ON FERNS. 



It is remarkable also that, to a certain extent, each country 

 appears to produce Ferns forming natural special sections. Thus, 

 for instance, we find that North America supplies us with 

 species mostly of a deciduous character, from the tiny-growing 

 Pellcea Breweri to the gigantic Struthiopteris pe?i?2syivaiiica, Ono- 

 dea sensibilis, Adia?ituni pedahim (Fig. 330), various Osinunda^ 

 Dicksonia piinciilobula^ and Woodsia areolata. It is from Japan 

 that, on the contrary, the greatest part of the hardy and semi- 

 hardy evergreen kinds are native. We note among the most 



Fig. 330. — Adiantum pedatum. 



popular species known such general favourites as Cyrtomhim 

 falcatum and C. anomophyllwii, Lastrea atrafa, L. opaca, Poly- 

 stichinn setosuin, and P. Tsus-Simense^ all of which are not only 

 evergreen, but have a peculiarly glossy appearance and leathery 

 texture — characters which are shared by very few of our native 

 Ferns and by scarcely any other exotic kinds. 



Tree-Ferns found in the East and West Indies and South 

 America are, with a few exceptions, conspicuous by their com- 

 paratively slender stems, whereas those, or most of those native 



