HABITS AND LATIN NAMES OF BRITISH PLANTS. 
141 
translucent minute points, very similar to those seen in Hypericum perforatum, 
though, be it observed, that unfavourable situation and cold weather will often pre¬ 
vent the formation of. if not obliterate, these odorous pores. They are most abundant 
when the plants grow in sunny but not too dry localities.-— British Ferns. 
Aspidium filix-mas , Male Shield-fern.—The large size, robust appearance, and 
decided character of this plant, obtained for it very early and very aptly the name 
of Male Fern. Medicinal properties of some importance have been ascribed to 
it, and with justice. It is retained in most of the Pharmacopoeias of Europe as a 
specific for the larger kinds of intestinal Worms ; is used very extensively for that 
purpose by the faculty in many parts of the Continent; and if the employment 
of it has been discontinued here* it is not because of its inutility, but from the 
discovery of other remedies equally potent and better understood. The stem and 
roots are bitter and astringent, and have been used instead of Hops.— British 
Ferns. The Siberians boil this Fern in ale, and are fond of the flavour which it 
imparts. In the reign of Henry the Sixth, so great a famine prevailed, that 
Fern-roots were used for the purpose of making bread. It would now be difficult 
to ascertain the exact species, but probably the largest and most common kind. 
This Fern and Pteris aquilina are burnt together for the sake of their ashes, 
which are purchased by soap and glass-makers. The island of Jura alone yields 
one hundred and fifty pounds worth of these ashes annually. Gunner relates that 
in Norway the young curled leaves are boiled and eaten like Asparagus ; and that 
the larger leaves, dried and infused in hot-water, afford an acceptable fodder and 
litter for cattle, in hard winters. It is used for rough thatching and beds, as the 
Highland Heather. The larger Ferns, either dug in, or burnt on, the ground, 
enrich the soil greatly by their saline particles; and thus Horace, though not 
without a moral inference, Lib. 1, Sat. 3, 37— 
“ Neglectis urenda Filix innascitur agris .” 
Scarcely any production of a tropical climate can present a more truly elegant 
appearance than does this and the sister Fern, of luxuriant growth, as fringing or 
feathering the high banks of the narrow lanes of South Devon. The Scotch term 
Bracken (like Gowan) Dr. Withering conceives to be rightly understood as 
generic, including several different plants; and thus it would seem to be almost 
indifferently applied both to our present species and Pteris aquilina. 
