Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1895-09-12
The picKsoNIAN FERN.
Variety Widely Distributed In North
Amcrioa.

America.
When Thoreau wrote Mature made
ferns for pure leaves to show what she
could do in that line" he doubtless
has the Diclssonian fern in mine 1t
was one of his favorites, and is often
mentioned in his journals. Other
writers on oat-of-door topics seldom
mention this fern, although IL is one
that we should ma turally expect to find
mentioned wherever mountain scenery
Is described. Those who have seen the
Dicksonia in its native haunts will
readily agree that its beauty is not ex-
aggerated; il is doubtless our most
beautiful fern. Others may surpass it
In stature, but none can equal II in del
icacy and gracefulness.
What the braclen is to English
moors, the Dicksonian fern is to the
mountains of northeastern America.
Although it is to be found growing In
the thickets and woods of our low
lands, it can only be seen at its best
amid the wilderness and granduer OF
the mountain solitudes. Here 1t at
once becomes noticeable--a distinct
feature of the landscape. Slightly
changing Scott's lines to the lady fern,
we may well say: aslH
Where the copse wood Is the groenest,
Where the fountain glistens shecnest,
Where the mountains dew lies longest
There Dicksonia is strongest
Eaxx fnrpc talya cpn1, lat
session of the soil. Many large areas
on the mountains are almost given up
to it. For miles upon miles in all ci-
rcctions 1T is spread, the principal un-
dergrowth in open woods adding its
share to the tangle of brush and briar
in the thiclSets, and fringing every
rock and bowlder in the mountain
pastures AS our eyes wander over
such scene the old poet Twomley's
stanza comes into mind:
Oh then, most gracefully they wave
In the forest like sea,
And dear rs they are beautiful
Are these fern leaves to me.
The Dicksona is often called the
fne-haired mountain fern, its name
particularly appropriate. Another
of its common names is hay-scented or
sweet-sccnted fern, given in allusion
to the fact that the foliage when
bruised gives off n strong, sweetish
odor, akin to the smell of ncw-mown
hay. The fragrance is frequently no.
tlced as one walks through the ferny
dells This should be the true 'sweet
fern"
The root stock of the mountain fern
is slender and creeps extensively, send
ing up its handsome fronds at short
intervals all summer. These are
lanceolate or spear-shaped in out
line, and apparently endlessly divided.
In reality, each frond consists OF
about twenty-five pairs OF pinnae,
which gradually decrease in size as
they approach the apex Each pima
is divided into nearly fifteen pairs OF
pinnuels, and the latter are again di-
vidcd into many lobes, which are
toothed at the apex.
The under side of the frond is mi
nutely hairy and glandular, the latter
organs doubtless producing the pecul-
lar odor of the crushed frond. There
is no noticeable difference between the
fertile and sterile fronds of this spe.
cies; indeed, the sori are so small that
one has to look rather closely to see
them at all, and magnifier of some
kind is necessary to show them to per.
lection. Then it is seen that a reflexed
toothlet of the ultimate segmcnts, us
ually on the upper side of each lobe, is
holding fast tiny green cup,in which
the spore cases are piled.
The genus to which the Dicksona
belongs was named in honor of James
Dickson, an English botanist. There
is but one species in North America
and this is found only in suitable stu
ations, from Canada to Tennessee, and
from New England to Minnesota
There are upward of fifty species o.
this genus scattered throughout the
world, principally in warmer coun
tries. The majority of them are
aborcscent, or tree ferns. One of tn,
tree ferns most commonly seen in cul
tivation belongs to this family, and il
called Dicksonia Antarctica. Popular
Science Monthly.