26 FLOWERLESS PLANTS 



spore — a tiny speck of life — first of all appears 

 on the scene, until the final unfolding of the 

 mature plant, there is a strong element of 

 romance such as is not by any means always 

 present in a scientific record. 



It is not easy to give a decided opinion 

 on the real position of ferns in ancient times. 

 It was formerly considered that a large number 

 of the fossil remains now classed as BennettitecB 

 were true ferns. As we have seen in the 

 previous chapter, these really represent a very 

 distinct type. When we consider the conditions, 

 atmospheric and otherwise, of the steamy coal 

 forests, it is likely that ferns very similar to 

 those on the earth at the present time were 

 strongly represented. With club mosses and 

 horsetails they must surely have been a leading 

 feature of the vegetation at that period. Many 

 of the non-flowering plants are mere masses 

 of cellular tissue, but the ferns are very 

 striking in their manner of growth. More- 

 over, as in the case of flowering species, these 

 plants have roots, stems and leaves in a well 

 defined sense. Several of our native ferns 

 grow into large plants which, on account of 

 their size alone, would attract a good deal of 



