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  • A dandelion (Taraxacum species): flowering plant growing with young ferns. Watercolour.
  • An analysis of the British ferns and their allies / by G.W. Francis.
  • Our native ferns, or, A history of the British species and their varieties / by E.J. Lowe.
  • A young woman carrying a bundle of ferns on her back. Engraving by Edward Burton after Robert Herdman.
  • Tree-ferns in an Australian forest with two hunters in the distance. Engraving by E. Brandard, c. 1873, after N. Chevalier.
  • Athyrium niponicum (Mett.) Hance var. pictum (Maxwell) Fraser-Jenk. Woodsiaceae. Japanese Painted fern. Hardy fern. Distribution: Japan. Young fronds are boiled and eaten in Japan. However after the discovery of thaiminases in certain ferns Pteridum aquilum (bracken), Marsilea drummondii and Cheilanthes sieberi cautions are given regarding the risk of thiaminase in all ferns. It can be mostly removed by boiling, but otherwise causes vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency and beriberi in a matter of weeks. Eating Bracken fern also causes cancer, as do the spores, but I could find no report of other ferns being toxic. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Fern of Benzimidazole
  • Four fern fronds, one of a hart's tongue fern (Asplenium species). Chromolithograph after a nature print.
  • A fern frond, possibly of the male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas). Colour nature print, c. 1860.
  • Dryopteris filix-mas (Male fern)
  • Dryopteris filix-mas (Male fern)
  • Dryopteris filix-mas (Male fern)
  • Three species of fern, including a maidenhair fern (Adiantum species) and a clubmoss. Colour nature print by F. Branson, 1850.
  • Three fern fronds. Chromolithograph after a nature print.
  • Three fern fronds. Chromolithograph after a nature print.
  • A fern with an oval space framed by the fronds. Nature print.
  • A fern frond, leaves and grasses framing a rectangular space. Nature print.
  • A hart's tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium) growing on a pile of mossy rocks. Watercolour.
  • A fern with an associated insect and its abdominal segments. Coloured etching, c. 1830.
  • A small fern with an associated beetle and its anatomical segments. Coloured etching, c. 1831.
  • The male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas): fronds and part of rhizome. Colour nature print by A. Auer, c. 1853.
  • Maori warrior lying dead in the fern near Gate Pa, 30 April 1864. Watercolour by H.G. Robley, 1864.
  • A fern, a moss, a fungus and an alga: all with anatomical details. Coloured etching by J. Pass, c. 1799.
  • A young child, sitting with a dog, watching her parent, a fern-cutter, at work. Engraving by G. Lazaretti, 1802, after R. Westall.
  • Human saliva displaying ferning. During the fertile phase of a woman's menstrual cycle an oestrogen surge causes salt crystals to appear in the saliva. When viewed under the microscope the crystalline salt structure resembles fern leaves and can be used as an indication of a woman's increased chances of conceiving at this time.
  • Human saliva displaying ferning. During the fertile phase of a woman's menstrual cycle an oestrogen surge causes salt crystals to appear in the saliva. When viewed under the microscope the crystalline salt structure resembles fern leaves and can be used as an indication of a woman's increased chances of conceiving at this time.
  • Human saliva displaying ferning. During the fertile phase of a woman's menstrual cycle an oestrogen surge causes salt crystals to appear in the saliva. When viewed under the microscope the crystalline salt structure resembles fern leaves and can be used as an indication of a woman's increased chances of conceiving at this time.
  • Adiantum venustum D.Don Adiantaceae (although placed by some in Pteridaceae). Himalayan maidenhair fern. Small evergreen hardy fern. Distribution: Afghanistan-India. It gains its vernacular name from the wiry black stems that resemble hairs. Adiantum comes from the Greek for 'dry' as the leaflets remain permanently dry. The Cherokee used A. pedatum to make their hair shiny. Henry Lyte (1576), writing on A. capillus-veneris, notes that it restores hair, is an antidote to the bites of mad dogs and venomous beasts
  • Still life with a ledger, a skull and other objects. Oil painting, 1766.
  • Still life with a ledger, a skull and other objects. Oil painting, 1766.