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. The fronds of the Lady Fern develop in the spring of the year.
Asplenium septentrionale. The specific name means “northern,” and this has reference to the fact that the species is more abundant in the north than in the south. The Forked Spleenwort.
The fronds of this Fern are of a thick leathery nature, but they are rarely more than about two inches in length. As they are produced in thick tufts, the individual plants will often cover a good deal of space, considering the diminutive nature of the plant as a whole. The stipes is considerably longer than the leafy portion of the frond; this latter is of a very simple nature, being composed of two or three blades which fork out something on the lines of a stag’s horn. The plant is quite unlike any other British Fern, although its foliage bears a singular resemblance to that of the Buck’s Horn Plantain (Plantago coronopus), a common enough weed, especially on waste patches near to the sea.
On the underside of the narrow blades are produced the sori; these are present in the form of lines on either side of the mid-veins. At first they are covered with scale-like indusia, but as the sporangia ripen the protecting shield is thrown aside. Finally, the capsules spread out so as to cover almost the whole of the underside of the blade.
The Forked Spleenwort finds its home in the fissures of rocks and in the crevices of old walls. It is, however, a rarity, less uncommon in the North than in the South of England. Now and again it has been recorded in great abundance in a particular spot, and it is difficult to understand why the species is not more wide-spread in its distribution. The Forked Spleenwort can be grown in gardens if suitable rock crevices are provided. The plant is an evergreen species.
Asplenium germanicum. It is uncertain what is the derivation of the specific name germanicum; in some quarters it has been said that the name was given owing to the fact that the Fern is a very popular one in Germany, though whether this is a true explanation cannot be stated with certainty. The Alternate-leaved Spleenwort.
This species is somewhat larger than the last-named, though it is hardly so striking in appearance, owing to the comparatively small number of fronds which are produced. These will, as a rule, be about four or five inches in height, and they arise from a tufted root-stock. The stipes is about the same length as the leafy portion of the frond. The rachis bears alternately curious wedge-shaped pinnæ. At the broad end these pinnæ are toothed, and these segments are more pronounced on the lower than on the upper pinnæ. The fronds are of a fairly tough texture.
On the backs of the pinnæ we shall find the sori, two or three lines of the collections of sporangia being present on each division of the frond. At first these are covered with an indusium, but as the capsules ripen this is thrown away and the clusters join together in one mass.
The Alternate-leaved Spleenwort is very rare. It is, however, known to occur in a few rocky localities in England and Scotland. Probably it is often overlooked by the few people who visit the more inaccessible parts. It has proved to be rather a difficult subject to grow, and it has a most annoying habit of dying off suddenly, even when given a great amount of care. Probably the real trouble is that it is given too much water; good drainage would go a long way to meet the difficulty. The fronds of the Alternate-leaved Spleenwort sometimes survive the winter.
Asplenium ruta-muraria. In this case the specific name simply means “wall rue,” and refers to the resemblance which the Fern bears to the Common Rue (Ruta graveolens). The Wall Rue.