CHAPTER XL 



THE SPLEEN WORTS. 

 PLATE 7. 



HE Spleenworts form a charming 

 group, many of them being very 

 small: but all are evergreen. They 

 all delight to grow in rocky or 

 stony crevices, sometimes on walls dis- 

 porting themselves in the sunshine, but always 

 preferring shade and moisture for their fibrous 

 rootlets. The little waving tufts of the smaller 

 species conspicuously ornament the rocks or walls 

 on which they grow, whilst the larger kinds wear 

 their beautiful fronds with a nobler grace. The 

 common or popular name was given to this group 

 of Ferns on account of an ancient belief in their 



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