25 
[XXIX] 
HARD FERN. 
is rather a striking fern, and by no means rare. 
The fronds, which are of two sorts, fertile and barren, spring np in May; the former die before 
winter, the latter are evergreen. 
The roots are long and wiry; the rhizome is tufted. The stems of the barren fronds are very 
short, those of the fertile are long and stout. The fronds grow in a whorl, the barren ones being out¬ 
side and recumbent; the fertile ones within them and erect, and much fewer in number. All the 
fronds are deeply pinnatifid, so as to be almost pinnate. The seed is produced in two lines, one each 
side of the mid-rib.. The fertile fronds have a peculiarly crisp nature, which renders them difficult 
to prepare for the herbarium. 
jaMfai 
Common in damp hedge-rows, and on the side of hills. 
Iratties. 
The apex is sometimes much divided, and forms the variety Ramosum of some authors. I have 
met with one root bearing barren fronds only, the lobes of which were deeply notched. 
(Mto. 
This fern should be cultivated in a clayey soil, and abundantly supplied with water. 
