The Parsley Ferh. 
57 
Not only in its technical characters, but in its habit and general appearance, the Parsley 
Fern is one of the most easily recognised and least variable of European ferns. Looking 
through a large series of specimens, we are struck with the fact that the variation which exists 
in all natural objects is here confined within very narrow limits ; there is singularly little dif- 
ference between them, either in size or form. In saying this, we are speaking only of the 
European form of the plant : the Indian and American forms present differences which have 
been considered sufficient to entitle them to specific, or even generic rank, although they are 
now usually considered as varieties of C. crispa ; but of these we shall speak further on. 
The Parsley Fern is a small plant varying from four to eight or ten inches in height, 
sometimes, though rarely, attaining a foot. The densely-tufted fronds rise from a short, thick, 
slightly creeping caudex, which is sometimes hardly perceptible ; the stipes, which is as long as 
or longer than the frond, is pale green, smooth, and straw-like. The fronds, which are of a 
bright green hue, and of a thick, somewhat leathery, texture, are more or less triangular in 
shape, and from two to three inches across at the base. They are of two kinds, or what is 
termed dimorphous, thus differing from all the species which we have hitherto described ; one 
kind of the fronds being fertile and the other barren. This dimorphism is not very uncommon 
in ferns, while among flowering plants it exists in very varied forms, from a slight though 
permanent and important difference in the stamens and pistils of a flower to a complete change 
in the habit and general appearance in individuals belonging to the same species. Mr. Darwin 
has taken a leading position among the botanists who have directed attention to this phenomenon ; 
his papers upon dimorphism in the flowers of the common Primrose, and upon trimorphism in 
the Purple Loosestrife, were mainly instrumental in attracting to the subject the observation 
which it has of late years received among naturalists. Among our European ferns, we shall find 
it more strikingly manifested in the Hard Fern, which stands next upon our list ; in certain 
exotic ferns it is very conspicuously developed — we referred to one instance of it when 
speaking of the genus Trichomanes. 
The fertile fronds of the Parsley Fern are, of course, readily distinguishable, when fully 
developed, by the clusters of brown sori with which they are thickly covered ; in a young state 
these are of a pale yellowish green. The segments are much more narrow and slender in 
appearance than those of the barren fronds; this is due to the fact that the membranous edges 
of the segments are turned over upon the sori so as to cover them, thus supplying the place 
of an indusium, there being no true indusium in this species. Each division of the frond has a 
somewhat wavy simple or forked vein running down its centre ; this produces several smaller 
veins which reach nearly to the margin of the segments, each bearing a round sorus near its 
termination. The sori are at first separate, but as they develop they spread out and become 
more or less confluent, covering nearly the whole surface of the back of the frond. The spores 
are smooth, and roundish or oblong in form. 
The barren fronds are shorter than the fertile ones, and have a more elegant appearance, 
being less contracted, and offering a much greater variation in form ; it is in them that we 
must look for that resemblance to parsley which has suggested the popular name of the fern, though 
it must be confessed that this is not always particularly striking. The fronds are divided into 
alternate or nearly opposite branches or pinnae, which are spreading, and more or less triangular 
in form, the lowest being the largest. The segments into which the pinnules forming the 
pinnae are divided are more or less cuneate, or wedge-shaped, and oblong, notched at the 
extremity with two or three distinct teeth. These barren fronds are of a very beautiful 
green, and their densely tufted habit renders the fern one of very attractive appearance. 
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