B R IST L E FERN.
T r ic h o m a n e s s p e c io s u m .—Willdenow.
Trichomanes bremsetum.—Brown, Smith, Gray, Francis, &c.
Trichomanes pyxidiferum.—Berkenhout, (?) Hudson. (?)
Trichomanes alatum.—Withering.
l o c a l it ie s .
E n g la n d .■)
"Wa l e s . V Unknown.
S cotland. J
I r e l a n d . . County Wicklow, Hermitage Glen, and Powerscourt Waterfall, in both instances
very sparingly: a t neither of these localities has more than a single plant been
discovered, and fronds of these I have never seen. I report the localities on the
authority of Mr. Mackay. County Cork, a t Glendine, near Youghal, in luxuriant
profusion; county Kerry, a t Turk Waterfall, near Turk Lake, Killarney, also in
profusion.
T h i s is one of the most interesting and most local of our
British Ferns. I have introduced two localities recorded hy
Mackay, but I have never seen a single frond from either of
th em ; 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
botamst 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 D ublin; 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, hy Mr. J. Drummond;” and “ near Killarney,
in sCTeral situations, hy 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’BuUivan and Derrycunehy, hut 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 riv e r; 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 he the case when I paid it
this visit, is rather an exciting and tickhsh operation: you are
so close to the fall as to be covered hy 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 completely
clothed with Trichomanes, the dark green fronds hanging
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