So 
European Ferns. 
This Woodwardia was introduced to the Royal Gardens, Kevv, from Madeira, in 1779, by 
Francis Masson. In Madeira, indeed, it is plentiful in many places, as on the Plateau of Santa 
Anna, about a thousand feet above the sea, on shady hedge-banks and the margins of 
streams, and at Ribeiro Frio, at an elevation of about three thousand feet, where it is 
very luxuriant. It also grows to a very large size at Teneriffe, and occurs in several of 
the Azores. On the African Continent it is reported from Congo and Abyssinia. In Asia 
it occurs in the Himalayas, at an elevation of from four to five thousand feet, and also 
in Simla; it likewise grows in Java. In the New World its distribution is limited: it grows 
in California by streams in shady places in the valleys and canons of the coast ranges, and of 
the Sierra, from Long Valley to San Diego, and is frequent in Mexico and Guatemala ; 
but it is not known elsewhere. 
The distribution of the Woodwardia in Europe is confined to the Mediterranean region 
and the Spanish peninsula, but its occurrence is local. It is found in Spain and in Portugal ; 
in Sicily it occurs on grassy rocks in shady volcanic valleys, on Mount Etna, and elsewhere ; 
in Italy at Sorrento and Naples, and in the Island of Ischia. 
Two varieties of this Woodzvardia have attracted notice during the last few years. One 
( W. radicans Brownii) was found growing wild in the Island of St. Michael by a Mr. 
Brown, whose name it bears. Both the pinnae and pinnules are extensively subdivided, the 
latter being deeply cleft at the ends and “ finishing up the sides of the fronds with tufted 
branches or crests starting from each other almost at right angles. The terminal crests are 
larger, frequently several inches in width, and composed of almost innumerable small excurrent 
points.” It is difficult to see how this differs from W. radicans cristata, which is described 
as having drooping fronds averaging from eighteen to twenty-four inches in length, each pinna 
being crested, while at the apex of the frond there is generally a tassel, which often attains 
a large size. This is a useful decorative plant, and will flourish either in the conservatory 
or temperate house. 
Woodwardia radicans is an easy fern to grow, and one which, from its gracefully arching 
fronds, is well adapted for conservatory decoration. It prefers a loamy soil, and does best 
when planted out, the fronds being of a richer green and more luxuriant in favourable 
situations out of doors than they are under glass. In many localities it is quite hardy ; but 
it is safest to give the crown of the root some slight covering as a protection during winter. 
It is easily increased by means of the young plants which are, as we have said above, often 
formed at the ends of the fronds. These will soon grow and become independent plants if 
the frond upon which they have formed be pegged down flat on the surface of a broad 
seed-pan filled with peat and sand in about equal proportions, care being taken not to bury 
the frond. If the soil be kept moderately moist, in a close frame or in a pit with gentle 
heat, the young ferns will soon take root ; as soon as they have become established, the 
frond from which they have originated may be cut into as many pieces as there are plants, 
and after a short time they may be removed from the pit and planted singly in small pots. 
D O O D I A. 
Nearly allied to Woodivardia , and included in it by some botanists, is the genus Doodia. 
This is a small genus of five or six species, with a limited geographical distribution, extending 
from Ceylon eastward to Fiji, and having its head-quarters in Australia and New Zealand. The 
species differ from Woodwardia mainly in having the sori on the surface of the frond instead 
