THE FERN PARADISE. 



3. 



THE MOUNTAIN BLADDER FERN. 



Cystopteris montana. 



PLATE 4, FIG. 3. 



of the very rarest of our rarer native 

 species is the Mountain Bladder Fern 

 found only in one or two localities in 

 the Highlands of Scotland. It has a creeping 

 root, which finds its way underneath the moss and 

 other vegetation, amongst which the charming 

 little plant grows. Its fronds are remarkably dis- 

 tinct from those of the other species of Bladder 

 Ferns which occur in this country. The stipes is 

 often twice the length of the leafy portion of the 

 frond. The entire length of the latter is, however, 

 rarely found to be more than some eight inches. 

 The frond, from the commencement of the rachis, 

 has a very distinct three-branched appearance, from 

 the circumstance of the lowest pair of branches 

 extending horizontally or obliquely to right and to 

 left being much larger and longer than the 



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