258 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
vance does not interfere with its horizontal pro¬ 
gress—it throws up at short intervals its beautiful 
fronds, which first find their way above ground in 
spring, the time varying with the earliness or late¬ 
ness of the season. The creeping roots of the 
Bracken are chiefly thick, varying from the thick¬ 
ness of an ordinary lead pencil to that of the 
little finger of the hand; and the rootlets or 
fibrous roots of this Fern are few in number. 
We may appropriately adopt, from botanical 
phraseology, a name for the thick creeping root 
of the Bracken, especially as we shall have occa¬ 
sion to use it when speaking of other Ferns with 
similar roots. There is the less objection to 
the use of this name, because it is simple and 
euphonious. We shall, then, style the creeping 
root of the Bracken the rhizoma. From the sub¬ 
terranean, succulent, blackish-coloured rhizoma 
start the incipient fronds, which, when they 
break the earth, have the appearance of little 
hoary, hairy buds, that unfold and develope into 
the perfect frond. 
The fronds of the Bracken—stem and leaf 
together—rise to all heights; from sometimes 
