THE OSMUNDAS. 



35 





The flower- 

 ing fern i s 

 pretty gener- 

 ally distribu- 

 ted from New 



Brunswick to 



Mississippi, Nebraska and the Northwest 

 Territory. It is also found in Mexico, 

 Europe, Asia, and South Africa. It should 

 b e looked for in the half shaded swamps 

 along the shores of lakes and ponds and 

 on the banks of streams. It will grow in 

 cultivation but must be given plenty of 

 water if one would have it produce the 

 great fronds that constitute its chief beauty. 



This species was named from European material. 

 American plants present some slight differences, espe- 

 cially in the texture of the frond and the proportionate 

 length of the stipes and may yet be proven to be a 

 different species. In this event, our plant would be 

 called O. spectabilis, having been described under this 

 name by Willdenow. 



Authorities are not agreed as to the derivation of the 

 word Osmunda. According to Prof. Underwood, it is 

 from Osmunder a Saxon name for the god Thor. Others 

 derive it from " Osmond the water-man " of Loch Tyne, 

 who is reported to have hidden wife and child from the 

 Danes on an island covered with this fern. Prof. Meehan 

 has also pointed out that during the middle ages nodules 

 of iron ore were known as " Osmonds." Since these 

 frequently contained impressions of our fern he suggests 

 that the name may have originated in this way. There 

 are six species in the genus, mostly in the North Temper- 



