FERNS, Fakes, an order of acrogenous or cryptogamous plants, divided by some botanists into several orders; whilst some make Aces a sub-class, and include in it lycopodiacea, marsileacece, and eguisetacecs. See these heads. F. are either herbaceous peren nial plants, or more rarely trees, the rootstock or the stem producing leaf-like fronds (often called leaves), which are sometimes simple, sometimes pinnated, or otherwise com pound, exhibit great variety of form, and are generally coiled up (circinate) in bud. The fronds are traversed by veins, generally of uniform thickness, which are simple or forked, or netted, sometimes produced from the sides of a midrib or primary vein,sometimes from a primary vein on one side, sometimes radiating from the base of a frond or segment of a frond. The fructification takes place either on the lower surface or on the margin of the fronds, and arises from the veins. The spores are contained in capsules or spore cases (them, sporangia), which are often surrounded with an elastic ring, and are either naked or covered with a membrane (involucre or indusium), and are generally clustered in round or elongated or kidney shaped masses (sori). The margin of the Mond is sometimes folded so as to cover the spore-cases,. and sometimes, as in the flowering fern (osmunda) (q.v.), the fertile part of the frond is so transformed that its leaf-like charac ter entirely disappears, and it becomes a spike or panicle. The spore-cases burst at their circumference, or longitudinally, or irregularly. Moving spiral filaments exist in F., but their functions in connection with reproduction are not well known. The reproduction of F. has been the subject of much investigation and discussion, and sup posed discoveries of sexual organs have been announced, but satisfactory evidence of their nature has not been obtained. —The number of known species of F. is about 2,500. They are found in all parts of the world, but are fewer towards the poles than within the tropics, and fewer in continental than in maritime countries, abounding exceedingly in mountainous tropical islands, as in Jamaica. Many of them delight in moisture and shade, although some are found in the most exposed situations. Some of them resem
ble mosses in size and appearance; whilst tree ferns (q.v.) resemble palms, and some times attain a height of 40 feet. A few are climbers. One climbing species (lygodium palmatum) is found in North America as far n. as Boston.—F. are divided into poly podiece, hymenophyllece, gleicheniece, sakimcs, osmundece, danacs, and ophioglossece, of which sub-orders (or orders) the first, second, fifth, and seventh alone contain British species, and the first contains a great majority of all ferns.—The root-stocks of some F. contain so much ,starch that they are either used as food, or food is prepared from them, par ticularly those of the tara (q.v.) F. in New Zealand and Van Diemen's Land, and those of aspidium (or nephrodium) esculentum in Sikkim and Nepal; also the stems of some of the tree-ferns, as of cyathea medullaris in New Zealand, and alsophila spinulosa in India. The young and tender fronds of some F. are occasionally used as pot-herbs in the High lands of Scotland, Norway, the Himalaya, etc. The fronds are generally mucilaginous, slightly aromatic and astringent. Those of some species of maidenhair (q.v.) are used for making capillaire; whilst the bitter and astringent root-stocks of some F. are occa sionally used in medicine, as those of the male fern (see FERN, MALE) and the Peruvian polypodium caliguak, particularly as anthelmintics. The fronds of a few species are delightfully fragrant.—The cultivation of F. is now in many places successfully conducted on a somewhat extensive scale, both in the open air and in hot-houses; and to such an extent has the occupation of fern-collecting reached, that many excellent treatises on this subject alone have been written and elaborately illustrated. Amongst others, we may mention British Ferns (1.9.), published by Routledge, London, as an excellent handbook, while the magnificent nature-printed work, published 2 vols., royal 8vo, by Henry Bradbury, supplies all needful information. Wardian cases, filled with them, have also become common, and are most pleasing ornaments of apartments. The principal species will be noticed under their particular heads.