SPOROPHYTE 427 
tion of the Fern which people in general know (Fig. 378). 
There is much range in size of Fern sporophytes, from very small 
plants like some that are common in our woods, to those as high 
as a man’s head, and to the Tree Ferns of the tropics and green- 
houses that may reach a height of forty feet or-more. 
The stems of a few Ferns are erect and may become large like 
the trunk of a tree, as the Tree Ferns illustrate (Fig. 379), but in 
SA ee 
Cae eens, — SATB 
Fic. 378. A fern sporophyte. 7, roots; s, stem; a, young leaves or 
fronds unfolding; J, mature fronds. After Wossidlo. 
our common Ferns, the stems remain a few inches under the sur- 
face of the ground and, as they elongate and push horizontally 
through the soil, leaves are produced from the upper and roots 
from the lower surface. They are called rootstocks or rhizomes, 
both terms referring to the root-like feature of growing under 
the ground. 
The stems of Fern sporophytes are woody and have many of 
