As has been indicated, we may look for the One-Sided Filmy Fern in exactly similar situations to those which suit the Tunbridge Filmy Fern. The former species is said to be more common in Scotland and Ireland than the latter. The One-Sided Filmy Fern is, of course, an evergreen. CHAPTER V THE BRACKEN FERN AND TWO INTERESTING SPECIES Many members of the Fern tribe are of a retiring disposition, and to find them we must search in out-of-the-way corners. This cannot be said, however, of the leading subject under discussion in this chapter, for of all native ferns there is certainly none with a wider distribution than the Bracken. As one of the few ferns not needing a moist situation, the Bracken is able to make itself at home almost anywhere, save perhaps in the vicinity of large manufacturing towns. The sub-family Pterideæ to which the Bracken belongs has not a large number of representatives in the United Kingdom. In the Ribbon Ferns and the Maidenhairs of our greenhouses we have evidence that, as far as the world at large is concerned, the Pterideæ are very numerous. _Pteris aquilina._ The generic name is derived from the Greek word _pteron_, “a wing,” and the specific name comes from the Latin _aquila_, “an eagle.” The Bracken Fern. [Illustration: Pteris aquilina. The Bracken Fern.] The height and general outline of the Bracken Fern varies enormously. On exposed hillsides the plant may be barely a foot in height, with leaves correspondingly small. In the sheltered wood it is not an uncommon thing to discover specimens which may be taller than a man. In such cases the fronds may measure as much as four feet at their widest parts. The fronds of the Bracken start to develop—in the South of England at any rate—about April and are fully expanded by Midsummer. During September they turn a beautiful golden brown and finally die altogether, although the leaves do not decay quickly. The Bracken is, of course, a very strong-growing perennial, and the plant has a wonderful system of underground rhizomes. In a strong-growing specimen these rhizomes may be as thick as a finger and are very succulent. They are of a jet-black colour, and at the base of each frond there are sent out a quantity of fibrous roots. The fronds arise from either side of the rhizome, and often not more than one or two are developed in a single season. By examining the rhizome it is possible to discover the buds containing the new fronds for two years ahead.