BRITISH FERNS. 
67 
dark green and tough; its spore heaps and spores are large 
and yellow, and it is, finally, a thorough evergreen, while, on 
the other hand, the other three have twice-divided fronds of 
very delicate make and colour springing from dark, slender, 
stringy root- 
stocks; spore 
heaps and 
spores are 
small and 
dark-coloured, 
and finally, 
again, all 
three species 
are perfectly 
deciduous. 
Then, too, 
Nature has 
determined 
another great 
difference, 
since while 
the three of 
a kind have 
only given us 
two or three 
varieties, none 
of very marked 
character, the 
ot h e r , P . 
vulgare, has 
been most 
generous and 
donned the 
gayest and 
happiest garbs 
respect, indeed, 
P. VULGARE VAR. GRANDICEFS PARKER. 
for the Fern 
I ke others of 
hunter’s delectation In this 
our British Ferns, it has put 
all its exotic relatives to the blush by producing far more 
distinct and beautiful varieties than all the rest of the family 
together. It has even gone a step farther, and by lending 
some of its blood to its stately cousin, P. aureum, has given 
us P. Schneiderii, an edition of P. v. elegantissimum enlarged 
to the utmost, and a triumph of hybridisation. P. vulgare 
is found all over Great Britain ; old walls, old trees, rocks, 
and hedgerows are its favourite habitats, and well-rotted 
leaf-mould its favourite soil. In culture it does best in large, 
well-drained, shallow pans filled with a loose leafy and peaty 
