HOME, PENNSYLVANIA 
Leather Woodfern; Evergreen Woodfern; Marginal 
Woodfern (Thelypteris marginalis; formerly Dryopteris 
marginalis and Aspidium marginale). It is leathery; 
it is evergreen; it has fat, round fruit dots close to 
the margins of the frond pinnules; all of which ac- 
counts for the names collected by this handsome thing. 
It has also been called Marginal Shield Fern. Leathery 
texture is the chief popular mark of identity; the dark 
blue-green of the evergreen fronds keeps year-round 
living color in a group of mixed ferns. Two main cul- 
ture requirements are deep shade and plenty of loose 
stones in the soil. Rich, rocky woods; rock slopes; un- 
der shady cliffs; between buttressed roots of big trees; 
in clefts and recesses of moist hillsides. Grows to about 
2 feet and shows off well with Hepaticas, Trilliums, 
Jacks and Lady’s Slippers, especially if massed under 
tall coniferous trees. Large chaffy crown bulges an inch 
or two above ground, unfolding symmetrical fronds 
with shaggy stalks. 35c each; $3.50 for 12. 
Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum). Unlike any other 
fern, the American Maidenhair is distinguished by 
tressy softness of the spreading frond at the top of 
very slender, polished, mahogany stem. Difficult to 
describe with precision; authorities resort to “delicate 
and dainty form and texture; singular and conspicuous 
grace. Found in slight hollows of moist, rich, hilly 
woods, under nonvacid deciduous trees, as maples, 
birches, and beeches, not oaks or conifers. Should be 
planted near the house with an eye to its needs, in- 
cluding shallow planting (1 inch of soil), ample shade, 
and constant mulch of proper leaf mold and its own 
fronds. The black roots are wiry and creeping, often 
at the very surface of the soil, protected by rotting 
leaves. Roots produce fresh fronds continuously, which 
grow from 1 to 14 feet high. 35c each; $3.50 for 12. 
New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis). So differ- 
ent, with its plumy fronds, tapering below, like no 
other fern, with gradually vanishing pinne, the dis- 
tinctive name “Taper Fern,” has been _ proposed. 
Medium size, 8 to 15 inches high, found in dry, cool, 
shaded woods. A fast spreading ground cover, with 
slender roots creeping just below the surface. Roots 
give off tufted fronds at frequent intervals, adding up 
to a scattered mass of yellow-green. In two or three 
years a half-dozen plants make a large colony. New 
York Fern appreciates mulch from leaves of deciduous 
trees, like beeches, birches and maples. 30c each; $3.00 
for 12. 
Rattlesnake Fern (Botrychium virginianum). Totally un- 
like the true ferns, this member of the Adder’s Tongue 
Family is a fern ally. The succulent frond rises from 
a fleshy root, spreading in a horizontal triangle of 
leaves. The main stem continues in a fruiting stalk, 
which carries spore cases in a terminal cluster, well 
above the sterile, horizontal leaves. Height is from 
4 to 10 inches. Grows in many conditions; is best 
planted deeply in rich moist mold, preferably in dense 
23 
