CHAPTER III. 
THE PARSLEY FERN 
(Allosorm crispus. Syn. Cryptogramme crispa). 
HE resemblance of tbis Fern to parsley is rather 
fanciful than real (see Fig. 16), and can only 
be seen at a distance, when its tufty habit 
and small size somewhat justify the name. It 
is a very pretty Fern when grown properly, 
and is the sole known representative of the 
species. The fronds are thrice divided — i.e., 
into pinnae, pinnules, and pinnulets — the last 
being slightly saw-toothed on the barren fronds, 
which are leafier and less erect than the fertile ones, the backs 
of which are entirely covered by the spore-heaps. In its 
native habitats it is always found pushing its way through 
the debris of weathered rocks, or nestling in the chinks of 
stone dykes. The best, and, indeed, the only, way to grow it 
well is to plant it in some gritty, open compost of broken 
slate and fibry loam, and then put a handful or so of broken 
stones over and about the crown — burying it, in fact, in 
these, but not in soil. The fronds will speedily find their 
way through, and form a pretty clump, which will stand any 
amount of sunshine with impunity, if the soil is kept moist. 
The only good variety found, so far, is 
A. c. cristata (crested), a beautifully crested form, found 
