176 



The Fern LovER'fs Companion 



The rootstocks send out slender, underground stolons 

 which bear fronds the next year. Sterile fronds appear 

 throughout the sunuiier, fertile ones in July. Seen from 

 a distance its graceful leaf-crowns resemble those of the 

 cinnamon fern. An intermediate form between the fertile 

 and sterile fronds is sometimes found, as in the sensitive 

 fern. This handsome species th^i^•es under cultivation. 

 For grace and dignity it is unrivaled, and for ag■gressi^'e- 

 ness it is, perhaps, ecpialed only by the lady fern. For the 

 climax of beauty it should be combined with the maiden- 

 hair. The ostrich fern is fairly common in alluvial soil 

 over the United States and Canada. 



Sori and Sporangia of Ostricli Fern 



