30 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
aquilina). These are the giants of the British fern 
family, growing in their branching tree-like form 
to a height sometimes of ten feet. Peering into 
the dark depths of the hedges on either side, we 
t 
discover trailing out of the close masses of ivy 
which encircle the gnarled and matted roots of the 
trees, the pretty fronds of the Polypody {Polypo- 
dium vulgar e). The Polypody, like the Harts- 
tongue, will grow almost anywhere — on walls, in 
hedge-banks, and on trees ; but it becomes a puny 
plant when growing in dry, hot, and exposed situa- 
tions. It delights most to nestle amongst the 
twisted branches of the pollard-tree. There its 
creeping fleshy roots, feeding on the rich leaf-mould 
which collects in the crevices between the matted 
roots of ivy, love to hide, and from these moist 
nooks are sent out numerous tufts of bright green, 
narrow, lance-shaped fronds — a stem, a midrib with 
alternate lance-shaped leaflets, each leaflet mid- 
ribbed in its turn, and beautifully veined through- 
out ; the round golden masses of spores — each 
mass collected in lines on the backs of the leaflets 
— giving to the plant a beautiful appearance. 
