4 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



It will, in the course of the publication, be noticed that exotic and British 

 species are treated simultaneously. This step has only been taken after due 

 consideration, and its acceptance cannot fail to satisfy the reader when it is 

 explained that the reasons which prompted the Author to abandon the division 

 adopted by most authors are these : First, that all Ferns, whether of British 

 or of exotic origin, belong to one family, and that if the division between 

 these two sections should be maintained on account of the diversity of 

 habitats, there is no valid reason why sub-divisions — such as for JajDanese, 

 Australian, North American, Indian, South American, and other Ferns — should 

 not equally be resorted to ; and it is deemed advisable to avoid the compli- 

 cations which would naturally attend such an innovation. The second reason 

 offered in favour of the unification bears on the cosmopolitan character of 

 certain species which, though reputedly of British origin, are found equally 

 wild in many other and very distant parts of the globe. This is particularly 

 applicable to most of our Spleenworts, or Aspleniums, for we have it, on the 

 authority of Beddome and other writers, that Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum, 

 which is popularly but erroneously called the French Fern, is not only found 

 throughout Europe, but also in Northern Asia, North and South Africa, 

 Madeira, the Azores, the Canaries, the Cape de Verde Islands, St. Helena, 

 Abyssinia, Afghanistan, and Java ; while in Northern India it flourishes at 

 Kashmir and Simla. The dwarf-growing Asplenium viride has been collected 

 in all parts of Europe, as well as on the Himalayas and in North America. 

 Asplenium Ruta-muraria is plentiful in Kashmir, Thibet, at the Cape, in 

 Algeria, and in North America ; while A. septentrional e is known to exist 

 not only in Europe, from Norway to the extreme south, but also in Northern 

 India, in Kashmir and Gurhwal ; A. fontanum is found on the Himalayas, and 

 A. Trichomanes is plentiful in the Neilgherries and in Southern India. The 

 same remarks apply to Cystopteris fragilis, which, although essentially acknow- 

 ledged as an European Fern, is found on the Himalayas, in Nepaul, in Siberia, 

 in Asia Minor, in North and South America, in the West Indies, and in 

 North and South Africa. Even our own B>oyal Fern, Osmunda regalis, is 

 abundant on banks of rivers and streams on the Neilgherries and other high 

 mountains on the western side of the Madras Presidency, India. The same 

 may also be said of Nephrodium spinulosum, N. Thelypteris, and others which, 

 although found in a wild state in all parts of Europe, are also natives of 



