THE BUCKLEE EEENS. 
379 
shuttlecock fashion around its fine, tufted crown, 
and so neatly and closely arranged as to present 
inside a circular wall densely clothed with scales, 
and resembling very much in that respect the 
appearance presented by the Soft Prickly Shield 
Fern. But the tips of the fronds of the Male 
Fern have not the same drooping habit as Poly- 
stichum angular e, being on the contrary thrown 
up, as it were, defiantly. Perched on the open 
side of a high embankment, a grand specimen 
of the Male Fern, fully developed, with all its 
fronds mature, presents a peculiarly striking 
appearance. 
The frond of the Male Fern is lance-shaped— 
broadly so—tapering up and down ; towards its 
point, and towards its base. It is, therefore, 
broadest at its centre. The basal tapering is not 
carried to a point as at the top of the frond; but 
merely admits of the lowest leaflets being some¬ 
what shorter than those in the centre. The stem, 
or stipes, is perhaps about one quarter the length 
of the leafy portion of the frond, and is covered 
thickly with chaffy scales. These scales are also 
carried along the rachis or mid-stem of the frond. 
