ELEMENTARY STUDIES OF FERNS, 



273 



Fig. 152. The Male Fern. 



bud ? The frond stalk is in most cases coiled in a flat 

 spiral, like a bishop's crosier. If ferns are grown in 

 school, endeavour to get drawings of the unfolding of the 

 frond . 



Make a series of drawings 

 of the shapes of the frond 

 in as many ferns as are 

 available. Some are simple, 

 e.g. Hart's - tongue. The 

 common Polypody has a 

 simply lobed frond (the lobes 

 are termed pinnae) ; other 

 ferns with comparatively 

 simple fronds are the Hard 

 Fern (Lomaria spicant) and 

 the Royal or flowering fern 

 (Osmundia regalia). 



In most other cases the 

 frond is very much divided. 

 For example, in the Bracken 

 (Pteris aqiiilina) near the 



tip the frond is cut into simple segments (pinnae), lower 

 down these pinnae repeat the main structure and are them- 

 selves divided into segments or lobes (pinnules) ; still 

 lower on the frond the pinnae are stalked, a foot or more 

 in length, and again pinnate, the pin- 

 nules about 1 inch in length. All these 

 points should be verified upon a frond. 

 On the backs of some of the fronds 

 will be found small brownish masses, 

 varying in size, position, and shape in 

 different ferns (Fig. 153). These masses 

 are clusters (sori) of spores. These 

 spores are sometimes wrongly termed 

 seeds. In the Royal fern some of the 

 fronds bearing these spore masses are 

 altered and contracted so that the groups of spores 

 are clustered together forming a brownish red mass, 

 resembling an inflorescence of a flowering plant. This 

 is the supposed " flower'' of this fern. But if we 

 N. s, 18 



Fig. 153. Pinnule of 

 Male Fern with sori. 



