S. Leonard Bastin

“ Happily the Lady Fern is common in many parts of the United Kingdom. Often it is to be found growing surprisingly near to towns, though its pretty green foliage makes a strong appeal to the eye of those vandals who go about uprooting every fern which they see. It is of easy culture in the garden. ”

“ All soil contains the germs of such organisms as mould which, in cultivation at any rate, is especially destructive to developing spores. The plan is to bake the mould in an oven until it is so hot that one cannot bear to touch it. We shall get any number of spores from the fertile leaf of a Male Fern by just tapping the frond whilst holding it over the surface of the soil. Do not scatter the spores too thickly, or it will be difficult to examine the stages of development, and remember also that the soil should be moist at the start. ”

“ Where the outside conditions are not very favourable, practically all the British species may be grown with ease under glass. In such conditions many kinds which do not flourish very freely in the open garden, grow into handsome specimens. A case in point is the Sea Spleenwort, which is an exceedingly difficult subject to establish out of doors, yet it grows well as a pot plant. Whatever the species, it is well to imitate the natural conditions as much as possible in the way of soil. For instance, the Limestone Polypody is not happy unless there is a certain amount of lime present in the soil. ”

“ Here and there on a plant it is possible to find fertile examples which have developed partly in a barren, and partly in a fertile manner.
The Royal Fern is essentially a plant of the marshland. It never grows happily in dry or elevated situations. It is perhaps to be found at its best growing by the side of some river or stream. The Royal Fern has been found in many parts of the United Kingdom, though the plant suffers much from the depredations of trippers. Most fern-lovers know of places where this handsome species grows in abundance, but they wisely keep such knowledge to themselves. ”

“ In the garden the Royal Fern grows well, but it must not suffer from lack of water, or it will prove but a poor subject. The fronds of the Royal Fern die down at the coming of the frost, and the young growth does not put in an appearance until the late spring. ”

“ Polypodiaceæ.—This is a very large family, containing two or three times as many species as all the rest of the Vascular Cryptogams put together. Nearly all our native species, with a few exceptions, belong to the family. A distinctive feature is the incomplete annulus of the sporangium. Another point to notice is that the spore cases are stalked. So large is the family that it has been divided into a number of sub-families; the members of these are chiefly characterized by the position of the sorus, the cluster of sporangia on the back of the frond. ”

“ THE FERNS AND THEIR ALLIES
In its lowest forms vegetable life is a very simple affair. The minute Algæ which clothe damp surfaces with a green film show few indeed of the characteristics with which we are familiar in the higher plants. Certainly they are green, proving that the tiny cells of which they are composed contain the wonderful colouring matter—chlorophyll, by means of which they are able to assimilate carbon from the carbonic acid of the air. There is, however, in these lowly plants no sign of a stem, a leaf, or a root. ”

“ The prothallus is exceedingly small, being little more than a group of cells forming an antheridium. Should there be sufficient moisture about, the spermatozoids which are produced by the antheridium swim towards the archegonia in any female prothallus which may be near. Fertilization then takes place, and the final outcome is the young plant. Now and again in certain species it is seen that the megaspores develop to such an extent within the sporangium that fertilization [21] takes place, and even an embryo or young plant may be formed. ”

“ With all Ferns the production of spores is confined to the leaves. In many instances there is no distinction between the fertile and the [6] barren leaves. The stem does not start at once to produce leaves bearing the sporangia or spore cases. Thus, in the very young Fern the fronds are always barren; as the stem becomes older, fertile fronds are produced. In some cases the sporangia are borne on distinct leaves, as in the case of the Hard Fern, or on special parts of the leaves, in the manner to be seen in the Royal Fern. ”

“ In some localities of these districts the plant grows in the greatest abundance, happily often out of the reach of the tourist. The Parsley Fern has also been recorded in the West of England, and it occurs in Scotland. It is easily cultivated, if the fact is borne in mind that it is a rock species needing good drainage. It loses its bright, pretty colouring in a sunny position. The Parsley Fern sends up its green fronds in the month of May, and the fertile leaves follow soon after. The foliage disappears in the winter. ”

“ If it is desired that the plant should settle into its new home as quickly as possible, it is an excellent plan to take away with it a certain amount of soil. Of course, considerations of weight have to be taken into account, but the more mould round the roots the better. Never grasp a Fern plant from above and try to pull it away, as this will be almost sure to result in damage. Rock Ferns are often exceedingly difficult to remove, owing to the manner in which the roots of these plants spread to great distances in the crevices. ”

“ Although the members of the family Hymenophyllaceæ are largely tropical, we are fortunate in having three representatives in the United Kingdom. Two of these, both Filmy Ferns, are not so familiar to people as they might be, if folk were only a little more observant; whilst the Bristle Fern is only to be found in the South of Ireland. All the species require an abundance of moisture, and they attain their greatest perfection on rocks which are dripping with water. ”

“ The increase of this plant seems to be very effectively carried out by means of the strong growing underground stems which shoot about in all directions. The Horsetails commonly propagate themselves in the same way, and it is this which makes them so difficult to eradicate in the garden. In the case of many Ferns a common mode of increase is that of budding off new plants on the leaf. The well-known New Zealand species, Asplenium bulbiferum, produces little buds on its fronds; these grow into small plants, so that each leaf may be responsible for dozens of new individuals. ”

“ Although to most people the study of fossil botany may appear to be an uninviting pursuit, there can be no question as to the importance of the science. It is only in this way that we are able to appreciate the changes which have led up to the existing types of plants. Now the question of the past history of the Vascular Cryptogams is of very special interest in more ways than one. It is, of course, most fascinating to be able to discover what kinds of Ferns flourished, for instance, at the period when the coal deposits were being formed. ”

“ Roots go down into the soil from the point of the frond, leaves shoot upwards, and thus a new plant is born. In some species of Club Moss the increase of the plant by spore production is supplemented by a plan which involves the bearing of bulbils on the shoots. These are vegetative processes which give rise to new individuals when they tumble to the ground. ”

“ The subject is one which might well be treated at great length, for there is scarcely any species which does not present some interesting point that calls for comment. Within the limits of the present inquiry it will not be possible to give more than an outline of the reproductive schemes to be observed in a few typical species. These life histories must not be taken as necessarily applying to all the related plants. None the less, by a careful study of the species described we may receive a fair conception of the habits of the class to which it belongs. ”

“ Many species flourish only in rock crevices or on old walls. Others are to be found, as a rule, in rather elevated positions, and we cannot hope to find them save in a mountainous country. Finally, there are a great many Ferns which can adapt themselves to a variety of conditions. The actual circumstances of their surroundings will make them vary more or less from the type, and this must always be borne in mind when specimens are being examined. In another way identification is sometimes rather difficult, owing to the fact that immature Ferns are often very misleading in their appearance. ”

“ The Common Polypody.
This species has a creeping root-stock which in its young days is covered with brown scales. From the underside there grow masses of fibrous roots, which often spread for a considerable distance. The rhizome may be very much branched, and from it alternately on either side arise the fronds. These may be quite short—about five or six inches—or, on the other hand, they may be as much as one or two feet in length. The stipes is usually about the same [87] length as the leafy portion of the frond and is of a plain green colour. ”

“ First of all, it is desired to correct the popular impression that Ferns are happiest in very wet situations; true, these plants like plenty of moisture, but only one or two of the British species are ever found actually growing with their roots in water. On this account, great care should be taken to provide well-drained positions. The best kind of rockery should not be solid earth all through, and the plants will grow much better if there is a core of heaped stones covered with a deep layer of soil. ”

“ Of course in number the Ferns are enormously in advance of all the other plants put together. In the whole world, there are not far short of seventy distinct genera, which include anything between three and four thousand species. The Ferns of the United Kingdom number not far short of fifty, and there are certain variations from the type which some folk are tempted to include as species. For some reasons which we cannot well understand, the Ferns alone amongst the Vascular Cryptogams have been able to hold their own in the world. ”

“ The cone-like fructification is about an inch in length and bears a number of peltate scales to which the spore capsules are attached. The spores are ready for dispersal in the month of May. Just about this time the barren stems put in an appearance. These rise to the height of two [114] feet, or even more, and have many whorls of spreading branches which in their turn may again be branched. It is these branches which carry on the real vegetative work of the plant. For the real leaves we must examine the sheaths, which with their wedge-shaped teeth are to be found at the stem joints. ”

“ Enlargement of the sori on the frond of Common Polypody.
The Common Polypody will, of course, grow in almost any position. It often finds a home [89] amongst the branches of old oak trees, whilst it seems to be equally happy on the wall or the hedge-bank. It is of fairly easy culture in the garden, though the plant likes a well-drained situation. The Common Polypody is an evergreen species. ”

“ The Moonwort grows in drier situations than that which suits the Adder’s Tongue. It is abundant in many parts of England, and is a very common plant in localities in Yorkshire. The species also occurs in other parts of the United Kingdom, though on account of its habit of growing mixed up with grass, the Moonwort is often overlooked. ”