THE MALE FERN 
3I 1 
larger growths. Often — as it appears to the tourist who may 
look down upon it, perched shuttlecock fashion upon a jutting 
platform of earth and rock in some narrow ravine, through 
which a rushing stream of water finds its way ; or, as it is 
seen high above his path, at the top of some steeply-sloping 
embankment — -it presents a singularly handsome aspect, and 
though bold and erect yet endowed with a sturdy grace. 
Description. — From a very stout caudex furnished with 
a mass of long and fibrous rootlets, the fronds of the Male 
Fern are thrown up in a circle, shuttlecock fashion, around its 
crown, which in large plants is often raised an inch or two 
above the surface of the soil. Sometimes when this Fern is 
growing upon the side of a steeply-sloping embankment, the 
rootstock becomes elongated in a horizontal position, throwing- 
up its fronds almost at right angles to the direction, from 
base to crown, of the rootstock. The crown and stipes are 
densely scaly — the scales being often continued along the 
rachis, more particularly on the under side of the frond. 
The scales are often continued also along the under sides of 
the mid-stems of the pinnae, giving an extremely handsome 
look to the frond. In finely-grown plants, when the fronds 
are closely set around the crown, the scaly stems assume a 
cup-shaped appearance, the leafy parts of the fronds being- 
thrown up in a slanting direction, and somewhat stiffly, thus 
losing the delicate drooping habit so characteristic of Ferns 
in general. The rachis is smooth behind, and channelled 011 its 
upper side. The stipes is much shorter than the leafy portion 
of the frond — seldom more than a sixth of the length of the 
latter. The colour of the leafy portion is dark green above 
— sometimes a shining green — but lighter and duller under- 
neath. Its form is broadly lance-shaped, broadest through- 
out its centre, tapering somewhat towards the base, and 
rapidly to a point at its apex. The frond is partially bipinnate. 
The pinnge, long, tapering, and somewhat^ sharp pointed, are 
