INTRODUCTION, 
3 
true Ferns indigenous in Great Britain, thirty-six 
are found in the Lake Country. One of these — 
Lastrea remota — has not hitherto been discovered in 
any other part of the British Isles. 
Of the Fern Allies, all the Lycopodia, including the 
rare Lycopodium annotinum discovered in Langdale 
in 1851, by the Rev. R. Rolleston, many of the 
Equiseta and the Isoetes lacustris are found in appro¬ 
priate localities. The latter, combined with the little 
Littorella lacustris (Shore Weed,) clothes the under 
surface of many of the Lakes with a perennial verdure. 
In whatever direction, therefore, the fern hunter may 
ramble, whether he explore the depths of the lakes, 
or track his way through the shady woods, or ascend 
the mountains, he will everywhere meet with objects 
of interest. 
