40 FLOWERLESS PLANTS 



A few species of ferns produce their spores 

 on parts of the leaves which are specially 

 reserved for this purpose, or on altogether 

 different fronds. In the former class must be 

 included the magnificent Royal Fern [Osmunda 

 regalis), a plant which, owing to the depre- 

 dations of trippers, is far less common than 

 was formerly the case. It is still, however, 

 abundant in some of the out-of-the-way parts 

 of the kingdom. In a moist place the Royal 

 Fern may frequently be found with its leaves 

 eight or ten feet in height, and with many of 

 the fronds the upper leaflets are entirely devoted 

 to the business of spore production. On this 

 account the plant is very widely known as 

 " the flowering fern." An examination of the 

 " flowering " portion will show that here the 

 leaflets are very much contracted and bear 

 upon their borders clusters of spore cases, 

 which are usually so abundant as to give to 

 the divisions a uniformly brown appearance. 

 Under a magnifying glass it wiU be seen that 

 the spore cases are stalked and globular in form. 



Two kinds of fern which are not so 

 famihar as they might be if people were only 

 more observant are the Moonwort [Botrychium 



