THE WOOD FERNS. 135 
The sporangia are 
borne on fronds simi- 
lar to the sterile ones ‘ 
and appear almost SORI, ENLARGED. 
as soon as the fronds unroll in spring. The conspicuous 
indusia are convex, white or lead colour when young, 
and owing to their thickness, do not wither so soon as 
: FRUITING PINNA. 
the indusia of most ferns. The sori are found on the 
margins of the pinnules and so close to the edge as to 
often appear to project beyond it. There is no crowd- 
ing of the sori. Each is separated from its neighbour 
by an appreciable interval and if 
one happens to be missing, its 
place is not encroached upon by 
the others. This manner of fruit- 
Wy, ing is so characteristic that it 
WM 7 alone serves to distinguish this 
species. 
It is to be regretted that 
the strictly American ferns have 
so little folk-lore connected with them. Our country 
was apparently settled at too late a period of man’s 
mental development for the ferns to be viewed with the 
same degree of wonder and speculation that Old World 
species inspired in earlier generations. Most of our folk- 
lore has been imported and such of our species as do 
not occur on the other side of the world usually have no 
