GROUP I 



STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS TOTALLY UNLIKE; FERTILE 

 FRONDS NOT LEAF-LIKE IN APPEARANCE 



I. SENSITIVE FERN 



Onoclea sensibilis 



Newfoundland to Florida, in wet meadows. 



Sterile fronds. — One or two inches to three feet high, broadly 

 triangular, deeply cut into somewhat oblong, wavy-toothed divi- 

 sions, the lower ones almost reaching the midrib, the upper ones 

 less deeply cut ; stalk long. 



Fertile fronds. — Quite unlike the sterile fronds and shorter, 

 erect, rigid, contracted ; pinnules rolled up into dark-green, berry- 

 like bodies which hold the spore-cases ; appearing in June or July. 



This is one of our commonest ferns, growing in 

 masses along the roadside and in wet meadows. 

 Perfectly formed sterile fronds are found of the 

 tiniest dimensions. Again the plant holds its own 

 among the largest and most effective ferns. From 

 its creeping rootstock rise the scattered fronds 



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