THE HOME OF THE FERNS. 817 



fern, P. phegopteris. The latter plant is also called the sun fern ; 

 it has a decided preference for mountainous districts, where it 

 often grows at a great elevation, though it may frequently be 

 found clinging to rocks in the recesses of dark woods, or, as in the 

 present instance, festooning the mouths of natural caverns. Sev- 

 eral little variations occur in the form of the common European 

 polypody, the lobes being more or less cleft, or acute, or serrated. 

 One of the most important is that termed Carribricum, the Welsh 

 polypody, in which the lobes become broader and are again irregu- 

 larly lobed and toothed. This is always barren. The variety 

 Hibernicum, or Irish polypody, has a broader, twice or thrice 

 pinnated frond, and is fertile. It is an exceedingly handsome 

 form of the fern. The French call this fern le polypode ; the 

 Germans, der Tipfelfarren. It is the boomvaren of the Dutch, 

 the polepodio of the Spaniard and Italian, and is known in Russia 

 by the name of osokor. 



Having thoroughly explored the treasures of the cave, and 

 possessed ourselves of specimens of some twenty different species 

 of ferns which had made their home within its damp and sunless 

 interior, we once more set out for pastures new. Almost imme- 

 diately beneath the Gap of Dunloe a beautiful object met our 

 sight. In the midst of a group of immense gray bowlders, which 

 lay in wild confusion at the opening of a romantic gorge, grew in 

 luxurious abundance quite a large bed of the superb holly fern 

 (Polystichum lonchitis). How fresh and beautiful those evergreen 

 fronds looked in one of the wildest spots to be found in all Killar- 

 ney may well be imagined : higher up the " Gap " we subsequently 

 discovered other and smaller beds, but, remembering how difficult 

 of cultivation the holly fern is, we refrained from taking more 

 than two or three specimens. The higher we ascended the mount- 

 ain the more stunted became this remarkable species, until at 

 length it grew only to the height of some six inches, still retain- 

 ing its marked characteristics. The stalk of the frond of this 

 fern is exceedingly short, and the dark, glossy green leafy part is 

 firm and rigid, and sufficiently prickly to remind us of the holly. 

 The young fronds appear early in spring, among the yet verdant 

 fronds of the previous year. They are pinnate, with short, crowded, 

 overlapping, twisted pinnae, which are somewhat crescent-shaped ; 

 the upper side having at the base an ear-shaped projection, while 

 the lower side has the appearance of having had a piece cut out. 

 The veins are twice or thrice branched, reaching nearly to the 

 margin without uniting with others. The indusium is a mem- 

 brane-like scale, and the clusters of fructification form a continu- 

 ous line on each side of the midrib, and even with it. They are 

 frequently very numerous on the upper pinnae. 



Our small party unanimously agreed that the fern which 



VOL. XXXT. — 52 



