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^0{poi)ium grgopteris. 
OAK FERN. 
®|®HE brilliant green colour, and the delicacy of this little fern, cannot fail to charm the beholder. 
Illll Like the last species, it seeks seclusion, but in dryer situations. 
The young fronds appear in April, each at first resembling three little balls on wires; they are 
soon developed, and bear seed as early as June, but disappear before winter. 
The rhizome is very slender and creeping, and when long established, forms a dense mass. 
The stem is long and slender, dark purple and shining, and clothed with a few scales at the 
base. 
The fronds are from four inches to a foot in length, of which the stem forms two thirds; they 
are divided into three triangular branches, each having a short stem which unite at a point with the 
main stem; each division of the frond is pinnate, and the pinnae are pinnate at the base, and 
pinnatifid at the centre and end. 
The seed is produced in clusters on the under margin of the pinnules and lobes, and is of a 
brown colour. 
Not so common as the last species, but nevertheless abundant in the mountainous districts. 
It grows in woods, and in shady, rocky places. 
This species never seems to vary, unless the next species be considered a variety—which is 
not at all unlikely, as they resemble one another very closely. 
It is easily cultivated should have a light soil, be protected from the rays of the sun, and be 
well supplied with moisture. 
