286 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
fronds are more like thick hairs than the stems of 
a plant. The general outline of the frond is 
triangular. Its length varies from six inches to a 
foot; but sometimes, under conditions peculiarly 
favourable to its growth, it reaches a length of 
more than a foot. The stem is about the same 
length as the leafy portion, but sometimes is much 
longer. On each side of the rachis, in irregu¬ 
lar alternation, are the branches—if they may 
be so called—of the frond. These branches, 
black and shining, are like lesser hairs ; and to 
them are fastened on each side, in irregular order, 
delicate fan-shaped leaflets of an exquisite shade 
of green. The leaflets are fastened to the branches 
of the frond by short, hair-like filaments, black 
and shining, somewhat like the stem and branches, 
but thinner and more delicate. The spores of the 
True Maidenhair are borne on the edges of the 
backs of its leaflets, the margins bearing them 
being folded back, forming a cover and protection 
to them. The margins thus turned back lose 
their green colour and become blanched. 
It is the fortune of few Fern-lovers to see the 
True Maidenhair growing in its wild habitats. 
