 it is only in out-of-the-way nooks and corners that one now has 

 the chance of seeing this plant growing wild. We once saw it 

 growing most luxuriantly on the margin of a bit of swampy 

 ground hidden in the centre of an old forest among the South 

 Downs : the effect it produced was grand beyond description. 



O. SPECTABILIS (Showy). Somewhat similar to the last, of 

 which indeed it may, perhaps, be an American form. It does 

 not grow to more than half the size of O. r eg alls, but has a 

 purplish tinge while young. 



O. GEACILIS (Slffcder), is somewhat like the species last 

 named. It is very delicate in its appearance, and grows about 

 2 feet high. 



POLYPODIUM. 



A large genus distributed throughout every quarter of the 

 world. A considerable number are natives of Britain, and 

 some of North America, all of which are hardy and worthy of 

 cultivation. 



POLYPODIUM ALPESTRE (Mountain). A Fern found but 

 rarely in Scotland. It grows plentifully on the mountains 

 of Switzerland. Though that country is often visited by 



