Copy 1

A history of British ferns / By Edward Newman, F.L.S.

  • Edward Newman
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A history of British ferns / By Edward Newman, F.L.S. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    them; and if the plant still exist in either of these localities, it must be in very small quantities, or it could scarcely have escaped the lynx-eyed botanists from Dublin, who have been almost perpetually hunting for it. I would not recommend a botanist from England to waste a single hour in seeking this fern in the county Wicklow. ‘The locality at Glendine was discovered by Mr. Ball, of Dublin; and he describes the plant as growing here in great luxuriance, a statement in which the fronds in his possession amply bear him out. Mr. Francis, in his ‘ Analysis,” states that it was “ once found in Ballinhasy Glen, near Cork, by Mr. J. Drummond ;” and “ near Killarney, in several situations, by Mr. W. Wilson.” I could wish the precise localities had been published. I hunted the waterfalls all round Killarney with great diligence, particularly those of O'Sullivan and Derryecunehy, but without any success, and it was only at the often recorded habitat of Turk that I found the slightest trace of Trichomanes. I here found it to the left of the seat whence tourists take the first view of the fall. About fifteen yards higher up the stream, the rocky bank on the left projects into the river; this projection is only to be approached by leaping from stone to stone along the bed of the torrent, which, in times of flood, as happened to be the case when I paid it this visit, is rather an exciting and ticklish operation: you are so close to the fall as to be covered by the spray, and the roar is almost deafening. Having reached the projection, the botanist must ascend it by means of the roots and branches, a feat very readily performed; and there is a little platform at the top, where he can stand very comfortably ; and while so standing, he will find the rocky bank just on a level with his eyes com- pletely clothed with Trichomanes, the dark green fronds hang- ing heavily down, dripping with wet, and, if the sun happen to shine, begemmed with sparkling drops: it is a beautiful sight, and well worth the wet stockings, which, when the flood is on, form a necessary accompaniment of the expedition. The scenery around is well worthy of the rare fern which it cherishes in its bosom. The roots of Trichomanes speciosum, as well as the rhizoma, a good deal resemble in habit those of Polypodium vulgare ; the rhizoma is black, velvety, tough, and remarkably long; some which I pulled out must have been many yards in length: it formed a kind of net work on the perpendicular surface of a M