DEFINITION OF FERNS. 
Order Filices (Ferns). 
Leafy plants, with the fronds, or leaves, usually raised on a stipe, or stem, 
rising from a root-stock, each frond rolled up (circinate) in the bud, variously 
divided, bearing on the under surface, or along the margin, small fruit-dots 
(sporangia, or spore-cases), scattered, or clustered in sori, each sporangia containing 
minute spores. 
