108 
BRITISH FERNS. 
and the stems scaly, and in the other, the caudex scaly 
and the stems comparatively naked. In the Rhizophyl- 
lacece division, the caudex is scaly and never terminates 
in a frond, and the fructification follows the develop- 
ment of the frond. In the CormophyllacecB the caudex 
is naked, and always terminates in a frond ; it creeps 
underground, and in that respect partakes more of the 
nature of a root than a stem. This division between the 
characteristics of the caudex divides many genera cutting 
Polypodium vulgare otf from its allied species, and bring- 
ing Nephrodium Thelypteris to their side. 
