Note 92:1 — FERN.
Reading edition
It probably was the real belief, as we find it so often mentioned as a positive fact; thus Browne—
"Poor silly fool! thou striv'st in vain to know If I enjoy or love where thou lov'st so; Since my affection ever secret tried Blooms like the Fern, and seeds still unespied."
Poems, p. 26 (Sir E. Brydges' edit. 1815).