The herball or Generall historie of plantes. Gathered by Iohn Gerarde of London Master in Chirurgerie very much enlarged and amended by Thomas Iohnson citizen and apothecarye of London

¶ The Description.

1 THe male Ferne bringeth forth presently from the root broad leaues and rough, some∣what hard, easie to be broken, of a light greene colour, and strong smell, more than a cubit long, spred abroad like wings, compounded as it were of a great number stan∣ding vpon a middle rib, euerie one whereof is like a feather, nicked in the edges, and on the backe∣side are sprinkled as it were with a very fine earthy-coloured dust or spots, which many rashly haue taken for seed: the root consisteth of a number of tufts or threds, and is thicke and blacke, and is without stalke and seed, and altogether barren.

‡ Filicis (vulgo) maris varietates & differentiae. Differences of the male Ferne.

I haue obserued foure sorts of Ferne, by most writers esteemed to be the male Ferne of Dioscorides: by Anguillara, Gesner, Caesalpinus, and Clusius, accounted to be the famale, and so indeed doe I thinke them to be, though I call them the male, with the multitude. If you looke on these Fernes according to their seuerall growths and ages, you may make many more sorts of them than I haue done; which I am afraid hath beene the occasion of describing more sorts than indeed there are in nature. These descriptions I made by them when they were in their perfect growths.

1 Filix mas ramosa pinnulis dentatis.

The roots are nothing but an aboundance of small blacke hairy strings, growing from the lower parts of the maine stalkes (for stalkes I will call them) where those stalkes are ioyned together. At the beginning of the Spring you may perceiue the leaues to grow forth of their folding clu∣sters, couered with brownish scales at the superficies of the earth, very 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ioyned together: a young plant hath but a few leaues; an old one, ten, twelue, or more: each stalke at his lower end neere the ioyning to his fellowes, at his first appearing, before he is an inch long hauing some of those blacke fibrous roots for his sustenance. The leaues being at their full growth hath each of them a three-fold diuision, as hath that Ferne which is commonly called the female: the maine stalke, the side branches growing from him, and the nerues growing on those side branches bea∣ring the leaues: the maine stalke of that plant I describe was fully foure foot long (but there are vsually from one foot to soure in length) full of those brownish scales, especially toward the root, firme, one side flat, the rest round, naked fully one and twenty inches, to the first paire of side bran∣ches. The side branches, the longest being the third paire from the root, were nine inches long, and shorter and shorter towards the top, in number about twenty paire; for the most part towards the root they grow by couples, almost opposite, the neerer the top the further from opposition: the nerues bearing the leaues, the longest were two inches and a quarter long, and so shorter and shorter toward the tops of the side branches; about twentie in number on each side of the longest side branch. The leaues grow for the most part by couples on the nerue, eight or nine paire on a nerue; each leafe being gashed by the sides, the gashes ending with sharpe points, of a deep green on the vpper side, on the vnder side paler, and each leafe hauing two rowes of dusty red scales, of a browne or blackish colour: toward the top of the maine stalke those side branches change into nerues, bearing only the leaues. When the leaues are at their full growth, you may see in the mid∣dest of them at their roots the said scaly folding cluster; and as the old leaues with their blacke threddy roots wholly perish, they spring vp; most yeares you may finde many of the old leaues greene all the Winter, especially in warme places. This groweth plentifully in the boggy sha∣dowie moores neere Durford Abbey in Sussex, and also on the moist shadowie rockes by Maple∣durham in Hampshire, neere Peters-field; and I haue found it often on the dead putrified bodies and stems of old rotten okes, in the said moores; neere the old plants I haue obserued verie many small yong plants growing, which came by the falling of the seed from those dusty scales: for I beleeue all herbes haue seeds in themselues to produce their kindes, Gen. 1. 11. & 12.

The three other haue but a twofold diuision, the many stalks and the nerues bearing the leaues. The roots of them all are blacke fibrous threds like the first, their maine stalks grow many thicke and close together at the root, as the first doth: the difference is in the fashion of their leaues, and manner of growing, and for distinctions sake I haue thus called them:

2 Filix mas non ramosa pinnulis latis densis minutim dentatis.

The leaues are of a yellowish greene colour on both sides, set very thicke and close together on

the nerue, that you cannot see betweene them, with maruellous small nickes by their sides, and on their round tops: each leafe hath also two rowes of dusty seed scales; the figures set forth by Lo∣bel, Tabern. and Gerard, vnder the title of Filix mas, do well resemble this Ferne. This growes plen∣tifully in most places in shadowie woods and copses.

3 Filix mas non ramosa pinnulis angustis, raris, profunde dentatis.

The leaues are of a deepe greene, not closely set together on the the nerue, but you may far off see betwixt them, deeply indented by the sides, ending with a point not altogether sharpe: each leafe hath also two rowes of dusty seed scales. I haue not seene any figure well resembling this plant. This groweth also in many places in the shade.

4 Filix mas non ramosa pinnulis latis auriculatis spinosis.

The leaues are of a deeper greene than either of the two last described, placed-on the nerue not very close together, but that you may plainly see between them; each leafe (especially those next the stalke) hauing on that side farthest off the stalk a large eare or outgrowing ending, with a sharp pricke like a haire, as doth also the top of the leafe: some of the sides of the leaues are also nicked, ending with the like pricke or haire. Each leafe hath two rowes of dusty seed scales. This I take to be Filix mas aculeat a maior Bauhini. Neither haue I seene any figure resembling this plant. It grow∣eth abundantly on the shadowie moist rockes by Maple-durham neere Peters-field in Hampshire. Iohn Goodyer. Iuly 4. 1633. ‡

2 The female Ferne hath neither floures nor seed, but one only stalke, chamfered, something edged, hauing a pith within of diuers colours, the which being cut aslope, there appeareth a certain forme of a spred-Eagle: about this stand very many leaues which are winged, and like to the leaues of the male Ferne, but lesser: the root is long and blacke, and creepeth in the ground, being now and then an inch thicke, or somewhat thinner. This is also of a strong smell, as is the male.