The Pteridomania Epidemic

In the mid-19th century, there was a right fern craze in England. Not only were ferns present on pottery, textiles, wallpaper and glass, but you would be hard pressed to find a drawing room that did not contain at least one such plant. Charles Kinglsey, in his novel Glaucus even made up a special word for the fern craze – pteridomania (which to me sounds oddly like something fairly omnious and certainly contagious).

Generally, a British drawing room in the Victorian era did not offer an ideal environment for plants (it may be questioned if it offered a very favorable environment for any living thing, but that is not for this post to discuss). The room would be dark, with curtains drawn to keep the light from harming the delicate textiles of the room and also, to keep the ever-present dust and dirt out. Only hardy plants, such as ferns, could be expected to live in such a hostile place.

A lot of the blame for this trend can likely be put on the shoulders of Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, a doctor and hobby botanist who in the 1830′s discovered that his ferns thrived when placed in closed glass domes. Dr. Ward published his experiment and followed it up with a book in 1842, On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases. Thanks to this invention, the chances increased for plants to survive in rooms where gas fumes and coal dust abounded.

The Wardian cases were soon found in every drawing room – ranging from simple glass domes to elaborate semi-palaces of crystal. Sometimes ferns were also cultivated outside, in fern houses and fernaries.

All in all, there was a very satisfying seriousness to keeping and collecting ferns. The Wardian cases surely added an aspect of botanical experimenting that meant that a serious-minded young lady might indulge herself in fern collection. There was also a definite appeal in the fern’s looks. It was not frivolous and, frankly, not very pretty, which again ensured that fern collecting could be put down as a serious hobby. At the same time, the fern has a sort of almost exotic charm, reminiscing of palm trees.

A lady of some ambition would naturally not be satisfied with just one fern – or indeed just any old fern. No, she educated herself, perhaps by reading the bestselling The Fern Garden by Shirley Hibberd. Much like later card-collecting children, she did perhaps secretly long to catch them all. In fact, the fern mania led to certain species becoming extinct while others just barely survived.

In time, the craze would pass, but it forms a very particular and indeed, unmistakably Victorian phenomena.