62 



JL TERN BOOK FOR ETERYBODY. 



branches being divided and subdivided so as to form tufts 

 or crests. 



The variety abhreviata has been considered by some 

 as a separate species, but without sufficient cause. It is 

 more dwarf than' the common form, seldom exceeding 

 from 12 to 18 inches. 



Another large variety is that named incisa, in which 

 the terminations of the branches and the leaflets are 

 sharp pointed : the leaflets have shallow teeth. All the 

 margins are more cut than in the common form, which 

 gives the plant a more graceful appearance. 



The extreme of size in an opposite direction will be 

 found in the little variety pumila, which does not much 

 exceed 6 inches in height. 



Altogether there are about twenty named varieties of 

 tlie Male Fern, of which the above are some of the most 

 striking. 



For the outdoor fernery or pots it grows freely, and 

 endures well the smoke of towns. No situation or soil 

 seems to come amiss, and very little trouble is demanded 

 for its cultivation. Its usual forms are all too large and 

 coarse for the Wardian case. 



STIFF BOSS FEEN.* 



The root-stock of this fern is thick, producing at its 

 summit a tuft of fronds from a foot to 18 inches or up- 

 wards in length. The outline of the fronds is narrowly 

 triangular, with a densely scaly foot-stalk. The branches 

 are arranged in a feathery manner, the lowest being the 

 longest, and decreasing upwards. The leaflets are oblong, 

 and blunt at their extremity, cut at the margin into broad, 

 rounded, shallow lobes, which are toothed along the edge. 

 The whole surface of the frond is sprinkled with glands, 

 whicK are v/ithout stalks. These, when the plant is 

 bruised, communicate a faint odour. The clusters of spore- 

 cases have a kidney-shaped covering, which is fringed 

 around the edge with glands. (Plate V., fig. 1.) 



* Lastrea rigida, Presl. 



