POLYPODIUM. 
115 
words, phegos , a birch-tree, and pteris, fern. Neither 
this nor the popular English name Beech-fern has any 
true foundation, for neither does the fern resemble 
either of the trees named in form or colour, nor espe- 
cially avail itself of their shade. The name given by 
Sir W. Hooker, “ Pale Mountain Polypody,” is infinitely 
more appropriate. 
The caudex of this fern creeps and interlaces ; it is 
very brittle. About May, slender stems arise from the 
caudex, bearing pale hairy fronds; these attain their full 
growth with great rapidity, reaching a height of from 
six inches to one foot. The 
stem is about twice the length 
of the leafy part of the frond ; 
it is slender and brittle, and 
bears a few transparent, co- 
lourless scales near its base. 
The stem is generally bent at 
the commencement of the leafy 
part at a blunt or right angle. 
The leafy part is triangular in 
form, terminating in a slender 
point. It is pinnate, each 
pinna being beset with oblong 
leaflets ; the lowest pair of 
pinnae bend forward so as to give a very marked cha- 
racter to the fern. The colour is pale green, with a dull 
shade imparted by the hairiness. 
The Pale Mountain Polypody grows freely where it 
once establishes itself, generally forming a crowded 
plantation of jostling fronds of varying height and size. 
It frequents cool mountainous districts, in England and 
Scotland and Ireland, always preferring a damp soil, 
i 2 
