How to Know the Ferns

A GUIDE
TO THE NAMES, HAUNTS, AND HABITS OF
OUR COMMON FERNS

By
Frances Theodora Parsons
Author of "How to Know the Wild Flowers,"
"According to Season," etc.

Illustrated by
Marion Satterlee and Alice Josephine Smith

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1915

TO
J. R. P.

"If it were required to know the position of the fruit-dots or the character of the indusium, nothing could be easier than to ascertain it; but if it is required that you be affected by ferns, that they amount to anything, signify anything to you, that they be another sacred scripture and revelation to you, helping to redeem your life, this end is not so easily accomplished."

—Thoreau

[PREFACE]

Since the publication, six years ago, of "How to Know the Wild Flowers," I have received such convincing testimony of the eagerness of nature-lovers of all ages and conditions to familiarize themselves with the inhabitants of our woods and fields, and so many assurances of the joy which such a familiarity affords, that I have prepared this companion volume on "How to Know the Ferns." It has been my experience that the world of delight which opens before us when we are admitted into some sort of intimacy with our companions other than human is enlarged with each new society into which we win our way.

It seems strange that the abundance of ferns everywhere has not aroused more curiosity as to their names, haunts, and habits. Add to this abundance the incentive to their study afforded by the fact that owing to the comparatively small number of species we can familiarize ourselves with a large proportion of our native ferns during a single summer, and it is still more surprising that so few efforts have been made to bring them within easy reach of the public.

I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to the many books on our native ferns which I have consulted, but more especially to Gray's "Manual," to Eaton's "Ferns of North America," to the "Illustrated Flora" of Messrs. Britton and Brown, to Mr. Underwood's "Our Native Ferns," to Mr. Williamson's "Ferns of Kentucky," to Mr. Dodge's "Ferns and Fern Allies of New England," and to that excellent little quarterly, which I recommend heartily to all fern-lovers, the "Fern Bulletin," edited by Mr. Willard Clute, of Binghamton, N. Y.

To the State Botanist, Dr. Charles H. Peck, who has kindly read the proof-sheets of this book, I am indebted for many suggestions; also to Mr. Arthur G. Clement, of the University of the State of New York.

To Miss Marion Satterlee thanks are due not only for many suggestions, but also for the descriptions of the Woodwardias.

The pen-and-ink illustrations are all from original drawings by Miss Satterlee and Miss Alice Josephine Smith. The photographs have been furnished by Miss Murray Ledyard, Miss Madeline Smith, and Mr. Augustus Pruyn.

In almost all cases I have followed the nomenclature of Gray's "Manual" as being the one which would be familiar to the majority of my readers, giving in parentheses that used in the "Illustrated Flora" of Messrs. Britton and Brown.

Frances Theodora Parsons

Albany, March 6, 1899

"The more thou learnest to know and to enjoy, the more full and complete will be for thee the delight of living."

[CONTENTS]

Page
Preface	[v]
Ferns as a Hobby	[1]
When and Where to Find Ferns	[15]
Explanation of Terms	[28]
Fertilization, Development, and Fructification of Ferns	[32]
Notable Fern Families	[36]
How to Use the Book	[38]
Guide	[40]
Fern Descriptions:
Group I	[54]
Group II	[67]
Group III	[87]
Group IV	[105]
Group V	[120]
Group VI	[159]
Index to Latin Names	[211]
Index to English Names	[213]
Index to Technical Terms	[215]

[LIST OF PLATES]

⁂ The actual sizes of ferns are not given in the illustrations. For this information see the corresponding description.

PLATE			PAGE
I.	Sensitive Fern,	Onoclea sensibilis,	[57]
II.	Ostrich Fern,	Onoclea Struthiopteris,	[59]
III.	Cinnamon Fern,	Osmunda cinnamomea,	[61]
IV.	Curly Grass,	Schizæa pusilla,	[65]
V.	Royal Fern,	Osmunda regalis,	[69]
VI.	Interrupted Fern,	Osmunda Claytoniana,	[73]
VII.	Adder's Tongue,	Ophioglossum vulgatum,	[79]
VIII.	Ternate Grape Fern,	Botrychium ternatum,	[83]
IX.	Moonwort,	Botrychium Lunaria,	[85]
	Lance-leaved Grape Fern,	Botrychium lanceolatum,	[85]
X.	Purple Cliff Brake,	Pellæa atropurpurea,	[91]
XI.	Narrow-leaved Spleenwort,	Asplenium angustifolium,	[99]
XII.	Net-veined Chain Fern,	Woodwardia angustifolia,	[103]
XIII.	Hairy Lip Fern,	Cheilanthes vestita,	[113]
XIV.	Hay-scented Fern,	Dicksonia pilosiuscula,	[115]
XV.	Lady Fern,	Asplenium Filix-fœmina,	[121]
XVI.	Silvery Spleenwort,	Asplenium thelypteroides,	[125]
XVII.	Rue Spleenwort,	Asplenium Ruta-muraria	[127]
XVIII.	Mountain Spleenwort,	Asplenium montanum,	[131]
XIX.	Ebony Spleenwort,	Asplenium ebeneum,	[135]
XX.	Green Spleenwort,	Asplenium viride,	[139]
XXI.	Scott's Spleenwort,	Asplenium ebenoides,	[141]
XXII.	Pinnatifid Spleenwort,	Asplenium pinnatifidum,	[143]
XXIII.	Bradley's Spleenwort,	Asplenium Bradleyi,	[145]
XXIV.	Virginia Chain Fern,	Woodwardia Virginica,	[157]
XXV.	New York Fern,	Aspidium Noveboracense,	[161]
XXVI.	Marsh Fern,	Aspidium Thelypteris,	[163]
XXVII.	Spinulose Wood Fern,	Aspidium spinulosum, var. intermedium,	[165]
XXVIII.	Boott's Shield Fern,	Aspidium Boottii,	[167]
XXIX.	Crested Shield Fern,	Aspidium cristatum,	[169]
XXX.	Clinton's Wood Fern,	Aspidium cristatum, var. Clintonianum,	[171]
XXXI.	Goldie's Fern,	Aspidium Goldianum,	[173]
XXXII.	Evergreen Wood Fern,	Aspidium marginale,	[175]
XXXIII.	Fragrant Shield Fern,	Aspidium fragrans,	[179]
XXXIV.	Braun's Holly Fern,	Aspidium aculeatum, var. Braunii,	[183]
XXXV.	Broad Beech Fern,	Phegopteris hexagonoptera,	[189]
XXXVI.	Oak Fern,	Phegopteris Dryopteris,	[191]
XXXVII.	Bulblet Bladder Fern,	Cystopteris bulbifera,	[195]
XXXVIII.	Fragile Bladder Fern,	Cystopteris fragilis,	[197]
XXXIX.	Rusty Woodsia,	Woodsia Ilvensis,	[199]
XL.	Blunt-lobed Woodsia,	Woodsia obtusa,	[201]
XLI.	Northern Woodsia,	Woodsia hyperborea,	[205]
XLII.	Smooth Woodsia,	Woodsia glabella,	[207]

[LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS]

"The cheerful community of the polypody" From a photograph by Miss Madeline Smith.	[Frontispiece]
Page
New York Fern	[xvi]
"The greatest charm the ferns possess is that of their surroundings" From a photograph by Mr. Augustus Pruyn.	[12]
Fiddleheads	[18]
Fragile Bladder Fern	[19]
Crested Shield Fern	[20]
Purple Cliff Brake	[22]
Ternate Grape Fern	[24]
Evergreen Wood Fern	[27]
Sensitive Fern	[55]
Cinnamon Fern	[60]
Royal Fern	[68]
Interrupted Fern	[74]
Climbing Fern	[75]
Rattlesnake Fern	[80]
Slender Cliff Brake	[89]
"The unpromising wall of rock which rose beside us" From a photograph by Miss Ledyard.	[94]
More compound frond of Purple Cliff Brake	[95]
Christmas Fern	[97]
Narrow-leaved Spleenwort	[98]
Brake	[106]
Maidenhair	[110]
Mountain Spleenwort	[130]
Mountain Spleenwort	[132]
"In the shaded crevices of a cliff" From a photograph by Miss Madeline Smith.	[132]
Maidenhair Spleenwort	[137]
Walking Leaf	[146]
"We fairly gloated over the quaint little plants" From a photograph by Miss Ledyard.	[148]
Hart's Tongue	[151]
Marsh Fern	[162]
"Like the plumes of departing Summer" From a photograph by Miss Madeline Smith.	[178]
Common Polypody	[184]
Long Beech Fern	[187]
Oak Fern	[191]
Bulblet Bladder Fern	[194]