2 S 
European Ferns. 
and that in the air ; the former is considerably swollen, rounded, and covered like the caudex 
with tb ' same dark brown fine felt, but it tapers again at the very base ; the upper part is quite 
smooth and shining, yellowish green or pale orange, flat above but much rounded beneath, and 
when mature rather sharply angular. The stipes is not articulated with the caudex, but after 
withering the lowest part remains attached to it. 
On a section through the stipes, especially through the thickened lower portion, the familiar 
“ eagle” or “ oak-tree ” is brought into view. This is formed by the fibro-vascular bundles, which 
are ten to twenty in number, being arranged in a singular way round the central dark mucilaginous 
portion. The fronds are among the largest of our native species, and, with the stipes, attain under 
favourable circumstances, 8 or over io ft. in height ; 3 or 4 ft. is a more usual height, and when 
grown on very poor or rocky soil the whole frond is sometimes but a few inches high. The 
general form of the leafy portion is nearly triangular, especially in small specimens ; in large ones 
the triangle is drawn out so as to be somewhat oblong, the two lowest pinnae are, however, 
always much the longest ; the composition is either bipinnate or tripinnate, and the rachis 
stiff, hard, shining, and deeply channelled on the upper surface. The pinnae are very large, 
always opposite, ovate or oblong-ovate in outline, and distantly placed ; their pinnules are 
alternate, closely placed, linear-oblong, but gradually tapering from the broad base, acute or 
drawn out into a long point. Each pinnule is divided into sessile, spreading, triangular-ovate, 
or oblong, or nearly linear segments, blunt at the end, and either quite entire at the edge, 
more or less wavy, or, the lower ones especially, further divided into blunt, oblong, or 
triangular lobes : these variations are shown in the above figures. The frond is smooth 
above, but covered beneath with fine white hairs ; its texture is thick and leathery, and the 
colour bright pale green. The central vein in each segment is strongly marked ; the lateral 
ones are faint and fine, and usually twice forked before reaching the margin, where they fall 
into a fine marginal vein which extends round the whole segment. 
