CHAPTER II 



THE HABIT AND THE HABITAT OF FERNS 



The t}'pe of plant seen in Dryopteris {Ncphrodiuni) Filix-mas is a familiar 

 example of the megaphyllous habit in Ferns. Numerous large leaves are 

 grouped closely round the apical bud, so as to form a basket-like tuft attached 

 distally to the abbreviated and massive stock (Fig. 31). The like is seen in 

 other common native Ferns belonging either to the same or to quite different 

 genera. For instance in the Lady Fern {Athyrhcin Filix-foeniind), the Hard 



Fig. 31. Adult plant of Dryopteris {Nephrodmm) Filix-inas grown in the open. 

 Much reduced. (Photograph by Mr R. Whyte, Rothesay.) 



Fern {Blechmun spicant), the Hart's Tongue {Phyllitis Scolopendriiuii), and 

 many others. On the other hand there are native species of the genus 

 Dryopteris which have a creeping habit with long internodes, and leaves 

 isolated at a distance from one another, a condition which gives a quite 

 different aspect to the plant as a whole. This is seen in Dryopteris Thelypteris, 

 a marsh-growing species, and it appears also in the Oak Fern {Dryopteris 



