14 . 
THE MOUNTAIN POLYPODY. 
Polyp ocli um ph egop tv i • is. 
Plate 7 , Fig. 3 , Page 253 . 
The specific name of this Fern is derived from two Greek 
words — -phegos, 1 a beech,’ and pterin, ‘ a fern ; ’ and lienee the 
reason why it is frequently called ‘ the Beech Fern ’ — a 
name which appears to have puzzled botanical writers. It 
is probable, however, that the somewhat spreading and 
miniature tree-like appearance of the fronds of this little 
Fern, taken in conjunction with its whitish-looking stipes 
and the whitish downy-looking green of its fronds, may 'have 
suggested a resemblance to the beech-tree and its white 
wood. But its name of Mountain Polypody is the more 
suitable, if less fanciful, designation. It is a far more deli- 
cate species than Vulgar e, seeking much moister habits than 
that Fern, its fronds disappearing on the first approach of 
winter, and the plant remaining dormant until somewhat 
late in the succeeding spring. On the margins of mountain 
streams ; in damp woods ; sometimes growing on the earthy 
crevices of stony and sheltered hedge-banks, or in moist 
nooks amidst the rocks of a quarry, this Fern is found. It 
loves especially the neighbourhood of waterfalls, or any 
situation where it can come within the infiuence of the spray 
of dashing water. 
Descbiption. — From very slender and extensively creep- 
ing rhizomas — far less robust than those of Polypodium 
