THE FERN PARADISE. 
1 . 
THE MALE FERN. 
Lasirea filix-mas. 
Plate 6, Fig. 1. 
j!NE of the most plentiful and widely- 
distributed of the Buckler Ferns is the 
Male Fern, also called the Common 
Buckler Fern. The Male Fern derives its 
designation from its extremely vigorous and 
robust manner of growth. The texture of its 
dark green fronds has a somewhat more rigid 
appearance than that of most Ferns. It grows in 
woods and on hedge-banks, on hill- sides and by 
the water’s edge, — almost everywhere in fact; 
now exposed in dry situations to the full power 
of the sun, and now hidden away in almost 
impenetrable shade. The Male Fern reaches an 
average height of between two and three feet ; 
but, under favourable circumstances, it sometimes 
grows to a height of four feet. Then, indeed, it 
is a really beautiful object : its fronds thrown up 
340 
