270 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
inches. From the under side of the root-stock 
grow the thin, matted, fibrous roots, which pene¬ 
trate deeply into the soil, and eagerly drink in 
the abundant moisture which is essential to its 
existence. From the crown of the root-stock 
start, in thick tufts, a mass of delightful, green, 
brittle, and herbaceous fronds, supported each on 
its stem—one-third, and sometimes one-fourth, of 
its entire length; sometimes bright green in colour, 
at other times purple. The form of the frond is 
lance-shaped, widening from its base to its centre, 
and tapering thence to its apex. Along its central 
rib, or rachis, are arranged—opposite in pairs or 
in alternation—a line of pinnce or leaflets tapered 
outwards in the same way that the frond is tapered 
upwards. On each side of the midrib of each leaf¬ 
let is a row of lobes, beautifully serrated, or saw- 
edged, and bluntish towards their points. In the 
larger leaflets the lobes are distinct and separate 
one from the other. In the smaller ones the 
division between the lobes is less marked; and this 
is the case in every plant with the lobes which lie 
Hear the points of the leaflets. 
The delightful, but most delicate, fronds of the 
