i68 
European Ferns. 
and Westmoreland; in Wales it is found in Glamorgan, Brecon, and Denbigh. Carnarvon- 
shire is also recorded, but on doubtful authority. From Scotland and Ireland it is entirely 
absent ; a circumstance the more remarkable as in Ireland, at any rate, the rocky limestone 
districts seem to afford a suitable habitat. It is met with over a good part of Europe, 
especially in the northern regions, and in Asia it was collected in the Himalayas by Hooker 
and Thomson at an elevation of from five to eight thousand feet. Its North American 
distribution is limited, though it is found in Canada and the United States. 
It will be seen from this that P. Robertianum is a far less common plant than P. Dryopteris, 
nor is it at all as ornamental a species. It is easily cultivated, care being taken to keep the 
plants well drained ; they may be exposed to moderate sun without fear of unfavourable 
results. 
THE BEECH FERN: POLYPODIUM PHEGOPTERIS, L. 
This is a pretty and graceful fern, readily distinguished from all other European species by 
the downward direction of the lowermost pair of pinnae ; a glance at the plate will illustrate 
this peculiarity better than any verbal description. By no means a common plant, it is 
nevertheless one of general distribution in Britain, being recorded for most of the English 
and Scottish counties ; in Ireland it is local and rather rare. It is found throughout the 
greater part of Europe, extending from Scandinavia to Spain, North Italy, and Greece, and 
occurring in most, if not all, of the intervening regions. In Asia it is recorded for Siberia, 
Mandschuria, and Kamtschatka, and also for Japan. It is not certainly known to occur in 
Africa, and has not been found in Australia ; in North America it occurs near the sources of 
the Columbia river, throughout the United States, and in Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland, 
and Canada. 
The fronds of the Beech Fern rise from a black, slender caudex, which is creeping and 
branched : this is perennial, but the fronds are annual. The stipes, which is often twice as 
long as the frond, and always exceeds it in length, is dark-purple below and greenish above, 
having in its earlier stages a few scattered scales near the base, which, however, soon fall off 
and disappear. The entire frond, including the stipes, varies from four inches to a foot 
and a half in length, its usual length being about a foot ; it is hairy, and its hue is a soft 
rather dull green ; its general outline i-s ovate, somewhat triangular, and much elongated towards 
the apex. The lowest pair of pinna; is, as has already been said, deflexed, diverging from the 
remainder ; all are sessile, being attached to the rachis by the entire breadth of the base, 
and thus united to each other. The upper pinnae are more or less directed upwards ; the lobes 
are obtuse, entire or slightly crenate, the venation consisting of a slender central vein from which 
proceed numerous smaller veins which extend to the margin of the lobe. The small circular sori 
are scattered over the back of the frond, more especially near the margins of the lobes. 
The Beech Fern — a name, by the way, which is inappropriate, although it is a translation 
of the scientific one, inasmuch as the plant does not grow under the shade of beeches — is not 
difficult to cultivate. It is best grown in pots under glass, as when exposed to the weather 
the fronds soon become shabby owing to their delicate texture. Although requiring plenty of 
water, care must be exercised to prevent anything approaching stagnation about the roots. 
The pot should be filled in its lower portion with small lumps of charcoal or rubbly material 
through which the moisture can readily percolate ; on this should be placed peat earth with 
a slight admixture of sand and leaf-mould ; in this the fern will grow and flourish. 
This is one of the least variable of ferns. The apex of the frond or of some of the pinnae 
