_Osmunda regalis._ There is great diversity of opinion upon the derivation of the name Osmunda. The name is thought to be of Saxon origin, and possibly was given to the Fern in honour of a personage who bore the name of Osmund. Osmunda was one of the titles of the great god Thor. In other quarters the name is said to be compounded of the two words os, “a house,” and _mund_, “peace.” Finally, a pretty story associates the name Osmunda with a certain Osmund, a ferryman, who, to hide his daughter from marauding Danes, placed her amongst the great clumps of the Royal Fern which grew so plentifully by the riverside. The specific name _regalis_ is simply Latin for “royal,” and is an apt reference to the noble proportions of this Fern. [Illustration: Osmunda regalis. The Royal Fern.] The Royal Fern has a sturdy tufted root-stock which in an old example may well be one or two feet in height. From the crown of the root-stock arise the fronds, which are of a yellow-green colour when they are young. The stipes is about the same length as the leafy portion, and the fronds themselves often rise to a great height. Cases are on record where, the plant being in a very damp situation, the fronds have been as much as twelve feet in height. Average specimens would range from three to six feet. The fronds are twice pinnate, the pinnules being oblong with uncut edges. Some of the fronds are barren and never bear any sori. In the case of the fertile fronds only the upper portion produces the clusters of spore cases. Here the leafy portion of the pinnules is very much contracted, so that little or no green is visible. The sori are quite naked, no indusia being present at any time. A notable feature of the sporangia is that they split up into two valves when about to burst, and are not provided with the elastic ring (_annulus_) which assists in the rupture of the capsules in the case of most ferns. That the pinnules which bear the sori are exactly comparable to the leafy portion is often very plain. Here and there on a plant it is possible to find fertile examples which have developed partly in a barren, and partly in a fertile manner. The Royal Fern is essentially a plant of the marshland. It never grows happily in dry or elevated situations. It is perhaps to be found at its best growing by the side of some river or stream. The Royal Fern has been found in many parts of the United Kingdom, though the plant suffers much from the depredations of trippers. Most fern-lovers know of places where this handsome species grows in abundance, but they wisely keep such knowledge to themselves. In the garden the Royal Fern grows well, but it must not suffer from lack of water, or it will prove but a poor subject. The fronds of the Royal Fern die down at the coming of the frost, and the young growth does not put in an appearance until the late spring. CHAPTER X FOUR CURIOUS FERNS