"And what is that?" she heard Julia say.
"Mountain fern."
"Isn't it beautiful! O that's as pretty as a feather."
"If you saw them growing, dozens of them springing from the same root, you would think them beautiful. Then those brown edgings are black as jet and glossy."
"Are those the thecoe, Mr. Rhys?"
"Yes. The Lastraeas, and all their family, have the fruit in those little round spots, each with its own covering; that is their mark."
"It is so funny that plants should have families," said Julia. "Now is this one of the family, Mr. Rhys?"
"Certainly; that is a Cystopteris."
"It's a dear little thing! Where did you get it, Mr. Rhys?"
"I do not remember. They grow pretty nearly all over; you find them on rocks, and walls."