THE FERN PARADISE. 
4 . 
THE HARD FERN. 
Blechnum spicant, 
Plate 1, Fig. 4. 
iLT HOUGH not so graceful as most of 
the British Ferns, there is a rigid 
elegance about the Hard Fern. Its 
name is admirably suited to its character, for 
its texture is hard, and its growth robust. But 
its delightful colour— a dark shining green — 
and the elegance of simplicity which is notice- 
able in the arrangement of the leaflets on its 
fronds — make amends for its lack of feathery 
grace. Like the Lady Fern, in whose company 
it is frequently found, it delights in abundant 
moisture and the most complete shade, preferring 
situations wdiere water perpetually trickles over 
its crown. Its fronds grow from a tufted root- 
stock, and are supported on stems which vary in 
length in different specimens, but are generally 
not more than one-sixtli the length of the frond 
248 
