American Fern Journal __ Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY EDITORS R. C. BENEDICT E. J. WINSLOW Cc. A. WEATHERBY VOLUME XII —!4 a ee a ea ae ole eee AUBURNDALE, ! MASS. JUL 3 ia : { Pres Shorii ara | RoE NU anh CONTENTS Votume 12, Numser 1, Paces 1-32, Issuep June 15, 1922 Botrychium apg onmerercge ium in New Jersey - .Bayard Long 1 Is oaphbos! dissectum a a naa P ivivecs afer beats On a supposed Hybed in Equisetum...... C. A. Weatherby 12 Reminiscences of a Fern Lover............ A. Marshall 16 Experiments in siabcratiasnne PORE shoo re E. H. Clarkson 19 Civstoutarte faulbdera Berek. ooo ees oes ve ok W. R. McColl 22 Lycopodium complanatum, var. flabelliforme with 25 spikes M. A. Marshall 24 ‘American Fern ociety .: 654... ics be ee ee ee ees 24 spree 12, NumBer 2, Paces 33-68, Issuep Sept. 11, 1922 Gam s for Ferns and Wild Flowers...... B.C, — 33 A - Collecting Trin Oi Cube. ois os W. 46 Osmunda Clayto sors forma Mackiana....2. M. Kittredge 53 TLSOOGNG POrM: RAUTALORG i occ aes oh eo le een ge es 58 Polypodium on tl as an epiphyte.......... R. C. Benedict 63 Asplenium i be va North Carolina...... L. P. Breckenridge 64: Amotican Pern SOCeLy i015 6. sf bee Ree ee eee 66 Votume 12, NumBer 3, Paces 69-100, Issuep Dec. 13, 1922 Southern California whnicat sak Hy A. Munz & I. M. Johnston 69 R. Bened Ferns as House singons ay ieee arses heey te eee C. act «677 Variations in Pere 40 0G 3 aes R. C. Benedict 93 Ferns of Wo wer i CO es Pen ea he A.W. Upham 96 Ferns - the News “What Ferns should be protected in your "we g CAE Saag rh can ees na ears Geir ue ed Soar a R. C. Benedict rs Votume 12, Numper 4, Paces 101-138, Issuep Dee. 30, 1922 Southern California benicn ss eee! oe & I. M. Johnston 101 Notes on the Fern Leaf Industry......... fie ve Thommen 122 The Bracken as a poisonous : Pak oe Ee «Co Nels on 125 Botrychium obliquum, var. Fina on in Vermont. L. A. Wheeler 127 Athyrium angustifolium at Hatley, P. Q..... J. low 128 Adiantum pedatum, var. aleuticum in New England _ g 128 A Campaign for wild Plant Conservation..... R. C. Benedict 131 American Fern ar en ene er re ee ee 133 Tides ta Vol Ve ee i a eee : 135 Vol, 12 January-March, 1922 American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Se ee, ae, eee eee eee ee Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY aa * peees } EDITORS R. C. BENEDICT ; E, J. WINSLOW Cc. A, WEATHERBY a : CONTENTS ; ' Botrychium matricariaefolium in New sooth ayarp Loxa 1 : , oe > ieee 4.3. BT RS ier a tel, CNR NRe AE is ete On a supposed Hybrid in Equisetum. .C. A. Waves ie Reminiscences of a Fern Lover..........M. A. MarsHaLh z rengrereae mya cae ae ee Che American Hern Society Council for 1922 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR WILLIAM R. MAxon, Washington, D.C. - - President Miss M. A. MARSHALL, Still River, Mass, - Vice. oe S. H. BURNHAM, Ithaca, N. Y. Sei ie tary J. G, UNDERWOOD, Hartland, VE. oe ee eee OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS RALPH C. BENEDI in - = meet = i Brooklyn, N. — E. J. WInsLow - Auburndale, C. A. WEATHERBY - - - - East Hartford, eosin An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns, Subscription, $1.25 per foreign, 10 cents extra; sent free to members of the AMERICAN FERN SOG (ann $1.50; life will be fen $25.00). Extracted reprints, if ordered in advance, wil be furnished a uthors atcost. They should be ordered Volume I, eens $3.00; other volumes $1.25 each. car, back numbers 35 cents each, Volume I, numbers | and 3 cannot = except with complete volume. tter for eastern sete a addressed toR. C. BENEDICT, 322 Fat 19th Street, Brooklyn, N Subscriptions, bes for ae aiiene and other business communications should be addressed to EF. J. Winstow, Auburn- dale, Mass. cigtank ea OF THE ee L. S. Horpxin Kent, Ohio. American Fern Journal Vol. 12 JANUARY-MARCH 1922 Ne. 1s Occurrence of Botrychium matricariaefolium in New Jersey BAYARD LONG The meager general knowledge on the occurrence of Botrychium matricariaefolium! in New Jersey andthe consequent caution with which the species is accredited to the state in the most recent work covering this area— Mr. Norman Taylor’s Flora of the Vicinity of New York— suggests the propriety of placing on record a more de- tailed and convincing statement of the verity of the reports published there, together with an account of certain older published records and of a goodly number of additional stations more recently discovered. There are but these two stations admitted in the Flora of the Vicinity of New York:— “N. J. Cranberry Lake, Sussex Co. oe to Mackenzie); re- ported from near Riddleton, Salem C From the care shown in the form of citation it might he Matricary Grape Fern is currently known in America under three ae eee neglectum Wood, 3 er BARS + ORY 6 | ) Asche Wood i b & Matter entirely too technical to be considered in this p [Vol. 11, No. 4 of the Journat, pages 97-130, plate 2, was issued March 31, 1922.] 1 2 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL readily be conjectured that these records are based upon report alone. It may be stated at once, however, that they are both supported by authentic material. The absence of any reference to the records in Dr. N. L. Britton’s Catalogue of Plants Found in New Jersey attracts attention—especially in a work, such as Taylor’s, giving careful consideration to all published records. They must have been omitted surely through over- sight or accident. There are three records for the species published here in 1889:— “Morris: Big Swamp, Madison—F. J. Bumstead. Sussex: Kitta- tinny Mt. near Walpack Centre—Britton & Rusby. Bergen: Tenafly—Leggett.”’ The bases of these records naturally would be searched for in the State Herbarium, built up by Dr. Britton when upon the New Jersey Geological Survey, which is now in the care of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at New Brunswick. A recently obtained opportunity to examine the Botrychiums in this valuable collection—for which my thanks are due to the courtesy of Dr. Melville T. Cook—makes it possible to give detailed information about two of these records. The Britton & Rusby material consists of a single specimen. This is a complete plant, in full maturity, about 14 em. high, with very reduced frond. The sterile segment is lanceolate, shallowly few-lobed and is borne near the summit of the plant, closely clasping the fertile segment. This is the form that has been named B. tenebrosum A. A. Eaton—which, if not given distinctive rank, is to be referred, apparently, to B. simplex. The Bumstead record is based upon a sheet of four specimens, three of which are characteristic B. matricariaefolium but the fourth is B. angustisegmentum. The label reads: “Big Swamp, Madison, N. J., July 1866.” It would seem not unlikely that both species BoTRYCHIUM MATRICARIAEFOLIUM IN New JERSEY 3 were collected together.2, Unfortunately the search for ~ Leggett material from Tenafly has been unsuccess- r. Britton, who distributed the Leggett Herba- ae fas kindly written me that it is not in the collec- tion at the New York Botanical Garden, though many of Leggett’s specimens are preserved there. He would have supposed that it had been sent to the New Jersey Geological Survey, but if not there, his only and final suggestion is that it may have gone to some private collection. Of Taylor’s citations, the Riddleton record* represents the first known station for the species in southern New Jersey and for more than a decade the only station in this portion of the state. There are two sheets of specimens of the plant in the Herbarium of the Phila- delphia Academy, obtained at several times between 1894 and 1896 by different collectors. The material ranges from tiny plants of 4-5 cm. to well developed specimens of 20 cm. height. It appears that the plant was discovered at Riddleton by Mr. C. D. Lippincott of Swedesboro, who at that time was doing much original exploration in this part of New Jersey. This interesting discovery was at once shared with the Philadelphia botanists, and collections, made by Stewardson Brown, Joseph Crawford, and C. D. Lippincott, are preserved in the Academy Herbarium. The finest is that made by Mr. Lippincott July 4, 1896, a portion of which is also here is, however, an added complication, which may be put upon isplaced an t. R sti. i from other collections to occur in Morris County and the two species, as is well known, not infrequently grow together—B. angustisegmentum several specimens from the Herbarium of the New Jersey Geological Survey I have had the corroboration of Mr. Weatherby. 3 Keller & Brown, FI. Phila. & Vic. 8 (1905). 4 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL contained in his private herbarium at Swedesboro, New Jersey. Since then the plant apparently has been lost sight of at Riddleton. In the spring of 1917 Mr. Lippincott guided me to the exact spot but the species was not found. The station, immediately south of the railroad stop, is in low woods (characteristically of Pin Oak) with very thin humus overlying a clayey, gravelly subsoil, and probably is continuously wet during the growing season of the grape fern. Ophio- glossum vulgatum formerly grew in this same spot, and as it has since been found in two other nearby areas at Riddleton, probably the grape fern also will be re- discovered in time. Not until the summer of 1905, apparently, was the species again seen in the state. From the energetic collecting of the late Professor C. 8S. Williamson of Girard College, Philadelphia, this unpublished record is to be obtained. At the Philadelphia Academy there is a sheet of two specimens bearing the label: ‘‘Sanator- ium, Bethesda, Morris County, N. J., Aug. 2, 1905.” In his own large private collection, now incorporated in the Herbarium of the Academy, there is additional material of the same collection. Taylor’s record for the northernmost county of the state follows here, chronologically. Through the kind- ness of the collector, Mr. Kenneth K. Mackenzie, I have been enabled to examine the basis of this record. The label reads: “Rich soil in rocky woods, Cranberry Lake, Sussex Co., N. J., June 9, 1907.”". Mr. Mackenzie tells me that a single plant was found in the woods bordering the lake, about a mile south of the railroad station. The specimen was verified by Miss Margaret Slosson several years ago at the New York Botanical Garden and is in the herbarium of Mr. Mackenzie at Maplewood, New Jersey. During the Botanical Symposium, held at Newton in July 1907 the species was found at least once. In Dr. BorTRYCHIUM MATRICARIAEFOLIUM IN NEW JERSEY 5 Philip Dowell’s account‘ of the meeting he notes it re- ported July 5, which day was spent on a trip to Swarts- wood Lake. There is material consisting of five good specimens at the Philadelphia Academy, labelled, in the hand of Mr. 8. 8. Van Pelt (who wrote the labels of most of the Symposium specimens deposited at Phila- delphia) ‘Hillside between Swartswood and Newton, Sussex Co., N. J., July 5, 1907, S. Brown.” The plant seems not to have been collected again till 1913, when Mr. Harold Pretz and myself, on June 15, each succeeded in discovering a single specimen during the day’s collecting along the Pequest River, southwest of Springdale, in Sussex County. Mr. Pretz’s material, in his own herbarium at Allentown, Pa., is from “ woods bordering wooded swamp.” The data with my own specimen (probably from the same general vicinity) indicate ‘‘dryish maple woods”—the station coming to mind as a well-drained, gentle slope, with scanty under- growth, lying between limestone cliffs and a wooded swamp. Both specimens are finely developed ones, my own measuring 26 em above the ground. This same year and month Mr. Mackenzie continued the precedent of a single plant to a collection in discovering a specimen along the Delaware River, a couple of miles above Water Gap station. The material, in the collector’s herbarium, is labelled: “Dry slopes above Water Gap, Warren Co., N. J., June 23, 1913.’ It has been examined by Miss Slosson. During the explorations for Dr. Witmer Stone’s The Plants of Southern New Jersey it had been realized what a host of characteristically upland species were waiting to be discovered in the northern corner of Burlington County. Here, previously to 1911, had been found such unusual plants for a coastal plain area as Ostrya virginiana, Hydrangea arborescens, Chenopodium Bos- 4 Dowell, Torreya, vii, 167 (1907). 6 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL cianum, Viola rotundifolia, and Galium lanceolatum. Consequently, after more or less continuous work in this region, the detection of B. matricariaefolium here in 1915 at two localities had lost somewhat the element of surprise which it would have occasioned some years earlier. The discovery of the plant May 12 along Blacks Creek, southeast of Bordentown, is connected with an incident familiar enough to all collectors but never becoming commonplace. I had been collecting along the steep slopes bordering the creek, and desiring a comfortable spot to put in press an armfull of various specimens, I climbed to the crest of the slope, and on a grassy spot, under scattered trees, by a rill, sat down, opened my press and found the grape fern almost under my hand. Search as I might, however, only two small specimens could be found. The other station is along the Delaware River at Kinkora. There are several streamlets here which have cut narrow gullies through the steep terraces of the Delaware. Exploration, on several occasions, of the rich wooded slopes of these gullies has invariably brought to light upland species of special interest to south- ern New Jersey. To an already considerable list was added B. matricariaefolium on May 27. The underly- ing soil of these slopes is clayey and the rich humus from an abundant vegetation often slides from the steeper portions and collects on the more level spots. In such a habitat was found a small colony of the grape fern. Most of the specimens were of medium size, the largest being 15 em. high. The botanizing in early spring often consists more of exploration than of actual collecting, and at least a cursory examination is frequently given many a spot which later in the season would escape notice. The green slopes of an old pit near Sewell, in Gloucester County, brought to recollection, on a wintery day in BoTRYCHIUM MATRICARIAEFOLIUM IN NEW JERSEY 7 April 1916, the long-standing query whether the green sands of the Marl Belt do not harbor some peculiar species. This glauconite exposure, on being followed, led into moist, rich, marly woods along a rill tributary to Mantua Creek. The very first discovery was the pale- green, closely folded-up fronds of B. matricariaefolium, standing out conspicuously above the brown woodland carpet of dead leaves. Over a dozen plants had al- ready come to sight, but the tallest had scarcely attain- ed 5 em. and most of those detected were just appearing above the ground. As it seemed not unlikely that the colony might prove to be larger than was then apparent, it was again visited, on Memorial Day, and found to cover a much greater area and to contain about three times as many plants. Excellent specimens as tall as 25 cm. were collected this date, May 30. There are few places in southern New Jersey more familiar to Philadelphia botanists than Clementon— probably because here in Camden County the edge of the fascinating Pine Barrens approaches nearest to the city. A genuine surprise was experienced in 1919 in finding this grape fern at Clementon in dry, open, sandy thickets on the border of pine woods. By all precedents it should be absent from the Pine Barrens, but the associated Pitch Pine, Sassafras, Sweet Fern and Bracken are the characteristic types of the nearby, undoubted Pine Barrens. However, equally near was a marshy spot of the Middle District® with such characteristic species as Panicum microcarpon, P. clandestinum, Habenaria lacera, and the rare Geum strictum. And moreover, the prevalence of Green Brier about the grape ferns indicated the Middle District. A half- dozen or more plants, appearing like little clenched fists, already had pushed through the loose sand on April 14. When the colony was seen a month later 5See Stone, The Plants of Southern New Jersey. Ann. Rep. N. J. State Mus. 1910, 57 (1912). 8 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL about double the number of plants was found and the largest had become 15 em. tall, with finely developed frond. The most recent discovery of the species, to my knowledge, was made by Mr. Ludlow Griscom, of the American Museum, in company with Mr. Mackenzie. Some scores of plants were found along an old wood- road, grown up with bushes, in the hills along the Delaware River below Dingmans, Sussex County, New Jersey, June 20, 1920. Mr. Mackenzie’s material is of excellent specimens in prime condition, some ap- proaching 30 cm in height—probably as handsome as has ever been collected in the state. A fair distribution is thus outlined for what has been considered one of New Jersey’s rarest fernworts: from the upland regions of northern New Jersey southward through the Middle District of the Coastal Plain into Salem County. Its occurrence further south is by no means improbable but a great number of upland types apparently reach their southern limit in the state in Salem County. Undoubtedly other intervening stations between Dingmans and Riddleton will continue to be discovered, and a greater frequence found in the northern counties. One of the most interesting points, however, which these notes bring forth is the great diversity of habitats shown by the species—ranging from low, wet woods, or rich, rocky woods containing limestone outcrops to dry, sandy thickets. The differences are certainly more obvious than the similarities: in fact, it is difficult to find a point of similarity in the character of the various habitats except that of shade. As was dis- covered in the case of Ophioglossum vulgatum by the symposium in the AMERIcAN Fern J OURNAL, this ally of the Adder’s Tongue likewise not only tolerates, but flourishes under, the most varied conditions. AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VotuME 12, PLaTE 1 PANICLES. BotTrRYCHIUM DISSECTUM WITH THREE FRUITING Is BOTRYCHIUM DISSECTUM A STERILE MuTANT? 9 But when viewed from the standpoint of soil chemistry, possibly a correlation may be found in the apparent diversity of habitats. Dr. Edgar T. Wherry tells me that, in the case of two stations in Vermont which he was able to test, the soil in which the species grew gave a moderately acid reaction. He believes that the soil of the wooded slopes of the Delaware River would give a similar reaction, and suggests that even the Spring- dale station, near limestone cliffs, would probably be of an acid character from the humus in which the plant grows, while the Clementon locality would undoubtedly be acid—and probably of a high grade of acidity. It may thus at least be suggested that, until conclusive work has been done on the species along this line of re- search, B. matricariaefolium probably shows a _pre- ference for acid soils. AcAapEMY oF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA Is Botrychium dissectum a Sterile Mutant? The accompanying illustration of a plant of Botrych- ium dissectum bearing no less than three well-developed fruiting panicles would seem to answer the above ques- tion emphatically in the negative so far as sterility is concerned. Certainly, this individual is doing all that could reasonably be expected of it to avoid that con- dition. Normally, of course, the Botrychiums of the tornatum group fork once near the ground, one branch bearing a sterile and the other a fertile segment. In this case, the forking has been repeated higher up and a secondary fertile branch given off which has _ itself divided just above its base producing two secondary fruiting panicles somewhat smaller than the primary one. Such compound forms are occasionally found in obliquum; I have a specimen collected at South Windsor, Conn., by C. W. Vibert in which the branching exactly 10 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL matches that in the picture. A hasty and far from com- plete search in the literature at hand discloses two records of similar forms in dissectum, one reported by Mrs. Scoullar (Fern Bulletin 16: 85), the other by Mr. Poyser (Fern Bulletin 17: 68). The specimen illustrated was found by Mr. C. C. Deam in Cass Co., Indiana, in Sept., 1921, among the colony of dissectum described by him in the last number of the Journal, and we are indebted to him for the photo- graph and for generously defraying the cost of the plate. To return to the original question, my own experience strongly supports Prof. Hopkins’s opinion (Fern Journal 11: 114) that had Prof. Chamberlain extended his ob- servations over a wider territory, he would have come to quite different conclusions. Indeed, I am confident that had he looked in any large herbarium he would have found plenty of specimens of B. dissectum with well developed sporangia full of spores quite as perfect in appearance as those of obliquum. In my own small collection, I have six sheets of fruiting obliquuwm and two of dissectum, the latter both of a type sufficiently ex- treme so that the question of identity raised by Prof. Hopkins does not concern them. If they are not dis- sectum there is no such thing. The size of the sporangia varies considerably, even on the same plant. The largest happen to be on a specimen of obliquum, but so are the smallest. Those of dissectum fall well within the limits of variation in obliquum. There are some shrunken and apparently abortive sporangia on one specimen of dissectum; but so there are on one of obliquum. Dissectum has numerous spores which, under the micro- scope, appear normal and viable, and are of the same size as those of obliguum and in no way different from them. Is BoTRYCHIUM DISSECTUM A STERILE Mutant? 11 Among the hundreds of living plants I have seen in the field, I have never noticed any tendency to sterility in dissectum. To be sure, I was not looking for it, and one can overlook a good deal when one’s mind is not bent on that particular thing. But it seems unlikely that any general tendency toward sterility in dissectuwm would have escaped the observation of the many botan- ists in the northeastern states who know it well in the field. Mr. Deam has collected a series of small plants of dissectum, and in 1909 Prof. Schnaffner reported in the Ohio Naturalist (Vol. 10, p. 8) the finding of prothallia which were just putting forth their first tiny leaves; and these leaves showed the dissectum character. There is, of course, no absolute proof that these young plants sprang from spores, but it seems most probable that they did; and since at Mr. Deam’s locality, a great deal of dissectum and only one plant of obliquum were found, the probability in that case becomes almost a certainty. I am quite ready to believe that dissectum is only a form of obliguum; I should not be surprised if the same plant were found to produce both types of leaves at different times, as happens in the case of the incised form of the Christmas fern. But I do not believe that dissectum is generally incapable of producing good spores. In regard to the point made by Dr. Benedict (Fern Journal 11: 54), that sterility is often associated with laciniate leaf-forms, it may be noted that the species he cites are not dimorphic like our Botrychium. Would laciniation of the leaf affect the fruiting segment in dimorphic forms? In the Christmas fern which is partially dimorphic, the incised form is commonly more heavily fruited than the typical form. In this species the incised form often, though not always, appears as & response to unfavorable conditions of growth, as when the soil is dried out by the cutting off of woods. Under such circumstances plants are likely to produce unusual 12 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL quantities of seeds or spores, as it were in a supreme effort to insure the perpetuation of the species. But the laciniate forms of cultivated ferns are rather associated with abundant food and excess of vegetative vigor— conditions which always tend to produce sterility. The analogy between B. dissectum and the incised form of the Christmas fern is not perfect—the former, for instance, never, so far as I know, shows any evidence of being a response to environment—but it is perhaps closer than the other.—c. a. w On a Supposed Hybrid in Equisetum. C. A. WEATHERBY. There are certain groups in our flora in which species, otherwise good and generally recognized as such, are connected by puzzling intermediate forms, sometimes in a very complicated manner. In recent years a good deal of work has been directed toward explaining these forms as hybrids of the species between which they fall. Much of this work is highly valuable: it furnishes, not only a reasonable and in several cases practically proved explanation of conditions as we find them, but a means of classification at once elastic and definite enough for all practical purposes. This is very good; but when, as occasionally happens, I find a plant not uncommon in a given region determined as a hybrid between two species, one or both of which are unknown there, I begin to feel that it is possible to have too much of this good thing—that maybe theories of hybridization offer rather too easy a means of disposing of puzzling forms. The immediate occasion of this discourse is a recent experience of mine. In 1915 Miss Ruth Holden pub- lished a study of Equisetum variegatum var. Jesupi! in which, from the facts that its spores were apparently 1 Holden, Ruth, The Anatomy of a hybrid Equisetum. Am. Journ. Bot. 2: 225-233, pls. 5-8. Aug., 1915. A SUPPOSED HyBrID IN EQUISETUM 13 abortive and its characters intermediate between those of typical E. variegatum and E. hyemale, she concluded it to be a hybrid of those two species. So far as I know, there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of Miss Holden’s observations; her conclusions are persuasively and modestly stated; so far as the data given go, her article is convincing. But I recently had occasion to study and map in detail the New England ranges of E. variegatum and its variety Jeswpi; and this work* brought out the remarkable fact that, although the general ranges of the two are, in northeastern North away. The former is known from three stations in the Kennebec valley; the latter has never been found in that valley at all. Only the typical form has been found in northeastern Vermont; only the variety along the shores of Lake Champlain.? The points at which the two approach nearest are Salisbury and New Mil- ford, Conn., 30 miles, and Royalton, Vt., and Summer’s Falls, N. H., 20 miles apart. This evidence of the records can hardly be explained away as due to accidents of collecting. Both plants are rare enough in New England to attract attention wherever they occur and sufficiently different in appearance so that such keen and experienced collectors as Brainerd, Eggleston, Pringle, Fernald and the specialist in Equisetum, A. 2 This Botanical Club, was based primarily on the rich local collections of the Club and those of the Gray Herbarium; but the herbaria of the Boston Society of Natural History, of the Connecticut Botanical Society and of Yale University, several private collections, local floras where available and collectors’ notes made specially for the purpose by members of the ? Mrs. Flynn (Fl. Burlington 5. 1911) records the typical form from lington; but Dr. Blake (Six Weeks’ Botanizing in Vermont. specimens very kindly sent me by Mrs. Flynn prove to be likewise referable to it. 14 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL A. Eaton, would not invariably have failed to get both if they had actually occurred together. And, to cap the climax, the second supposed parent, E. hyemale, var. affine, is unknown from northern Maine. One parent, then, is absent from all the stations for the putative hybrid, and both parents from one station, and that one of the best. Such a situation raises puzzling questions. .How can a plant be a hybrid when it is physically impossible that it should be so? That such a one as the Equisetum in point may be of remote hybrid origin cannot be cer- tainly gainsaid; but, if so, its birth must have taken place very long ago. And a race of venerable age, which. maintains itself, holds its characters and has become established outside the range of its nearest re- latives, is at present a good species or variety, whatever its ultimate origin; to call it otherwise is simply to confuse definitions. Nor can any theory of hybridity explain the consistent occurrence of our Equisetum in regions where one or both of its suspected parents are absent. Differences in soil preference might explain this; but, so far as we know, hybrids share the tastes of their parents in this respect.5 How, on the other hand, can a plant have all but the geographical ear-marks of a hybrid and not be one? Well, it often happens that sterling scientific hypotheses are given, by later scholars, a much wider application than their originators ever claimed for them.* We are wont to smile, nowadays, at the ingenious theories by which some evolutionists of a past generation tried to prove the serviceableness of certain characters to the plants or animals which possessed them. They as- m this point, Kerner von Marilaun, pol Hist. Plants (Oliver’s translation) 2: 588-590, quoted in Fernald, $ in Bull. Vt. Bot. Club 9: 12, 13. April, 1914. ° See, for instance, Wherry, Am. Fern Journ. 10: 52. June, 1920 * Cf. C. C. Nutting in Science N. S. 53: 128. Feb. 11, 1921. Brainerd A supPposeD HyBrip IN EQUISETUM 15 sumed, more or less unconsciously, that every character of a living species must be of benefit to it. They forgot that natural selection would eliminate only those which were actually harmful; neutral ones, neither good nor bad, might, should they chance to arise in nature’s multifarious experimenting, perfectly well survive. May it not be that, in the eager study of genetics since Mendel’s law was rediscovered, we have gone too far— that we are, in the case in point, a little too ready to assume that every plant of intermediate characters must be a hybrid? This would seem to carry with it the further assumption that all variation in related stocks, when it occurs, must be in divergent directions. Yet it seems that, in species which are closely related and must, therefore have had a common progenitor in no very remote past and presumably possess ancestral tendencies in common, variation would be quite as likely (through reversion, if one likes) to proceed to- ward as away from types closely akin. It might con- ceivably produce forms outwardly indistinguishable from blend hybrids: only, they should breed true and the hybrids tend to break up. It may be objected that such a theory does not account for the imperfect spores and pollen commonly found in putative hybrids. It does not. But, to the writer’s mind at least, the significance of apparently abortive spores is not so certain as some of us suppose. One would like to’see more germination expertments to see whether these imperfectly developed spores are as impotent as they look. Certainly, our Equisetum, existing, as it does, apart from its reputed parents must reproduce itself somehow. And “bad”’ spores, or pollen, are by no means always associated with other evidences of hybridity. Brainerd and Peitersen, in their work on New England Blackberries, found the pollen of Rubus hispidus to be 90% imperfect. Yet 16 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL that is one of the commonest and best marked of our species: no one has ever thought of suggesting it to be a hybrid and there is no pair of species in existence of which it could be the offspring. On the other hand, Rubus frondisentis, a plant of intermediate characters and regarded by Brainerd and Peitersen as a hybrid, has pollen 90% perfect.7. And sterile mutants are by no means an unknown phenomenon. In the case of Rubus hispidus, the ease with which vegetative reproduction can take place may have brought about partial sterility. In that of another suspected hybrid in Equisetum, E. litorale, Milde has advanced an interesting conjecture. He thought this might be a worn-out and dying species and its infertility a sign of fading vitality and approaching extinction. How- ever this may be, it seems plain that the last word on the subject has yet to be spoken. These are the reflections of one far from adequately qualified to settle the problems involved. They are not meant to do that—only to emphasize the need of considering all the attendant facts in such cases as that here discussed if we are to have any well-rounded and convincing explanation of them. East Hartrorp, Conn. Reminiscences of a Fern Lover. M. A. MARSHALL. It has been suggested that stories of “first finds” may be an encouragement to new students of the ferris, as well as pleasant reminders to those long in the ranks. ‘Several vivid memories occur to me. As a preface it may be said that my first lessons in field botany and plant analysis were given me as a very "1 Bull. Vt. Agric. Exp. Sta. 217: 43, 63, 1920. * Milde Monog. Equiset. 369, 1865. REMINISCENCES OF A FERN LOVER iT young child holding the magnifying glass for my father, who was interested in every growing thing but had poor eyes. The old Wood’s Class-book of Botany was al- Ways in an easily accessible place. In those days we thought analysis of ferns too difficult for the average student, but I learned the Osmundas and a few others by name and recognized without naming a good many ‘common species. When later I went away to school I learned that fern analysis was not impossible after all, and in my teacher’s herbarium saw, among other things, the ‘‘adder’s-tongue fern,’’ described as very rare and growing in such and such places and surroundings. For a long time I looked for it in every likely place I visited; then, one summer vacation, I was in the barn at my country home when the last load of hay was brought in —what in New England is called ‘“‘meadow hay” or “swale hay,” a mixture of fern, wild grasses, rush, ete. In the litter on the floor some fragments that looked like the sterile part of Ophioglossum caught my eye. I knew just where that hay came from; within a few minutes I was at the spot, and there, sure enough, in the deep pockets in sphagnum made by the horses’ feet, was plenty of Ophioglossum vulgatum, and all about me the plants clipped by the scythe. The plant is growing there yet, some years abundantly, sometimes sparingly, but always there. I have since found it in two other places on the farm and several times in other localities. An uncle of one of my girl friends had promised her and me to take us to a place where pitcher plants grew: he had come upon it while hunting. On July 4, 1884, the promise was fulfilled. We three, behind a staid old sorrel horse, took a wood road that wound back and forth but steadily upward until we came to a pair of bars that had been long disused, for they were securely nailed and built up to fend cattle. There our guide left us to cruise about a little—he knew we were near 18 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL the spot but the going was rough and he would find a good path for us. When we were at last led to the pitcher plant place we found the flowers long past their blooming time, but the spot was most interesting—a roundish, grassy place, perhaps half an acre in extent, surrounded by not very large forest growth, here and there upon it a red maple or a gray birch, a few sar- racenias, a little Cassandra calyculata, as we called it then. Looked at from a neighboring cliff, as we later looked, it was like a little grassy bowl set in the green of trees. We did not dare venture upon it more than a few steps, it quaked so, and the owner of the bog told me afterward that twenty years earlier we could not ‘have gone upon it at all—a ten-foot pole would not touch bottom. On the south border of this little bog was a fringe of large ferns that I knew were not Os- mundas, but they were very impressive, rising against the trees and drooping over to touch the ground again. I could draw some of them up to my eyes, and I then meas- ured five feet six and a quarter inches, They were just beginning to fruit and on getting some specimens home they were easily determined to be Woodwardia virginica. Later mature specimens were gathered, as they have been several times since. Late on an August afternoon, some years after, my companion and the horse were left in the highway while I struck across a field at a venture, wanting some Woodwardia and knowing about where the bog lay. At the far side of the field I found a barway and a path leading into the woods and as I pressed through the thick carpet of ferns under my feet, I thought, “This doesn’t look quite familiar.” When Mr. Davenport’s article on Aspidium simulatum appeared in the Fern Bulletin, I said, “That is the fern I saw over by the Whitcomb bog!” It was. It is there yet in great abundance. EXPERIMENTS IN NATURALIZING FERNS 19 Then there was the first finding of Cystopteris bulbifera. Taken on a pleasure drive in Hartland, Vermont, on the road between Windsor and South Woodstock, a growth of what appeared to be very graceful vines on the rocks and tree stems just where a little brook drops down off Pisgah into the wayside gutter, attracted my attention. Getting out to investigate, I picked a Cystopteris frond three feet long! These are a few of the most vivid memories, pictures that will adorn my gallery and help to sweeten life as long as life lasts. Stitt River, Mass. Experiments in Naturalizing Ferns. EDWARD H. CLARKSON. During the past six years, the writer has transplanted several species of ferns to the woods around Newbury- port and Rockport, Mass. In most cases these ferns have lived and flourished. The only disappointment was in the case of a little group of oak ferns, Phegopteris Dryop- teris, set out on the bank of Jackman’s ravine at the Newburyport water works. This grew well for several weeks after being put there and then was most unex- pectedly destroyed, being covered by several hundred pounds of sand and gravel piled on it by a very careless woodchuck that dug a hole close by! On June 1st, 1917, I transplanted from my fern garden to a certain rocky woodland valley on Scotland road, between Newburyport and Byfield, twelve male ferns, Dryopteris Filiz-mas. Six of these were placed against a ledge in company with a number of thrifty marginal ferns, in a well-drained spot where there was plenty of overhead light and some direct sunshine. These have grown into large plants, which this year had many large fertile fronds. The six other male ferns, set out in the same 20 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL valley, but not near rocks and not in company with marginal ferns, have all lived, but have not done as well as the first lot. A cluster of the maidenhair spleenwort, Asplenium Trichomanes, set out here in 1917, was placed in the crevice of a polypody-encrusted rock near the most flourishing colony of male ferns. This has not only lived, but seems to be increasing in size. A group of Goldie’s fern, D. Goldiana, placed not far from here in 1917, has done well, putting out a fine lot of big fertile fronds this year. Perhaps my most successful venture has been with the broad beech fern, Phegopteris hexagonoptera. Five colonies of this fern, which spreads rapidly by its branch- ing rootstocks, were set out in various spots in partial shade, in 1916, 1917 and 1918. Before setting them out, the ground was thoroughly prepared by being dug up and all roots of plants and grass removed. At one place I added a lot of peat to the leaf mold and it is at this spot that the hexagonoptera fronds are largest and finest. All five colonies, however, have done well, pro- ducing numerous fertile fronds, and unless something unexpected happens to destroy them, should persist and spread. n is very rare in this ations just mentioned, e it may be found in alf an hour’s walk of EXPERIMENTS IN NATURALIZING FERNS 21 my home, at Ring’s Island just across the Merrimack River, where there is a good-sized colony growing in a peaty swamp in company with many fine big Mass- achusetts ferns. The other is at Magnolia Swamp, Gloucester, Mass. In the northern end of this swamp there is a nice lot of this areolata. It also grows in numerous detached groups in a swampy spot near the ‘““hermit’s” cabin. I visited the hermit, M. A. Walton, who occupied this cabin for many years before he died, especially to see the two chain ferns—for the big chain fern, W. virginica, is also very abundant here, growing sometimes over five feet tall. Walton told me that when he first came here there was none of the little chain fern near his cabin. The following letter from him, explaining how this fern was transplanted to the swamp nearby, is very interesting. The fern book that he speaks of was a copy of Waters’ “Ferns” that I gave him. Gloucester, Aug. 22, 1916 My dear Mr. Clarkson:— Fern book was received yesterday. It is a delightful book. Please accept my sincere thanks for same. Now as to ferns. When I came here 32 years ago I found the chain fern (Woodwardia angustifolia) in Magnolia Swamp, but in the north end only. The park owns that location, with the excep- tion of lots that I control (subject to sale). Students came to my cabin hunting for ferns to press. Many were from colleges. I was told that it would be a good plan to transplant the fern to the swamp near the cabin. I took the hint and transplanted twenty lots to the swamp where you got the ferns when here. The swam contained no chain ferns before. Now there is a fair number Nature Club had failed to find the fern except in Magnolia Swamp. It would be time wasted, I think, to hunt swamps. Sincerely yours, A M. A. Walton. 2 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL In the woods near the Artichoke River, in West Newbury, is a fine colony of the maidenhair fern, Adiantum pedatum, that was undoubtedly put there many years ago by a lady who lived not far away. If other members of the American Fern Society would also try the experiment of setting out some of the less common ferns in the woods near their homes, it might prove not only very interesting, but possibly might bring very practical results. The male fern, for instance, might be induced to live and propagate so that eventually it would be more widely distributed. NEWBURYPORT, Mass. CysToPERis BULBIFERA BERNH. Our President, Mr. m. R. Maxon, has outlined in the May—June Fern Journal some valuable Suggestions to fern lovers along the line that each member should give special and ac- curate study to some particular fern in his locality, with reference to its life history in every detail from season to season, and report any interesting information thus acquired for the benefit of our fellow fern fanciers. There is in this vicinity a fairly deep ravine contain- ing a running stream, the upper sloping banks of which healthy growth; the sub-soil is ordinary, grayish clay, overlaid with quite a depth of leafy black mould in which are creamy, granulated, and graduated particles or lumps of carbonate of lime, from the size roughly speaking of rice to that of lump sugar and larger. The middle of the bank is fairly level and dryish but the _ balance of the incline is quite steep and moist, while through the top of the loam there is a constant seepage of moisture from above, making the soil in most places quite soft and boggy and too wet to tread upon with comfort. CYSTOPTERIS BULBIFERA 23 The extent of the area under consideration is, I should say, not more than seventy-five by three hundred feet, On it grows, undisturbed (excepting by myself), a luxuriant and splendid stand .of Cystoperis bulbifera Bernh. One day six years ago, I stumbled upon this locality and to my intense delight found many beautiful variant forms of this interesting fern, cu led and coiled in very many shapes, star-shaped, forked, right-angled, oval, twisted, one-sided, branched, and one specimen eleven inches broad at the base with only six pair of pinnae; and other feathery forms in beautiful and interesting contorted shapes. The peculiar feature of this station is, that one can go year after year with the assurance that similar variant forms will reward one’s search; while elsewhere for miles around it is most unusual to find a freaky or forked specimen. Perhaps ninety per cent. of the variant forms are of a deeper shade of green than the type; and can readily be detected in this pretty fern bed by the color test alone. Three years ago I removed one’ dozen of the hand- somer forms of these plants to my home fern garden in the month of June, hoping to see an even greater improvement by transplanting. In this, I was doomed to disappointment; every plant grew splendidly, send- ing out many healthy new fronds but each returned to their original type variety. For three years these plants have been carefully cultivated and cared for with the result that there have been but three or four forked pinnae to reward my experiment. I have tried to spell it out and have failed unless the seepage of possibly cold spring water, charged so heavily with lime car- bonate, chills the plant roots, influencing the growing fern to turn, squirm and twist under the cold root bath. W. R. McCott, Owen Sounp, ONTARIO. 24 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL LYCOPODIUM COMPLANATUM, VAR. FLABELLIFORME WITH TWENTY-FIVE SPIKES. On page 119, vol, 9, of the American Fern Journal, October-December, 1919, Prof. Jennings notes finding in the herbarium at the Carnegie Museum a specimen of Lycopodium complanatum, var. flabelliforme with seven spikes. The year 1919 Was, in my region, very fruitful among the Lycopodiyums, All through the season I noted every carpet of the plant thick set with its candles. When it came time tO gather the Christmas greens, I found many interesting speci- mens. One fruiting branch had its normal two peduncles but the two were so divided and subdivided ag tO have in all twenty-five spikes, if a branch of one spike is to be counted as a spike. Another fruiting branch had its two peduncles, each with more than the Normal number of spikes; but the central bud that should have produced the next year’s growth, had developed like a continuation of the plant’s main stem, was Pearly a foot long and had rootlets—M. A. Marshal, Stilt River, Mass. American Fern Society REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT FOR 1921. The year 1921 was in several respects one of Uhysual interest and importance in the history of the AMeryjcan Fern Society, especially in membership incré&se, in the consideration of plans for greater future usefulness, and in the pleasure members derived from the im- promptu meeting held in connection with ¢he Fern Exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Boston in September. At this meeting there erys- tallized a feeling that had been entertained by Several members quite independently that in view of the Steadily increasing use of ferns as house plants it would be well AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 25 worth while to devote attention to the horticultural phases of fern study. From this developed the idea of stimulating the greenhouse cultivation of tropical ferns. These, most of us will agree, are quite as inter- esting as orchids, to which group so much attention has long been given, and-are possessed of a charm and in- herent beauty of grace lacking in most flowering plants. As a matter of fact, ferns and orchids grown together in the greenhouse are truly complementary, a fact very well known to growers and thoroughly appreciated by those who viewed the beautiful exhibits at Boston. The cultivation of tropical ferns is probably, on the whole, not more difficult than that of tropical orchids, and it ought to be carried on generally by private growers.as a parallel activity. Hundreds of tropical ferns are cultivated in British conservatories and are well known in their “trade,” but only a fraction of these are grown in America. Besides these there are as many more kinds, equal or often superior, and readily available for introduction from the American tropics, which have never been brought under cultivation here or elsewhere, even in the larger botanical gardens. Once the unique beauty of these is partially appreciated their introduction is bound to follow. To make known their distinctive characters and excellence, with a view to their culture, is an entirely legitimate field for the Fern Society. In this there is no danger of infringing upon our original interest in the ferns of temperate North America, any more than the cultivation of selected varieties of Fuchsia and Begonia can be said to destroy & love of botanizing or an appreciation of one’s local flora; and it was the consensus of opinion of members present at the Boston meeting that from now on greater attention ought to be given to exotic ferns, whether as house or conservatory plants. The welcome increase in membership—now for the 26 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL first time above the 300 mark—will afford an oppor- tunity of publishing more pages and more illustrations in the JourNAL, to the Editors of which the Society is under renewed obligation for their painstaking and excellent editorial work. Of the new members the great majority are situated in New York and the New England states. More are needed from the South and West. If the exchange of specimens is as lively as it was 25 years ago, new members in the latter regions will be kept busy responding to the requests of their eastern fellow-members. Perhaps if only in self- protection they will become imbued with a missionary spirit that will bring in new members from their own regions! To all new members the Society extends a word of cordial greeting: Make this society your own in every way, for it is your society just as much as it is that of members of many years seniority. Develop corres- pondence with distant members, you will find that you belong to a sort of guild, and that your fellow- members will willingly give assistance in every way. Contribute notes, short articles, and queries to the JOURNAL; these are more useful than most other kinds of contributions, and are certainly more stimulating to the membership as a whole than are strictly technical articles. The new list of members recently published as a supplement to the Journat, will be found very useful to members both new and old. The extremely low cost of publishing this list was made possible through the generosity of Mr. R. A. Ware. To him and the other members of the special committee on membership, Mrs. Carlotta C. Hall and Professor Winslow, are tendered the sincere thanks of the Society. Thanks are also due Professor Winslow and Miss Marshall for their continued and very successful efforts in dis- posing of back sets of the Journat. AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 27 Publication of the presidential report for 1920 was, unfortunately, so much delayed that the suggestions for field study by members could not possibly be follow- ed out last year. They are therefore urged for the season of 1922. A number of letters agreeing wholly as to the profit to be derived from intensive study of our familiar species have been received, and it is evident that the plan is regarded favorably. The points rais- ed are as true now as when written. If the plan of studying the Dryopteris species is successful, other groups can be taken up in succeeding years. It is worth trying. With thanks for the continued support of the members, and the hope that the present year may prove thorough- ly successful, Respectfully, WituraM R. Maxon, President. Report of the Secretary for 1921 Except for the Boston meeting, already reported elsewhere, there have been no special meetings by the Society during the past year. Four members have died: Miss Mary L. Anderson, Stewardson Brown, Charles Noyes Forbes and Mrs. Emily Hitchcock Terry. Nine members have resigned. Forty-three new members have been received and the membership (December 31, 1921) stands at 301, a gain of thirty over last year. This establishes @ new record for the Society; which is very gratifying, showing that it continues to enjoy the support of its members, and that the raising of the membership fee from one dollar to one dollar and fifty cents during 1921 has been in no way detrimental. It is hoped that such generous support may continue. A new and revised list of the members of the Society was prepared and issued as 28 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL a Supplement to the American Fern Journal, Vol. 11, o. 3. The following gifts to the Society collections have been received:—Carl Christensen has contributed pamphlets on the ferns of Madagascar, Easter Island, and Juan Fernandez; also Part II of “A Monograph of the Genus Dryopteris’’ and other separates. William R. Maxon also sent in some old Fern Society annual reports. S. H. Burnuam, Secretary. Because of the great delay in issuing the JOURNAL and consequently in getting in the bills for the year, the Treasurer was unable to prepare his report in time to appear in this number. It will be printed in the next number. Report of the Editors for 1921 During most of the year the editors have been thank- ful if the JouRNaL was issued at all, even if long past the appointed time. On May 1, 1921, the establishment which does our printing was completely tied up by a strike. The spring number of the J OURNAL, the make- up of which was ready and in the printers’ hands on that date, finally appeared on October 12th. The summer number was correspondingly delayed; but we gained a little on No. 4 and, though the trouble is not yet over, we hope, given copy enough well in advance, to be back on schedule time before the year is out. Beginning with number 4 of volume 11, we shall, barring unforeseen emergencies, have at least one illustration in each number. Several desirable pictures are now at hand and more are to come. Further pros- pects for the coming volume include an account of a plant and bird sanctuary actually in operation and AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 20 one or two articles on cultivated ferns, a line in which we hope to do more than in the past. During the year there have been several additions to the list of libraries and institutions subscribing for the JouRNAL and, thanks to the efforts of our Vice-President and to the membership drive, the sale of back numbers has continued active. Only seven complete sets now remain in stock. The Society includes members of many kinds from professional botanists to amateurs of comparatively little technical knowledge and beginners of almost none. They naturally regard fern study from different angles. So far as its necessary limitations permit, the JouRNAL aims, and exists, to serve the needs of all. It is not to be expected that everything in every number will be of equal interest to all; but it is hoped that every member will find in each number something of interest to him. The Editors tender their heartiest thanks for the gifts for illustration received and for the interest shown and the support offered by members in other ways. R. C. BENEDICT E. J. WInsLow C. A. WEATHERBY Editors. Report of the Curator for 1921 Since the last Report of the Curator several import- ant additions have been made to the Society Herbarium. Prof. J. C. Nelson of Salem, Ore. contributed specimens of E. Telmateia (dimorphic), fluviatile and fluviatile polystachyum ; also some mounted specimens collected in Ontario by W. R. McColl. Mr. D. Leroy Topping has made important additional contributions from the Philippines and eastern Asia. Miss Elmira E. Noyes <a AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL. _of Portsmouth, Va., contributed a splendid set of ferns collected mainly in Virginia. Dr. C. E. Waters of the Bureau of Standards has presented the Society with his entire collection of Pteridophytes running well above 1500 sheets. These donations will increase the number of mounted sheets in the Society Herberium by two thousand or more and will bring the total number of sheets up to about six thousand. In behalf of the Society the Curator wishes to thank those who have made the contributions just named L. 8. Hopkins, Curator. Report of the Judge of Elections for 1921 _ As Judge of Elections of the American Fern Society, I make the following report of the Election of Officers held in October 1921. For President For Vice-President Warne Be Maxon. 2.2... 85 Miss M. A. Marshall,...... Washington, D. C. Still River, Mass. For Secretary For Treasurer Stewart H. Burnham...... 85 Jay G. Underwood, ........ 85 Ithaca, N. Y. Hartland, Vt. The number of ballots cast was 85. -I therefore de- clare the above persons elected. Respectfully submitted, Cuarutes C, Purr, Judge of Elections. Miss Agnes W. Lincoln, a member of the American Fern Society since 1902, died at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Roxbury on December 27, 1921. Miss Lincoln was born in Medford, Mass., July 16, 1856, the daughter of Algernon Sydney Lincoln and Abby Bigelow Stone. She began her education in the public schools of Medford, later attended a private school in Boston, and to the time of her death devoted AMERICAN FERN Society SE ® portion of each year to special courses of study first at Radcliffe College and later at the Boston University. She was an early member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, a member also of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and, in connection with her interest in antiquities joined the Massachusetts Historic Genealogical Society, the Medford Historical Society, and was for years corresponding secretary of the Stone Family Association. She had visited Europe several times, seen the sun rise from the rim of the crater of Kilawea in Hawaii and camped in the Canadian Rockies. She was always enthusiastic for the out of doors, fearless, sympathetic, thoroughly democratic, and childlike with all. Her home has always been in Medford. Through the kindness of Mr. Maxon the editors have received an obituary notice of Dr. Hieronymus of Berlin. Though rather a general taxonomist than a specialist in ferns, he had, probably, done more work on the pteridophytes than on any other group, and that work has added so much to our knowledge of the species of tropical and, in some cases, temperate America that it deserves more than a passing notice in our JOURNAL. Georg Hieronymus was born at Schéneiche near Neumarkt in Silesia, Feb. 15, 1846 He was at first educated for a physician, but soon abandoned that profession for the study of botany. In 1873 he went to Cordoba in Argentina as a professor in the university there, a position which he held until 1883. In that year he returned to Germany, settling at Breslau and devoting himself to independent botanical research, especially on the algae of Silesia. He also contributed the treatment of several groups of flowering plants to Engler and Prantl’s great work on the families of plants. In 1892 he was offered and accepted a curatorship at the Berlin Botanical Museum, where he served until 32 - AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL shortly before his death. Here one of his chief tasks— or one which he chose for himself—was the organization of the Museum’s extensive collection of ferns and fern allies. From this work resulted his many studies of fern floras of certain regions and of groups of pterido- phytes, studies which have cleared up many problems of classification. To Americans, he is probably best known for his work on the genus Selaginella, especially in the group of S. rupestris. He was for 28 years editor of Hedwigia, one of the foremost journals of cryptogamic botany. He died at Berlin Jan. 18, 1921, after a long illness. One more correction in the recently issued list of members is called for. Harold V. M. Halsey should be Harold V. W. Halsey. New members :— Mansfield, William, Dean of the Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, N. Y. Tilton, Rev. George H., 470 Lebanon St., Melrose, Mass. Upham, Miss Ethel E., East Woodstock, Conn. Through a misunderstanding on the part of the editor responsible for the make-up of the JourRNAL, no mention was made in the last number of the fact that the plate of the climbing fern which appeared in it was contributed by Mrs. E.G. Britton. The editor at fault wishes to apologize to Mrs. Britton and to assure her of our grati- tude for her generous gift.—C. A. W. THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB MEMBERSHIP Including Bulletin, Memoirs, and Torreya, $5.00 a year PUBLICATIONS Bulletin. Monthly, established 1870. Price, $4.00 a year; single numbers 40 cents: Of former volumes, only 24-47 can be supplied separately. Manuscripts intended for publication in the BULLETIN should be addressed to Pror, A, W. EVANS, eget Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Torreya. Bi-monthly, established 1901. Price, $1.00 a ses Manuscripts intended for publication in TorrEya should be addressed to Gzorcs T. Hastrnes, Editor, Robbins Place, Yonkers, ts eB. xe —— Occasional, established 1889. Price, $3.00 a volume, Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and ir sits within 100 miles of New York City, 1838. Price, $1.00. Subscriptions and other business cilarteiieess should be addressed to the Treasurer, Dr. FRED J. SEAVER, New York Botanical . Garden, New York City. Plant Names And Their Meanings A series of articles with the above title is now appearing in The American Botanist Wwhete- uitianmeane worn f interest to botanists and botan- izers may be found. rly, 1450 c I, 95 s.. 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COMSTOCK, President OFFICIAL JOURNAL THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW — Devoted idan to all scientific — of Nature in Elementary Scho SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY i eaceeeinacmaeaingegia THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW Comstock Publishing Company Ithaca, New York a Field and Herbarium Supplies 3 _ GENUS COVERS S checaas COVERS MOUNTING PAPERS WRITE FOR ILLUST. RATED CATALOGUE oT Vol. 12 April-June, 1922 No. 2 ‘ American Bern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY R. C, E, J. WINSLOW C. A, WEATHERBY Game ave for Ferns and wild Flowers... R. C. Benedict 33 Polypodium vulgare as an Epiphyte cee OL Remaiie 63 sr Sings sina: span, lnnareeacerstoseepaen: L. P. Breckenridge 64 Sargeras orcas wine et eect esesererecen ers 66 ie " fedbteee Sy Ese ‘$1.25 ieee FOREIGN, $135 Dhe American Hern Society Council for 1922 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Wi1i11aM R, Maxon, Washington, D.C. - - - President We M. A. MARSHALL, Still River, — - Vice-president H, BuRNHAM, Ithaca, N. Y. - - - cveltary i & UNDERWOOD, Hartland, Vt. ek Se Treasurer OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS Rapa C. eee ee - = Feat — St., Brooklyn, N. Y. E. J. Winslow - Auburndale, Mass. C. A. WEATHERBY - - - + ‘ast Hartford, Conn. An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns. ne eer pete $3.00; Sle Golick 81.08 cach. back numbers 35 centseach. Volume iy eee i clea supplied except with lete volume. 322 East 19th Street, B Subscriptions, ores for back ak and other busin ac aoe mus should be addressed to E. J. WINSLOW, peecniirs Matter for turgor ee = — toR. C. BENEDICT, klyn, N CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM NS > - - -~ Kent, Ohio. regular department is maintained in connection the Society Speen Members may borrow specimens from it _at any time, borrower ine h es. The 3 ge g of +i yr 1 oe te ‘ ree’ ea cee palin range exchanges; a membership list is blished to further assist those interested ia obtaining specimens from different American Fern Journal Vol. 12 APRIL-JUNE 1922 No. 2 Game Laws for Ferns and Wild Flowers. R. C. BENEDICT During the year 1921, the state of Vermont passed a law for the protection of native wild plants, specifying some twenty odd species of flowering plants and several of ferns. (See list appended at end of article.) The law provides, among other things, that these plants may not be collected for commercial exploitation and that a botanist may collect no more than two specimens of > any plant on the list in a given season. The particular ferns listed are all among the less common sorts, mostly rare alpine species. Here is a first general “game law”’ for plants. It is worth some detailed consideration. What is the present need for such a law, in Vermont, and in other states? It will be worth while to consider the topic in a broad way, covering not only the Vermont situation but also the whole matter of wild plant con- servation in general. It is hoped that this general consideration may call forth the expression of observa- tions and opinions from as many viewpoints as possible; that the rather general outlines here presented may be filled in accurately. In May, 1921, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society held an exhibition in Boston of native wild orchids. The exhibition as set up occupied one large room in Horticultural Hall, and was presented by the president of the Society, Mr. Albert C. Burrage. For the [Vol.'12, no. 1 of the Jourwat, pages 1-32, plate 1, was issued June 15, 1922] 33 34 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL occasion the room was transformed into a similitude of a New Hampshire corner, with a bit of lake in the center, surrounded by a lush growth of the showy lady slipper, perhaps one hundred and fifty individuals, and other attractive wild plants, including about twenty-five different wild orchids. These had mostly been dug up the preceding season, held over winter, and foreed into flower in greenhouses. At first scheduled as a four day exhibit, the interest it aroused caused a week’s ex tension. Twenty-two thousand people were recorded as visitors. At a similar exhibition held this spring, over seventy thousand attended. Think, estimate if you can, the effects of thus presenting nature in its sheerest loveli- hess to so great a multitude of people. We of the Fern Society number a bare three hundred of nature lovers, meeting in the pages of the Fern Journal to share our common interests, and, in twos and threes, meeting in actual visits to the haunts of the ferns we study. What are we doing to promote the wider knowledge and understanding of native ferns? To pass on to others, to convert others to the same understanding and love of outdoors? Surely, if so many thousand people cared to visit these two exhibitions of native flowering plants canyon, meadow, stream, pasture, even desert, from Alaska and Greenland to the jungles of Panama, we have something to contribute that multitudes need and want; not merely one wild corner from one state, but innumer- able vistas of keauty, the remembrance of which thrills end tingles. “There are few things so broad as a ‘narrow specialty’ if you will follow it down to the ends of its wide-spread- ing roots:” Edward S. Nichols, in an address at the laying of the cornerstone of 1 the chemical laboratory of Cornell University ly ta as gl eh abel he ae 2 GAME Laws FoR FERNS 3a What do particular fern species recall to you? I see a leaf of hart’s tongue and am transported to central New York, to the glacial lake basins, the fossil water- falls, near Jamesville, back twenty years to my first find of this fern as a boy. I see limestone cliffs, blue- green water; white cedar thickets which had to be broken through and which I can feel vividly. I see a leaf of the mountain dilatata, and climb again Blue Mountain in the Adirondacks, to a view of sixty lakes, to a bed on balsam. The royal fern means lakes and streams: ®nondaga, of Indian legend, with black mucky woodlands, mosquitoes, the royal fern six feet high; or I am driving a light guide boat through an Adirondack lake and meander, towing past bright yellow patches of this fern in a heath background of September, to carries over which the boat, oars and pack must be toted various distances. Goldie’s fern calls back rich woodlands, open sunlit undergrowth with the glint of spotted light and shade, parked stretches of great beeches and birches, with silver and golden bark. With Goldie’s-fern usually were found two or three other species, not to be had in every woodland, the silvery spleenwort, the narrow spleenwort, and sometimes, nearby, the dainty oakfern. The Massachusetts fern, first seen within the city limits of Greater New York, carries also a much more attractive association of memories: around Quiver Pond in the Adirondacks, along an old abandoned corduroy road of former lumbering operations, leading to a cached canoe hidden by a beaver dam. Here was trout fishing along a section of Third Lake Creek from which the engineering operations of the beaver had barred wading or fishing from the banks. Here, again, was the thrill of unexpected turnings, of alder-choked stretches barely wide enough for the canoe, of surprised beaver, not to forget the trout caught and the ones that got away. AMERICAN FERN JouRNAL Vou. 12, PLATE 2 ~ GOLDIE S FERN CALLS BACK RICH WOODLANDS’ re nr a. GAME Laws For FERNS 37 For many, Goldie’s fern, Braun’s holly fern, the fragrant shield fern and others must recall Smugglers’ Notch in the Green Mountains of Vermont, with all the lure which mountains offer; but Smugglers’ Notch must lack a particular charm if Goldie’s fern is gone, just as New England pastures:lose luster when the laurel is stripped from them to decorate some private backyard, no matter how large and glorified. They tell us that these ferns are no more there, that Smugglers’ Notch has been despoiled of these and other rare plants. So, for the state at large, we have as a result the 1921 con- servation law. In time, Goldie’s fern, the wa'l rue, the Woodsias, Calypso, the ram’s head lady slipper, and the rest should come back again, but in the meantime, will not the beauty spots of other states lose some o their choicest gems? What can be done? The problem involves a consideration of the various circumstances and industries which threaten the exis- tence of our rarer wild ferns. We sha!l find some of these dangers partly unavoidable but others with some possi- bility of amelioration. The depletion of the Vermont flora seems mainly to have been due to the activities of collectors for firms which make a business of selling live plants. Many of us have had their catalogues and may have ordered a few plants of species not available in our own immediate neighborhood, without realizing the consequences. The case for this industry is thus stated in a letter from one of the best known dealers in wild plants and one who has been held largely responsible for the extinction of Goldie’s fern at Smugglers’ Notch: “It is true that for thirty years, up to within the past few years, I have been gathering material from Smugglers’ Notch. I have not, however, in all that time taken over two hundred Aspidium Goldianum and a larger number of Aspidium Braunii. During all my years of collecting 38 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL there I have never before had my right questioned to take them: in fact this territory up to within a compera- tively short time has been owned by private individuals who have given me the right to gather these things. During my collecting it has not been my intention to exterminate or deplete materially any of these rare things but just now there seems to be an agitation which is pointing me out as a robber of the woods. I will ask you as a fair minded person and one undoubtedly familiar with native plants whether the work I have been doing has not added more to the enjoyment of the many, than to have left these ferns where they were naturally growing to be killed out by natural causes and by vandalism. These two varieties I have sent to all sections of the United States and many of the pur- chasers I think now have them growing on their own grounds, and many of these could not have enjoyed them had they been obliged to go to their natural habitat. “T am not offering this as an excuse for what I have done, yet I think there are two sides to this question ; further- more, I have distributed spores of these rare ferns in a great many places where I have been and undoubtedly many of them have germinated and in years to come many more ferns will be found. “Tassure.you I am very much interested in protecting our native flowers in general. Personally I have taken very few of these plants from the woods but have de- pended on those who are established in the business of collecting in various sections of the country. While legislation can do very much to prevent the taking of rare varieties I think it can never stop the gathering of native material as people who are interested in wild flowers are bound to get out into the woods and gather them for themselves. I think the real way to protect our native flora is to interest people so that they will # 2 “i i si eas i me eee hae i ps Sie en Teds eles AO ie ar a RE ee A 8 ein ete is 5 cies ler tee b> SNS RR b oi = a Se aie Tels rca agile vate abelian eatsveadhdnaioberinent or iashtheeetipeliatee ib atat aie nln a GaME Laws FOR FERNS 39 start wild flower gardens of their own. “Tt is true that I have grown ferns from spores ‘ghd have grown the two varieties you have mentioned, yet it is wmpossible to grow all these ferns in sufficient guan- tity to supply the demand.’” Replying to the above letter, the following co:nnents were made: “I can readily see that the idea of bringing the woods to peoples’ backyards by serving to distribute various kinds of ferns and wild flowers not easily access- ible would appeal to one interested in wild plants and and in gardens also. But I am sure you will also see that if, despite your conservative collecting, ferns formerly abundant, as Dryopter’s Goldiana at Smugglers’ Notch, have been practically exterminated there, the. possible good of distributing such plants has been more than counterbalanced by their destruction in natural surroundings. If you succeed in further stimulating the growing of wild ferns, say specifically Goldiana, in back- yards, etc., it will not be long before the wild supply will have been entirely exhausted. And what is true for one species is of course true for others also.”” Par- enthetically, let me interpolate the further comment that the mortality of the Goldie and other ferns and wild flowers will be extremely high in the average home garden. It seems to me that we may reach certain general conclusions with respect to the sale of wild ferns and flowering plants. 1. There will always be some kinds so common, so plentifully reproduced, that nature may be depended upon to supply any probable commercial demand. 2. There will be others, less common, like Goldiana, which cannot stand commercial distribution, although they would be able to keep pace with less extensive * Italics in this letter by the editors. 40 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL collection by private individuals for their own gardens. It seems to me that the sale of such species should be restricted to artificially raised plants, not at all a difficult problem. 3. There are still other ferns, like native hart’s tongue, the rarer woodsias, the climbing fern, and various orchids, et al., whose sale should perhaps be prohibited altogether, unless their artificial cultivation and reproduction is demonstrated to be easily feasible. In other words, rarer ferns and flowering plants need to be treated as are the birds which are divided into protected and unprotected lists. Horticultural societies would do well to encourage the exhibition of artificially raised examples of interesting wild plants. Lovers of wild plants in various states should ask their respective legislatures to follow the example of Vermont in estab- lishing protected lists of plants, the sale of which should be restricted to supplies artificially propagated. Aside from commercial collection, other dangers threaten our wild fern flora. A year ago, April 7, 1921, President Harding issued a proclamation including the following statements: “The destruction by forest fires in the United States involves an annual loss of approximately $200,000,000 and the devastation of approximately 12,500,000 acres of timberland and other natural resources, and the present deplorably large area of non-productive land is being greatly in- creased by 33,000 or more forest fires which occur each Year, sc?) Pher consermatvion of forsast loving ferns is thus indicated as included in the general forest conservation problem. Mr. Weatherby has pointed out that in the Hariford section the climbing fern is partial to soils and situations very well suited for the culture of tobacco, and the best stands of Lygodium are even now being destroyed. Similarly, with the gradual drainage of large swamps for Game Laws FoR FERNS 41 agriculture, the homes of such ferns as Woodwardia, and of many choice orchids will be requisitioned. The threatened destruction of the hart’s tongue near Jamesville, N. Y., by quarrying interests illustrates another danger. To some extent, the hart’s tongue situation has been helped by the establishment of the Clarke reservation around West Green Lake, including as it does, several plots of ground where this fern is fairly abundant. But parks of this sort carry their own danger, for with the influx of larger and~ larger numbers of people, the danger to rare plants is obvious. A not inconsiderable danger threatening rare plants is due to people who should be the first to guard against the destruction of any plant habitat. I refer to the collecting botanist who either thoughtlessly or selfishly, in order to fill his collections, does not hesitate to take _ the last growing plant of some rare species. An interest- ing example of this occurred in Syracuse some twenty- five years ago. Within the city limits, a small sphagnum swamp had formerly been the habitat for arbutus, the ram’s head lady slipper, and others. An attempt was made to reestablish arbutus by transplantation from another locality, but within a year an enthusiastic local collector, brought the transplanted arbutus as an herbarium specimen to the man who had re-intro- duced it. : The above outline of the different agencies causing the destruction of rare wild plants carries in general for each danger the possibilities of protective action. Against the invasion by agricultural and quarrying interests, there are apparently only two practicable means: first, it would be worth while to work for the establishment of reservations of selected regions note- worthy for their rare plants. If such regions can be made extensive enough to include a wide range of pa rk land, there will be less danger from the invasion of the 42 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL uninformed than if the reservation is more limited. The Clarke Reservation west of Jamesville is a case in point; other localities should have been included. A special type of reservation is probably desirable, along the lines of the bird sanctuaries, which are being estab- lished in different parts of the country and to which re- ference has already been made in an earlier Fern Journal by Mrs. Britton. Such sanctuaries, of limited area, could well be maintained by local communities, with constant protection, as part of their educational facilities. A sanctuary of this type at Fairfield, Conn., is an excellent case in point. The only other means of preventing the destruction or depletion of rare plants when threatened by agricultural, quarrying, or lumber interests, would seein to lie in the transplantation of such rare plants to other favorable localities in less danger of invasion. ‘ith reference again to the commercial collection and sale of living plants, the suggestion is repeated that some such list of protected plants as is represented in the cese of the Vermont: law, should be drawn up for each state. The list, of course, would not be the same throughout the country. Nature societies locally in- terested should be the activating agencies in securing the passage of such laws. In general I believe the practice will also be to a considerable extent self-cor- rective in the fact that the continued exploitation of @ rare species will eventually reduce the available stock _ tosuch an extent that it will not be practicable to ‘market. Before this happens, however, it is to be hoped that the commercial collectors, who undoubtedly generally have as keen an interest in plants as amateur or professional botanists, will see the matter from the standpoint of. the future. In the case of ferns, there does not seem to be any reason why the most decorative species cannot ke grown in commercial quantity artificially, Our native hart’s tongue, Goldie’s fern, and most of the GaME Laws FoR FERNS yee others which do not require extreme heat all winter, may be readily raised from spores under economic greenhouse conditions. In the preceding case as in the case of amateur and professional botanists, or the plant lover who merely collects a few plants for the home garden, the strongest appeal should lie in the basic interest of all these types of people in plants themselves. It is probable that the collection even of some of the relatively unco:nnon ferns like the Goldie Fern by private individuals in sufficient numbers for their own gardens will never seriously endanger the supply; it is only when some wealthy individual establishing a private estate orders single species of ferns by the thousand. It is difficult to see just what practical measures can be taken against the individual botanical collector who collects so extensive a set of specimens of any given plant that its existence in a given locality is threatened. Certain evergreen species of ferns have furnished the basis for another industry of considerable importance, i. e., the collection of their leaves to use with bouquets of flowers: already very adequately discussed in the Fern Journal by Mr. Burnham (vol. 9, pp. 88-93). Three of our common species seem to be involved, the so-called fancy fern (Dryopteris intermedia), the Christmas fern, or to give it its trade name, the dagger fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) and to a lesser extent the evergreen or marginal shield fern (Dryopteris marginalis). The ques- tion involved with respect to this industry in relation to the possible depletion of the native supply of these. ferns is apparently satisfactorily answered. Although the numbers of these ferns collected and sold in Boston and New York and other cities has increased enormously in the last twenty years, the price has not increased at all, an apparent certain indication that the supply is still ample. I am informed also that the methods of 44 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL collection involve care which probably does relatively little injury to the plants. A collector for example must break off the leaves carefully. Careless pulling would involve uprooting the stem which would make necessary the later trimming of the leaf bases. An additional point with respect to the Christmas fern depends on the fact that the fruiting leaves with their dimorphic tips are in general undesirable, so for this species at least the fruiting leaves are almost invariably left on the plant. For the other two species, it is a fact that in general, their spores are mature long before the collecting period, which falls largely in August or Sep- tember. Thus the reproducing of new plants is amply provided for before the leaves are taken off. Not all the spores have been dropped however as may be realized When these leaves are used in table decoration. Laid flat on the table, they will very often leave a rather zmple spore print on the white cloth. Another item in connection with this industry is found in the fact that at least one source of supply is Leing dscovered in Florida. Mr. Fred W. Fletcher, formerly of Auburndale, Mass., has transferred at least part of his activities to a Florida plantation, where he raises the leather fern (Polystichum adiantiforme) for shipment for this purpose. Will not other fern lovers contribute from their experiences any facts of interest relating to particular species deserving protection in their localities, observa- tions as to the decrease or increase of any kinds, the possibility of establishing new colonies, movements looking toward the establishment of sanctuaries, the passage of protective laws? The conservation -of the wild is receiving a great deal of general attention at this time, so that any local action will receive the help that goes with concerted action. The Vermont law is reprinted here as a matter of record and as a suggestion for action in other states. ae GAME LAWS FOR FERNS 45 No. 260. AN AcT TO PROTECT RARE PLANTS AND TO PROTECT THESE PLANTS FROM BEING SOLD FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. It is geet! enacted by the General Assembly cf the State of Vermon ars 1. A person shall nct take in any one year, except upon lands owned or occupied by him, more than a single uprooted specimen or twe cuttings cf each of the following plants, and then for scientific purposes only: fragrant fern, Aspidium fragrans Sw.; Goldie’s fern, Aspidium Goldianum Hook.; mountain shield fern, Aspidium spinulosum Sw., var. dilatatum Gray; green spleen- wort, Asplenium viride Hu ss wall-rue spleenwort, Asplenium fuitacnarueia L.; slender cliff brake, Pellaea gracilis Hook.; Braun’s holly fern, Folyst tichum Braunii Fée; alpine wocdsia, Woodsia alpina 8. F. Gray; smooth woodsia, Woodsia glabella R. Br.; club calypsc, Calypso borealis Salisb.; ram’s-head lady’s-slipper, Cypripe- dium arietinum R. Br.; green alder, Alnus viridis DC.; alpine willow, Salix phylicifolia L.; alpine willow, Salix uva-ursi Pursh; yellow mountain saxifrage ae xifraga aizoides i; sipine saxifrage, Saxi- sandwort, Arenaria verna L., var. propinqua Fernald; northern comandra, Comandra livida Richards.; Lapland diapensia, Diapensia lapponica L.; day or twisted white w grass, Draba incana L.; black crower petrum nigrum L.; northern gentian, Gurdaain Amarella L., var pai Herder; hedysarum, Hedysarum boreale Nutt.; butte terwort, Pinguicula vulgaris L.; aleiop mountain ash, ac : : uliginesu um L.; cow berry, Vancuiedases “Vitis idaea ive ihountain astragalus, Astragalus Blakei, Egglest,; large-leaved aceon oe macrophylla Pursh; alpine geldenrod, Solidago ge 2. A person who violates the provisions of this act may be fined not more than ten dollars for each »lant or sdditional cuttings so taken Approved April 1, 1921. . BRooKkLyN Rotranic GARDEN. 46 AMERICAN FERN JoURNAL A Fern Collecting Trip in Cuba E. W. GRaveEs For a number of years it had been my great desire to make a trip to the tropics, and see for myself some of the beauties of tropical verdure. Not until the fall of 1919 was this privilege given me. Two years before I had tried for a passport, but as the war was on, and as all ablebodied men were needed at home, it was refused me. But in October, 1919, I sueceeded in getting Lansing’s signature to the necessary papers. Early on the morning of the 26th I left Mobile on the L. &. N. for Jacksonville, Florida. All day long we traveled over the sandy stretches of the Gulf slope, now and then running through scattered pine forests, Often near streams we would see groves of live oaks festooned with Florida moss hanging from the limbs. Reaching Jacksonville about ten o’clock in the evening, and . having only ten minutes to spare, I soon boarded the East Coast Line passenger which was to carry me to Key West. All night we sped on and when morning came we were well down the Florida coast nearing West Palm Beach. At West Palm Beach along the railroad tracks I Saw several ferns which apparently were Pteridium caudatum, Pteris longifolia, Blechnum occidentale, and Tectaria trifoliata. As we traveled farther south where the pines gave way to palins, the trees were often covered with epiphytic ferns. The scenery was now beautiful, orange orchards heavily laden with fruit, bordered with groves of palms. Occasionally we would get glimpses of the Atlantic on the east, but often we would travel over sandy wastes or the swampy land of the ever- glades. From the mainland to Key West, a distance of 120 miles, is one of the most remarkable railroads in the FERN COLLECTING IN CUBA 47 world, literally a railroad through the sea. The narrow islands are connected by concrete trestles or viaducts. At one place we traveled for miles with the sea on either side of us, appearing as though the train was running on the water. Reaching Key West about six in the evening of October the 27th, I soon took passage on the boat that plies between Key West and Havana, Cuba,and by daylight I was in sight of ‘‘the Pearl of the Antilles.” Upon arriving at Havana I took the electric car for Guanajay, then went by auto to San Claudio where my friend Mr. Cochran was to meet me. Guanajay is located 31 miles southwest of Havana, and San Claudio is 20 miles west of Guanajay. To the south and stretching one hundred miles or more to the west, lie the mountains of western Cuba. This region, which receives more rainfall than any other part of Cuba, is where most of my collecting was done. Three thousand. feet is the highest altitude reached by these mountains. The highest mountains of Cuba are in the east end of the island. Lying to the west of Santiago there are several peaks whose tops tower nearly eight thousand feet. I only collected a short time near Santiago. In fact my stay in the island was short as I could speak only a few words of the Spanish language and I was greatly handicapped without it. I tried to find a guide to go out with me, but could find no one who could speak both Spanish and English. My friend, who could speak Spanish, could not spend as much time with me in the woods as I would have liked. Woods I said, I should have said jungle, for if one wandered off the trail he would find himself in a mass of trees and bushes of all sizes held together by vines of various kinds with ferns and orchids thrown in. In the interests of those who might take to ornithology, 48 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL I will say that here was a paradise for birds of various colors and sizes. Here were beautiful hummers, warblers, cuckoos and a robin similar to our northern robin, Merula migratoria. This robin probably was Merula nigrescens. It had a black breast instead of red and yellow bill and legs and mimicked our northern bird as it ran about on the greensward. A large black and white cuckoo several times larger than our yellow-bill cuckoo was rarely seen but often heard. A very beauti- ful bird about the size of the robin was seen among the trees, having a coat of many colors, composed of bright red and green mingled with white and black. A small warbler with a coat all green and head yellow was continually hopping about in the low bushes. Our American redstart and Maryland yellowthroat seemed to be at home in the rose-wood trees and shrubbery along the trail. Many others were seen which I cannot mention here. While on the train going from Havana to Guanajay I saw many ferns I could not make out. I did manage to recognize Pteris longifolia and Acrostichum excelsum near Arroya Arenas. Near Punta Brava I saw masses of Anemia adiantifolia and Dryopteris normalis. San Claudio is only five miles from the Gulf and the same distance from the mountains. I found very few ferns in the town, but as I drew near the mountains there were more ferns in evidence and where the heavy forest set in they were abundant. Anemia adiantifolia grew like a weed by the roadside after leaving the town, but in the higher hills it was rare. Tree-ferns, which I fully expected to find plentiful, I saw only once or twice in the higher mountains of western Cuba. They were of one species, Alsophila myosuroides. I saw no tree-ferns at all during my short stay in eastern Cuba. It being the fall of the year, I hardly expected to find orchids in bloom. However, I was agreeably sur- FERN COLLECTING IN CUBA 49 prised, for growing on rocks and tree limbs and any- where they could find a footing, I found Epidendrum cochleatum L. with waxy flowers’of a purple color an inch and a half or two inches across. and with leaves two feet long. In rich woods I found Habenaria alta Hook. just beginning to bloom. In the high mountains near Santiago I found two orchids in bloom which Prof. Oakes Ames later reported to be Warszewiczella discolor (Lindl.) Reichenb. and Pleurothallis sertulari- oides (Sw.) Spreng. The latter was a tiny little plant with flowers less than a quarter of an inch across. There seemed to be more ferns in the western part of the island than in the eastern part, as the west end seems to receive the heaviest rainfall. The jungles were more dense in the west than in the east. In the hills near San Claudio one could hardly ‘advance through the woods at all without cutting his way with a machete. I have presented a set of the ferns collected by me to the National Museum and a set, with a few exceptions, to the Society. Of some very scarce species I collected only a very few specimens. In the short time I was in the island I found only fifty-two species. They are listed as follows. CYATHEACEAE. ALSOPHILA MyosuRoIDES Liebm. I only found one large specimen of this tree-fern and one small specimen. The large one was about eight feet high and was a beautiful specimen. It grew at a high elevation south of San Claudio. POLYPODIACEAE Potypopium puyiutipis L. A fern with long, leathery fronds one to three feet long, growing on rocks and trees. Found near San Claudio in Pinar del Rio Province, also in Oriente Province west of Santiago. P. PrLosELLoEs L. A small fern growing in masses on rocks and trees at San Claudio and Santiago. 50 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL P. exicuum Hew. Similar to P. piloselloides and growing with it at San Claudio and Santiago. P. GLapiatuM Kze. A pinnate fern a foot high grow- ing in rich soil at San Claudio. P. aANGUSTIFOLIUM Sw. A small fern growing in rich soil at San Claudio. P. pectinatum L. Growing in soil on rocks at 3500 ft. altitude west of Santiago. P. aureum L. On tree-stumps and rocks at 1500 ft. altitude near San Claudio. P. potypopioi#s (L.) Watt. Found growing on rocks and trees at San Claudio. DRYOPTERIS SCLEROPHYLLA (Kze.) C. Chr. A large fern growing in rocky ground on shady hillsides south of San Claudio at 1000 ft. altitude. D, reticutata (L.) Urban. A large plant growing in dense shade in ravines at San Claudio. D. opiirerata (Sw.) C. Chr. A very large fern with deeply serrate pinnae in rich shady ravines at San Claudio. D. serra (Sw.) Ktze. A large fern with long narrow serrate pinnae. Growing in limestone in the city of Havana. D. sancta (Sw.) Ktze. A fern very much resembling D. noveboracensis of the States, found growing on damp rocks in shady ravines at San Claudio. D. mecaLopus (Schkuhr) Urban. A large fern grow- ing high up on the mountainside at Santiago at 2500 ft. altitude. D. Terragona (Sw.) Urban. Growing in rich, rocky soil at San Claudio. D. normauis C. Chr, Growing in swampy places south of San Claudio. D, patens (Sw.) Ktze. A fern resembling D. normalis but having sharp pointed pinnules instead of blunt as in D. normalis. Found at Havana and Santiago at low altitudes. FERN COLLECTING IN CUBA 51 D. Motus (Jacq.) Hieron. Found growing along the trail at San Claudio. NEPHROLEPIS BISERRATA (Sw.) Schott. I found one specimen growing on a palm stump at 1500 ft. altitude at San Claudio. N. exautata (L.) Schott. Growing in the dense jungle in the mountains west of Santiago at 2500 ft. altitude. ASPLENIUM PUMILUM Sw. Found growing in shade on rocks at San Claudio. A. cristatuM Lam. A very beautiful Asplenium with cut pinnules found in dense jungles on and near rocks west of Santiago at a high altitude. A. sERRATUM L. A large leathery fern resembling Polypodium phyllitidis; growing on rocks at San Claudio. A. HETEROCHROUM Kze. Growing on large rocks in shade at San Claudio. A. DENTATUM L. A small fern growing in moist shade near San Claudio. A. saticrroLtium L. In rich dense woods on rocks at high altitudes west of Santiago. CHEILANTHES MICROPHYLLA Sw. The only Cheil- anthes I found in Cuba. It was found at Havana growing on limestone, also in a rocky dry valley 10 miles west of Santiago. I saw a few plants at Guanajay growing on the tile roofs of some of the houses where they were out of reach. PITYROGRAMMA CALOMELAENA (L.) Link. Not plenti- ful, but occasionally met with near San Claudio. One plant was found at a low altitude near Santiago. — OponTosorIA WRIGHTIANA Maxon. A very beautiful climbing fern with very finely cut fronds three and four times pinnate. It resembles a very fine lace. Found growing on damp hillsides and in one instance in a valley climbing on bushes at San Claudio. Virrarta Fiuirouta Fée. I found only a few plants growing on the body of a live palm tree along the trail near San Claudio. 52 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL DoryopTERIs PEDATA (L.) Fée. A fern commonly met with in shady woods on rocks, with a triangular deeply eut blade. San Claudio and Santiago. Preris LoNGIFouiA L. Growing on rocks at Havana and at several places along the railroad between Havana and Guanajay. P. GranpiFoLia L. I only found one small plant of this fern in the town of San Claudio, on a rocky cliff. Preripium caupATuM (L.) Maxon. Growing along the trail near San Claudio. ADIANTUM cCRIsTATUM L. Abundant both in Pinar del Rio Province and in Oriente Province. I found some specimens with sharp pinnules and some with truncate pinnules, although both were given the same name by Mr. Maxon. A. TRAPEZIFORME L. The most beautiful maidenhair I found, having large delicate pinnules, some of them triangular in shape and two or three inches across. Some of the plants stood five feet high. Damp places, San Claudio. A. FRAGILE Sw. A maidenhair which looked very much like A. Capillus-Veneris, growing in damp gullies. Some of the specimens had small wedge-shaped pinnules. All would lose their leaflets in pressing. A. MELANOLEUcUM Willd. Abundant in shade on hillsides and ravines, San Claudio. A. Capitius-Veneris L. Growing on limestone around Havana. _ A. vittosum L. A very coarse fern found south of San Claudio. Altitude 800 ft. A. PULVERULENTUM L. A beautiful plant with curved pinnules found growing near San Claudio. A. TENERUM Sw. Common around San Claudio. Lycopium cusense HBK. Found by the roadside trailing over bushes and even small trees around San Claudio. OSMUNDA CLAYTONIANA, FORMA MACKIANA 53 - L. potymorrpHuM (Cav.) HBK. Trailing on bushes at the foot of the mountains near Santiago. All the fronds were sterile. : ANEMIA PHYLLITIDIS Sw. I found only one specimen growing on a rotten log south of San Claudio. A. ADIANTIFOLIA Sw. One of the most abundant ferns found in Pinar del Rio Province and also found sparingly around Santiago. I found one specimen closely approach- ‘ing A. cuneata Kze. BLECHNUM OCCIDENTALE L. Along the trail south of San Claudio. Not abundant. AcROSTICHUM EXCELSUM Maxon. Found in marshes around San Claudio. One colony covered perhaps an acre and stood six or eight feet high. TECTARIA MARTINICENSIS (Spreng.) Copel. A large fern found at San Claudio growing in rich, shady ravines. T. HERACLEIFOLIA (Willd.) Underw. Found in rocky woods near the trail south of San Claudio at 1000 ft. altitude. Stockport, Ia. Osmunda Claytoniana, forma Mackiana E. M. KITTREDGE Several years ago while driving near Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, Mrs. Mack of West Woodstock, Vt. noticed a colony of a dozen or more plants of a very curious Osmunda growing close to the road at the “i 8 of a steep hillside pasture. In the withered condition of the fronds it was not easy to say’ whether the plants were forms of O. cinnamomea or O. Claytoniana. The following year the plants were observed in fresh condi- tion. O. Claytoniana was seen to be growing great abundance and luxuriance a few rods away, the normal plants fruiting abundantly, but no fertile fronds appear- ing on the odd ones. The station was visited for several 54 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL years; always the plants were found beautiful and vigor- ous, but showing no fertile fronds. Then came a period of a few years when no visit was made. In August of 1920 I visited the station with Mrs. Mack, and to our dismay we found that in the course of widening the road the station had been almost entirely destroyed, only three plants remaining, but they were in fine condition and one bore a fruiting frond, thus proving’ conclusively its relationship to O. Claytoniana. This frond (which can be seen leaning sharply to the left in the accompanying photograph of the growing plant and appears again—the second from the left—in the print of the fronds photographed in the house the next day) and some sterile fronds from each plant were taken at that time. In October Mrs. Mack and Miss Billings visited the place and removed one plant to Miss Billings’ fernery, where its growth was watched with much interest during the summer following. It produced two fine fertile fronds and three sterile, but before maturity a storm broke them down. Later three other sterile fronds appeared, but while showing the same odd form they were not half the size of the earlier ones. Late in the summer of 1921 we again visited the original station, and a very thorough search revealed three more plants on the opposite side of the road. The considerable thicket of birch and alder that had screened that side in times past had recently been cut and the place burned over. The new plants showed they had been in the thick of the fire, but small fronds were struggling up from the charred roots and all showed the odd upper portions. Our theory is that when the road was widened these roots were cast into the thicket as rubbish, but had survived their abrupt removal and had grown there contentedly, out of sight, until the cutting and burning revealed them.! * Tam indebted to Mr. ©. A. Weatherby sane eh following description, y for assistance in preparing AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoL. 12, Pate 3 LANT. * : ING > OSMUNDA CLAYTONIANA, FORMA MACKIANA—-THE GROWING I Photograph by Miss E. M. Kittredge) AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Vou. 12, PLaTE 4 OsmMuUN Sy ITT ae . UNDA CLAYTONIANA, FORMA MACKIANA—DETACHED FRONDS. (Photograph by Miss E. M: Kittredge) OSMINDA CLAYTONIANA, FORMA MACKIANA 57 Osmunda cinnamomea varies frequently and rather widely and a number of varieties and forms of it have been described. O. Claytoniana, on the other hand, is ordinarily very uniform; but when it does, rarely, vary, it quite surpasses its relative. The one variant of it hitherto described, O. Claytoniana, forma dubia (Grout) Clute, is a remarkable plant in which the pinnules, normally close-set in this species, are separated on the pinnae almost as widely as those of O. regalis, and the outer ones are enlarged and pinnatifid. The fertile pinnae are partly foliaceous. The present form is even more curious in that the pinnules of the upper pinnae spread in several planes, as in some of the finely cut horticultural forms of the Boston Fern; and it is much more handsome. So striking a plant may well have a name; it is proposed to call it, in honor of its discoverer, OsmuNpA CiayTonrANa L., forma Mackiana n. f., , of almost the same roadside at base of a hillside pasture, Bridgewater, Vt., Aug. 22, 1920, E. M. Kittredge, type in U. S. Nat- 0 ional Museum.—Fro¢Tor, Vr. 58 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Recent Fern Literature Ferns are usually comparatively free from the depre- dations of insects:in Hawaii, however, an insect has appeared which is causing considerable apprehension because of the damage it may do in the forests whose under-cover is there largely composed of ferns. This insect is the fern weevil, Syagrius fulvitarsis Pascoe. It is a native of Australia, first observed in Hawaii in 1903. As usually happens in such cases, it does more damage in its new home than it did in its old one. The female lays her eggs in the leaf-stalks of ferns, each one in a small cavity about 14 inch deep which she makes for it. The larva, which lives about fifty days, tunnels in the interior of the leaf-stalk after the usual manner of a borer. The adult, a wingless, warty- looking beetle of grotesque appearance, contributes to the destruction by eating the leaf tissue. Owing to its inability to fly, the spread of the weevil is slow and would be slower were it not carried about on the cloth- ing of men and the hair of animals, and with cultivated ferns which are moved from place to place. Even so, it has become abundant in the Hilo district. Its favorite prey is Sadleria cyatheoides, a species with large, soft and fleshy leaf-stalks, but about a dozen other species, including the tree fern Cibotium Chamissoi, are attacked. The forest authorities are fighting the weevil by means of an insect parasite retently discovered in- Australia. A short time since, Dr. W. N. Steil described certain cases of regeneration occurring in the leaves of young plants of Polypodium irioides growing in an old labo- ratory culture. He has now recorded other peculiar cases in the same culture, in which the sex organs, both , ; Fullaway, David T. The Fern Weevil. Hawaiian Forester and Agriculturist 18: 101-114, pl, 1. May. 1921 RECENT Fern LITERATURE 59 antheridia and archegonia, produced from certain cells in their own tissue, vegetative growths. These growths were like prothallia arising from the germination of spores and produced perfectly functioning antheridia, but no archegonia.? In the January American Journal of Botany, Miss Mabel R. Hunter has an interesting and detailed account of “The Present Status of Scolopendrium in New York State’? (Amer. Jour. Bot. 9:28-36, figs.1 & 2). The report covers field work extending from 1916 to 1921 and represents the writer’s own work, aided by several others, including members of our Fern Society. The writer’s own conclusions are interesting: “1. All described stations for Scolopendrium vulgare Sm. in the central New York area have been located, and the fern has been found in greater or less abundance at each. 2. Two new substations for the species have been discovered in the Jamesville area, 3. The number of individual plants in the six colonies of the Jamesville Woods substation was determined in 1916 and again in 1920. Comparison of the data shows the Scolopendrium is becoming more abundant.’’ It is interesting to the reviewer to note that at least one station, the first one he ever found, seems not to be in existence at present. Three stations are noted as existing in the Clarke State Reservation at West Green Lake to which a visit was made by members of the Society some years ago. The stations near East Green Lake are apparently still in existence but are doomed eventually to destruction owing to quarrying operations by the Solvay Process Company which: has obtained rights to the limestone east of Jamesville. It is 2 ion: W. N. The yelper of prothallia and antheridia from the organs of Poly oides. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 48: 271-277, Dl. 4, text figs. 1-4, yen: 1 60 AMERICN FERN JOERNAL a matter of interest however that the original station for hart’s-tongue first reported by Pursh is probably still in existence near “Split Rock” despite the fact that this region to the west of Syracuse has been for years a base for limestone operations for the Solvay Co. In general it appears that the hart ’s-tongue has been maintaining itself throughout the years. Its locations are in many cases somewhat inaccessible and practically always require considerable activity in ascending or descending steep slopes. We may hope that this condi- tion will continue. It would seem possible that there might be some opportunity of artificially extending the ranges by transplanting a few plants to situations of proper type not now occupied.—R. C. B. A new publication, containing matter of considerable interest to fern students, is announced under the title “Official catalog of standardized plant names,” pre- pared under the auspices of the ‘American Joint Com- mittee on Horticultural Nomenclature.” The purpose of the committee in preparing the list was to establish ' & standard set of names, with scientific approval back of them,which might be recommended for general use for commercial growers as well as for private indi- viduals and scientific institutions. It is expected that the new list will be of particular use in connection with horticultural publications, exhibitions, seedsmen’s cata- logues, ete. At present the divergence which exists among scientists in the matter of names is uniformity in comparison with the wide variation to be found in horticultural usage. Not only are incorrect names,—incorrect accord- ing to any system of nomenclature.—in common use, but mis-spellings are frequent, corruptions, duplications, and other instances of confusion abound. As an illustra- tion may be cited the fact that in one catalogue listing ferns for house and garden, species of one genus, (Dryop- Recent Fern LITERATURE 61 teris) may be found under the names, Aspidium, Polysti- chum, Nephrodium, Lastraea, and Phegopteris. An indication of the scope of the undertaking and the wide interest is found in the fact that fourteen national organizations are cooperating, including flower, fruit, and plant interests, park executives, landscape architects, pharmaceutical interests and nurserymen. The fern lists were prepared under the supervision of Mr. Maxon. Publication is financed by the organiza- tions interested, the only expense being the bare cost of printing. Dr. Benedict is publishing from time to time the results of his long study of the varieties of the Boston fern that have developed and been perpetuated under cultivation, and of their origins. Six years ago he gave us an account of the progressive varieties*—those in which, in a series of sports in a single line of descent, given characters are intensified. Thus, a twice-pinnate sport gives rise to a thrice-pinnate one, a ruffled sport to one more ruffled and so on. These varieties all represent true and discontinuous mutations: that is, they are not developed gradually through a series of slightly differing generations, but arise by a sudden and definite break in characters between parent and_ offspring. They are infrequent—one sport only a:nong hundreds of thousands of plants grown. Once having arisen, they are stable, reproducing themselves, in the great majority of cases, true to type. In their manner of origin and in their progressive development, carrying them further from the parent form and nearer and nearer to establish- ment as recognizably distinct species, they furnish an uncommonly good illustration of the manner in which evolution may have occurred, even if, because of their ° Fern Journal 6: —— pls. 1-3. Bull. Torrey Bot Club 43: 207-234, Pls. 10-15. Both 1 62 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL purely vegetative means of reproduction, they are not to be regarded as an actual demonstration of it. In his latest article, Dr. Benedict deals with some of the regressive variations or reversions which have ap- peared.® By reversion is meant, of course, a return toward the characters of the original parent, as when a twice pinnate form produces a once pinnate sport. Some incomplete reversions, such as the appearance of once and twice or more pinnate leaves on the same stock, familiar to everyone who has grown certain of the divided forms of the Boston fern, are to be regarded as a manifestation of the inherent variability of the forms concerned rather than a real mutation. These are more or less a response to seasonal and culcural conditions. A number of true reversions, in which the forms produced have proved quite stable, have, however, been observed and it is wholly probable that others have occurred in florists’ establishments and passed unnoticed there. As in the case of progressive varieties, true reversions are very uncommon in pro- portion to the number of plants in enetenee and, as is generally the case with reversions, ‘complete return to the characters of the parent form rarely, if ever, occurs.’ This intermediacy of character and the fact that, for “each of the twenty derivative mutations from Piersoni may give rise directly or in- directly to reversions of a Pier soni type” reveals the possibility of-a “confused tangle of forms’’ which would well-nigh defy ordinary methods of classification. In the case of plants reproducing sexually, hybridism would certainly be suspected. But here, where re- production is wholly by runners, hybridism is impossible. Dr. Benedict draws the moral that there is adequate pana og sae Bot. Gard. ax, = 3. 1922. - Bot. 9: 140-157, a v-x. 1922, TFOLYPODIUM AS AN EPIPHYTE 63 reason for caution in making generalizations regarding the similar complexes of wild forms which sometimes are found. An exhibit of practically all the named forms of the Boston fern has been arranged in one of the plant houses at the Brooklyn Botanie Garden. With them is displayed the chart showing their genealogy which those of us who were privileged to attend the Boston fern show will remember. The immediate parent of each form is also entered on the label accompanying it. In the same house is an exhibit of most of the species of ferns suitable for house plants which are now in cultiva- tion.® Have You Ever SEEN PoLyPpopIuM VULGARE AS AN “Arr Puantr?”’—“ Polypodium vulgare as an epiphyte” is the title of an article by Prof. Duncan 8. Johnson in the Botanical Gazette for October, 1921. The facts reported are as follows: several plants were seen on a number of. chestnut oak trunks, near Cockeysville, Maryland. The plants were of all sizes, showing that they had developed from spores and not merely “crawled” up the trunks through rootstock growth. They occurred mainly on the north side of the trunks, and were found as high as twenty feet above ground. They did not depend on clefts between branches with any accumulation of soil but grew on the sheer sides of straight trunks, favored, however, by the deep ridges characteristi¢ of the chestnut oak. Mosses and hepaties were found in association, covering the roots to some extent. Prof. Johnson suggests that this fern may be in the way of becoming an epiphyte of temperate regions. ® See the Flower Grower for March, 1922, pp. 53 and 79. The same note has appeared also in The Garden (English), the Florists’ Exchange and the Gardeners’ Chronicle (of America). 64 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Such plants are common in the tropics, and Polypod- ium polypodioides occurs on trees well into the tem- perate parts of the U.S. Dr. C. E. Waters in his book on ferns, published a photograph of a plant of P. vulgare growing on the branch of a tree; this photogranh was taken near Baltimore and perhaps at the very locality where Frof. Johnson’s observations were made. Some years ago occurrence of the walking fern on the side of a tree trunk was reported with a photograph in Torreya, but the fern in that case did not grow so high on the trunk and it grew associated with a heavy growth of hepatic or moss. In general the cases are not very dissimilar. Has any reader found instances of this sort? HR a8. ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES—A STATION IN NorTH CARO- uina.—In the early days of our fern hunting, six or seven years ago, my wife and I found a station for this fern in Vermont where most of our fern hunting has been done. We reported this to the JournaL. During my Christmas vacation (1921) we decided to go down into the Blue Ridge mountains for two weeks of tramp- ing. How much pleasure it adds to one’s rambles when he has fern friends, even in winter, along the way! We reached our destination “Esmeralda Inn,” Monday noon, December 19. This Inn is 26 miles, by motor, from Asheville. It is about 1% miles down the Rocky Broad River from the town of Bat Cave. We had fine weather and we were “on the trail” 6 to 8 hours every day. This country is wild and moun- tainous. The sun sets early where we were located. When we returned from our daily tramp the four foot wood blazing in the big fireplace gave us a warm wel- come. ie Wednesday morning, December 28, we crossed the river on the crude bridge in front of the Inn and ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES IN NortTH CAROLINA 65 followed down the Rocky Broad River, a matter of a mile or more, then at our right was the beautiful Hickory Nut Falls dropping at once 400 feet over a smooth precipice from an elevation of fully 900 feet above the river. We crossed the creek and started up toward the falls. We saw many plants of Asplenium platy- neuron and Camptosorus rhizophyllus and immediately began to keep our eyes open. About 150 feet from the old roadway and on the high bank above the creek, we found our Asplenium ebenoides. It grew out from under a protecting rock and it was mostly covered with the dry leaves but the fronds (seven of them) were all perfect. They were especially fresh and green, they were of nearly uniform length, 514 to 6 inches, there were a, few spores on four of the fronds and three of the tips seemed all ready to take root after the manner of the walking fern. We carefully cut three fronds for our collection. There were a number of dead fronds of a former year’s growth. That was a glorious morning, but all fern hunters know how we felt. Mrs. Brecken- ridge actually found the specimen. I spent three hours next day looking for another but I didn’t find one. I feel sure this is a rare fern.—L. P. BRECKENRIDGE, NEW Haven, Conn. 66 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL American Fern Society Report of the Treasurer for 1921. GENERAL FUND nee | IMS EES Ged or eas rere Eee oe Phare ee SSE S $270 .63 Wecelv ed Membership Dues a Be eee eae $ 2.00 bh Re aimee ant eal 11.00 a = EMO ay Ga BOR ae ae Ro ie BUGS A oe 8 ak 16 50 TOtAL GUER TOCCAVOR bi 6. Heke he $363.97 363.97 4 Jovurnat Subscriptions 1920............... 2.70 4 fos PRR pe 44.61 © £ : TO epee a 7.62 | OLA SUDSCTINEIONG 4s nolo icc sc $54.93 54.93 3 Misc. bnteng advertising ASR gee Sider oe gee aaa .00 a RD erp eS e a SiR pata ars ea 3:12 pe Re RAR POCMIONG ss cs ota t% aloes Sick 1 $75 collection fees, etc. ................. 1.00 Mise tepuhae ES ag NA eS SR ot age S87 8.87 i Gifts for illustrating Fund........................ 13.50 i Sales back num , to Eres ROM Sl ei ha 84.00 f Mites Merrie fa 2088 oko ok... ov sa ow $525 .27 525.27 x SU i ini LT le $795 .90 i AID OUT senate COLON es. $ 15.00 nitions Mi tetins tecovesag Th Pe or 88 ROIS veh ho ee og 40 Membership Ca ampaien ol ac AL Ne AR ae es eae 20.00 JOURNAL routenaae OROE rr je. $316.00 itustrations from llustrating Creer overt op hc 2 Pa a eC 6.98 Total Jo sjialspanny; wlhoes, avre.., ke eS Og EB 322.98 Total Society's expenses for 1921.................. 372.26 Emergency Fund Transferred to the Special chews | aaa Ne ee ae ye ee 110.00 ee Ot. 482.26 Balance on cae st cians LE ER nO SS Zein 313.64 $795.90 This Balance on hand is divided as follows :— Emercency Fou i Jan. 1, ie Peale wes ga Ete lar | $127 .34 eet else AAA Wc ee ore bey aie Gin sce nee Mel ae 84 $211.34 Transferred to Permanent Fund........... 110.00 legen mers ee $101.34 Cea Ow ka ake we ee ds ede hag oe al $101.34 © AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 67 Brought forwards oie visa 0s gals oe ewe tas Crus owes Sa ps eee $101.34 ILLUSTRATING FuND On Nand Jancis. vapeenk ei oon aero rs 5.91 CHTGE POCOLVOR oo ks ca Vda as ele eS 13. .50 $19.41 Paid aect: of illustrating... 6.53. 63355 6.98 Balance on: RANG 2. ices ei tv cee ee eh ae $12 .43 12.43 HoupinG FROM CouNcIL ORDER for printing catalog of Herbarium...........- $25 .00 From Budget 1920 for Curator’s use........- 8.83 From Budget 1921 ” Popa aa aoa 10.00 General Fund for ordinary expenses ....-..--+++++> 156 .04 Total general fund on hand.........-++++++++5 199 .87 199. 87 Total Balance: On Wand 33-00 ooo ee i a pai Ae ss $313.64 AL ANENT FUND On Tend ganic os ve i ee 152 .66 Reed transfer from Emergency Fund....... 110.00 *heterieh isi os as oe 13.95 $276.61 Sirice we have so good a balance in our General Fund, un-appropriated so that it may safely take the place of the Emergency Fund for this year, I recommend that we again transfer $100 from this Emergency Fund to the Special Permanent Fund. It seems to me that it will be exercising good judgment if we continue to transfer this Emergency Fund, which is built up from the sale of Back Numbers of the Journal, to the Per- manent Fund until we have at least $500 in this Perman- ent Fund. After that time a part of the Emergency Fund might well be used to further improve the JOURNAL. A council Order authorizing this transfer will be pre- sented to the Council for its consideration. Respectfully submitted, Jay G. UNDERWOOD, Treasurer. Rare Forms or LIvinG FERNS WANTED.—The under- signed desires to obtain for his fern garden, by purchase or exchange, fine crested or other unusual forms of our * A little more interest has not yet been received. 68 AMERICAN Fern JOURNAL native ferns. Christmas ferns with deeply incised or bipinnate fronds particularly wanted.—Edwar Clarkson, Newburyport, Mass. Changes of address:— Allen, Henry V. D., care of International General Electric Co., Schenectady, NY Bates, Miss Ethel ,Box 239, South Berwick, Me. Heatley, Miss Margaret, to Mrs. C. E. Moss, Box 1176, Johannes- burg, South Africa. Overacker, Miss Minnie L., 127 Robineau Road, Syracuse, N. Y. Young, John P., Ithaca, N. oF New Members:— Bill, Mrs. Sara Perkins (Mrs. G. E.), 819 3rd St., Harrisburg, Pa. fiance Dr. Selim, Gre*turezatan 3, Stockholm, Sweden Kemp, Prof. J. D., Schermerhorn Hall, Columbia University, New York City MelIntire, Mis Jessie, 3450 Oaklane Ave., arr Minn. Rust, Miss Sarah H., 6 Beacon St., Boston, Mas Schulz, Miss Ellen L., in the list of ae should read Schulz, Miss Ellen D. T. Chalkley Palmer is studying the genus Isoetes and would be glad to receive specimens for identi- fication. He would be particularly pleased to receive plants from the Rocky Mountain region. Our new member Dr. Selim Birger, of Stockholm, wishes to exchange pteridophytes with American botanists. Dr. Birger says, “I have a great number of duplicates of Scandinavian and European ferns, alse some from Celebes, Sumatra ete.” THE BRYOLOGIST PUBLISHED BY THE SULLIVANT MOSS SOCETY The only magazine in English wholly devoted to Mosses, Hepatics, and Lichens. Bimonthly; illustrated; for the be- ginner as well as for the professional, Yearly subscription in the United States, $1.25, Twenty-five cents additional gives membership in the SULLIVANT MOSS SOCIETY, with free services of Curators for beginners. ADDRESS EDWARD B. CHAMBERLAIN 18 West 89th Street NEW YORK CITY AMERICAN NATURE-STUDY SOCIETY ANNA B. COMSTOCK, President OFFICIAL JOURNAL THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW Devoted primarily to all scientific ae of Nature in El neineasiecetd Schoo SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW Comstock Publishing Company thaca, spied Hoe York A Catalogue of Supplies : - : Designed by Bo Botanists ee cae 5 Fields and ad Herbarium mEespmest THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB > MEMBERSHIP Including Bulletin, Memoirs, and Torreya, $5.00 a year PUBLICATIONS Bulletin. Monthly, established 1870. Price, $4.00 a year; single numbers 40 cents. Of former volumes, only 24-47 can be separately. Manuscripts intended ee publication in the should be addressed to Pror, A. W. Evans, Editor, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Torreya. Bi-monthly, established 1901. Price, $1.00 a year. i intended for publication in TorrEva should be addressed to Gzorcs T. Hastincs, Editor, Robbins Place, Yonkers) N. ¥; Memoirs. Occasional, established 1889. Price, $3.00 a volume. Preliminary of ae deg and Pteridophyta within 100 miles of New York City, 1888. Price, $1.00. Subscriptions and other business siiosiecinanand should be addressed to the Treasurer, Dr. Frep J. SEAVER, New York Botanical Garden, New York City. Plant Names And Their cane A ‘series of articles with the above title is now appearing in The American Botanist ee where an immense number of other articles of i dbotan- — izers may be found. _ Quarterly, $1.50 a year; Sample 25 cents: First25 volumes $16.00 prepaid — Ak ot pt sets of Fern Bulletin ; 2° : ‘ & E Le Si ent aoe? aes res Sas ac: RE BO Ee eee el ee Ge eT Te Fe Vol. 12 July-Sept., 1922 No. 3 vs American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO is Published by the wt < EDITORS R. C. BENEDICT E, J. WINSLOW Cc. A. WEATHERBY wt CONTENTS Southern California Pteridophytes P. A. Munz anv I. M. JounsToN 69 Ferns as House Plants ............----+--R. C. Beneprcr 77 Variations in Ferns 2. R. ©, Benspror 93 Ferns of Woodstock, Conn........---.-++--A- W. ‘Urna lee Ferns in the News—What ferns should be | . : "YOUE State? cee ceeecscesevees RO, Basantcr 8 Ghe American Fern Society Council for 1922 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR WILLIAM R. Maxon, Washington, D.C. - ~ - President Miss M. A. MARSHALL, Still River, Mass - Vice-president S. H. BurNHAM, Ithaca, N. Y. - = - - Secretary J. G. UNDERWooD, Hartland, Vt. +(e oe: hd ar OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS RALPH C. B a ene Hast 19th St., Brooklyn, N. Y. EB. J. WiInstow = “ = Auburndale, Mass. C. A. WEATHERBY - - - - Eas Hartford, Conn. An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns. © Subscription, $1.25 r, foreign, 10 cents extra; eent free the AMERICAN FERN’ SoG olume I, pola sa age other volumes $1.25 each. Sing r Volume ba ers i and 3 cannot supplied except aie eas complete yolum micas for ot Sheet Beane range sy c addressed ton. ©, BENEDICT, 322 East siete orders. Han sae ccatbabe other business communications should be addressed to £. J ietnatne: Auburn- a CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM L.S. Horgms - eke - Culver-St Stockton College, Canton, Mo A regular loan eee iaied is maintained in connection with the Society herbarium, Members may borrow pig aces: from it y time, 3 all ch SS eS ee Ampvrican Fern Inournal Vol. 12 JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1922 No. 3 The Distribution of Southern California Pteridophytes. Puiure A. Munz! anp Ivan M. JoHNSTON? The purpose of this paper is to bring up to date the available information on the distribution of Southern California pteridophytes. The last comprehensive treatment of this subject was by Parish (Fern Bull. 12: 1-15. 1904),in a discussion of the fern flora of California. As his paper dealt with the whole state, distribution for the southern part was not given as definitely as might be wished; furthermore much addi- tional information has accumulated in recent years and has made it seem desirable that there be made a critical restatement of the whole subject. This paper is the outcome of special study of the literature; of compre- hensive herbarium-work, in which all the important herbaria of the state were examined; and finally, of several years collecting in practically all parts of South- ern California. As here used, ‘Southern California” is, as generally understood, those counties east and south of Santa Barbara County and the desert portion of Kern County south of the Tehachepi Mountains. Included in the range also are the Channel Islands which lie just off 1Pomona College, Claremont, Calif. ? University of California, Berkeley. : [Vol. 12, no. 2 of the Journat, pages 33-68, plates 2-4, was issued Sept. 11, 1922.] 69 70 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL the coast of Southern California. Mention is made also of records from Inyo County, which is a continuation of the same phytogeographic area as that to the south, only when light is thereby shed on Southern California distribution, but no reference is made to certain strictly Sierran species occurring there. Roughly speaking, Southern California consists of three parts: coastal, mountain, and desert. The coastal is that part west of the mountains and draining directly into the Pacific Ocean. The desert area is that lying east of the mountains and constituting the Mohave and Colorado Deserts. The mountain area is that series of high ridges dividing the two former areas; the most important sections are known as the Mt. Pinos region, the San Gabriel, the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Cuyamaca Mountain ranges. In trying to assign to each species considered its life- zone, we have in general followed the Merriam system as applied by Hall (Univ. Cal. Pub. Bot. 3: 9-12. 1907), and Abrams (Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 6: 307-322. 1910). But we have assigned all the region west of the mountains to the Upper Sonoran Zone, excepting only small un- important areas in San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. The climate of Southern California is universally conceded to be dry, but it is a remarkable fact that there growin this area no less than fifty species of pteridophytes. This situation is only to be explained by the diversity of habitat and range of altitude. It does not seem necessary to enter into a detailed discussion of the - characteristics of the fern flora taken as a whole, since this subject has been very interestingly set forth by Parish (Am. Fern Jour. 5: 97-104. 1915), but in this connection the following table is worth noting: VQ ee ee a SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 71 TABLE 1. NuMBER OF PTERIDOPHYTES IN So. Ca ir. Polypodisessa 2... ee 33 sp. and 4 vars. Ophioglossaceae —.................. Marsileaeese 2 6 2 sp malviniaceae 3.5) 455005 ee 1 sp Taostiewne SAE ee 2 sp Selaginellaceae Sg ieee see ae Hauisetateie i. oo... uc xk ee Total 51 sp. and 4 varieties. In an attempt to make the paper more useful, we have given keys to the genera and species and have listed illustrations, particularly those latter which were based on West American material. It has been thought best to cite authorities and references for many locality records. We have attempted, however, to distinguish between those localities which we know only through the literature and those from which we have examined material. The localities marked with an exclamation sign are those from which we have seen specimens which we believe to be correctly named as indicated. When definite localities have been given, we have usually given a reference or cited specimens; if the latter and the collection is unnumbered, we have indicated the herbarium in which it was seen. We have aegis also to verify all records and to indicate all errors a misidentifications existing in the literature concerne with our area. The authors know only too well that the present paper does not exhaust the subject, the preparatory study having shown how little definite information a is regarding the fern flora of Southern pean is our intention to continue such ony and any infor- mation or material will be welcomed. . We acknowledge our indebtedness to many collectors and workers who have kindly given us notes, specimens, 72 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL and opinions; among them we may mention: Dr. A. Davidson, Mrs. H. M. Hall, Mr. E. C. Jaeger, Dr. W. R. Maxon, Mr. G. L. Moxley, Mr. 8S. B. Parish, Mr. F. W. Peirson, Dr. Norma Pfeiffer, Mr. Fred Reed, Mrs. G. R. Robertson, Dr. J. H. Schaffner, and Mr. H. H Tracy. Pteridophytes Key To FAMILies A. Spores produced in sporangia borne in the axils of scale-like or grass-like leaves B. Leaves small, sealo-tike: plant of moss-like aspect and of dry situations V . SELAGINELLACEAE. BB. Leaves grass-like; plant pappanee stemless and of onion- like aspect, of moist situation V. IsonTAcHAE. AA. Spores not produced as one porangia produced in terminal cone-like spikes; stems ‘sebulae and jointed Vu. padam yet BB. Sporangia not in cones, stems not as abov C. Plant small, one-leaved; each leaf “arc an erect fertile spike or panicle. II. OpHIOGLOSSACEAE. CC. Plant small to large, more than one-leaved; leaves pro- ducing sporangia on under side or special sporocarps. D. Fern-like, homosporous. - POLYPODIACEAE. DD. Not fern-like: heterosporus. E. Leaves distinctly petioled, not crowded; blade present or absen III. MarstLeacEAz. EE. Lens minute and loosely imbricated on pinnately branched stems, IV. SALvINIACEAE. I. POLYPODIACEAE. Key To GENERA A. Sporangia marginal, with leaf-edge more or less incurved and covering them B. Reflexed leaf-moargin not continuous appearing as separate large indusia; seni segments of frond at least 1 cm. broad; maidenhair fern 13. Ap BB. Reflexed ib wheteis tee or if dineontintions ulti- mate segments of frond 1-3 mm. broad. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 73 C. Fronds gine er 4 dimorphous; fertile pinnae very nar- row; high montane. 12, CrYPTOGRAMMA. CC Bronds at eae or nearly so D. Stipes light colored, not brown; fronds ternate; an inner indusium present, making the covering of the sori double; fronds large and coarse, 3-12 dm. long. 14 . PrERIDIUM. DD. Stipes dark, brown to purplish (light in Pellaea andro- medaefolia); no inner indusium present; fronds }4-3 dm. long. E. Sori naked, leaf-margin scacely if at all inrolled. 10. iaaatan a EE. Sori cavered with inrolled leaf-mar. F. Inrolled leaf-margin continuous; ctadea 3-10 mm. long, thick and leathery 9, PELLABA. FF. Inrolled leaf-margin rit continuous or if continu- ous pinnules only 1-3 mm. long and beadlike, less m, not thicknorleathery. 11. CHEILANTHES. AA. Sporangia on back of frond, not at the margin, leaf-margin not incurve B. No indusium — sporangia naked. C. Fronds once pinnate; stipe light colored; sporangia in definite ae sori in two rows on each pinna, 15. PoLyPpopIUuM. CC. Fronds more than once pinnate, stipe dark; sporangia not in circular sori but in ds. D. Plants not aad below, or if powdery below with 0. slightly inrolled marg NoTHOLAENA. DD. Plants powdery cand and margin not melee 8. PrryROGRAMMA. BB. Indusium present, covering spora C. Indusium distinctly longer than sad in outline. Sori in chain-like rows parallel to t DD-Sori oblique to the midrib of the pinnules oS E it straight; fronds simply pinnate, not over 1% 6. ASPLENIUM. EE. Sor curved; fronds at least Pages over 3 dm. lon 5. ATHY CC, adiatiia circular in outline, peltate or auto orm. D. Indusium orbicular, centrally attached; leaves once es bi pinnate, basal pinnae sometim: ipinnate; texture coriaceous. " PoLYSTICHUM. 74 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL DD. Indusium not centrally attached; leaves at least bi- pinnate thoughout; texture not coriaceous : E Stipes slender, less than 114 mm. in diam.; blade of frond 1-114 dm. long and 14-34 dm. wide. F, Indusium under the sorus, with stellate divisions. . Woopsta. FF. Indusium hood-like, fixed on one side with broad base. CysTOPTERIS. EE. Stipes coarser, 2-4 mm. in diam.; blade of frond 214-5 dm. or more long, 1-2 dm. broad. F. Indusium distinctly reniform and quite circular in outline, attached along the sinus. 3. TERIS. FF. Indusium merely curved, elongate rather than round, attached along the inner side 5. ATHYRIUM. 1. WOODSIA. Woopsia orEGANA D. C. Eaton, Can. Nat. II 2: 90. 1865. Physematium oreganum Trev. Woodsia obtusa var. Lyallii Hook. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 71, fig. 1-4. 1880. In Southern California this fern has been collected only in the San Bernardino Mountains! where it is in- frequent about rocky places on north-facing slopes above 7000 ft. altitude in the Canadian and Transition zones (Munz 6287, 6302; Parish, Zoe 4: 167. 1893. Fern Bull. 12: 11. 19094. Pl. World 20: 170. 1917); in the Santa Rosa Mis.! where it occurs in similar situations (Munz 5868, 5890) ;in the Providence Mts.! where a few plants were collected by the authors in moist gravel in a narrow gulch at 4,200 feet in the Upper Sonoran Zone; and in the Panamint Mis.! where it has been collected at 9,300 ft. alt.in Hanaupah Canyon (Dizon, U.C. Herb.). reported as W. scopulina (Munz & Johnston, Bull. Torrey Cl. 49: 31. 1922). SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 75 2. CYSTOPTERIS. CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS (L.) Bernh. Schrad., Neues Journ. Bot. 12: 27. 1806. Brittle fern. Bladder fern. Polypodium fragile L. Filix fragilis (L.) Underw. Illus.: Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 3: pl. 7, f. 5-6. 1913. Hall, A. Yosemite Flora p. 39. 1912. Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 53, f. 1-8. 1880. Restricted to the higher mountains where it occurs in varying abundance in wet places from the Upper Sonoran to the Canadian Zone, from 3500 to over 9,000 fi. ali., and in drier rocky places of northern exposure up to the tops of the highest peaks. In our range known only from the mountains of Ventura County! (Dudley & Lamb 4547), the San Bernardino Mts.! (Parish, Fl. World 20: 170, 1917),San Gabriel Mts.! (Johnston, Pl. World 22:79. 1919), San Jacinto Mts.! (Jaeger 274, Munz & Johnston 5386, and Hasse, Dudley Herb.), and mountains of San Diego County! (Stokes, Dudley Herb., and Abrams 3798). 3. THELYPTERIS. T. AUGESCENS. AA Veins of pinnules freely forking; indusium not hairy over-lying the primary rachis; spine-like teeth; common at middle and low altitudes. T. -ARGUTA. BB. Lower basal pinnule not semicordate at base, and not over- lying the primary rachis; veinlets fewer, usually ending In curved teeth; rare, at high altitudes. T. Frvrx-mas. . 3 THELYPTERIs augescens (Link), n. comb. Sweet fern. Spreading wood-fern. — In wet ground in shaded canyons 1m the pper Sonoran Zone, below 3000 ft. altitude. Known in our 3 Aspidium augescens Link, Fil. Sp. B rol. 103. 1841. — agent um Fée, Mém. 40. 1865. Dryopteris Féei C. Chr. Ind. sap a ee Dryopteris augescens, var. puberula C. Chr. Vid. Selsk. SKF. Ele oo 1913. Thelypteris normalis Moxley Bull. So. Cal. Acad. Sci. 19: 57. . Thelypteris Féei Moxley op. cit. 20: 34. 1921. 76 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL range from only a few stations: Santa Barbara! (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 10. 1904); Eaton Canyon!, San Gabriel Mts. (Parish, Muhlenbergia 3: 57. 1907); Roberts and Fish Canyons, San Gabriel Mts. (ace. to: Moxley, in lit.); and Tahquitz Canyon!, Colorado Desert base of the San Jacinto Mts. (Labouchere, U. C. Herb.). This is the plant which, until recently, was almost universally known in California literature as Aspidium or Dryopteris patens. Christensen, however, has shown that the true Aspidium patens of Swartz is a different species, occurring in tropical America. Moxley has called our California plant T. Feei, but it does not seem to be essentially dif- ferent from any of the Mexican forms of 7. augescens, as defined by Christensen. All these forms appear to be best treated as belonging to a single species; we are accordingly taking up the specific name augescens, the © oldest applicable to the concept. THELYPTERIS ARGUTA (Kaulf.) Moxley. Bull. So. Cal. Acad. 19: 57. 1920. Wood fern. Aspidium argutum Kaulf. Aspidium rigidum argutum D. C. Eaton. Dryopteris rigida arguta (Kaulf.) Underw. Lastrea arguta Brack. Nephrodium argutum Diels. Nephrodium rigidum argutum Davenp. Dryopteris arguta (Kaulf.) Watt. — Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 46. 1880. Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 38. 1912. Common on shaded coastal slopes of the Upper Sono- tan Zone below 3500 ft. alt.; ascending occasionally into Lower Transition Zone io 6500 fi. alt.! Approaching the desert at Warners Hot Springs! (Coomb, Cal. Acad. Herb.); known also on Catalina Island! (Brandegee, Zoe 1: 115. 1890), Santa Cruz Island! (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887), end Santa Rosa Island! (Brandegee, Proc. Cal. Acad. (2) 1: 218. 1888). The Aspidium aculeatum of Lyon’s list (Bot. Gaz. 11: 334. Ferns as Housre PLANtTs 77 1886) from Catalina is probably to be referred here (Brandegee, Zoe 1: 148. 1890). THELYPTERIS Frurx-mas (L.) Nieuwl. Am. Mid. Nat. 1: 226. 1910. Male fern. Sweet fern. Polypodium Filiz-mas L. Aspidium Filix-mas Sw. Dryopteris Filix-mas (L.) Schott. Polystichum Filix-mas Roth. Nephrodium Filix-mas Rich. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 41, 1879. Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 4, pl. 9, pl. 11, f.3 & 4. 1914. Britton & Brown, Illus. Flora, 1, fig. 45. 1913. Among rocks in Holeomb Valley! in San Bernardino Mts. Only a single collection is known from Southern California, that was made by Parish Brothers in August, 1882, at 8000 ft. alt. (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 10. 1904 and Maxon, Am. Fern Jour. 11: 4. 1921). No doubt through a slip of the pen, Maxon accredited this fern to Snow Canyon instead of Holeomb Valley (Am. Fern Jour. 11: 107. 1921). (To be continued) Ferns as House Plants.’ R. C. BENEDICT. Ferns! What does the word bring to mind? To me it recalls the outdoors; woodland, streamside, mountain slopes. Ferns suggest tropical forests and jungles; or, to let the thought run back in time, ferns call up vistas of ancient vegetation when no flowering plants existed. Then ferns were the predominant plant type, and from the dead ferns and similar plants of that period, by some extraordinary reduction process, We have coal. Retest: Botanic Garden. The nic Garden, and the uhle, Garden ‘Reprinted also as a Leaflet of the Brooklyn plants illustrated were grown at the Brooklyn Bota photographs for the illustrations were made by Louis F. B photographer. 78 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL But ferns are not merely denizens of the wild, remote and untamable. They are a common sight along city streets, in store windows. Retail florists’ shops show dozens of plants. Commercial growers throughout the country raise literally millions of fern plants every year, and these find their way eventually into hundreds of thousands of homes. What characteristics have ferns that make them the most successful of all house plants? If you will let your thought seek for a moment the distinguishing feature of ferns, you will realize that their individuality is expressed almost entirely in their leaves. The word “fern-like” presents a picture of a feathered leaf, with serried leaflets along two sides of a median stalk. Such a leaf may be long and narrow, or short and broad; the division may be reduplicated several times, but always the feathered cutting suggests a fern. As a matter of fact, ferns offer also leaves of all im- aginable shapes, simple and undivided, hairlike or broad, mosslike or leathery, clinging, et al. Ferns as house plants offer, then, leaves in infinite variety of shapes, of types of division, of shades of green. Some are even variegated with white, red, and other colors. Thoreau’s characterization, ‘‘ Nature made ferns for pure leaves,” cannot be too often quoted. To it may be added the fact that although Nature made ferns millions of years ago, she has never since surpassed the beauty of the fern leaf type in the leaves of later manu- facture. Secondly, a good house fern is continuously beautiful throughout the year. It does not depend for its attractiveness upon the occasional production of transitory flowers. Such a fern plant will last longer, even in the unfavorable conditions of a dwelling house, than practically any kind of flowering plant. Care or Ferns In THE Home Success with plants in the home—ferns or any other Ferns as House PLants 79 plants—is really a matter of human nature. Do you admire and appreciate the beauty of a living plant? Besides a simple esthetic appreciation, do you realize that a plant is a living, growing being—an eating, breathing, drinking, feeling organism, which thrives or pines according to its environment and the care it re- ceives? Can you take enough interest in a plant pet to study and understand its few and simple needs, and systematically to supply these—a daily drink of water, good light, pure air, cleaning, and an occasional new supply of soil food and root space? With many people, particularly in cities, a plant is mainly a means of temporary decoration, to be used like a picture or hanging, according to the needs of the room. They would like to have it remain beautiful indefinitely, but—I don’t know what is the matter. I can’t seem to make plants grow.” Under the frequently unsatis- factory conditions of city homes no one can make plants grow successfully. With poor light, gas fumes, and overheated rooms, it should be thoroughly understood that plants are to be considered merely as temporary decorations, like flowers, but lasting weeks or months where flowers last days. If the place to be decorated happens to be a well lighted window, and the plant receives a daily drink, it may surprise its hosts by re- fusing to die even months after its arrival, but it will probably wear out its welcome in its cumulative de- crepitude. In the country and in smaller cities especially, there are those who like to try to grow plants in their homes just as others keep birds, dogs, cats, or other animal pets. Their idea is not so much that here is a dark corner in which a plant would look well, or here is a dining table (in the middle of a dark room) which needs a plant centerpiece. Some people like plants. They enjoy try- ing to keep them growing successfully from one year to 80 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL the next. With that point of view, the arrangement of the room becomes secondary to the interests of the plants. These are given the best window in the house, without intervening curtains. Their care is as much a matter of the daily routine house work as the preparing of meals, ete. As a matter of fact, both viewpoints may be justi- fiable. House plants are beautiful as part of the scheme of home adornment, even though they require replace- ment at rather frequent intervals. They are also in- teresting as living things, to be cared for and studied. The essential principles of house plant care have already been indicated above. Applied to ferns, and reduced to definite rules, they may be stated as follows: 1. Water regularly, a little every day. Do not let the plant become dried out. A parched fern looks gray and dull, and droops. Do not keep the soil so wet that it is muddy. When a fern has “wet feet’ continually, its leaves turn yellow. 2. Keep the temperature moderate, not over seventy, nor under fifty, unless the plant is semi-hardy, as will be described below. Ventilate the room if gas is used, but do not stand the fern in strong drafts. 3. Clean the leaves if they become dusty or buggy- The leaves are best washed when the air is such that they will dry off quickly, though not in hot summer sun. 4. Give the plant the best lighted window in the house, ® sunny window except perhaps in the hottest summer days. The florist often grows his ferns in full sunlight the year around, but he keeps the air moist, a condition not possible in houses. Do not rotate the plant with the idea of making it develop symmetrically. All the new leaves will be under-developed, and only those toward the light will benefit by the light at any one time. You have never seen leaves growing naturally facing away from the light. FEerNs AS House PLANTS 81 5. If all the preceding requirements have been met, the fern should increase gradually in size until it becomes rootbound. Repotting is best done in May or June, and if the plant can then be plunged into the soil, pot and all, in a shady corner of the yard, the summer out-of-doors will be reinvigorating, and the new growth strong. During the year, fertilizer may be given in the form of weak sodium nitrate solution, Clay’s fertilizer, or any leaf food. The first three rules are concerned merely with maintaining the fern in the condition received as long as possible. The last two rules have to do with the quality of the new growth. With the conditions of the florist’s greenhouse as ideal, the aim should be to make the home environment approximate as nearly as possible the ideal. The resulting plant will be a compound of three factors, the individuality of the plant itself, the environment supplied, and the personality of the owner of the plant. Tue Brest Kinps or House FERNS. Since the question of house plants is of particular interest to the home maker, I asked the arbiter of a ome in which I am acquainted just what she wanted to know about ferns as house plants. “How they look and how they last,’’ was the answer which really epit- omizes the whole problem of selecting house plants in general. What ferns look best, are most decorative? Which kinds last, remain decorative for the longest time? The matter of looks is largely one of personal taste. Different people fancy different types. Among the forms illustrated and described a wide variety exists. Some are smooth, some ruffled; some are dark green and glossy; others paler with dull surface. Some may grow to 4 height of two to four feet or more; others never become more than a foot tall. Some are divided in typical 82 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL feathery fern fashion; others are tasselled, forked, or otherwise subdivided. One not uncommon in florist’s establishments, though not shown here, hassimple sword- shaped leaves (bird’s-nest fern). All are attractive in appearance. One further point as to culture may be made. The florist divides cultivated plants in general into four classes according to their temperature requirements, viz. ; ardy,” “semi-hardy,” ‘greenhouse,’ and “stove,” the latter requiring the highest temperature. The ferns suitable as house plants all belong in the second or third class. Ferns classified as semi-hardy come originally from warm temperate regions, where they were accustomed to rather cold winters. For this reason they do best when allowed to rest most of the winter, and they are well suited to be kept in rooms which are kept fairly cool, with the windows opened perhaps at night as in sleeping rooms, provided the temperature does not go below freezing too long. Some of them do well in an outdoor garden from Philadelphia southward. The other class, the so-called ‘‘ greenhouse’? ferns, hails from subtropical climates, like southern Florida. At home their growth slackens during winter but does not entirely stop, and they cannot stand temperatures be- low forty. Even below fifty is undesirable. In general, the semi-hardy kinds make tougher, better lasting leaves, which stand up even under neglect for a long time. The subtropical varieties form fuller, more compact plants, and continually replace older leaves with new fresh ones if growth conditions are sufficiently good. The semi-hardy varieties illustrated in this paper are all included in three genera, Dryopteris, Polystichum, and Cyrtomium. Among the subtropical forms, ten genera are represented. The names used are based on the Ferns as Hovusrt PLants 83 recently adopted standardized list of cultivated plant names which has been adopted as official by the various florists’ associations and other organizations. At present, the trade nomenclature of common cultivated plants is in a sad state of confusion, but the newly determined list is a long step toward uniformity, though it will take considerable time before the information is assimilated throughout the body of commercial florists at large. Semi-hardy varieties Cyrtomium falcatum (Plate 5, figure 1). Holly fern. The variety illustrated is var. Rochfordianum com- pactum, introduced by Dreer, a dwarf sport of the Rochford variety brought out in England. Another variety, Mayi, has forked and crested leaf tips and pinnae. Any of these holly fern varieties are excellent: for the house; lasting, as well as beautiful. The leaves grow in a circle from a scaly crown, after the fashion of our wild Christmas fern, but the pinnae of the holly fern are much broader, and in the Rochfordianum, beautifully ruffled and lobed, dark glossy green, one to two feet long. Native in Pacific Islands and Asia. Polystichum adiantiforme (P. coriaceum, a better known name). (Plate 5, figure 2.) Leather fern. Another excellent house fern, to which the illustration does less than justice. It is tall-growing, with a creeping, scaly stem; the leaves, which may reach two to three feet in height, are triangular, three- to four-pinnate, and extremely tough and lasting. It has been planted in Florida to some extent for use in the cut-leaf trade. Native in South Africa. Polystichum tsus-simense (P. “tensemense” as sometimes corrupted in the florist’s trade). (Plate 5, figure 3.) Tsusima holly fern. JOURNAL e AMERICAN F'nRN SMALL PLANTS FERNS SHOWN IN a =) ~ = = EF Z A =) ve sy Z 2 Cot Ferns aS House PLANTS 85 A small fern, twelve to fifteen inches high, forming compact clumps of several tufted crowns of leaves. The leaves are rather dark green, dull, twice pinnate, erect. With Cyrtomium, it is one of the commonest ferns grown as “table” ferns, for filling baskets and fern dishes. Native in the Japanese islands. Dryopteris viridescens (Plate 5, figure 4). Glossy wood Offering perhaps the most beautiful leaves of the entire list. The leaves develop in a circle, are three-pinnate, one to two feet long, pale green at first, with spinulose segments. It is of the type of our wild D. intermedia, though well distinguished. Native in China. Dryopteris Sieboldii (Plate 5, figure 5). Siebold’s wood ern. : An odd triangular-leaved fern, with a few large broad pinnae. In the fertile leaves the pinnae are contracted. The leaves spread horizontally, and are about a foot long at most; dull, pale green. Native in China and Japan. Subtropical varieties 7,figure7). Delta maidenhair. ve heard of maidenhair ferns d. Our common wild species nearly all of which in some Adiantum cuneatum (Plate Probably more people ha than of any other single kin is only one of over a hundred species, are tropical. Of all the species, A. cuneatum, ‘of its varieties, is best adapted to house conditions, but its leaves have such a thin, delicate texture that success cannot be promised, although plants may be kept for ‘some time. The plant illustrated is known as var. California. Native in South America. Davallia solida (Plate 5, figure 16 and plate 6, figure 2). Glossy davallia. Davallia is best known for two other Japanese species ‘formerly sold commonly as “fern balls,” i.e., bundles AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Vou. 12, Prats 6. Ferns as Housré PLants 87 of rhizomes in a resting condition, made up with moss and starting into growth with watering. The species illustrated has a harder glossier leaf, triangular, tri- pinnate, about a foot long at most, from a creepin rootstock, and makes a very attractive little plant. Native in Polynesia and Australia. Asplenium auritum (Plate 5, figure 17 and plate 6, figure 3). Spleenwort. A little, bipinnate species, with slender divisions, the leaves growing about a foot at most. Not a recognized house fern, but included here to illustrate the genus. A more common, cultivated asplenium, the bird’s-nest fern, A. nidus, was not available in small size. Native in American tropics. Nephrolepis cordifolia (Plate 5, figure 19 and plate 6, figure 5). Tuber fern. | A good house fern, though not so well known as the following. The leaves are narrow, usually with blunt pinnae, dull, pale green, erect and spreading. One form has scaly tubers of the size of walnuts. The leaves are particularly resistant to drying, retaining their form under conditions which would cause many fern leaves to wilt and die. Native in tropics. Nephrolepis exaltata. Sword fern. No description of house ferns would be complete without the inclusion of varieties of the sword fern or rather, its variety, bostoniensis, deservedly the most widely grown of all cultivated ferns. Although not as hardy as the holly fern and others of that type, the stronger Boston fern varieties do well under house culture, and may be continued year after year with proper care. With one hundred named forms to choose from, the present article shows only two of distinct type. Native in tropies generally. AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoL. 12. Pua Jha. iy é ie 4, Mar! : 3. Witson’s BRAKE. N KE. 6. GREEN CLIFF BRAKE. ELTA MAIDENHAIR. Ferns aS House PLANTS 89 “Mills’ Boston” (Flate 5, figure 18 and plate 6, figure 4). A new, compact, once pinnate variety, less than one- third the size of the Boston fern itself, but adapted in its size to smaller space, and particularly good because of its tough, lasting leaves. Verona fern. (Plate 5, figure 20 and plate 6, figure 6.). A three-pinnate variety of Boston fern, probably the best of the lace type for house conditions, and commonly offered in the trade. Onychium japonicum (Plate 5, figure 6). Carrot fern. Japanese claw fern. The carrot fern is a delicately pretty little species, sometimes sold as a table fern, but unsuited to ordinary house conditions. It would succeed better in a Wardian case or under a large bell jar. The leaves are slender, three-pinnate, with narrow segments, suggesting some- what a carrot leaf. Native in Japan, China, Java, ete. Pellaea viridis (Pteris adiantoides of trade.) (Plate 7, figure 6). Green cliff-brake. Tall-growing, one to two feet, two-to three -pinnate, with dark brown, wiry, stalks and midribs, and dark dull green, ovate, segments. A commonly sold table fern which will grow in the house with reasonably good care. Native in South Africa. Pityrogramma Martensii (Plate 5, figure 7). Gold deokey The particular gold fern which was available for illus- tration is very sensitive and not suitable for house use, but there are two or three hardier species which sted pe counted possible house plants. They are eh . triangularss, California gold fern; P. sulphurea, Jamaica gold pry and P. tartarea, silver fern. They are easily distinguish able by the covering of yellow or whitish powder on the underside of the leaves. 90 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Polypodium aureum (Plate 5, figure 15 and plate 6, fig- ure 1). Bear’s-foot fern. Golden polypody. This tropical American species, occurring in Florida, is not well known as a house plant, but will succeed none the less with ordinarily good care. The ruffled variety illustrated, var. M andianum, Manda’s polypody, is most attractive. Under greenhouse conditions, the leaves will reach a length of six feet, arising separately from the creeping, scaly rootstock; but in the house, it will not grow so tall. Native in American tropics. Pteris cretica (Plate 5, figure 10). Cretan brake. After the Boston fern varieties, the next most common house fern types are found in the genus Pteris, and P. cretica offers the most varieties, They will generally grow well under the conditions proper for the Boston fern, but require more top light to make well shaped plants. Native in Europe and Asia; and in Florida. The follow- ing varieties are among the best. albolineata (Plate 7, figure 1). Ribbon brake. Like the wild form, except that through each leaf division there runs a distinct white line of variegation. Alexandrae (Plate 7, figure 2). Alexandra’s brake. A crested form of the preceding, with tasselled tips. major (Plate 5, figure 10). Plain green, about like the species. Mayi (Plate 7, figure 4). May’s brake. crested, variegated form, with the leaf divisions forking lower than in Alezxandrae. Rivertoniana (Plate 7, figure 5). Riverton brake. Has broad, full pinnae, irregularly lobed and ruffled. Ferns as Hovust PLAnts 91 Wilsoni (Plate 7, figure 3). Wilson brake. One of the most commonly grown varieties, clear green with tasselled tips, forming a compact plant. Wimsetti multiceps (Plate 5, figure 11). Wimsett brake. Somewhat like Rivertoniana but with tasselled tips, and narrower pinnae. Pteris ensiformis (Plate 5, figure 12). Sword brake. Grown mainly in the variety variegata or Victoriae, Victoria brake or “Queen fern” (Plate 5, figure 13), but also in a ruffled variety, Sieboldi, Siebold’s brake (Plate 5, figure 2). It is an interesting little species, with dimorphic leaves, the fertile always much taller, and erect. Used by florists to give variety in height in baskets and fern dishes. Native in Asia. Pteris quadriaurita argyraea (Known in trade as P. argyraea). (Plate 5, figure 8.) Silver brake. Striped rake. A very attractively variegated variety which will reach three feet or more under greenhouse conditions. Not easy for house culture. It is used by florists in small sized plants for its color effect in connection with plain green ferns. Native in eastern Asia. Pteris multifida (P. serrulata, the best known name) (Plate 5, figure 9). Spider brake. Similar to P. cretica, but with much narrower divisions of the leaf. The variety illustrated, cristata, crested spider brake, is beautifully tasselled. There are num- erous forms, some variegated. Native in Eastern Asia. Pteris tremula (Plate 5, figure 14). Australian brake. A large species when full-grown, but mainly in small sizes. It is easier to grow than P. quadriaurita argyraed. The leaves are clear green, divided somewhat after the fashion of our wild brake, P. aguilina. Native in Aus- tralia. 92 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Selaginella Emmeliana (Plate 5, figure 21). Emmel selaginella The selaginellas are not ferns in a true sense, although they are often grouped with ferns, both horticulturally and botanically. The genus includes some of the most beautifully colored of all vegetative plant growths, some showing various colors with an iridescent sheen. S. Emmeliana, and its yellow form, aurea, are rather common with florists, and will stand house culture if the water supply is never neglected. Parched for a day, however, they wither and lose their beauty, although they will make a good new growth after some time. In the illustration (Flate 6, figure 7) what appears to be a leaf is really a “frond” in the original meaning of that term, that is, a leaf-like structure, made up of a branching stem with numerous small leaves. The twenty-eight varieties just described do not by any means exhaust the different kinds grown in this country by florists, and useful as house plants, but they will serve to give a general idea of what is available. Eighteen of the twenty-eight were obtained from one grower who specializes in ferns (Dreer of Philadelphia) as representing his stock. The others were added from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden collection to give a greater variety. The pictures show plants practically all in uniform sized pots, and are intended to afford a com- parison of the various kinds at about the same stage of growth. In some cases the small plants give a very Inadequate representation of the character of the forms concerned. However, with pictures and description combined, readers should be able to make a preliminary determination of their preferences. Since the plants are generally offered by retail florists in even smaller sizes, the ‘illustrations should better serve the purpose of identification than would pictures of fully developed plants. BRooxtyn Botanic GARDEN : ra ° A VARIATION IN FERNS 93 Variation in Ferns. R. C. BENEDICT In connection with the article in this number on ferns for the house, attention may be called to the different types of variation indicated by the plants illustrated. Briefly, these may be summarized as follows: 1. Dwarfing: The Mills Boston fern is a very good illustration, being less than a third the size of the normal Boston fern; also the dwarf holly fern, Cyrtomum faleatum Rochfordianum compactum. 2. Ruffling: Several of the varieties illustrated show ruffling. Manda’s polypodium, the Siebold pieris, the holly fern, and the Riverton pteris all show considerable ruffling of the pinnae, together with the irregular lobing of the margins which always seems to accompany this character. An additional point is the fact that ruffled ferns are usually less fertile than the plane-leaved types. 3. Variegation: The presence of a white stripe down the middle of the pinnae is shown in several of the pteris varieties illustrated: P. cretica albolineata, P. cretica Alexandrae, P. ensiformis Victoriae, P. eretica Mayi, P. quadriaurita argyraea. It occurs also in & Polystichum, P. aristatum, which is a common trade fern. 4. Cresting: This is one of the commonest types of variation in wild as well as in cultivated ferns. As it appears in cultivated varieties, it seems to be a perman- ent characteristic, repeated in the spore progeny. Among wild plants it sometimes seems that cresting merely affects a single leaf or two occasionally. 5. Division: The best illustration of variation In division, among the plants figured, is shown by the Verona variety of Boston fern. This is a common occurrence, however, both among cultivated ferns and to a less extent among the wild forms. A distinct twice- 94 - AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL divided Christmas fern form has been found more than once. (Fern Bull. July 1907, and October 1909). 6. Sterility: Reference has already been made to the fact that ruffled varieties are generally less fertile than the normal types. Apparently, also, sterility may some- times appear to be the only distinction between the normal form and the new type. The Boston fern, as compared with the wild sword fern, its ancestor, differs mainly in the fact that it produces no fertile spores. To be certain of sterility, it is necessary to make a careful examination under the microscope of the contents of often apparently fertile sori. 7. Spiral Twisting: A single form of Boston fern with leaves curiously twisted in irregular spiral fashion is under cultivation. As many as seven complete rotations have been noted in a single leaf. In another Nephrolepis form, the twisting takes a form which causes the pinnae to stand out at all points of the compass instead of being arranged in two rows extending in opposite directions. 8. Determinate Growth: Among Boston ferns and, in fact, in the genus N ephrolepis in general, it is a rare thing to find the tip of the leaf completely unrolled. Dr. Small reports the wild species of Florida reaching lengths of over twenty feet primarily due to indeter- minate growth. Two or three varieties of Boston fern, however, have shown the ability to complete the leaf tip- 9. Vivipary: A recent horticultural form of Boston fern has added the ability of the leaves to produce new bud plants to the other characteristics of the genus. So far as I know no other form or species of Nephro- lepis is able to bear buds on the leaf. 10. Apospory: Investigators of some of the cultivated _ forms of unusual sports of Dryopteris have reported that Sccasionally new prothallia may be produced directly from the margin of a normal leaf, that is, leaving out the necessity of development of prothallia from spores. VARIATION IN FERNS 95 It has always seemed to me possible that some of our native species of Dryopteris may be found to do the -#ame thing, especially some of the hybrid types which have no fertile spores, but which form large clumps in a favorable location. It would be extremely worth while for members of the Fern Society to bear in mind the possibilities of variation which have been detected already partly among wild forms, but especially in cultivated types as indicated above. For example, there is every reason to expect that eventually a variegated form of some of the common wild species will turn up. In general, variegation re- presents a loss of vigor for the plant, so that such a plant would then need to be transplanted to a garden where it could receive careful attention. Mr. Weatherby has written outlining five types of Christmas ferns which he has seen. Classified according to the list of variations, they represent namely: 1.— The normal form. 2.—A crested form. 3.—The ruffled type. 4.—A twice-pinnate type. 5.—Another division form not distinctly twice-pinnate. I should be very glad to receive plants of any distinct forms of Christmas ferns which members may find or if whole plants are not available, to receive fertile leaves which show the varia- tion. In view of the fact that the cultivated variety of the sword fern, specifically the Boston fern, has been found to give rise to so many and unusual new varieties, it will be interesting to make a thorough study of the dagger fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) with its similar leaf cutting, to see whether it may not also be in the process of variation and potential evolution of new forms. Of Mr. Weatherby’s list of five forms, I have found four: a most distinctly ruffled type, a completely twice pinnate type, and the twice pinnatifid form, together with the normal. Is not the common sensitive fern an illustration of ruffling fixed in a wild species? 96 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Mr. Waters writes in a recent letter: ‘In collecting for my herbarium, I always got as many different forms of a species as possible. Forking fronds interested me, but not as much as normal ones showing intangible and indescribable variations in leaf cutting.’’ In this connection, it may be added that in the Boston fern series of varieties occur forms distinguished by reflexed pinnae, by blunt tips, by different colored stipes and rachides, by different shaped bases of the pinnae, by the brittleness of the leaf stalks, et al. Such differ- ences remain constantly distinguishable throughout years of cultivation and vegetative reproduction of the varieties concerned. BRooktyn Botanic GARDEN. A List or FERNs Found IN Woopstocx, Conn.—The three Osmundas; Botrychium virginianum, B. obliquum (common locally, with a fair sprinkling of forma dis- sectum), B. matricariaefolium (one station) and B. simplex (one station); Ophioglossum vulgatum (one sta- tion, recently discovered); Pteris aquilina; Woodsia obtusa; Polystichum acrostichoides ; Dryopteris Thelypterts, D. noveboracensis, D. simulata, D. marginalis, D. cristata, and D. spinulosa and its variety intermedia; Aspleniu se platyneuron and A. Trichomanes; Athyrium acrostichoides and A. Filix-femina; Polypodium vulgare; P hegopteris polypodioides and P. hexagonoptera; Cystopteris fragilis; Dennstaedtia punctilobula; Adiantum pedatum; Onoclea sensibilis and O. Struthiopteris (one station). Woodsia ilvensis is found a short distance outside of Woodstock’s borders. Onoclea Struthiopteris seems tO be extremely rare here, but is found outside the town limits. The first Botrychium obliquum I was privileged to . find was a dissectum form and was growing by our front FERNS IN THE NEWS 97 wall. It was not only the largest of its kind that I ever found, but was also the most finely dissected. It was fertile. I recently made the acquaintance of Ophio- glossum vulgatum in its favorite haunt, a wet, mossy meadow. Botrychium simplex has not before been reported from northeastern Connecticut. The height of this fern varies from small specimens of but an inch or even less in height (but fertile) to larger ones of from six to eight inches. It appears in early May, about two or three weeks later than B. matricariaefolium, and, of course, the spores ripen correspondingly later. The one station was a side-hill or bank, with a small brook at the base, in deciduous woods with a rich soil. An area of about fifteen square feet contained probably thirty to forty specimens. A few more were discovered not far from this colony and it is possible that a painstaking search among the dead leaves would have revealed still more. Other ferns growing near were Polystichum acrostichoides, Athyrium acrostichoides, Adiantum pedatum, and Botry- chium virginianum. Both Botrychium matricariaefolium and B. simplex usually wither and die before the middle of summer, the stipes appearing to decay first near the base, thus weakening them and causing the ferns to recline.— ALAN W. UpuHaM. FERNS In THE News.—Every city has one or more newspapers which show a special interest in natural history to the extent of publishing frequently articles on plants and animals. In a recent issue of Science, Mr. Cosgrove, Sunday Editor of the New York World, wrote of the interest in science taken by his paper, and the care exercised to see that the articles should be scientifically accurate. This care for accuracy 1s really 98 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL a most significant indication of the type of reader to which a newspaper caters. Another New York paper, not noted for accuracy in any respect, published a year or so ago a whole page on carnivorous plants, in which, mixed with mainly accurate accounts of the small insectivorous sundew and Venus fly trap, there were included a photograph of a East Indian pitcher holding a dead rat, an obvious fake, and an artist’s drawing with appropriate text, detailing an annual sacrifice of a young Indian woman (shown white in the picture!), to a man-eating plant of South America. To what grade So widely distributed is this largest of our local ferns, and such enormous growths does it make in some countries, that its exter- . mination is necessary over vast tracts of grazing land. In New The animals can only eat the young, succulent shoots, as the mature growth, as In our native representatives, is hard and wiry. Geet the right number of sheep are turned in so that “fern crushing” 18 complete and forage grasses get a chance to grow. The operation A NOTEWORTHY PLANT EXHIBIT 99 is widely followed in New Zealand, where bracken is even more common than it is here. Locally it is more plentiful in dry, rather sandy regions than elsewhere, and it often makes great, branching fronds over four feet high, the stalks of which are hard, black, and iry. In Normandy and Brittany, bracken, the cut-off stem of which simulates a holy symbol, has for ages been used by the peasants to ward off witthes from their pastures. And at least one book on religious botany says that its fresh foliage was used, among innumer- able other “cradle grasses,” to line the cradle at Bethlehem. Another news article, from a Syracuse paper, tells of a local fern garden with fifty-two species harbored in a back yard at one time, most of them from Onondaga County woods. Francis B. Gregory, of 725 East Willow St., is the fern grower. Other Syracuse fern students’ may be interested to make his acquaintance. WHAT FERNS SHOULD BE PROTECTED IN YOUR SraTE? —In New York state, the Vermont list might well be duplicated, as far as the same species occur with us. Of course we should add the hart’s tongue, and the climbing fern of which records exist, though it may be too late to save the latter. Asplenium montanum and Cheilanthes lanosa would also demand protection; also the rarer botrychiums, though the commerical plant seller would searcely be an enemy of these, only the thoughtless botanical collector. Again I refer to the Vermont list published in the preceding issue of the Fern Journal, to cover Dryopteris Goldiana, and others sufficiently prized by the plant sellers to be in danger. Have I left out any others?—R. C. B. The third of a note-worthy series of plant exhibits was held by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 100 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Horticultural Hall, Roston, from May 3d to 13th. This was an exhibition of native ferns and flowering plants. Plants from various parts of New England, and regard- less of their natural flowering season, had been potted months previous in preparation for this exhibit and so treated as to bring them into flower for the occasion. The setting was elaborate and impressive. On enter- ing the exhibition hall the spectator found himself in a wooded glade. At the far end a roaring stream plunged over a rocky ledge midst overhanging bladder ferns into a pool whence it flowed under a rustic bridge and through a bit of moist meadow where grew many moist- ure loving flowers and ferns, showy ladies slipper, pitcher plant, cardinal flower, high bush blueberry, rhodora, the osmunda family, marsh fern, ostrich fern, and even the humble sensitive fern. On the embank- ments at the foot of the spruce trees that bordered the glade was a fine show of azaleas, laurels, viburnums, the flowering dogwood, etc. Here grew most of the wood ferns and the rock ferns. The ferns respond well to conservatory treatment and they looked vigorous and well developed. The completeness of the list of ferns exhibited is well illustrated by the presence of such rarities as Lygodium, Woodsia hyperborea, Dryopteris fragrans, and two or three fine plants of Scott’s spleen- wort (Asplenium ebenoides) with the two parent species growing near. Public interest was so great that the week of the exhibit was prolonged to a total of eleven days. Over 12,000 visited the exhibit in a single day and the esti mated total attendance was over 100,000. Congratulations are due the Horticultural Society and its president, Mr. Albert C. Burrage, upon the vanes ta outcome of this unique and ambitious under- ing. THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB MEMBERSHIP Including Bulletin, Memoirs, and Torreya, $5.00 a year PUBLICATIONS Bulletin. Monthly, established 1870. Price, $4.00 a year; single numbers 40 cents. Of former volumes, only 24-47 can be supplied separately. Manuscripts intended for publication in the BULLETIN should be addressed to PRor. A. W. Evans, Editor, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Torreya. Bi-monthly, established 1901. Price, $1.00 a year. Manuscripts intended for publication in TorrEva should be oo to Gzorcz T. Hastines, Editor, Robbins Place, Yonkers, Memoirs. Occasional, established 1889. Price, $3.00 a volume. Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and Pteridophyta within 100 miles of New York City, 1838. Price, $1.00. Subscriptions and other business communications should be addressed to the Treasurer, Dr. FRED J. SHAVER, New Y ica Garden, New York City. Plant Names And Their Meanings — A series of articles with the above title is now appearing in sm The American Botanist where an immense number of other articles of interes k ist izers may be found. | 2 ae Quarterly, $1.50 a year; Sample 25 cents; First25 volumes $16.00 prepaid Ask us about partial sets of Fern Bulletin WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. Joliet, Mh THE BRYOLOGIST PUBLISHED BY THE SULLIVANT MOSS SOCETY ee The only magazine in English wholly devoted to Mosses, __ Hepatics, and Lichens. Bimonthly; illustrated: for the be- ginner as well as for the professional, Yearly subscription in the United States, $1.25, Twenty-five cents additional gives membership i in the SULLIVANT MOSS SOCIETY, with free services of Curators for beginners, ADDRESS EDWARD B. CHAMBERLAIN ; 18 West 89th Street NEW YORK CITY CITY AMERICAN NATURE-STUDY SOCIETY — ANNA B. COMSTOCK, President OFFICIAL JOURNAL THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW Devoted primarily to all scientific a of Nature in Elementary Schoo SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY THE. pee STUDY REVIEW Comstock Publishing Compan WRITE FOR CATALOGUE F 91 = a Field ae" Herbarium Equi I : CAMBRIDGE BOTANICAL SUPP Vol. 12 ra Oct.-Dec ory 1922 No. 4 American Hern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY CONTENTS. Southern California es ‘ : —— & I, ] Seseteog 101 — on the Fern Leaf Industry.. . Taommen 122 The Bracken as a poisonous Plant ae "©. Nutson 125 Botrychium yar. dissectum in Vermont.... —— "L.A. Waenten 127 Athyrium = at Hatley, P.Q.. . .B.J. WInstow 128 ee Adiantum peda ar. aleuticum in eee oe = ane A’ G. Rose 123 Be A Campaign for Wild Plant Gnseration. Re ——s z eee te ee ee Che American Hern Society Council for 1922 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR WILLIAM R. N, Washington, D. C. = a President Miss M. A. pivaani — River, Mass. - Vice-president 5S. H. BuRNHAM, Ithaca - = - Secretary J. G. UNDERWOOD, ed Vt. - - - Treasurer OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS RALPH C. BENEDICT, : 322 Rast 9th St. Pinar 2 N.Y. E. J. Winstow : urndale, Mass. CA. WEATHERBY - - - - Bast Hartford, Conn. An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general pees of ferns. Subscription, $1.25 pe re foreign, 10 cents to members of the AMERICA FERN’ ; $1.50; life membership, $25. — Extnoted reprints, if Fania in advance, will be fcatcchad authors at-ecnt. ‘They sho uld be ordered when proof is returned. ish 1 six numbers, $3.00; other volumes $1.25 each. note as back numbers 35 cents each. Volume I, numbers 1 and3 cannotbe- — except with complete woh: aS Matter for publication apenale = — toR. C. BaweDcr, Pig 322 East 19th Street, Brooklyn eae _ Subscriptions, orders for b ake eases and oth = Se ian So nuenicadons should be addressed to B. J. Wirvstow, Au ass, : Sete CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM oe L.S. Hopgrns - - - Culver-Stockton College, Canoe Aregular loan de igen is maintained in connection with bers , Ampvrican Fern Journal Vol. 12 OCTOBER-DECEMBER, 1922 No. 4 The Distribution of Southern California Pteridophytes. Puiuie A. Munz anp Ivan M. Jonnston! 4, POLYSTICHUM. A. Fronds once pinnate, 3 to 9 dm. long; middle altitudes. unitum. AA. Fronds with basal pinnae again pinnate, less than 3 dm. long; high altitudes. P. scopulinum. PoLysTICHUM MUNITUM (Kaulf.) Presl. Tent. Pterid. 83. 1836. Sword Fern. Aspidium munitum Kaulf. Dyopteris munita Kuntze. Nephrodium plumula Presl. Polystichum plumula Presl. Aetopteron munitum (Kaulf.) House. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 25, f. 1. 1879. Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 38. 1912. Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 4, pl. 12, f. 1: pl. 13, f. 1-2. 1914. Occurring only on the coastal slopes, where abundant. on shaded stony canyon sides of the Upper Sonoran Zone, usually above 3000 ft. alt. This fern, typical of the upper chaparral belt, occasionally extends to much higher altitudes (Johnston, Pl. World 22:79. 1919) and reaches. an altitude of at least 8600 ft! (Munz 6087). Reported from below 1500 ft. alt. near Box Springs Mts. east of Riverside by Reed (Muhlenbergia 5: 94. 1909). Occur- ring on Santa Cruz Island! (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887). 1 Continued from p Vol. 12, no. 3 et Ses “Jovrwat, pages 69-100, plates 5-7, was issued 101 102 AMERICAN FERN JoURNAL PoLystTicHUM scopULINUM (D. C. Eaton) Maxon. Fern Bull. 8: 29. 1900. Aspidium aculeatum var. scopulinum D. C. Eaton. Aetopteron scopulinum (D. C. Eaton) House. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. 2, pl. 62, f. 8. 1880. Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern. Jour. 4, pl. 13, f. 8. 1914. Britton & Brown, Illus. Flora, 1: f. 35. 1913. Known in our range only from Snow Canyon! in the San Bernardino Mts. where it is locally abundant in rock-crevices in the Hudsonian Zone (Parish, Zoe 5: 110. 1901. Fern Bull. 12: 11. 1904. Pl. World 4: 229. 1901, and 20: 170. 1917), and from the divide between Little Rock Tributary and Bear Creek in the San Gabriel Mts.! where it grows in the Transition Zone at 6500 ft. alt. (F. W. Peirson 2464). 5. ATHYRIUM. ATHYRIUM FILIX-FEMINA (L.) Roth, var. CALIFORNICUM Butters. Rhodora 19: 201. 1917. Lady fern. Illus.: Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 37, f. 1. 1912. Occasional in boggy places and along streams in the Transition Zone of the San Jacinto! (McClatchie, Proc. of So. Cal. Acad. : 393. 1897.) and of the San Bernardino Mts.! (Parish, Pl. World 20: 170. 1917). It also occurs on Santa Cruz Island! (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 416. 1887). In the mountains the lady fern takes on wo forms, one with rather narrow, strict fronds and forming close clumps, the other with, more lax, delicate, ample fronds and forming loose clumps in sheltered situations. On Santa Cruz Island the latter type only is found. 6. ASPLENIUM. ASPLENIUM VESPERTINUM Maxon. Bull. Torrey ‘Ci. 27° 197. 1900. Illus.: Maxon, Contr. U. 8. Nat. Herb. 17: 142, f. 3. 1913. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 103 Growing in moist shaded places under rocks in hills and canyons of the coastal slopes in the Upper Sonoran Zone, below 3000 ft. alt. Fairly common in San Diego County! (Maxon, Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb.17:142. 1913). In Los Angeles County it has been collected in Pudding- stone Canyon! of the San Jose Hills (Munz, Street & Williams 2454), and in most of the canyons along the southern base of the San Gabriel Mts. from Millards Canyon! to San Gabriel Canyon! In San Bernardino County known only from Cucamonga Canyon! in the San Gabriel Mts. (Johnston 80, 2172). In Riverside County it has been found only in the hills south of San Bernardino (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 9. 1904), and in Leach Canyon! on the east base of the Elsinore Mts. (Munz 5036.) This fern is the A. Trichomanes var. incisum of the Bot. Cal. 2: 344, 1880 and of latter authors. Type locality at San Miguel Mt., San Diego County. 7. WOODWARDIA. Woopwarpia CHamissor Brack. Wilkes U. 8S. Explor. Exped. 16: 138. 1854. Great chain fern. Woodwardia radicans Smith var. americana Hooker, in part. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 61. 1880. Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern. Jour. 4, pl. 16, f. 3-4. 1914. Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 36. 1912 Frequent, often forming dense thickets 4 to 6 ft. high, in boggy places in shaded canyons on the coastal slopes; occurring in the Upper Sonoran Zone and ascending to an elevation of 5000 ft. Reaching the edge of the desert, as at Laguna Mts.! (Hastwood 9248), Warners Hot Springs! (Buttle, Cal. Acad. Herb.), Tahquitz Canyon! (Labouchere, U. C. Herb.) and Whitewater! (Vasey 14). On the islands it has been found only on Santa Cruz! (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2:415. 1887). Earlier authors 104 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL have placed our plants under W. radicans and W. spinulosa, but we here accept the narrowly limited species-conception of Maxon (Am. Fern Jour. 9: 68. 1919). 8. PITYROGRAMMA. _PrryROGRAMMA TRIANGULARIS (Kaulf.) Maxon. Contr. U. 8. Nat. Herb. 17: 173. 1913. Goldenback fern. Goldfern. Silverback fern. Gymnogramme triangularis Kaulf. . Gymnogramme triangularis var. viscosa D, C. Eaton. Neurogramme triangularis (KIf.) Diels. Gymnopteris triangularis Underw. Ceropteris triangularis Underw. Ceropteris viscosa Underw. Pityrogramma triangularis var. viscosa Weatherby. P. triangularis var. Mazxoni Weatherby. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 48, f. 1-4 for P. triangularis and f. 5 for var. viscosa. 1880. This species is common throughout our range, fre- quenting dry gravelly and stony ground at altitudes usually below 3000 ft.; extending occasionally to near 5000 ft. Off the mainland it has been found on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands (Brandegee, Zoe 1: 147. 1890 and Proc. Cal. Acad. (2) 1: 205 & 218. 1888); and on Catalina! and San Clemente (Lyon, Bot. Gaz. 11: 334 & 335. 1886). This fern exhibits several geographically correlated tendencies which have been indicated and named by Weatherby (Rhodora 22: 117 & 119. 1920): For our range these consist of a glutinous, usually white-backed form from the coastal portions of San Diego! and Orange Counties! and from Catalina Island!, and known as the variety viscosa. This variety has been considered distinct énough by some authors for treatment as a separate species. The common form in the region west of the mountains is usually yellow- backed and is not glutinous nor glandular; this is the typical form of the species. In some localities, as at SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 105 Laguna Beach! and Catalina Island!, the variety viscosa and the typical triangularis grow together. The desert form which is frequent in rocky canyons and on mountain sides of the Lower Sonoran Zone, and which differs from the typical form in the presence of glands on the upper surface and in usually having a paler under sur- face, is Weatherby’s variety Mazoni. It must be understood that these are ill-defined varieties and that most material is difficult of determination; this situation is especially true in the case of the variety Mazoni. 9. PELLAEA. A. Pinnules obtuse, not at all mucronate, 4-8 mm. wide; stipe straw-colored to light brown. P. andromedaefolia. AA. Pinnules acute and mucronate, 1-3 mm. wide; stipe dark brown. B. Leaves tripinnate, pinnules generally in gieiee ‘ ae plant of the valle 9 BB. Leaves bipinnate, ‘pinnules ean sina a lan of the mountains mostly. Fr. var. pee, PELLAEA ANDROMEDAEFOLIA (Kaulf.) Fée. Gen. Fil. 129: 1850-52 Coffee fern. Pteris andromedaefolia Kf. Allosorus andromedaefolius (KIf.) Kunze. Platyloma andromedaefolia J. Smith. Nothochlaena andromedaefolia Keys. Pellaea rafaelensis Moxley. Illus.: Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 34. 1912. Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 27, f. 1. 1879. Moxley, Am. Fern Jour. 5, pl. 8. 1915: Common in rocky soil in the washes and in the hills on the coastal slopes of the Upper Sonoran Zone, ascending the lower canyons to about 3000 ft. alt. A pproaching the desert in the region of Warners Hot Springs! (Buttle, Cal. Acad. Herb.) and Palm Springs! (Munz 4697). On the islands it ean be reported as occurring on Cata- lina! (Brandegee, Zoe 1: 115. 1890), San Clemente! 106 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL (Evermann, Cal. Acad. Herb.), Santa Cruz! (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887) and Santa Rosa (Greene Proc. Cal. Acad. (2) 1: 218. 1888). When the plant grows in exposed situations, it may take on a reddish color, a condition which was described as var. rubens (Eaton, Bull. Torrey Cl. 6: 360. 1879. & Ferns No. Am. 2: 275. 1880). A slightly pubescent form has been collected at San Diego and called var. pubescens (Baker, Syn. Fil. 150. 1867). PELLAEA MucRoNATA D. C. Eaton, Torr.. Mex. Bound. Surv., 233. 1859. Birds-foot fern. Pellaea ornithopus Hook. Allosorus mucronatus D. C. Eaton. Allosorus ornithopus Kuntze. Illus.: Hooker, Sp. Fil. 2, pl. 116. 1858. Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 33. 1912. Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 47, f. 7-10. 1880. Common throughout our range in gravelly or stony soil, on the coastal slopes of the Upper Sonoran Zone. Ascending the mountains to 4500 feet alt. and extending to the edge of the desert as at Mountain Springs! (7 all, U. C. Herb.), Warners Hot Springs! (Buttle, Cal. Acad. Herb.), Palm Springs! (Johnston, Baker Herb.), Little San Bernardino Mts.! (Munz & Johnston 5225), and Victorville! (Johnston 2502). It has been collected on Catalina Island! (Lyon, Bot. Gaz. 11: 334. 1886.) and Santa Cruz Island! (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887.). This fern was called P. ornithopus until Maxon revived the older specific name which we are using (Maxon, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 30: 180. 1917.). PELLAEA mMucRONATA D. C. Eaton, var. californica (Lemmon), n. comb.’ Tilus.: Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 33. 1912. — ‘ P. Wrightiana Hook. var. californica Lemmon. Ferns of Pac. Coast. p. 10. 1882. P. Wrightiana compacta Davenp. Cat. Davenp. Her b. Suppl, 46. 1883. P. compacta Maxon. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 30: 183. a SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PreRIDOPHYTES 107 Common on dry gravelly slopes of the Transition Zone in the San Jacinto! (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 8. 1904), San Bernardino! (Parish, I. ¢.), and San Gabriel Mountains! (Johnston, Pl. World 22: 79. 1919), and in the Mt. Pinos region! (Dudley & Lamb 4648). Similar plants occur in the Upper Sonoran Zone in the desert region as at Pilot Knob! (Johnston 5568), the Providence Mts.! (Parish, |. ¢.) and in the Panamint Mts.! (Jepson 7036). The type was collected in the San Bernardino Mts. As indicated in a letter from Parish to Maxon (Maxon, Am. Fern Jour. 8: 89. 1918), this fern occupies an area apart from that occupied by P. mucronata. It grows according to our observations in the arid pine belt of the higher mountains at from 5000 to 8000 ft. alt., and in the desert region far removed from the range of typical mucronata. This plant has been current in California literature under P. Wrightiana and the names listed. In de- scribing the species P. compacta, Maxon distinguishes it from P. mucronata by its “simple, less sharply mucro- nate pinnules, its congested habit, its long-stipitate fronds and its more broadly striped rhizome seales.”’ Careful investigation of a good series of specimens convinces us that these characters do not vary together. Intermediates are common and exhibit every combina- tion of the above characters. The most striking dif- ference is in the arrangement of the pinnules and we have thought it best to refer to the variety those plants in which the fronds are bipinnate or predominantly so; the variety is further substantiated by a fairly distinet geographic range. 10. NOTHOLAENA. A. Fronds not at all hairy nor sealy. B. Fronds covered with a yellowish or white powder, oben below; blade deltoid; pinnae close. N. californ 108 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL BB. Fronds not at all powdery; blade lanceolate; pinnae remote. N. Jonesti AA. Fronds hairy or scaly. B. Fronds scaly, once pinnate or bipinnatifid. . stnuata, BB. Fronds woolly; bipinnate or tripinnatifid. C. Fronds averaging 10-15 cm. lonz; tomentum close; plant not at all viscid; a species of coastal slopes. N. New CC. Fronds averaging 7-12 cm. long; ne very loose, plant more or less viscid; a desert speci Parryt. NoTHoLAENA caLirorNnica Eaton, Bull. Torrey Cl, 10: 27. 1883. In and about rocks and cliffs of Upper and Lower Sonoran Zones. Common about Palm Springs! and southward along the western edge of the Colorado Desert, as at Mountain Springs (Maxon, Contr. U. 8. Nat. Herb. 17: 603. 1916). On the Mohave Desert known only from near Victorville! (Munz & Johnston, Bull. Torrey Cl. 49: 32. 1922). On coastal slopes the known stations are: Sweetwater Valley, San Diego Co- (Maxon, I. ¢. and Kimball, Fern Bull. 19: 43. 1911); Temescal Canyon! (Johnston, Bull. So. Cal. Acad. 17: 64. 1918); near San Jacinto! (Munz & Johnston 5561); Slover Mountain! near San Bernardino (Parish, Bot. Gaz. 15: 51. 1890 and Maxon, 1. c.); and Catalina Island (Maxon, 1. c.). Treated in Bot. Cal. (2: 386. 1880) as N. candida, in most later references as N- cretacea until Eaton’s N. californica was reinstated by Maxon (I. c.). Type locality given as San Diego County. Nornoranna Jonestt Maxon, Am. Fern Jour, 7: 106- 109. 1917. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 43, f. 9-11. 1879. A very rare fern of the diets region, occurring in rock-crevices in the Upper Sonoran Zone, at least in several cases on limestone cliffs. The following stations SourTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 109 are on record: northern base of San Bernardino Mts.! (Parish, Erythea 1: 153. 1893 and Plant World 20: 169. 1917), Palm Springs! (Parish, Erythea 1: 154. 1893), Piute Peak on Mohave Desert (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 6. 1904), Providence Mts.! (Brandegee, Zoe 5: 153. 1903 and Munz & Johnston, Bull. Torrey Cl. 49: 32. 1922), and Panamint Canyon (Maxon, |. ¢.). Mention should also be made of the questionable record from mountains of Santa Barbara Co. (Yates, Bot. Gaz. 11: 181. 1886 and Parish, Erythea 1: 154. 1893). From the first discovery this species has been treated as NV. tenera until recently shown to be distinct by Maxon. NorHo.aena stnuata (Swartz) Kaulf. var. INTEGERRI- MA Hook. Sp. Fil. 5: 108. 1864. Notholaena laevis Mart & Gal. N.cochisensis Goodding. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am. pl. 39, f. 1-6. 1879. Locally abundant on a rocky hillside in a gulch back of the Bonanza King Mine, Providence Mts.!, Mohave Desert (Munz & Johnston, Bull. Torrey Cl. 49: 31. 1922). NoTHoLtanna Newserryi D. C. Eaton, Bull. Torrey Cl. 4: 12. 1873. Cottony fern. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 39, f. 11-14. 1879. In our range common about dry rocky places in the lower hills of the Upper Sonoran Zone at elevations less than 1500 ft. Occurring commonly in coastal Sap Diego!, Riverside!, and Orange Counties!; sparingly in Los Angeles Co., as in hills south of Pomona! (Baker 4733), Rubio Canyon! (Davidson Herb.) and San Gabriel! (Brewer 135); and in San Bernardino County, where it is known from a single collection at Upland! (Johnston 35) and just over the county line in the hills south of San Bernardino!. The only specimen seen from the desert edge is from near Warners Hot Springs! 110 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL (Buttle, Cal. Acad. Herb.). It occurs also on San Clemente Island! (Lyon, Bot. Gaz. 11: 335. 1886). Once reported from the Providence Mts. in eastern California (Brande- gee, Zoe. 5: 153. 1903) but that record was shown by Parish (Bot. Gaz. 65: 334. 1918) to have been based on a misdetermination. The type locality is near San Diego. NorHoLtaEna Parryr D. C. Eaton. Am. Nat. 9: 351. 1875. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 74, f. 5-9. 1880. Frequent, often in great abundance locally, in rocky places in the desert region; occurring in the lower por- tions of the Upper Sonoran Zone up to about 4000 ft. alt. and in the Lower Sonoran Zone. There are num- erous collections from about Palm Springs! (Pember, Am. Fern Jour. 2: 13. 1912), from there extending southward to Mountain Springs! (Maxon, Am. Fern Jour. 10: 3. 1920) and Yaqui Wells! (Eastwood 2642); eastward to Shavers Well! (Jaeger, Baker Herb.), Eagle Mts.! (Munz & Keck 4823), and Chuckawalla Mts.! (Munz & Keck 4798); extending northward along the east base of the San Bernardino Mountains to the Little San Bernardino Mts.! (Munz & Johnston 5203), Ord Mis.! and Victorville! Present also in the Provi- dence Mts.! (Munz & Johnston, Bull. Torrey Cl. 49: 32. 1922) and in the Panamint Mts.! (Coville, Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 4: 29. 1893), where it is reported from 6000 ft. alt. 11. CHEILANTHES. A. Indusia not continuous; fronds glabrous or if hairy more oF less glandular-viscid. / B. Fronds deltoid, not at all viscid. C. californica. BB. Fonds narrowly elongate, more or less viscid. C. Fronds conspicuously hairy at base of stipe only; desert species, C. viscida. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTeRIDOPHYTES 111 CC. Fronds hairy throughout; a species of coastal hills. Cooperae AA. Indusia continuous; — scaly or wodly, B. Fronds woolly hentnt C. Fronds without aoe or coarse fibers. A fern of the east- F* ern part of the Mohave Desert. , Feei; CC. Fronds either with scales or fibers. About the San Jacinto Mts D. Rachis with scales; pinnules loosely vipa Pa Se Par DD. Rach i ith fil il i 1 y woolly below Cc pe fie BB. Fronds covered with imbricated scales below C. Rhizome creeping; stipes not closely placed on it. Scales on under side of frond uniform chestnut-brown a abund- antly ciliate; blade of frond usually 6-10 cm EA Clecdlandi. CC. Rhizome short and branching, intricate; most of the stipes closely placed. Scales white to brown, scarcely if at all ciliate; blade of frond usually 10-15 em. long. C villei. CHEILANTHES CALIFORNICA (Nutt.) Mett. Abh. Senck. Nat. Gesell. 3: 88. 1859-61. Lace fern. Aspidotis californica Nutt. pg californica ook. Cheilanthes amoena A. A. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., a: . "th 2. 1879. Common on shaded cliffs and slopes of the Upper Sonoran Zone in the counties fronting the ocean; ex- tending through the low passes into the coastal portion of Riverside County to the bills south of San Bernardino!, and from the ocean along the southern slope of the San Gabriel Mts.! to the Los Angeles County line. Reported also from Catalina Island (Brandegee, Zoe . 115. 1890). The Santa Cruz Island reference by Greene (Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887) is referable to C. Clevelandii (myriophylla ace. to Brandegee, Zoe A: 147. Denar 0 443 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL CHEILANTHES VISCIDA Davenp. Bull. Torrey Cl. 6: 191. 1877. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 12, f. 1. 1879. Occasional about rocks of the Lower Sonoran Zone. First collected and best known from the region about Palm Springs! and from there extending southward along the western edge of the Colorado Desert to San Felipe Canyon! (Brandegee, U. C. Herb.), Masons! (Brandegee, U. C. Herb.), and Mountains Springs! (Parish 9029), On the Mohave it is known only from the Panamint Mts.! (Coville, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 4: 227. 1893). Type locality is Whitewater, near Palm Springs. CHEILANTHES CoopEeRAE D. C. Eaton, Bull Torrey Cl. 6: 33. 1875, Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 2, f. 1. 1879. Rare and local on coastal slopes, in clefts of rocks in the Upper Sonoran Zone. In Southern California known only from Slover Mountain! near Colton (Parish, Bot. Gaz. 15: 51. 1890); near Piru! in Ventura Co. (given as “near Saugus” by Davidson, Cat. Plants of L. A. Co., p. 33. 1896); and in mountains near Santa Bar- bara! According to Lemmon (Ferns of West, p. 8- 1882) this fern grows only on limestone rocks. Type locality is near Santa Barbara. This species was re- ported from the Arroya Terquisquite east of Riverside by Reed (Muhlenbergia 5: 94. 1909). CuHEILANTHES FEEr Moore. Ind. Fil. 38. 1857. Myriopteris gracilis Fée. Cheilanthes lanuginosa Nutt. Myriopteris lanuginosa J. Smith. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl..6, £. 1. 18 Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 4, pl. 17, f. 7-8. 1934. 2 Fée, Gen. Fil. pl. 29, f. 6. 1850-52. . Known in California only from the Providence Mts.!, where it grows in crevices in the canyons at about SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 113 ft. (Parish, Bot. Gaz. 65: 334. 1918 and Munz & Johns- ton, Bull. Torrey Cl. 49: 32. 1922). First collected in California by Brandegee and reported as Notholaena Newberryi (Zoe 5: 153. 1903). A collection of Notho- laena Parryi from San Diego Co. was reported as this species by Maxon (Am. Fern Jour. 8: 119. 1918) who later corrected the error (op. cit. 10: 3. 1920). CHEILANTHES Partsnit Davenp. Bull. Torrey Cl. 8: 61. 1881. Illus.: Davenp. 1. c., pl. 8. Known only from about the type locality in Andreas Canyon! at the eastern base of the San Jacinto Mts., where it was discovered by Parish under a cliff in 1881 (Fern Bull. 9: 73. 1901), re-collected by Saunders in 1908 (Fern Bull. 16: 35. 1908) and again by Munz (No. 4696) in 1921. The Munz collection is a close match for the type, but the Saunders plant is quite atypical, being conspicuously less fibrillose and with smaller more remote segments. CHEILANTHES FIBRILLOSA Davenp. Bull. Torrey Cl. 12: 21. 1885. Known only from the type collection by Parish! made in June 1882 (Fern Bull. 9:75. 1901) in the San Jacinto Canyon at Oak Cliff at the point where the road to Strawberry Valley leaves the canyon bed. The plant was found among rocks on a gravelly bench. An un- successful search for this fern was made at the type locality by Parish and Johnston in 1918; a similar one by the authors occurred in 1922 when the type locality and the water-shed above were examined. CHEILANTHES CLEVELANDII D. C. Eaton. Bull. Torrey Cl. 6:33. 1875. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 12, f. 2. 1879. Frequent in rocky places of the Upper Sonoran Zone, occurring along the foot of the coastal slopes of the 114 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL mountains of San Diego Co.!, northward in Riverside Co. where it extends along the western base of the San Jacinto Range to Beaumont! (Parish, Fern Bull. 12:7. 1904). It is also reported from Bartletts Canal, Santa Barbara Co. (Maxon, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 31: 151. 1918). The plants from Santa Cruz Island! re- ported as C. myriophylla by Yates (Bull. Santa Barbara Soc. Nat. Hist. 1: 10. 1890) and Brandegee (Zoe A 147. 1890) are referable to C. Clevelandii, as are also those listed under the former name from Santa Rosa: Island (Brandegee, |. c.). Type locality is given as “on a mountain about forty miles from San Diego.” CHEILANTHES CoviLLE1 Maxon. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 31: 147-9. 1918. Bead fern. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 79, f. 8-15. 1880. Wide spread and often locally common in rock-crevices or stony ground of the Upper Sonoran and Transition Zones, at elevations of from 2000 to 9000 ft. Over most of the desert area, extending into the mountains forming the coastal divide, and commonly descending the western slopes; present in the Santa Ana Mts.! (F. M. Reed 3931), but not occurring in the low hills along the coast. The Schoenfeldt collection referred to by Maxon (1. c.) as from Laguna, Orange Co. is rather to be referred to the Laguna Mts. of San Diego Co. This fern has been current under the names of C. myrt0- phylla and C. Fendleri, but Maxon (I. c.) has shown that those names apply to extralimital plants. 12. CRYPTOGRAMMA. CRYPTOGRAMMA ACROSTICHOIDES R. Br. App. Frankl. Jour. 767. 1823. Parsley fern. American rock brake. Illus.: Hall, A Yosemite Flora p. 35. 1912. Britton & Brown, Illus. Flora., fig. 74. 1913. Frye & Jackson, é SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 115 Am. Fern Jour. 4, pl. 17, f. oe 1914. Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 59, f. 1-5. 188 Within our range known ae the San Bernardino Mts. ! where it is relatively frequent in the Canadian and Hudsonian zones upon the northern slopes of Mts. San Bernardino and the adjacent ridges to the east. Rare on Mt. San Jacinto! only a few plants having been found about the summit (Munz 6411). The plant grows in rocky places. 13. ADIANTUM. A. Blade at least as wide as long, divided into two equal parts, A. each with several pinnate branches. apa m var. uticum. AA. Blade much longer than wide, not forked but with a cise tinea main rachis. B. Indusia nearly continuous, becoming 8 mm. long; pinnae with more or less rounded, scarcely lobed margin and regular out- A. emarginatum. lin BB. tidus distinct, about 2 mm. long; pinnae wedge sap ie deeply lobed and with irregular outline. A. Capillus-V eneris ADIANTUM PEDATUM L. var. ALEUTICUM Sinks Beitr. Pflanzenk. Russ. Reich 3: 49. 1845. Maiden hair. Five-finger fern. Illus.: Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 28. 1912. Occasional in our range in moist, shaded rock-crevices in the Upper Sonoran Zone and higher, from 3500 to 8000 ft. alt. We know of the following stations: in San Bernardino Mts. in Snow Canyon! a “ Hudsonian Island of Mill Creek Canyon” (Parish, Pl. World 20: 169. 1917); in the San Gabriel Mts. near Browns Flats! (Johnston 1445), in Little Santa Anita Canyon, on Mt. Wilson (Davidson, Cat. Pls. of L. A. Co., p. 33. 1896; and Moxley, Am. Fern Jour. 1: 104. 1911) and in Eaton Canyon! (F. W. Peirson 1522); in Santa Barbara Co. “in the northern portions of the county” (Yates, in Hall-Wood “Santa Barbara County as it is,” p. 67. 116 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 1884); and on Santa Cruz Island! (Greene, Bull. Cal. | Acad. 2: 415. 1887). ADIANTUM EMARGINATUM Hook. Sp. Fil. 2: 39. 1851. Maiden hair. Adiantum Jordani C. Mull. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 38, f. 1-3. 1879. A characteristic fern of the low coastal hills throughout our range. Common on moist shaded banks and at base of rocks and trees in the Upper Sonoran Zone below 2000 ft. elevation. We have seen specimens from Catalina! (Lyon, Bot. Gaz. 11: 334. 1886), San Clemente (Evermann, Cal. Acad. Herb.), Santa Rosa! and Santa Cruz! (Brandegee, Proc. Cal. Acad. (2) 1: 205, 218. 1887). In the desert region it has been collected at Palm Springs (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 6. 1904) and in the Panamint Mts. (Coville, Contr. U. 8. Nat. Herb. _ 4: 228. 1893). Known in the literature as A. Jordant and A. emarginatum, the older of which names we have -accepted. ADIANTUM CaprILLus-VENERIS L. Sp. PI. 1096. 1753. Venus’ hair fern. Maiden hair fern. Mllus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 37. 1879. This inhabitant of calcareous seeps is frequent in the Upper Sonoran Zone of the coastal slopes, where it ascends to about 4000 ft. On the islands it has been collected at Catalina! (MeClatchie, Erythea 2: 77. 1894) and Santa Cruz (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887). The known stations on the desert are Coachella Valley! (Rizford, Cal. Acad. Herb.), about Palm Springs! and in Hanaupah Canyon! in the Panamint Mts. (Dzron, U. C. Herb.). A “dichotomously forking and crested”’ form of this species from Eaton Canyon! in the San Gabriel Mts. has been described by Moxley as forma cristatum (Am. Fern Jour. 9: 27. 1919.) SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 117 14. PTERIDIUM. PTERIDIUM AQUILINUM (L.) Kuhn, var. PUBESCENS Underw. Our native ferns, ed. 6:9. 1 Brake. Bracken. Illus.: Hall, A Yosemite Flora, p. 30. 1912. Frye & Jackson, te Fern Jour. 4, pl. 19. 1914. Common as a ground cover on the gentler slopes in the open pine forests, and somewhat less common in wet places. Occurring most abundantly in the Transi- tion Zone, from which it occasionally ascends into the Canadian Zone, as at Tamarack Valley! in the San Jacinto Mts. (Munz 6035) where it occurs at 9200 ft. alt. Infrequent in a ranker form in springy places and on stream-banks of the Upper Sonoran Zone and ex- tending even into the valleys, as at Red Hill, Upland! where it has fronds ten fi. long. Throughout our range on the coastal slopes and on Santa Rosa Island, (Brande- gee, Proc. Cal. Acad. (2) 1: 218. 1888) and on Santa Cruz Island (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887). 15. POLYPODIUM. A. Pinnae usually more than 3 em. long, and pointed, with ser- rate margins; plant of less than 4000 ft. elevation. P. californicum. AA. Pinnae usually less than 214 em. long, rounded at tips, margins entire or crenate, plant of highaltitudes. P. vulgare, var. hesperiu PotypopiuM CALIFORNICUM Kaulf. Enum. Fil. 102. 1824. Rock fern. Californian polypody. Illus.: Eaton, Ferns No. Am., pl. 31, f. 4-5. 1879. Common on the coastal drainage, on rocky ledges in the canyons and on moist slopes of the lower hills of the Upper Sonoran Zone, ascending to an elevation of about 4000 ft. Island records are as follows: San Clemente (Lyon, Bot. Gaz. 11: 335. 1886), Santa Cruz (Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887), Catalina! 118 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL (Brandegee, Zoe 1:115. 1890), and Santa Rosa (Brande- gee, Proc. Cal. Acad. (2) 1: 218. 1888). A form exhibiting a leathery texture and a greater tendency for fusion of veins, grows mainly in a narrow belt in the immediate vicinity of the ocean and was ealled by Eaton, var. Kaulfussii (Ferns No. Am. 1: 244. 1279). It is this thick leaved form that is the basis of the numerous reports of P. Scouleri from the islands of Southern California, (Parish, Fern Bull. 9: 40-42. 1901; Yates, Bull. Santa Barb. Soc. Nat. Hist. 1: 9. 1890; Brandegee, Zoe 1: 115. 1890; and Trask, Erythea 7: 142. 1899 PoLyPopIuM VULGARE L., var. HESPERIUM (Maxon) Nels. & Macbr. Bot. Gaz. 61: 30. 1916. Polypodium hesperium Maxon. Illus.: Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 4: pl. 20, f. 3-4. 1914. Known within our limits only from the San Ber- nardino Mts.!, where it grows in rock crevices in the Hudsonian Fong (Parish, Fern Bull. 9: 76. 1901 and Pl. World 20: 169. 1917), and from the San Jacinto Mts.!, where it has been recently collected on the north side of Tahquitz Peak (Kessler, Baker Herb.). Il. OPHIOGLOSSACEAE. KEY TO GENERA. A. Leaf simple; fertile portion a spike. 16. Ophioglossum. AA. Leaf lobed or divided; fertile portion a panicle. 17. Botrychium. 16. OPHIOGLOSSUM. OPHIOGLOSSUM CALIFORNICUM Prantl. Ber. deutsch, bot. Ges. 1: 351. 1883. California adder’s tongue. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 119 Illus.: — Jahrb. kén. bot. Gart. Berlin 3: 315. pl. 7, f. 11. 1884. E. Britton, Bull. Torrey Cl. 24, pl. 319, f. 4.> 1897. In Upper Sonoran Zone, in grassy and stony spots on mesas about San Diego! Discovered by Parry at San Diego in 1850, rediscovered by Farry and Cleveland in 1882 (Cleveland, Bull. Torr. Cl. 9: 55. 1882). Re- ported as O. vulgatum by Davenport (Bull. Torrey Cl. 9: 71. 1882), as O. nudicaule L. f. by MceClatchie (Proc. So. Cal. Acad. 1: 392. 1897), and as Botrychium nudicaule by Jones (Bull. Torrey Cl. 9: 91. 1882) who, reporting it as quite common from Temecula Canyon southward, wrote, ‘The plant is very inconspicuous, and usually springs up and vanishes in less than six weeks.’”’ According to Oreutt, in lit., it is abundant in dry ground on the mesa lands near San Diego and usually associated with Selaginella and Dodecatheon Clevelandi, sometimes found growing in rocky hollows or near large rocks, but usually most abundant on mesas and in great numbers when present, reaching its best development the last of April and first of May. 17. BOTRYCHIUM. A. Sterile blade slightly bent over in the bud of the following season, clasping the nearly erect sporophyll. B. Luna AA. Sterile blade and sporophyll both erect in the bud # the follow- ' ing season. simplex. 2: 110. Moonwort. Illus.: Britton & Brown, Illus. Flora, fig. 5. 1913. At present known only from the San Antonio Mts.! where it has been collected only in a single locality in the Upper Transition Zone (Johnston, Pl. World 22: 78. 1919). Frequent in springy ground near 7000 ft. alt. in the Coldwater Fork of Lytle Creek. Botrycurum Lunarta (L.) Swartz. Schrad. Jour. Bot. 1800 120 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL BorrycuiuM stmpLex E. Hitche. Am. Jour. Sci. 6: 103. 1823. Little Grape-fern. Illus.: Britton & Brown, Illus. Flora, fig. 4. 1913. Reported only from the Canadian Zone of the San Bernardino Mts.!, where it occurs sparingly in two localities: Mill Creek Canyon (Robertson, Fern Bull. 15:17. 1907 and Parish, Muhlenbergia 3: 57. 1907) and Big Meadows (Parish, Pl. World 20: 169. 1917). It is abundant in the meadows along the South Fork of the Santa Ana River from 7500 to 8500 ft. alt. (Munz 6164), growing on slight elevations and about old logs and stumps where there is some drainage. | Ti]. MARSILEACEAE. KEY TO GENERA. : A. Leaf-blades present; plants hairy. 18. Marsilea. AA, Leaf-blades absent; plants smooth. 19. Pilularia. 18. MARSILEA. MarsILea vestita Hook. & Grev., Icon. Fil. 2, pl. 159. — 1831. Horse clover. Marsilea mucronata A. Br. Illus.: Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 4: pl. 21, f. 1. 1914. Clute, The fern allies, p. 200. 1905. Camp- bell, Mosses and ferns, p. 417. 1913. | Infrequent on muddy banks of the Upper Sonoran Zone and known only from the following localities within our range: San Diego and Del Mar (Underwood, Zoe 1: 99, 1890), Ramona! (K. Brandegee), Cuyamaca Mts.! (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 11. 1904); Thomas Valley in San Jacinto Mts.! (Munz & Johnston 5446), neat _ Laguna Beach!, Orange Co. (Crawford et. al. Baker Herb.) ; near Santa Monica (Davidson, Cat. Pls. L. Av SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 121 Co., p. 34. 1896), West Riverside! (Pringle, U. C. Herb.), near Elsinore! (Munz 5071), and near Moreno at the foot of the Jackrabbit Trail! (Munz & Johnston 5154). 19. PILULARIA. PILULARIA AMERICANA A. Br. Monatsb. kén. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1863: 435. 1863. Pillwort. Calamistrum americanum O. Ktze. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 206. 1905. Campbell, Mosses and ferns, p. 430. 1913. Rare and local in our range, in the Upper Sonoran Zone, in heavy soil of bottoms of vernal pools. Known only from mesas of San Diego Co., as at Romona! and San Diego (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 11 & 83. 1904); Red Hill!, near Upland in San Bernardino Co. (Parish, Bull. So. Cal. Acad. 16: 51. 1917 and Bot. Gaz. 65: 334. 1918); near Elsinore ! (Munz 5087) and in Menifee Valley! (Munz & Johnston 5567) in Riverside Co.; and near Santa Barbara (Bot. Cal. 2: 352. 1880). IV. SALVINIACEAE. 20. AZOLLA. AZOLLA FILICULOIDES Lam. Encye. 1: 343. Water fern. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 184. 1905. Camp- bell, Mosses and ferns, p. 416. 1913 Frequent as a floating plant along sluggish streams, on pools, and on muddy banks in the Upper Sonoran Zone of the coastal drainage; usually below 1000 ft. alt. On the desert known only from Daggett (Coville, Contr. U. 8. Nat. Herb. 4: 227. 1893) whence reported as A. caroliniana, but this reference, 2s apparently all others from Southern California, applies to A. filiculoides. 1783. 122 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL V. ISOETACEAE. 21. ISOETES. A. Plants normally submerged; spores with low tubercles; plants of high altitudes I, Bolanderi. AA. Plants of ephemeral winter pools; spores smooth; low altitudes. I. Orcuttt. Isorres BotanpErI Engelm. Parry. Am. Nat. 8: 214. 1874. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 228. 1905. “Formerly in the shallow stream which drained Bear Valley, which is now deeply submerged by the reser- voir” (Parish, Pl. World 20: 171. 1917). In 1918 discovered by H. H. Tracy at Switzers Meadows! growing along a brook that leads into Little Bear Lake (Arrow- head Lake) in the same mountains. Isorres Orcurri A. A. Eaton, Fern Bull. 8: 13. 1900. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 253. 1905. Rare and local, known only from winter pools on the mesas near San Diego! (type locality), and near Upland! in San Bernardino Co. Specimens from these localities have been referred by various authors to J. melanopoda var. pallida (Parish, Bot. Gaz. 65: 334. 1918 and Bull. So. Cal. Acad. 16: 51. 1917) and to J. Nuttallii (Me- Clatchie, Proc. So. Cal. Acad. 1:393. 1897). According to Dr. Norma Ffeiffer, in lit., our plants can be placed in I. Oreuttii except certain of Brandegee’s San Diego collections which combine some of the characters of J. Nuttallii. We feel the agreement in range outweighs the atypical morphological characters and therefore, for the present, place all our material in J. Orcuttit. (To be continued.) Notes on the Fern Leaf Industry GUSTAVE THOMMEN The fern leaf industry constitutes an important item in the business of florists engaged in owns and se Notes ON THE Fern Lear InNpustrRY 123 cut flowers. Maybe what I am going to describe may throw a little light upon the subject of how ferns are handled, before and after storage. I have my information from one of the largest dealers in Boston to whom I went to make sure of it. I have a friend who has been handling the fern department of the above dealer for a good many years, and who knows all the ins and outs of the business. I myself have watched the arrival, unpacking, sorting and selling of those ferns hundreds of times in this firm’s store. I cannot tell you how the men who make a business of collecting ferns work the thing today. Thirty and forty years ago I used to collect hundreds of thousands of ferns for use in the store where I was employed at that time. We went to the woods, where the ferns grew by the million, and simply picked what we wanted, selecting those fronds which suited our purposes best. We filled the left hand until we had 50 or 100. Then we tied the bundle with a string and placed it in a basket which each collector carried along. When the basket was full we called for the boy to take it away and he would leave another basket. The boy took the ferns to the wagon and pled them into empty cases. We always started early in the morning, say six o’clock (October) and had a regular picnic that day, taking things along for making fire and camping out. Next day we packed the ferns away in cold frames, outdoors, and covered them with about three inches of moist moss. When cold weather set in, the frames were covered with glass; later, on top of the glass, boards and, at last, from one to two feet of leaves or hay. Anything to keep out the frost and at the same time keep the ferns as cool as possible. In the winter, when we needed a new supply, we would open the frame and take out sufficient bunches to last us for say, three weeks. These we kept in a dark, moist, cellar or out-house, free from frost. 124 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The commercial collectors do the collecting in a similar manner and store the fronds, in boxes containing about 10,000 fronds, in a cold storage house, at a tem- perature, as near as possible, of 31 to 32 degrees. When the wholesale or retail florist sends in his order, it is filled from this storage place. The wholesale florist houses rely entirely on the wholesale collectors for their wants. When the goods arrive, in lots of millions, they put them in some city refrigerating establishment and draw from there what they need, from day to day. In these refrigerating places the temperature is also kept at 31 to 32 degrees. All cases that come from the re- frigerator have to be opened before the ferns are finally shipped to the retailer. This is absolutely necessary because there is always the possibiity of finding & great number of fronds spoiled in each bunch. The bunches must be opened and inspected and every spoiled frond thrown out. This loss is always present and some years much more serious than at others. The contents of the cases may also vary considerably. It may happen, as it often does, that there is a loss of from 50 to 75%. The fronds have either shrivelled up, are decayed or only spotted with brown or the whole frond is brown, instead of green. The cause for this has not been properly inquired into or investigated. It seems to me, and to men who have handled ferns for many years, that the fern fronds may have been handled without the necessary care, before being packed into the boxes. They are probably left in big piles, where the chance of heating in the centre may be present. They may also have been subjected to improper temperature, either too much heat, which would cause shrivelling or to frost, which later on would cause decay. Bruising, from stepping on the bundles, would also cause trouble, ete. . The retail florist draws bis supply of ferns from the wholesale house in the city as he needs it, either in small Tue BrackEN PoIsonous 125 lots, from day to day or week to week. Or he makes a standing contract to have so or so many cases delivered at specified times. Collecting of ferns starts in July, in the north. New crop ferns from the South come about the beginning of April. These are not stored in the freezer but are sold as soon as they arrive. Collecting lasts until the weather makes it impossible, in the fall. Summer ferns can ‘not be stored for any great length of time and, in fact, the later the fronds are harvested, the better they will stand cold storage. One New England firm stores about 40 million of Dag- ger and Fancy ferns every fall. Sometimes the waste is fearful, especially was this last winter an uncommonly bad one. No doubt, a large part or maybe the greatest part of this loss could be prevented by proper caution, but, it seems funny, nobody seems to give this aspect even a thought. All what the dealers will say is: “The fern trade is some speculation, my boy. You make money, if they don’t spoil, and you lose a devil of a pile if they do, so what’s the use.” I have no positive knowledge, but I believe that the fern collecting and trade is much more important In Chicago than in Boston. Also I believe it is much harder to find supplies of northern grown ferns out West than in the East and especially in New England. Cut ferns always command a third better price out West than they do here and the supply is exhausted a month or two before we begin to get to the bottom of the pile. Boston, Mass. THE BRACKEN As A PoIsoNoUs PLant—Much interest has been aroused among the farmers of Western Oregon by the publication of Professor Wm. E. Lawrence's bulletin on “The Principal Stock-Poisoning Plants of Oregon” (Ore. Ag. Coll. Exp. Sta. Bull. 187, Corvallis, 126 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Jan. 1922). Among the plants belonging to the criminal classes is enumerated the Western form of the common bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn, var. pubescens Underw.). A canvass of the farmers in my neighborhood discloses the fact that the majority had never thought of this fern as anything worse than a great nuisance as an inevitable component of the hay-crop. That it is an abundant and pestiferous weed is evident to the most casual traveller in the Northwest, and societies for its preservation would be about as popular as those in behalf of the diamond-back “rattler; but that it is also capable of posing as an active poisoning agent has been by no means a matter of general belief. One reason for this may perhaps be found in the fact that stock almost never eat the plart in the green state; the young stalks, however, are esteemed as ‘‘greens” by the Indians, and I am informed are extensively eaten in Japan. While many farmers admit cases of poisoning resulting from some component of the hay, there is no agreement as to what it is; some think it is the wild carrot, others some species of vetch, and still others the St. John’s wort. No one, however, seems to have under- taken any scientific experiment to isolate the cause of the trouble, and Prof. Lawrence’s inclusion of the fern in his list of poisonous plants has met with a very qualified acceptance. The fact of its ability to cause serious physical disorder and even death seems, however, Pe!- fectly established by the experiments of Hadwen and Bruce, reported in Dept. of Agric. Canada, Health of Animals Branch Bull. 26 (Ottawa 1917), who by isolating horses and feeding them exclusively on hay containing not less than 20 per cent of bracken, found that after about a month in every case the animal either died oF became so weakened that it had to be killed. The toxi¢ principle has not been isolated, but seems to be a fixed oil, insoluble in water, such as is known to be present BotTRYCHIUM IN VERMONT 17 in many ferns. That more loss is not caused in a region where the plant is so ubiquitous seems due to the fact that horses will refuse to eat it unless hard-pressed by a shortage of other food. Cattle are apparently not affected. Since it possesses a deep-seated horizontal rootstock, and is surprisingly drought-resistant during our long dry summers, the problem of its eradication is a formidable one, and will perhaps never be solved. In many parts of the Coast Range of Oregon the burnt- over mountain-sides are covered with an almost pure stand of bracken, extending unbroken as far as the eye can reach. It is doubtful if any fern in the Temperate Zone surpasses it in the number of individuals in a given area. In this connection it is interesting to note that although so hardy in other respects, the fronds are very sensitive to cold, and a mere touch of frost suffices to kill them where other vegetation is unscathed. The late frosts of the Middle West would have a very salutary effect in reducing the superabundance of bracken-foliage if they could be imported into our mild trans-Cascadian climate.—J. C. NELSON, SALEM, OREGON. BoTRYCHIUM OBLIQUUM, VAR. DISSECTUM IN VERMONT. —I have read with much interest the notes on Botry- chium obliquum var. dissectum which have appeared in the Journat of late and I am moved to contribute my mite to the discussion. I have never found either the species or the variety in any such numbers as Mr. Hopkins mentions on page 115 but rather I have found a few plants in a place here, there and everywhere; usually in an old field where the grass is somewhat run out, or else in an old pasture; in neither case the soil being much wet. Once, in Bethel, Maine, I found both growing on “eradle knolls’’ in a swale. In this same swale about the borders of other knolls, or hummocks, I collected Ophiolgossum vulgatum. 128 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL In nearly every case where I have found dissectum I have also found obligquum. My one exception to this rule was in North West Bethel, Maine, when I was crossing a rich “intervale’’ with my mind upon other business than botany. I spied a single plant of dissectum and, presupposing the presence of obliquum near at hand, I hastily posessed myself of the plant and passed on. My experience agrees with that of Mr. Hopkins in that there are apt to be, and usually are, various gradua- tions between the species and the variety so that it is often difficult to tell which is obligquum and which dissectum, or some other more or less indistinguishable orm. As to the sterility of dissectum I can only say that in most cases my specimens have been well fruited but as to the viability of the spores of course I have no data. If the spores are fertile I see no reason why dissectum might not be able to grow by itself.—Leston A. WHEELER TownsEnD, Vr. Alluding to my statement in a recent issue of the Fern Journat that the Willoughby Lake station for Athyrium angus‘ifolium is the farthest northeast so far reported, Mr. H. Mousley writes, ‘I claim Hatley as the farthest northeast point for the species. I have only one station for it however.” Hatley, P. Q. is 39 miles north from the Willoughby location and perhaps 5 or 6 miles east.—E. J. Winstow. ADIANTUM PEDATUM, VAR. ALEUTICUM IN NEw. ENG- LAND.—The annual field meeting of the Vermont Botanical and Bird Clubs was held at Montgomery Center, Vermont, July 10-13, 1922. The town of Montgomery is located in the northwestern part of the state very AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Vou. 12, PLate 8 ADIANTUM PEDATUM AND VAR. ALEUTICUM 130 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL near the Canadian line. Five members of the American Fern Society were present at the gathering. The most interesting plant seen was Adiantum pedatum L., variety aleuticum Ruprecht. A year or two ago Mrs. W. B. Jolley had found this fern growing in territory abounding in asbestos, in Canada, a few miles from the Vermont border. As this plant seemed to her to be different from the ordinary maidenhair she submitted it to a botanical friend who in turn submitted it to Professor Fernald, who identified the fern as Adiantum pedatum L., var. aleuticum Ruprecht. Professor Fer- nald suggested that Mrs. Jolley hunt for the fern in Vermont. Accordingly she sought a mountain of as- bestos formation and found her fern. The Clubs visited her station, the only one so far known in New England, and found the plant growing in the crevices of the rocks near the entrance to an asbestos mine at an elevation of 2244 feet. The station is on Belvidere mountain in the town of Eden. Among the characteristics of the variety are the blue-green color of the foliage and the usually ascending pinnae. A description of this variety may be found in the issue of Rhodora for November, 1905. In the neighboring town of Westfield at Hazen’s Notch Aspidium Goldianum Hook. and Polystichum Braunii (Spenner) Fée were found in beautiful condition. In Montgomery there is a small station for Polypodium vulgare L., variety cambricum (L.) Willd. I have @ few herbarium specimens of the Adiantum which I shall be glad to send to members of the Society. ‘Harotp Gopparp Rvaa, Hanover, N. H. Explanation of Plate 8.—Fig. 1, a pinna of Adiantum pedatum XH. Fig 2. a pinnule of the same, natural size. Fig. 3, a pinna of var. aleuticum Xi. Fig. 4, pinnule of the variety, X14. Witp PLANT CONSERVATION 131 A Fern Society Campaign for Wild Plant Conservation. ae ye BENEDICT. With the present number of the Fern Journal there is inserted as a supplement a reprint of the article ‘Game laws for ferns and wild flowers’? from the second issue of the Journal for 1922. In reprinting the article has been slightly revised to allow the insertion of several sub-titles, and there has been added a cover with a new cut of the lady-slipper and pictures of the hari ’s-tongue and climbing fern. The purpose of the reprint, as expressed on page 2 of the cover, is to hold up as a possible example for other states the action of Vermont in passing iis recent general wild plant conservation law. The plan of the Fern Society is to distribute this reprint as widely as possible throughout the country to a selected mailing list of individuals and organizations likely to be actively interested. A considerable beginning has already been made, and details of the program will be given in later numbers. The following statement has been prepared at the request of the Council of the Fern Society. For the present it may be noted that we have already had the cooperation of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden through the interest of the Director, Dr. ©. Stuart Gager, to the extent of an order for 1,000 copies for distribution to the mailing list of the Botanic Garden “Leaflets,” including nearly 800 residents of Brooklyn and Greater New York generally, together with about 200 Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations. Later reprinting to the number of 1,500 to 2,500 copies is promised by Mr. P. L. Ricker, of the Washington chapter of the Wild Flower Preservation Society, for wider distribution. 132 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The members of the Fern Society are asked to regard themselves as active members of state and local com- mittees for their respective sections. If you can use additional copies to advantage, these will be sent on application to the writer. If large numbers are needed, try to arrange for a separate new reprinting at local expense. A printer’s cost of three to five cents per opy may be counted on, according to the number ordered. Will not Fern Society members try to con- centrate effective action in their own states? State campaigns will not necessarily take the same form or seek precisely the same aims. It is hoped, however, that the next few months may see wide-spread ipterest and activity throughout the country, so that the value of such concerted action may be gained. The idea of a game law or other means for the pro- tection of wild plants is not entirely a sentimental one, aimed merely to preserve rarities here and there for the pleasures of the initiated. The attitude of mind that is interested in wild things is an important factor in the whole program .of conservation of natural re- sources. To preserve forests for future lumber needs is simply long-sighted business and patriotic. sense. To develop an interest in the preservation of the wild through the appeal to the love of wild flowers is one important approach. We can not claim for our campaign the economic¢ aspects of the campaigns for the protection of wild birds, the feathered allies of man in the war against insects, but we can claim to be marching toward the same goal and, further, that our success will aid in the preservation of the homes of these bird friends. The cose of reprinting the articles with additional plate and pages has been met by a special appropriation authorized by the Council in October. Included with this was a gift of $25.00 by Mrs. William Spalding, of AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 133 Syracuse, a former member of the Society. Out of this total of $75.00 there will be met the cost of the Society’s supply of 1,700 reprints, some of the postage, the cost of the new plate, and additional items which will be reported in detail later. The Council asks the aid of the members at large, not only in furthering the campaign of education, which it is hoped may be accomplished by the distribution of the reprint, but also by such cash contributions as may be possible toward the special printing fund, to the end that the Society’s reserve for regular printing may be restored. If one-sixth of our three hundred members should send a dollar apiece to the Treasurer, the fifty dollar fund would be completely restored. American Fern Society Our Curator, Prof. L. S. Hopkins, is now settled at his new place of residence, Canton. Mo., where he is Dean of Culver-Stoekton College. He wishes it announced that requests for the loan of specimens from the Society Herbarium should be sent to him at the above address and that he will now be able to give them im- mediate attention. Through the kindness of Mrs. C. A. Weatherby, who has made the drawing, we are able to present the plate of Adiantum pedatum, var. aleuticum which accompanies Mr. Rugg’s note on the finding of this plant in Vermont by Mrs. Frances L. Jolley—one of the most inter- esting discoveries made in the eastern United States in recent years. The drawing of var. aleuticum was made from one of Mrs. Jolley’s specimens; that of typical A. pedatum from a specimen collected at Bolton, Conn. _ : With this number, volume 12 of the JouRNAL 1s com- pleted: our readers may be interested in an account 134 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL of some of the prospects for the next volume. Miss Marshall has sent us an interesting, illustrated account of a peculiar form of the ebony spleenwort, growing in a most unexpected place, which has been under obser- vation by her and by others for a number of years. There is probably no genus of fernworts which gives more trouble to amateurs and even to expert botanists in determining species than does the genus Equisetum: Prof. J. H. Schaffner, who has made a special study of the genus, has prepared a key for the use of amateurs. with the especial object of pointing out the important characters which are to be depended upon in naming specimens. We also hope to begin at an early date a series of illustrated articles on single species of ferns, in which, through the collaboration of several members, an effort will be made to bring together all available information to date in regard to the characters, habits, distribution, etc., of the plants concerned, and to present it in an interesting and untechnical manner. Another prospect is an article on tropical species desirable for cultivation, but not now on the market. The Judge of Elections, J. C. Nelson, Salem, Oregon, reports the election of the following officers for 1923:— President, W. R. Maxon; Vice-President, Miss M. A- Marshall; Secretary, Rev. C. S. Lewis; Treasurer, J. G. Underwood. The nominating committee consisted of C. H. Bissell, Chairman, Miss Annie Lorenz and Bayard Long. New Members:— Kittredge, Miss E. M., Proctor, Vt. Taylor, Norman, ironies Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, as i Whitman, Mrs. William, Jr., 17 Common-wealth Ave-» oston, Mass. Change of address:— Greene, F. C., 1434 South Cincinnati Ave., Tulsa, Okla- INDEX TO VOLUME 12 Acrostichum excelsum, 48, 53 Adder’s tongue, 8, 17; California, Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, 52, 116; ea , 85; ‘var. California”’ 5; ema on YS agile, 52; Jordani, 116; melanoleucum, 52; atum, r. aleuticum, 12 ngland, 128; pulverulentum, ; tenerum, 52; apeziforme, 52; ar 52 seed sbi munitum, 101; scopu- linum, 102 ‘Adioaiersas andro miopanirennan star var. argutum, 76; simu- lat Aspidotis califo~ nici, ae ; sevens, er ae Praia var. in- 10 102 Athy stan pene. phew are an- gustifolium, 128; at Hatley, P. @.. 128: eet 96; var. californicum, 102 Azolla caroliniana, 121; filiculoides, 121 Benepict, evolution as erns in the news, 97; game ‘awe for ferns and wild flowers, 33; re- gressive variations or a hovaaenind imary or secondary State?, Bracken, 126; a poisonous plant, 125, 125 Brake, 116; Alexandra’s, 90; Ameri- common 7; 98; retan, 89; green cliff, 89; May's 90; ibbon, 90; ton, 90; Siebold’s, 91 93; silver, 91; spider, 91; sword, 91; i; 91; Wimsett, 91 race , L. P., Asplenium noides, . station in North sees report of the BuRNH H., aeuae -: 1921, 27 oe wenatgye americanum yea og of stan rdized plant es (review), 60 aes triangularis, 104; vis- 104 Cheilanthes fornica, ais eroded iil, 135 @ 136 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 113, 114; Cooperae, 112; Covillei, gold, 89; carrot, &9; Christmas, 114; Feei, 112; Pendle ade ii, 7 94; climbing, 40; fibrillosa Se ‘“ i > lan coffee, 105; cottony, 109; dagger, gin ces ond 43, 95, 124; dwarf holly, 92; Pian era iis. aa Partehit fancy, 43, 124; five-finger, 115; 113; viscida, 112; fragrant shield, 37; glossy wood, Chenopodium “Boecianum, 5 83; gold, 89, 4; goldenback, Cibotium Cha i, 58 104; Goldie’s, 20, 35, 37, 42, 43; Cuarxson, E. H., ert in grape, 4; great chain, 103; holly, natur aliting ferns, 19 83, 87, 92; Jamaica gold, 89; Conservation of wild plants, a Japanese claw, 89; lace, 111; a campaign for, lady, 102; leather, 44, 83; little Cryptogramma acrostichoides, 114 grape, 119; maidenhair, 12, 116; | Cuba, fern collecting in, 46 male, 19,22, 77; marginal shield, Cyrtomium, 82; falcatum, 83, , 43; Massachusetts, 20, 35; var. Mayi, 83; var. Rochfordia- Mills’ Boston, : row=- num compactum, 83, 93 leaved chain, 20; , 19, 35 Cystopteris bulbifera, 19, 22, 23; parsiey. 134; anes, 91s ae fragilis, 75 royal, 35; Siebold’s wood, nog 89; nage 104; ok Davallia, glossy, 85 were: t, 75, 77; sword, Davallia solida, 85 7 gabe holly, 83; Dennstaedtia punctilobula, 96 abi yr Venus-hair, 116; Ver- Dodecatheon Dicracadih 119 ona, 89; walking, 64, 65; water, : Doryopteris pedata, 52 121; wood, 7 Dryopteris arguta, 76: auge ass Fern and flower show, Bost var. puberula, 75; cristata, 57, 96 99; collecting in Cuba, 46; leat eei, 75; Filix-mas, 19, 77; ; industry, 122; literature, recent, Goldiana, 20, 39, 99: intermedia, 58; lover, reminiszences of a, 16: 43, 5; marginalis, 43, 96; wee megalodus, 50; mollis, 51 munita, Ferns, experiments in naturabizing, 101; normalis, 48, 50; novebo- 19; game laws for, 33; perry racensis, 50, 96; obliterata, 50: in, 93 atens, 50, 76; reticulata, 50; Ferns as house gees i in the rigida arguta, 76; sancta, 50: new of southern Cali- sclerophylla, 50; serra, 50: Sie- Socks. 69, 101; t Woods tock boldii, 85; simulata, 20, 96; Conn., spinulosa, 96; var. intermedia, Filix fragilis, 7 96; tetragona, 50; Thelypteris, Futuaway, D. oa the fern weevil Be 6 ; 85 (review), 58 Equi m, o ose 7 : 12 ee ed hybrid Galium lanceolatum, 6 E Geum strictum, quisetum —— le, 13; var . affine, Graves, E. W., a fern collecting ra litor: 2 variegatum, 13; ey 43 trip in Cuba Jesu a 7, e i 104; mm aris, . Henkin in seed ne ferns, Cyan pe Prscgar cr var. viscosa, a “ * 3 1 Fern, sang s-tongue, Mm bear 's- Gymnopteris trisngplaris foot, 9 big chain oe bird’ oot, 106; ty s-nest, 87; inion, 75; MHabenaria alta, ge —— 7 Boston, 57, 61, 62, 63° oh 89,93, Hart's tongue, 35, 40, 60, 98 94, 95; Braun’s holly, 37; brittle, Hatley, P. = ae angusti- 75; broad beech, 20: A rs folium at, 128 INDEX TO Hie pets dp ing. notice, 31 Hori, ns, L. S8., report of the cura- tor for 1921, 29 Horse clover, 120 unTEeR, M. R., the present status of Scolop oot ae in New York State euhing w), 5 Hydrangea prelate 5 Hypolepis californica, 111 Geore, obituary sa hater aggi 121; melanopoda, , 121; Nuttallii, 122; Machi tii, eeu 4; 122 Jounson, D. olypodium ere gare as an ipinhste piapcoleta Jounston, I. ., the cision of southern Californ teri- dophytes, I, 69, II, on Kitrrepcr, E. M., Osmunda Claytoniana, forma Mackiana, Lastrea arguta, 76 Lincotn, AGNES notice ONG, Bitckn! he occurrence otrychium fereachet cent be W., obituary e of New Jersey, Lycopodium complanatum, flabelliforme, 24, with 25 ateas. 24 Lygodium, 40; cubense, 52; poly- morphum, 53 ch ci ad R., Cystopteris bulbi- fera Maidenhat, 115: delta, 85 Bimcerest, _ “ mplana m, . flabelliforme ar ih 25 24; reminiscences of a fern wheibeesis 6 arsilea mucronata, 120; vestita, se n, W. R., report of the presi- , 24 e distribution of is Caio pteridophytes I, 69, a Myriop ‘ee ae 112; lanugin- 112 Vou. 12 137 Neuson, J. C., the bracken as a poisonous plant, 125 Nep oars argutum, 76; Filix- 77; rigidum, var. argutum, Nephrolepsis, 93, 94; biserrata, 51; cordifolia, 87; exaltata, 51, 87 var. bostoniensis, 87 Neurogramme triangularis, 104 Botrychium matri- station for in, 64 tegerrima, Obituary notices: Hieronymus, coln, Ane W., 30 On ae sensibilis, 96; Struthiopter , 96 bis chium japonicum, 89 Ophioglossum californicum, 118; nudicaule, 118; vulgat 4, 8, 7, 96, 97, 118, 127 Osmunda cinnamomea, 53, 57, 96; Claytoniana, 53, ‘ 57, 96; forma dubi 7; forma Mack- mosa, 1; regalis, 57,96 Ostrya virginiana, 5 Panicum clandestinum, 7; micro- hopus, 05; viridie, 89; Wrightiana, 107; var. californica, 106; var. compacta, 106 Phegopteris Dry opteris, 19; hexa- gonoptera, 20, 96; poly podioid es, Physematium oreganum, 7 v4 20 omelaena, 51 Pityrogramma , - ‘Martensii, 89; sulphurea, 89; 138 tartarea, 8 104, 105; var. _Maxooi, 104, vie var. viscosa Platyioma andromedaefolia, 105 Pieurothaitie gpa 49 Polypodium angustifolium ifornia, distribution of, 1. 69. IL, - , 83; adian toides, st andro- ta argyraea, 91, 93; serrulata, 91; tremula, 91 Reminiscences = a fern lover, 16 Reviews: Benedict, R. C., regressive asa ons rin uriearey ee from the an ds ports “ (Nephrolepis| onadiidiaia 61; ion as illustrated by ferns, il, 58; Hunter present status of Scolopendrium in New York AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL State, 59; Johnson, D. §., Polypodium beet as an epi- phyte, 63; Ste W. N., the develo opment of ‘prothallia and antheridia from the sex on Polypodium irioides cee cinttiatadiic 16; bealiale Ru ea. i: G., Adiantum pedatum — zleuticum in New England Sadleria cyatheoides, 58 um iv 2 —) i] narrow, 35; silve Srrem, W. N., the “development of prothallia and antheri a from the ltrs sex organs of a irioides (review), 58 Tectaria heracleifolia, ee martini- censis, 53; trifo ah . Thelypteris arguta pews 75, 76; Feei, 76; jen 77; en 75 THOMMEN, GusTAVE, notes On the fern leaf industry, 122 bpocnad ay Am pring of the treasurer for 192 Upxam, - W.., Bhs * wpe found in Woodstock, Conn., 96 Vermont, ees ge obliquum, var. Som tum - 27 Viola olia Meri aehtin. ae Wall ru Warsawical discolor, 4 WEATHERBY, _— i ed & pear mutant?, 9+ on a acuine hybrid in Equi- m, 12;report of the editors wae al J., Athyrium — folium peg Hatley, P. Q. 1 e editors for 1921, 28 InpEx TO Vout. 12 139 Woodsia, 37; ilvensis, 96; obtu: baneactccag 41; angustifolia, 21; 96; var. Lyallii, 74; oregana, fe pratt 20; Chamissoi, ry hee scopulina, 74 dica s, 104; var, americana, 103; luna as Conn., ferns found in, patina: 104; virginica, 18, 21 ERRATA Page 9, line 9 from bottom, for tornatum read ternatum. THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB MEMBERSHIP Including Bulletin. Memoirs, and Torreya, $5.00 a year PUBLICATIONS : ulletin. Monthly, established 1870. Price, $4.00 a year; single numbers 40 cents. 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AMERICAN NATURE-STUDY SOCIETY — ANNA B. COMSTOCK, President OFFICIAL JOURNAL ‘THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW Devoted primarily to all scientific ert of ature in Elementary Scheo emg pom SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY ; THE NATURE-STU DY REVIEW ee = Comstock Publishing Company : ewe. siies Bot — EB FERN TROWELS HAND I Anmvrican Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY EDITORS R. C. BENEDICT E, J. WINSLOW c. A. WEATHERBY VOLUME XIII 19:23 AUBURNDALE,! MAS». CONTENTS VoLUME 13, NumBer 1, Pacss 1-32, Issuep Marcu 13, 1923 Southern California Plaridocier a Bryer ies Munz & I. M. Johnston 1® Proliferous Ebony eo Ages ee ay M. A. Marshall 7 Recent Fern Litewature, ic u7)00 tse Wall Ferns in Wilm eae ING OS ee tee E. T. Wherry 17 Progress of the Fern Society Pr ogram for Wild Plant Protection R.C. Benedict os American Fern Society seg RES 6 ES Le Eee ee oe VoLuME 13, NuMBER 2, Paces 33-66, Issupp May 11, 1923 How to distinguish the North American Species of ee * ds @ Schafer 33 Observations on rd clanne Fern in Pennsylvania. .R. J. Sim 40 — Cisgsechim 49 he ee ee AY Panwa Phen st thé Perms sa ss pees E.. . Clarkson 45 The eo OSA. lS Ca Se as ee R. Cy. Benedict 4 osqul How to ave ‘the Wild Flow iM. 0. W Wild Pl: bpicicnheeers in Cognaccnge <6 otes on Wild Plan ‘ tion RC: oases 56 Recent es © Literative. 6. oe ee 60 American re erm Bociety os 005 44 eos Oe 62 VotumME 13, Numper 3, Paces 67-103, IssueD Oct. 3, 1923 How to distinguish the North American species = gre J: Schatie 67 i3 Notes on North American Ferns. ...?...-.---+ +. 73 Variation in Polypodium california Ce, M. EL Kendall 75 Is Botrychium dissectum a mutant?.......... . W. Graves 87 A Monograph of the Isoetaceae geek mae T. C. Palmer 89 ther Recent Fern Literature.........-...0000022eeereeee Shorter Notes. 6 0 ei ae ee a American Fern Society .. 22. 2.0 .- cee cect vest tte eee cess 99 Votume 13, NuMBER 4, Paces 104-137, Issvep 2 21, 1924. s of eastern West Virginia.........---+ E. Wherry 104 Flora, ‘ t f the Lake Gon stppiegentgy List of the ee Leo o S. H. Burnham 109 Pe Bas oA: Edad ier 114 ecent Fern A tcraters PM age Siig ai Sosa oe ae Variation in the Dagger Fern........---+-> R. C. Benedict 124 feed eee pa bsaeage PRG ere ea e F. Blake ae ing as a distinet type of Leaf-Variation R. C. Benedict 3] Wild Plant Protection Laws in Illinois and Wisconsifi. <2. 4... se American Fern at aed ee eet ga padi me ee a. = Index to Volume {83 ee ee ‘ American Hern Journal Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY Ohe American Hern Society Counril for 1922 OFFICERS FOR one YEAR WILLIAM R. Maxon, Washington, D. C. - - President Miss M. A. MARSHALL, Still River, See - Vice-president Ss. H. BuRNHAM, It haca, N.Y F - - Secreta J. G UNDERWOOD, Hartland, Vt. - = x Treasurer OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS RaLpx C. ep aiden - = ners Sb St., Brooklyn, N. Y. R.-J. WinsLow = Auburndale, Mass, QA A; WEATHERBY - = - - East Hartford, Conn. An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ies Subscription, $1.25 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra; to members of the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY (ann fet duet: $1.50; life Spain $25.00). Extracted reprints, if ordered in advance, wil! be furnish es authors at cost. They should be ordered ca Volume I, ge Reebins $3.00; other volumes $1 po oe SS) back numbers 35 cents each. Volum rigs numbers 1 poten = supplied except with complete volum Matter for publication — be vaideiald toR. C. BENEDICT, 322 East 19th Street, Brooklyn, Subscriptions, orders for back Saaees and other business communications should be addressed to B. J. WinsLow, Auburn- dale, Mass. CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM U.S. Hormins - - - Culver-Stockton College, Canton, Mo. Aregular loan department is maintained in comnetiion wi ‘ the Society herbarium. Members may borrow —_ it He ee he Journal ar aco = American 3 Fern Journal Vol. Seat JANUARY-MARCH, 1938 No. 1 The Distribution of Southern California Pteridophytes. Puiuie A. Muntz anp Ivan M. Jounnston! VI. SELAGINELLACEAE. 22. SELAGINELLA. A. Stems erect or ascending, several inches long. 8S. Bigelovii. AA. Stems creeping and prostrate. B. Branches strongly flattened, bright green above and pale below; leaves not setose; plant of lax habit; Colo. Desert. S. eremophila, BB. Branches terete, not flattened, without definite upper and lower surfaces; color uniform above and below. C. Setae yellowish, rather short; plant bright yellowish lO of high altitudes . Wats CC. Setae, if present, ae yellowish, but white; plant pale pic D. Setae slender, 4 to % as Jong as leaves; er phaon “ seal mountains. DD. Setae shir or none, evidently less than 4 the ak of the leav: E. Setae psa stems wiry, several em. long, forming a carpet-li ke grow th very close to the g altitudes. of San Diegs region S. cinerascens. EE. Setae very short, "white and opaque; stems short, 34 cm. long, very crowded, forming cushion-like masses; eastern part of the Mohave Desert. S. leucobryoides. SELAGINELLA BicELovir Underw. Bull. Torrey Cl. 25: 130. 1898. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 144. cane Very common throughout the coastal area, in dry rocky soil of the slopes and washes of the Hone ‘Sonoran 1 Continued from Vol. 12, dase ay no, 4 of the Naa aapeahirs pages 101-139, plate 8, was issued Dee. 1 30, 2 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Zone, occasionally ascending to 6000 ft. alt. Reaching the edge of the desert as about Palm Springs! where exceedingly common in the canyons, and Campo! (Kast- wood 9451). Known also from San Clemente Island! (Evermann, Cal. Acad. Herb.), Santa Catalina! (Kast- wood, Cal. Acad. Herb.) and Santa Cruz Island! (Hast- wood 6391 and Brandegee, Dudley Herb.). Most Southern California references to S. rupestris refer to this species. sso nate EREMOPHILA Maxon, Smithson. Mis. Coll. 72: 1920. Illus. : heer ie, Dh 2. Not uncommon in Colorado Desert. Forming mats in sheltered places among rocks and on ledges of the low Upper Sonoran Zone and high Lower Sonoran Zone, reaching an altitude of 3000 ft. Extending from the region of Palm Springs! (the type locality) southward along the western edge of the desert to Mountain Springs! (Maxon, |. c.). To the east known only from Chucka- walla Mts.! (Munz & Keck 4865). This species has been known as S. Parishii, a name which Maxon (I. ¢.) has lately restricted to a Mexican species. series ASPRELLA Maxon, Smithson. Mis. Col. 72: 1920. RN Maxon, l. ¢., pl. 4. Locally frequent, forming mats on rocky ground with sunny exposure, in the higher mountains from the Upper Sonoran Zone! (Cactus Flats, San Bernardino Mts., Munz 5745) to the Canadian. Known from the San Gaben Mts.! (Johnston 1815 and 1595), San Ber- nardino Mts.! (Munz 6300 and Maxon, Am. Fern Jour. 11: 107. 1922), and San Jacinto Mts.! (Jaeger 276). This species has long been confused with 4. Watsoni in Southern California references. The type lovality is on “west end of Ontario Peak,” San Gabriel Mts. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 3 SELAGINELLA Warsont Underw. Bull. Torrey Cl. 25: 127. 1898. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 144. 1905. Locally frequent in rocky places of northern exposure in the Upper Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian Zones. Especially abundant on the northern slopes of Mt. San Gorgonio from 8500 ft. (Munz 6192) to the summit (Munz 6206). Other collections are from the San Bernardino Mts.! (Grinnell, Baker Herb., Abrams & McGregor 700, Parish 5052. Munz 6303), San Jacinto Mts.! (Jaeger 290, Reed 2466, Munz 6045), and Santa Rosa Mts.! (Munz 5869). Altitudinally the lower part of its range overlaps the upper part of that of S. asprella, but even when in the same canyon with this species it is found on the cooler shaded slopes. SELAGINELLA cinERASCENS A. A. Eaton, Fern Bull. 7: 33. 1899. Lycopodium bryoides Nutt. Selaginella bryoides (Nutt.) Underw. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 146. 1905. Common on clay soil of the mesas in the Upper Sonoran Zone of southern coastal San Diego County! Forming close appressed mats composed of very wiry prostrate stems (Parish, Bull. So. Cal. Acad. 14: 12. 1915). Type locality, National City near San Diego. First described as Lycopodium bryoides but Nuttall’s specific name is preoccupied under Selaginella and Eaton’s much later name must be accepted (Underwood, Fern Bull. 10: 9-10, 1902). SELAGINELLA LEUCOBRYOIDES Maxon, Smithson. Mis. Col. 72: 8. 1920. Illus.: Maxon, 1. ec. pl. 5. : Known only from the Providence Mts.! where it forms mats on dry rocky hillsides of the Upper Sonoran Zone, at from 3000 to 4500 ft. alt., and from the Pana- 4 AMERICAN FERN: JOURNAL mint Mts. Type locality is near the Bonanza King Mine of the Providence Mts. VII. EQUISETACEAE. 23. EQUISETUM. A. Stems all green and seldom branched; stomates in regular rows. B. Sheaths dilated wpward, all but the lowest green with narrow black margin. E. Funstoni. BB. Sheaths not dilated upward but tight to the stem, mostly with two black bands separated by an ashy one. E. hiemale var. robustum. AA, Stems of two kinds, the green ones usually sterile with whorls of branches at each node, the fertile ones pale brown and not branched; stomates scattered. B. Sterile branches stout, generally over 3 mm. in diameter and 6-12 dm. high; sheaths 20-30 toothed. E. Telmateia. BB. Sterile stems slender, generally less than 3 mm. in diameter and less than 6 dm. high; sheaths with about 12 teeth. E. arvense. EquisEetuM Funstonr A. A. Eaton, Fern Bull. 11: 10. 1903. Scouring rush. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 34-35. 1905. The common Egquisetum of Southern California. In wet ground at low altitudes throughout the coastal part of our range; generally in the Upper Sonoran Zone, but occasionally reaching Upper Transition Zone! (Johnston 1723 from 6500 ft. alt.) On the desert it has been collected at Whitewater, Palm Springs, Camp Cady, Victorville!, and the Panamint Mts. (Parish, Fern Bull. 12:12. 1904). Eaton has described four growth forms of this species, all of which are found in our range: the most common being f. nudum, one to two ft. high, erect and unbranched; and f. caespitosum, lower and diffusely branched. This species has passed under a variety of names: £. variegatum, E. laevigatum, E. robustum, and SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PTERIDOPHYTES 5 E£. mexicanum. We agree with Parish (Fern Bull. 9: 73. 1901) in doubting the occurrence of the exotic ramosissimum on Mt. Wilson for the same reason that Eaton (Fern Bulletin 11; 10. 1903) doubted its oc- currence in British Columbia: (1) it has not been re- ported again since the collection by Davidson much over 20 years ago, (2) it is the only known station in the United States and is far removed from any authentic station, (3) BE. Funstoni is very variable and some form of it might easily be taken for E. ramosissimum. Under #. Funstoni we group all our local plants re- ferred by Schaffner (Am. Fern Jour. 11: 65-75. 1921) to E. kansanum, E. Funstoni, and E. laevigatum, and keyed out by him as follows: I. “Cones tipped with a rigid point, the termination of the floral axis; aerial stems evergreen” E. laevigatum. ie Cones rounded at the top o or merely acute, not with a nigid nomt _ frost. a ‘Not with numerous branched basal sterile shoots around the heal shoots; stems very smooth, with cross bands of silex; limb of the long green sheath dilated upward, with a narrow black band at the top, not incurved E, kansanum. b. “With a cluster or rosette of enadt branched, sterile shoots around the base of the fertile shoots; stems very rough with cross bands of silex; limb of the rather short sheath herbi incurved with age, with * narrow black band.at the top; stomata often in two rows.’ E, Funstoni. The characters used by him to separate EZ. kansanum and E. Funstoni do not seem to hold when applied to a series of specimens. Since we do not find the characters positive, and do not find them inhabiting ranges distinct enough for “species”? so closely related (such species would swamp by hybridization) and since we are not satisfied that such differences are not ecological in origin, we do not recognize these as distinct species. Further- more we are not at all satisfied as to the relationship 6 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL of E. Funstoni to E. laevigatum. In Schaffner’s key these species are widely separated by the division into groups according to whether or not the cone is tipped by a rigid point, but the difference between the species is not as great as this division might suggest, for many plants are intermediate in this development. E. Fun- stoni is so close to E. laevigatum that we hesitate to recognize it as distinct from the eastern laevigatum; how- ever, before reducing it to synonymy we feel the need of more field work and hope that this may soon be carried on and the true condition discovered. EQUISETUM HYEMALE L., var. RopusTUM (A. Br.) A. A. Eaton, Fern Bull. 11: 74. 1903 Giant scouring rush. Equisetum robustum A. Br. Equisetum prealtum Raf. Illus.: Clute, The fern allies, p. 26. 1905. Occasional in colonies on stream-banks in canyons of the lower chaparral belt on the coastal slope, at altitudes below 4000 ft. It has been said to be “not rare’’ in the southern part of the state (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 18. 1904), but we have seen no material south of the San Gabriel! and San Jacinto Mts.! In the deserts plgid from the Panamint Mts. (Coville, Contr. U. 8. Nat Herb. 4: 226. 1893). There is a report of its occurrence on Catalina Island (Davidson, Erythea 2: 30. 1894). We do not feel that this form is distinct from HE. hiemale and cannot follow Schaffner in so treating it (Am. Fern Jour. 11: 71. 1921). The two forms are similar in habitat and appearance, the only difference being whether or not tubercles on the ridges are in one or two rows; but that character is not constant and is indicative of a variety rather than a species. Equiserum TreLMatTeta Ehrh. Hannov. Mag. 138. 1783. Giant horse tail. Illus.: Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 3, pl. 4, f- 5-6. 1913. Clute, The fern allies, p. 50. 1905. - PROLIFEROUS EBONY SPLEENWORT 7 Occasional in the coastal drainage at elevations below 3000 ft., where it grows along borders of swamps and streams from San Bernardino and Los Angeles north- ward. A single collection has been seen from the edge of the desert in San Felipe Canyon! in San Diego Co. (Palmer 421). Eaton (Fern Bull. 8: 76. 1900) reports it from as far south as San Diego. Known also from Santa Cruz Island! (Brandegee, Proc. Cal. Acad. (2) 1: 205. 1888) and Catalina Island (Eaton, Fern Bull. 8: 76. 1900). A specimen of the form described as E. Telmateia var. serotinum A. Br. has been collected near Glendale! (Davidson Herb.); it is distinguished by the presence, of cones on the branched and normally sterile stems. EGUISETUM ARVENSE L. Sp. Pl. 1061. 1753 Common horsetail. Illus.: Britton & Brown, Illus. Flora, f. 89. 1913. Frye & Jackson, Am. Fern Jour. 3, pl. 4, f. 8-10. 1913. Clute, The fern allies, p. 44. 1905. For our range known only from the following stations: San Bernardino Mts.! (Parish, Pl. World 20: 170. 1917), San Bernardino Valley! (Parish 4052 & 4075), Victor- ville! (Parish 10553), San Jacinto Canyon! (Street & Durant, Baker Herb.), Los Angeles River bed! (Mozley 509), Nichols Canyon! Santa Monica Mts. (Davidson Herb.) ; Ojai (Parish, Fern Bull. 12: 12. 1904), Hopper Canyon near Piru! Ventura Co. (Davidson Herb.). Proliferous Ebony Spleenwort M. A. MARSHALL Easter of 1916 found me making my first visit to my friends at Woodstock Academy, Woodstock, Conn. The table decoration was a pot of Asplenium platyneuron, which my hostess said came from the basement, where 8 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL there was a fine bed of it. It was her custom to select a pretty specimen, use it until it began to be shabby, then replace it in its original station and get a fresh plant. I was interested, but my visit was very short and fully occupied, and I made no effort to see the ferns in place. In February of the next year I was again at the Academy, this time for a longer stay, and as before a little Asplenium adorned the table. This time its appearance was not quite normal and I took the pot in hand for closer examination. The scrutiny was well repaid. The sterile fronds had pinnae proportionally broad, rounded at the ends, rather deeply round- scalloped, ruffled to the midveins, and so thickly set on the rachis as to overlap; and several stipes bore little plants near the base. This was indeed a novelty and I made haste to explore. I found that the Academy building had been set directly on a ledge, with little excavation except at the west end, where were the furnace and a large water tank supplied with rain water from the roof through a pipe running the whole length of the basement from east to west and at that time having many small leaks. In no: place beyond the furnace and tank was there room to stand up, but the rather painful trip was rewarded by finding at the east end, where were four horizontally two-light windows, one north, two east and one south, a beautiful bed of the ferns sought. There were also two or three plants of some large fern, the fronds dry, brown, and completely curled up, a square yard or sO of a small fern without green fronds, the rootstocks of which showed above the soil, and a little bed of English violets beginning to grow and show buds. The dormant ferns later proved to be Asplenium Filiz foemina and Cystopteris fragilis respectively. No measurements were taken, but in my judgment not less than four or five square yards of ground were more or less thickly PRouiFEROous Esony SPLEENWORT 9 set with Asplenium plants, of varying sizes but good color and texture. It was the fruiting season and of seventy-five mature and fruited plants examined twenty- five by actual count bore the little plants near the bases of the stalks. Several of the plants before the north window had large and thrifty plantlets on stipes so old that they had dropped all their pinnae and were perhaps half broken off. Enough material for four or five sheets was collected. The largest plant of the collection had one well fruited frond fourteen and three fourths inches long and one and a fourth inches wide; another was thirteen inches long. No thought was given to that matter at the time, but in examining the dried material since I find the proliferation on sterile fronds only. Now began the hunt for the origin and history of the basement fern, which was known to all the neighborhood. One woman said Miss Allen, a former teacher, planted it. Miss Allen’s address being given, she was appealed to, only to get the information that she did not plant the fern but had been interested in it and had planted more seed of the violets she had found there. During eight years of knowledge of the school as pupil and teacher she had never seen the species growing outside the school. Another lady with a lifelong knowledge of the school said the species was not uncommon in the neigh- borhood and suggested that a colony of it might have been on the ledge when the building was erected. Mrs. Hall, wife of a former principal, said the ferns were growing in the basement when she went there in 1888. They had multiplied since then. : From Woodstock in February of 1917 I went to New York where I took the opportunity of visiting the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden. There I found one sheet containing two or three fragments consisting mostly of naked stems bearing good sized young plants near their base and labeled “A. platy- Vou. 13, Puate 1 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL = 3 f * Awe oF * s Pe Ade tender Athapad VO v fi PROLIFEROUS EBONY SPLEENWORT (Photograph by G. W. Fornell yn the stipes at the upper right and the left-hand portions 0 WI nts +} sO UE } f the picture. PROLIFEROUS EBONY SPLEENWORT 11 neuron—proliferum. Dr. C. E. Waters, McCall’s Ferry, York Co., Pa., July 6, 1904.” Enough of my material for a good sheet was left there and should be found by any one interested. In June of the same year I was again in Woodstock for a short stay. Of course the basement was visited. The ferns were found to be in their resting season; some were dead and others were dying. I wondered whether the fact that the leaks in the water pipe and some breaks in the wall had been repaired had any bearing on the case. The Cystopteris was in luxuriant growth and full fruit, the fronds being almost translucent and so lax that they lay prone, making a beautiful carpet on the ground they occupied. Some material of this species was now collected, also another plant or two of the Asplenium, one bearing two fronds tufted at the ends. In February a live plant had been sent to Mr. E. J. Winslow and another to Mr. H. G. Rugg of Hanover, N. H., who reports that he set it in his outdoor fern garden where it did not survive the first winter. . My friends left Woodstock in January of 1918 and Several inquiries about the basement fern addressed to the principal of the Academy remained unanswered. I had given up the hope of learning anything more when, at the Fern Society meeting in Boston, September 24, 1921, talking about it with Mr. C. A. Weatherby, he undertook to visit Woodstock and see for himself what Was the condition of the fern colony. Under date of September 30, Mr. Weatherby reported exploring the basement in company with Mrs. Weatherby and Miss Upham of the Academy faculty. “We found ferns growing in front of two of the base- ment windows—those nearest the northeast corner of the building and facing east and north respectively. By the former was one comparatively gigantic plant of lady fern, bearing three fronds a foot or more long; four or five small 12 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL specimens of fragile bladder fern; and one small and struggling plant of ebony spleenwort. There were also. the skeletons of several deceased plants of the latter which had evidently been fairly vigorous and had borne numerous fronds in their time, and a fine growth of fern prothallia, covering the ground with a green carpet over an area of, I should suppose, a couple of square feet. It may be that some of these green things were young | plants of Marchantia or Conocephalus; but the presence of tiny young fern fronds here and there showed that a good proportion of them were fern prothallia. “Tn front of the north window was another, smaller, plant of lady fern and seven or eight plants of the spleen- wort. ‘There was no Cystopteris here. The spleenworts were all rather small and had only two or three fronds apiece, all sterile, but seemed healthy otherwise. The pinnae were mostly of the short, obtuse type found at the base of fertile fronds in normal plants and they tended to be rather deeply crenate. I could find no evidence of proliferation such as you observed. There was a good growth of prothallia here too, though not so- many as at the other window. “The soil in the basement was moist, even after the dry weather we have had; neither the fronds nor pro- thallia were at all withered. At this northeast corner the ground outside slopes a little upward from the building; it seems to me that water finds its way under the foundation wall, in little crevices and irregularities of the native rock, and is drawn to the surface inside by capillary attraction. Since there is little evaporation in a basement, it supplies the moisture the ferns require for existence, and the windows give sufficient light. I do not see how spores could get in as long as the windows are kept closed; but if they are sometimes opened, or removed for cleaning or painting, or if an opening was made in the wall in the course of repairs, fern spores might blow in.” PROLIFEROUS EBONY SPLEENWORT 13 Under date of March 7, 1922, Miss Upham reported having visited the fern colony in the basement that day, finding ten Asplenium plants, none large and none fertile, but one frond bearing a tiny plant on its stalk. There were also many prothallia, some of them developing fronds. It seems to be the general opinion among those most familiar with the circumstances that the Asplenium has been growing in its present situation since before the erection of the present Academy build- ing, some fifty years ago. Miss Upham has examined several colonies of Asplenium platyneuron outside the school building and finds no trace of proliferation. Both Mr. Weatherby and Mr. F. G. Floyd have kindly looked for references to this variety of Asplenium and find that in Rhodora VY, 272, 273 and VI, 210, Dr. Waters notes finding the form which he says was described by Eaton. The reference follows: ‘““Asplenium ebeneum, var. proliferum.—Rachis pro- liferous near the base of the frond. Many tropical Asplenia are known to be proliferous, but with the ex- ception of A. ebenoides proliferous forms have not been hitherto noticed in the United States. Capt. Smith collected a few specimens of A. ebenewm near Ocala, Fla.; and, looking at them closely, I find as many as three fronds with proliferous buds on the rachis just by the lowest pinnae. One frond has three such buds, and from them young fronds one or two inches long have been produced. I find one frond, which I collected many years ago in Florida, similarly pro- liferous, though the young fronds have not shown them- selves.—D. ©. Eaton in Bull. Torrey Botanical Club VI, 307 (1878).” : Who can tell the cause of this curious variation from the type? : Stitt River, Mass. Recent Fern Literature. Prof. M. L. Fernald! has published a detailed study of the group of Polypodium vulgare in North America. His conclusions are :— 1. That the common polypody of northeastern North America is not identical with the original P. vulgare of Europe, but is a distinct species, which was long ago named P. virginianum by Linnaeus, and which is found also in parts of eastern Asia. 2. That the plants of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific slope, known as P. californicum, P. falcatum, and P. hesperium, are so like true P. vulgare of Europe that they cannot be separated from it except as varieties. We are so used to regarding our eastern polypody as P. vulgare that such conclusions may, as Prof. Fernald hints, seem to many of us almost revolutionary. Never- theless—and aside from the new evidence which his close study of the plants themselves has brought out— they are exactly parallel to those arrived at by Prof. Butters in a similar study of the lady ferns,? and in ' entire conformity with certain facts of plant distribution which are becoming more and more familiar—the facts, namely, that plants of eastern North America tend to differ from those of Europe and to be like those of eastern Asia, and that plants of western North America tend to be like those of Europe and unlike those of eastern Asia. As in the case of the lady ferns, also, the differences between the east American and European _polypodies have been, in part, noted by earlier authors, notably Hooker, Torrey and Kunze. For the convenience of our readers, the main characters by which Prof. Fernald separates P. vulgare and P. virginianum are here set down. m4; Ia Aas, ep. toon ‘irenianomn ood P. vulgare, Rhodoes * See Rhodora 19: 169-202, 1917 and this Journal 8: 53-55, 1918. REcENT FERN LITERATURE 15 P. vulgare Rootstock firm, sweet. Scales of rootstock uniformly colored (or darker toward the base), densely cellular, with thin cell-walls, peltately attached, 0.5-1 cm. long. Lowest pinnae commonly shorter than the middle ones, P, virginianum Rootstock els soft and spongy, not s Scales of bile darkened on the back, loosely cellular, with thick cell-walls, cordate at base (the sinus often with over- lapping sides), 2-4.5 mm. long. Lowest pinnae usually as long as, or longer than, the middle ones, the latter with straight midribs the latter with midribs common- ly curved at base Sori about bales between lag hearer the midrib and ma gin than the In wadsiin:* ‘Prof, F lane notes that pe North American plant is, as anyone who has hunted for vari- eties of it knows, for the most part remarkably uniform, while the bebueive of the European is well described by the classic couplet :— “Oh, how wondrously you vary, Polypodium vulgare.” Except in the tropics, ferns do not often become naturalized in regions where they are not native. It is, therefore, of especial interest to find Mr. J. G. Scott recording, in the American Botanist, the spontaneous appearance of an Asiatic fern in Pennsylvania. In what he describes as “the enchanted wild garden on the Pilling premises” in Germantown, specimens of Poly- chien Standishii (or Aspidium laserpitiifolium), ap- parently thoroughly established, have been found. Mr. Scott does not venture on any conjectures as to how they came there. Polystichum Standishii is not common in cultivation in this country. Its native range is from Japan to Tonkin; plants of it from Japanese Sources might be expected to prove more or less hardy 16 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL in the latitude of Philadelphia, if they once became established.! Under the title “The Group of Polypodium lanceolatum in North America,” Contr. Gray Herb., New Series LXV, pp. 3-14 (1922), Mr. Weatherby has discussed a group of seven tropical species of Polypodium, all with simple leaves and net-veined like the common Florida - P. aureum. The article represents a careful discrimin- ation among a group of confused forms and includes a key based on gross and detailed characteristics together with descriptions and citation of synonymy and dis- tribution, and specimens under each of the species. Four new species are described: P. erythrolepis, P. Con- zattii, P. fructuosum, and P. panamense, and several new varieties. “Why not take ferns as a Hobby?” The question is quoted from the cover page of the May issue of the “Nature Study Review,” where it stands as a caption under a picture of a plant of Christmas fern. In the body of the issue, as one hobby among several, Miss Amey Lillibridge, one of our Fern Society members, has a short article covering her pleasure in the pursuit of ferns as a hobby. The ferns of Mississippi are considered in a Bulletin of the Mississippi State Geological Survey No. 17 (1921) under the general title of “The Plants of Mississippi.” _ The volume is a catalogue of the flowering plants and ferns of the state in which the distribution of each Species is given with its name and with reference where possible to the herbarium of the Geological Survey. Thirty-five species of ferns, horsetails and lycopods are | _ 3 Scott, J. G. Aspidium laserpitiifolium in Pe’ . Am. Botanist 28: 112-114, fig. he Aug.. 1925. fe n Pennsylvania : Wa tu Ferns In WitMinGTon, N. C. 17 included. The number will probably be raised in the course of further investigation. = : i NT 1 eae ged: Watt Ferns in WitMINGTON, NortH CAROLINA. How the huguenot fern, Pteris multifida Poiret, has in recent years been spreading on walls in various southern cities is well known,! but it does not appear to have been recorde d heretofore that it has reached Wilmington, N.C. However, in June, 1922, it was found by Mr. Harry W. Trudell and the writer to occur there in abundance, perhaps the most luxuriant colony being on a stone ‘cage brick wall in the storage yard of the city water department, about four blocks south of the center of the city. x In an alley opposite the Post Office a few plants of this fern were noted, but with them were a considerable ov Bragg, L. M. Bull. here Mus., 10 87; Small, J. K. Jour. N. Y. Bot. Garden, 21: 17 10: 19, He Am. Fern Jour 4: 120. 18 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL number of another species, the Venus-hair fern, Adiantum. Capillus-Veneris L. This may also represent an escape from cultivation, but as the species is known to grow naturally on the bluffs of the Cape Fear River a few miles below the city, it is not unreasonable to assume that the spores have reached the wall from native sources. The ‘‘soil” into which the roots of these ferns extend is of course largely made up of the calcium carbonate and sand of the mortar, and is decidedly alkaline in reaction, so that these species are evidently to be classed as preferring alkaline soils. They thus represent ex- ceptions to the rule that southern species, when pushing northward, are inclined to favor acid conditions.2. The accompanying figure illustrates the occurrence of Pteris multifida as a wall fern.—Epcar T. Wuerry, Wash- ington, D. The Progress of the Fern Society Program for Wild Plant Protection. The progress of the Society’s program for wild plant protection is best indicated by some of the comments it has evoked. Here are excerpts from a few letters in regard to the “Game Laws” reprint. “There is much need of a well sustained movement to preserve our vegetation. The great difficulty is to reach the vandals. These vandals are mostly thought- less people who live for the present and never read any article or books about plants and have no particular thought or care for the out-of-doors. When the weather is physically agreeable they go out and pull up armfuls of things that appeal to the eye and throw them away as soon as they wilt.” sh wish 4 movement of rather large scope might be organized, having behind it the cooperation of a good ? Am. Fern Jour. 11: 15,£1921, Witp Piant Protection 19 number of national societies to the end that a real campaign, with publicity in the newspapers, might be put on every spring. The subject ought to be brought to the attention of persons who ordinarily would never read a thing about such subjects.” (From Prof. Liberty Hyde Bailey of Ithaca, N. Y.) “‘T especially appreciate the article on “Game Laws for Wild Flowers’’ because I live in the country which is infested by Sunday automobilists who tear up every- thing on property which is not guarded against tres- passing.” (Prof. M. A. Bigelow, Columbia University.) “T think your pamphlet entitled, ‘‘Game laws for ferns and wild flowers” is an admirable document and calculated to make a lasting impression. It is high time that the protection of eastern wild flowers including the blossoms of laurel, dog-wood, and azalea should be taken up seriously and urged in all the legislatures this side of Indianapolis. In the mid-western states the need is not so great. Here in the congested east around the big cities the need is very great, and nowhere is legislation more needed than in the area bounded by Washington, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Augusta, Me., and the Atlantic coast. “T think it would be an excellent thing to send a pamphlet to individual members of all conservation commissions and all state game wardens within that area. . . . Unquestionably there are enough botanists in the east to make a powerful drive on this subject, if they will only take it up seriously and do it systematic- ally. The wild life conservationists have been toiling in the vineyard for years and sometimes sweating blood. They are already so heavily burdened that this work will not be taken up except by new people with new resources. : “It would be an excellent plan to send a copy of this pamphlet to each member of the state legislatures of 20 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I sincerely hope you will push this campaign vigorously and never let up until you have secured the laws that you think ought to be passed. I think you have turned out an admirable and highly useful publication and I hope it will receive a circulation of at least twenty thousand copies.” (Dr. W. T. Hornaday, Director, New York Zoological Society.) The following query was later brought to Dr. Horna- day’s attention and his reply is given below. “There is an interesting question as to the content of a possible protective law, say for New York State, re- lating to rare plants. Upon what basis can these be forbidden trade distribution? They do not seem to class with types of protected animals like game birds and insect eaters. Possibly they may have the same claim, partly sentimental, as that of the Bald eagle, assuming that protection for this bird is based upon sentiment more than upon its utilitarian character.’ To this Dr. Hornaday replied: “Beyond question it is entirely right and proper for the legislature of the State of New York to enact a law for the protection of plants and trees because of their beauty, just as it enacts laws for the preservation of scenery and historic places. A great many birds are protected regardless of their industrial and economic value to man, and some are protected which many men claim are positively harmful. . . . “The way to obtain a law for the protection of beau- tiful wild flowers and shrubbery is to demand it and to demonstrate that it will be an injury to the people of the state not to grant it.” Dr. Homer D. House, State Botanist of New York, who has given particularly careful study to the possi- bilities of legal protection for plants, writes in a vein Wiup PLANT PROTECTION 21 similar to Dr. Hornaday. ‘‘If in the future any law resembling the Vermont law is passed, it should be made, in my opinion, a chapter of the Conservation Law, which is possible if the Conservation Committee of the legis- lature can be shown that wild flowers and ferns of certain sorts are essential to the general welfare of the public, and that their destruction is injurious to the balance of nature, recreational value of the country and con- stitutes needless vandalism.” Dr. House believes, however, that the first step in a legal way should be the “putting in an amendment to the Conservation law which would protect any plants on State land designated by the Commissioner for protection by the Commission’s protectors, State Troopers, and any other agency desig- nated by law to enforce the Conservation law.” “We have been trying for the last few years to get the state to set aside a number of interesting regions in Ohio to be designated as public parks and monuments, but so far nothing has come of it except that some tracts have been set aside as state forests. It is these regions where I think the most could be done to preserve wild life, including flowers and interesting plants.” (Prof. John H. Schaffner, of Ohio State University.) “Lovers of rare wood plants and ferns will welcome the suggestion of “game laws” for plants similar to those which now forbid the hunter and fisherman from despoiling the forests and streams of their animal inhabitants.” $o begins an editorial from the New ' York Tribune of Dec. 19, 1922, and continues for a half colume of discussion with data derived from the Fern Journal article. The Boston Post reprinted the Tribune editorial, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer gave expression to similar sentiments. Other articles ad- voeating some sort of plant game laws have appeared or are in press in Science by Dr. C. Stuart Gager, Director of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and in the ‘‘ Nature 22 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Study Review” by Miss Ellen Eddy Shaw of the same institution. The editors have received numerous letters expressing interest and approval in additional to those already quoted. Centers of distribution for the ‘Game Laws”’ reprints have established in North Dakota, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, District of Colum- bia and Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont. Note has already been made of the dis- tribution of a thousand copies by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and of a similar distribution to be made by the Washington chapter of the Wild Flower Preservation Society. It is impossible to report in detail further, but it may be noted that over a thousand have been sent out for the Fern Society, probably over fifteen hundred by the time this will have been printed. Provision has been made for the printing of a hundred extra copies of this number of the Journaw for similar distribution. Again the suggestion is made to our members that they put forth their best efforts in aid of wild plant conservation. Make a study of the problem as manifested in your own regions and send in a report. Spread the gospel of protection and practice it when out collecting. Write to your local newspapers and get their interest and support. Support the Fern So- ciety by bringing in new members or by making definite contributions to a fund for this work. The whole problem of wild plant conservation can be simply stated: Have wild plants any rights to existence?—R. C. B. American Fern Society. On May 23rd, 1923, there will be a conference in the interests of wild plant preservation held at the New York Botanical Garden under the auspices of the Torrey Botanical Club and the New York Chapter of the Wild AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 23 Flower Preservation Society with other organizations. The American Fern Society has been invited to partici- pate as an organization and the attendance of all its members who may be able to be present is requested. There will be morning and afternoon meetings with a picnic lunch at the Lorillard Mansion. Dr. Bartsch of Washington will give one illustrated talk, and the Fern Society will also be represented on the program under the topic ‘‘Game Laws for Ferns and Wild Flowers”’ with R. C. Benedict as speaker. In this connection readers are requested to send in any information they may have relating to the legal aspects of wild plant protection. Have wild plants any legal rights? Preliminary investigation has established some very interesting points. Please send any informa- tion or opinions you may have to R. C. Benedict; also let him know if you plan to attend the meetings. William Palmer, a member of the Society since 1899, and its president in 1917 and 1918, died in Bellevue Hospital, New York City, April 8, 1921. He was born in London, Aug. 1, 1856. His father, a taxidermist, moved to the United States in 1868 and took a position in the United States National Museum which he held till his death in 1913. ; William wished at first to become a physician and ‘tried to get a medical education and earn his own living at the same time. Failing in this, he entered business; but finally yielded reluctantly to his father’s insistence that he should follow the paternal profession and joined the staff of the Museum as a taxidermist and modeler in 1874. He married Miss Arminia Knowles in 1883. Once settled in his line of work, he soon became expert init. He was particularly noted for his skill in arranging groups of animals; many of those in the new building of Museum are his work. He invented a process for pre- 24 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL serving, in approximately their natural state, the plants which are used as backgrounds and accessories in such groups. He was also unusually expert in operating the stereopticon and was much in demand about Washington for this purpose. He was sent on numerous expeditions for the Museum —to Funk Island in 1887 for remains of the great auk; to Alaska for walrus in 1890; to Cuba in 1900 and 1917; to Newfoundland in 1903; to Mexico, to make a model ~ of a meteorite, in 1904; to Java in 1909; to Florida in | 1919. In addition he made many trips to Calvert Cliffs, Md., for fossils: there, in 1917, he was caught in a slide of earth and received injuries from which he probably never wholly recovered. Besides his work for the Mu- seum, he made large personal collections of the birds. and plants, especially the ferns, of the vicinity of Washington. These collections he bequeathed to the Museum. To fern students, Mr. Palmer is probably best known by his article on the ferns of the Dismal Swamp, where he discovered the rare and still somewhat controversial log fern, Dryopteris Goldiana celsa, and by his occasional vigorous protests against the naming of minor variants. of ferns which he regarded as due to the influence of en- vironment and especially to the disturbance by man, through the cutting off of forests, ete., of the conditions under which the ferns in question grew. It was char- acteristic of him to seek earnestly for the causes of phe- nomena he witnessed; and his articles, brief as they are, contain much that is of interest on the relation of plants to their surroundings. Members who were present at the 1916 meeting of the Society at Brooklyn will remem- ber his talk along these lines. Stewardson Brown, a member of the Society since 1915, died at his home in Germantown, Pa., March 14, AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 25 1921. He was born at Germantown, April 29, 1867. His family were lovers of plants; he himself early de- veloped an interest in them. He became a member of the local natural history society while still a pupil in the Germantown Academy and by the time he graduated from that institution in 1885 had pretty well mastered — the local flora as it was then understood. He entered the ‘employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, but such time as he could spare from business duties was always devoted to botany. He became a volunteer assistant to Thomas Meehan at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and in 1900, abandoning his business career, was appointed curator in charge of the herbarium there. This is a notable collection: to Mr. Brown’s conscientious care and arrangement of it botanists owe the preserva- tion and accessibility of a great store of historic material. And those who were at the Society meeting in 1915, or who have had occasion to visit the Academy, will not ‘soon forget his cordial and attractive personality. Mr. Brown’s work was by no means confined to the herbarium. He collected in Florida, the Canadian Rockies, Bermuda, Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela, and Porto Rico. He published a ‘Flora of the Canadian Rockies,” and, in collaboration with Dr. Ida A. Keller, a “ Handbook of the Flora of Philadelphia and Vicinity.” He was editor of “Bartonia,” the journal of the Phila- delphia Botanical Club, and contributed numerous short notes to it. Report of the President for 1922. In reviewing the activities of the Fern Society for the year 1922 the main outstanding feature to be mentioned is the effort, now well under way, to foster the protection of certain native ferns and wild flowers that are seriously in danger of wholesale destruction or extermination. 26 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The matter was first presented to members of the Society by Dr. R. C. Benedict in an article published in the April-June number of the Journal, entitled ‘‘Game Laws for Ferns and Wild Flowers,” in which the various phases of the subject were considered at some length. In particular, the depletion of the Vermont flora, mainly for the benefit of commercial distributors of living plants, was discussed, with direct reference to the Vermont law (enacted in 1921) designed to protect rare species from being gathered for commercial purposes; this law was reprinted in full. It was suggested as desirable that similar lists of plants needing protection be drawn up for other states, and members of this and other societies were asked to cooperate in contributing observations upon the decrease of species needing protection, in urging the establishment of sanctuaries, and in stimulating public sentiment toward the enact- ment of restrictive legislation is specially important cases. The article in question aroused wide interest, in response to which the Society contributed funds toward the reprinting and distribution of separates, as explained in the last number of the Journal. These are being widely sent out. The membership of the Society is solidly back of this effort; and, however difficult it may be to gauge the immediate tangible effect of the movement, there can be no doubt of its value as a broad educa- tional measure. Certainly the need of stimulating public appreciation of the danger exists in many quarters. That certain forms of wild life will be wiped out in the neighborhood of large, rapidly growing cities is inevit- able; but that this should extend to wild remote regions is unthinkable, if it can be prevented by education in the schools, by the awakening of general public sentiment, by the establishment of natural preserves, and through well considered restrictive legislation. The gain to be derived from legislation lies more in its advertising value AMERICAN FERN SOcIETY ai than in mere prohibition and penalty features. Above all it is incumbent upon those advocating plant conser- vation to escape the réle of faddists, and to urge only the protection that is truly essential. Otherwise the move- ment is, at the outset, foredoomed to failure. Our watch-word should be ‘education and sane publicity.” As bearing upon a new line of activity advocated a year ago attention should be called also to Dr. Bene- dict’s article, ‘Ferns as House Plants,” which appeared in the third number of the Journal for 1922. There has been a phenomenal increase in the commercial growing and wide sale of in-door fern in recent years, and this article gives precisely the information needed for the proper selection and care of the more important, commonly cultivated kinds. These are mainly exotic, and their number will certainly increase steadily in the face of demand for additional species. Brief queries or notes on success or failure in growing ferns as house plants would be welcome additions to the pages of the Journal. The dearth of short articles referred to last year still exists, and it ought to be remedied. The failure of members to take full advantage of the oppor- tunity to exchange notes and specimens through the medium of the Journal is difficult to understand; also, it is not helpful to the officers and editors, who desire most of all that our publication may be of special use- fulness to the large number of amateur students chiefly comprising our membership, now, as last year, at about three hundred. The special committee on membership appointed two years ago is striving to add new members, and in this desires your assistance. A number of the circulars of March 20, 1921, setting forth briefly the history and — of the Society and the advantages of membership, are still on hand and will be forwarded if requested. To this committee, the Editors, and the Curator of the 28 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Herbarium, we are all under great obligation for their _ painstaking efforts on behalf of the Society during the past year. We are particularly indebted also to Pro- fessor Winslow, not only for mailing current issues of the Journal but for storing back numbers and success- fully soliciting the sale of sets. Storage and mailing are a burden which he has borne patiently for many years and of which he should be relieved in some way during the coming year. Owing to ill health, Mr. Burnham, Secretary for the past four years, has found it necessary to retire from active participation in the affairs of the Society at the close of this year. To him are extended the sincere thanks of the members for his faithful and efficient ser- vices, Respectfully submitted, Wriuiam R. MAxon, President. Report of the Secretary for 1922. Several of the members attended the third exhibition of native ferns and flowering plants made by the Mass- achusetts Horticultural Society at Horticultural Hall, in Boston, May 3-13. There was also a meeting of the American Fern Society at Cambridge, Mass., in con- nection with the meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, December 29, 1922. During the year, word has been received of the death of four members:—Henry C. Bigelow, T. Lynton Briggs, Mrs. Nellie F. Flynn and William Palmer. Fifteen members have been added to the Society and the mem- bership (Dec. 31, 1922) stands at 303, a gain of two over last year. After serving for four years, the present Secretary refused renomination, He wishes the new Secretary and AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 29 the officers of the Society the continued support of its members: and that the membership of the Society may be substantially increased. S. H. Burnuam, Secretary. Report of the Editors for 1922. The Journaw was favored this year with a budget ap- propriation of $45 in addition to the regular expense of publication. The editors have greatly enjoyed the ability to run occasional extra pages and extra illus- trations which this appropriation has given them. With its aid and that of a much appreciated gift from Mr. C. C. Deam, and with the cooperation of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in connection with the article on ferns as house plants, eight full-page plates have appeared and a total of 139 pages has been published. This happy state can hardly be expected to continue next year, however, since the printers have found it necessary to raise their price by just about the amount of the extra appropriation. “Tt has pleased me a great deal,’”’ writes one member, “to read the articles in the last issue of the AMERICAN Fern Journat along lines that have always interested me, and I am sending a photograph of a freak Poly- stichum acrostichoides which I have been growing for eight years.” It pleases the editors immensely to get letters like this, not merely because they like the ap- proval of the constituency they serve—strong as 18 that element—but because such letters furnish the best, almost the only, means by which they can judge whether the Journat as made up really meets the desires of the members of the Fern Society. Of course, it is obvious (and old) that the JouRNAL will consist only of what is received. The editors can ~*~ 30 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL influence the contents only as they contribute directly. The past year has seen rather frequent contributions of this sort, but they have displaced nothing else. If it had not been for them, the JourNAL would have been late through lack of copy, as well as through printing delays. Indeed, even as it was, part of the lateness of the different numbers has been chargeable to scarcity of material to put into them. We are happy to find, however, that with the issue of no. 4, we are nearly back on schedule time. In what line of fern study are you particularly in- terested? Like Dr. Logue, whose letter is referred to above, in variations from the typical? In ferns as plants for the wild garden or for the house? In hiking, mountain climbing, or boating, with ferns as the particular hobby in outdoor life? In conserving the present wild life, ferns and other things? In making an herbarium collection of as wide a variety as forms as possible? In ferns as botanical material of exceptional interest? Probably most of us combine several or all of the above items of interest. We are sure that every member has ideas on ferns which would be of interest to others. Please sit down the next time something interesting occurs to you and send it in, either as a formal article or as a letter from which points may be extracted. II- lustrations we are glad to receive. We cannot use all we should like to use, owing to limited funds, so are particularly glad when, with the photograph or drawing, is contributed also the cost of reproduction. A good many members have helped us in these ways: we tender them our heartiest thanks. We wish that many more may do so in future. R. C. Brenepict, EK. J. Winstow, C. A. WEATHERBY, Editors. AMERICAN FERN Socrety 31 Report of the Judge of Elections. As Judge of Elections of the American Fern Society, I make the following report of the Election of Officers held in November, 1922. The total number of ballots cast was 97. Of these 8 were unmarked. The vote as shown by the remainder was as follows: For President For Vice-President Wr. RR, Macon: 2c3 89 Miss M. A. Marshall....... 89 Washington, D. C. Still River, Mass For Secretary For Treasurer Rev. Chas. S S enmcie 88 G. Underwood........... 88 Trenton, N. J. Hartland, Vt. I therefore declare the above-named persons elected. Respectfully submitted, James ©. NELSON, Judge of Elections. As usual in recent years, the Treasurer’s report has been delayed by the lateness of the Journat. No report had been received from the Curator at the time of going to press. New members:— Hazen, Edwin Humphrey, 373 Crown St., New Haven, Conn. Jardine, Miss Margaret I., Cushman Road, Hartsdale, N. Y. Parker, Mrs. Anna C., 51 Wentots Ave., Cliftondale, Mass. Somerville, Mrs. J. H., Superior, Wis. Change of address:— Topping, D. Leroy, P. O. Box 2356, Honolulu, T. H. On December 29th, in spite of the very discouraging weather, about thirty members and friends of the Fern Society gathered in the building of Massachusetts In- stitute of Technology on the wind-swept shore of the Charles River. There was an interesting exhibit of 32 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL drawings, photographs and mounted ferns, and occa- sional calls by old friends who dropped in from some of the various departments of the A.A.A.S. in session im other parts of the building, all of which added interest to the social hour in the early part of the day. At the formal program in the afternoon Vice President Marshall wielded the gavel. E. H. Clarkson gave an. interesting talk upon variations in the Christmas Fern, illustrated with drawings and specimens. Dr. Tilton spoke briefly of his new fern book just received from the- binders, and gave some reminiscences of Davenport and other New England fern students. Miss Marshall ex-. hibited specimens of a proliferous Ebony Spleenwort. and described the collecting of it and its development during several years in the basement of a school building. Mr. Palmer spoke of the ferns of Missouri, and told the story of the finding of Isoetes Butleri. Mr. Weatherby exposed some of the mysteries of fern nomenclature with special reference to the work of Diels in ‘‘Die Natiir- lichen Pflanzenfamilien’” of Engler and Prantl. Mr. Rugg exhibited and spoke of Adiantum pedatum var.. aleuticum, recently collected in northern Vermont. Mr. Underwood invited the Society to hold their -next. meeting with the Vermont Botanical and Bird Clubs in Middlbury, Vt., next summer. The interest of the occasion was enhanced by the presence of a good number of botanists from outside the state. These included Mr. Palmer from Missouri, now temporarily located at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Treasurer Underwood, Mr. Rugg and Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter from Vt., Dr. Grout from New York City, and Miss Lorenz, Miss Upham and Mr. Weatherby: from Conn, We are indebted to the generosity of Dr. Edgar T. Wherry for the illustration which accompanies his note on wall-ferns at Wilmington. THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB MEMBERSHIP Including Bulletin, Memoirs, and Torreya, $5.00 a year PUBLICATIONS Bulletin. Monthly, established 1870. Price, $4.00 a year; single numbers 40 cents. Of former volumes, only 24~47 can be supplied separately. Manuscripts intended for publication in the BULLETIN should be addressed to PRor, A. W. Evans, Editor, Yale University, New Haven, Conn, Torreya. Bi-monthly, established 1901. Price, $1.00 a year. Manuscripts intended for publication in TorrEya should be to Grorca T. Hastincs, Editor, Robbins Place, Yonkers, N, bs Memoirs. Occasional, established 1889. Price, $3.00 a volume, Preliminary Catalogue of oe te lope tie fre 100 miles of New York City, 1838. Price, $1.00. Subscriptions and other business communications should be addressed to the Treasurer, Miss Mary L. Mann, 59 East 86 St., New York City, a q 2 e Piant Names And Their Meanings A series of articles with the above title is now appearing in The American Botanist é an immense number of other articles of interest to botanists and — izers may be found. Ceara; 81-50 z pone: Sake 25 ae Ask us about partial sets of Fern Bulletin WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. _Joliet, Ill. The Intelligencer Printing Co. spicicinins yaks Printers of Ratisical: and Other : Scientific Literature "LET US ESTIMATE ON YOUR WORK , 5. O08 92 anil, C1 00 arenaid ? THERE BRYOLOGIST | PUBLISHED BY THE = SULLIVANT MOSS SOCETY The only magazine in English wholly devoted to Mosses, and Lichens. Bimonthly; illustrated; for the be- ginner as well as for the professional. Yearly subscription i in the United States, $1.25, Twenty-five cents additional gives membership in the SULLIVANT MOSS SOCIETY, with free =a services of Curators for beginners. : | ADDRESS EDWARD B. CHAMBERLAIN 18 West 89th Street NEW YORK co du fags SOCIETY A B. COMSTOCK, Presiden OFFICIAL JOURNAL THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW Devoted primarily to all cages studies of ature in Elementary SEND FOR FREB SAMPLE COPY THE NATUR E-STUDY REVIEW Comstock Publishing Company Ithaca, New York A a of Sends | Designed by Botanists _— “FERN TROWELS FIELD PICKS __ FELT DRIERS ; WRITE rok CATALOGUE F been aa Field and Herbarium Equipmen AME RIDGE B BOTANICAL SUPPLY co. ‘VERLEY u SEs ARO erg eh a re ne Pea nn? armen Sea s SES EE tare cal en a a . Se a ee ‘ass Te ee a —— Vol. 13 April-June, 1923 No. 2 om American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY Fa EDITORS R, C. BENEDICT E, J. WINSLOW - Cc. A, WEATHERBY wt CONTENTS How to ee the North American = of Equi- . H. Scoarrner 33 © ke ea ee ee ow a ee we, ae ee eee, on the Climbing Fern in Sake sl waees R. J. Sm 40 Botrychium dissectum..........--++«-+> O. A. Farwett 42 Autumn Frosts and the Ferns........--- E. H. CrarKson 45 The Mosquito Fern ....:..... 2. .24+ 0+ R. C. Benepicr 48 How to Save the Wild Flowers.......-.- M. O. Watant 52 Wild Plant momorsadeee in Connecticut—Notes on Wild Plant Protection......-----+-- R. C. Benepict 56 Recent Fern Literature..........----++ercsestees cients ae American Fern Society.......5-.-+-s:sserecrerrerts? ReaD ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, $5.25: FOREIGN, $1.35 AUBURNDALE, MASS. red as sec ¢ matter at the Auburndale, branch of the Bostdir oa ond ¢ Ma ‘Po st ce, dita 7 e Act of March 3, 1879. fee Seer coat er ng at sseetal rate of .. oe provided for in ssetion 1103, , 19t7 authorized on July 8, “MAY 1é ipa : \ Ghe American Hern Society Counril for 1922 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR WILLIAM R. Maxon, Washington, D. C. - _- President Miss M. A, ieupeneex: a River, Mass. - Vice-president S. H. BuRNHAM, wea. NY. - - - Secretary J. G. UNDERWOOD, Hartland, Vi. - - - Treasurer OFFICIAL CRGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS Bee a Popaiiigyelae - oe ioe 19th ae Saag A ¥H. J. Win - rndale, ae C. A. ia incest x = - - Pa takers Conn, An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns. bscription, $1.25 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra; sent free LME. ICAN F hase ae. (a — mg when proof is return Volume I, six numbers, $3.00; other volumes $1.25 each. Single back numbers 35 centseach. Volum at numbers 1 and 3 cannot be supplied except with complete volum Matter for publication es . “addicencs toR. C. BENEDICT, 322 East ae Street, Brooklyn Subscriptions, orders for tis ck oe and other business a should be aahcsed to £. J. Winstow, Auburn- CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM L.S. Hopmrys - - - Culver-Stockton College, Canton, Mo. Amprican Fern Journal Vol. 13 APRIL-JUNE, 1923 No. 2 How to Distinguish the North American Species of Equisetum! JoHn H. ScHAFFNER In a previous paper on Equisetum,? the writer dis- cussed the status of the North American species north of Mexico and gave a synopsis to indicate the evolu- tionary sequence and phyletic relationships. Such a synopsis is, however, not always convenient to use for identification of casual specimens collected in the field, and since there seems to be much confusion and uncer- tainty in regard to certain species at present, the fol- lowing treatment has been prepared especially for the use of amateurs who must depend on a key for the rec- ognition of the species. Because of the decided simplicity and sameness of structure exhibited by most species of Equisetum and because of the great fluctuations often shown by a single species, it is important that one should learn to recognize them by such hereditary characters as appear to be least influenced by external conditions. An attempt has been made to discover such characters so far as possible for the key. In a few cases the writer is still not able to segregate definitely on vegetative characters alone although this is clearly the goal which should be set for every field manual. Although several species are fairly well characterized by anatomical characters of the stem, we, Papers from the Department of Botany, The Ohio State University. Oo 1 nf, Joun H. North American Species of Equisetum North of Mexico. Am. Fern Jour, 11: 65-75. 1921. ion 1: no. 1 of the Journax, pages 1-32, plate 1, was issued March 13, 33 34 - AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL in the main such characters are no more serviceable than the external characters, since they are subject in the same degree to the influence of environment. This notion of the greater stability of internal structures seems to have been handed down from the time when a belief in the inheritance of acquired characters was quite common. Any one familiar with cytology and histology cannot entertain such a notion. Temperature, light, moisture, ete., affect internal cells as well as those exposed on the surface. The present paper does not consider the ecological and minute hereditary forms but aims to include all of our species, well-marked varieties, and hybrids. Large numbers of varieties and forms have been named and described but it is a well-known fact that most of them are of no value whatever. Immature individuals and extreme fluctuations should be avoided by the beginner as they may even confuse the would-be expert. Al- though there are probably a considerable number of true varieties with definite, minute hereditary characters, these have never been studied in such a way as to segre- gate them from mere fluctuations and until this is done it seems best to include them all under “forms,” which represent merely the characteristics the specific heredi- tary factors express or assume under the given environ- ment. The true nature of the puzzling forms which appear to be hybrids can only be determined by actual breeding experiments. Morphological and distributional studies may give a strong presumption in favor of a supposed hybrid nature but they can never determine the matter. Genetics must give the solution. How- ever, if a form is constantly developed with imperfect spores, the presumption in favor of its hybrid nature is very strong. Fluctuations or ecological ‘‘forms” may be determined by field studies and by transplantings to different habitats. Frequently one can find quite diverse NortH AMERICAN SPECIES OF EQUISETUM 35 forms from the same rhizome, especially when it extends through two or more well-marked zones of environment. CHARACTERS PECULIAR TO THE SPECIES Equisetum scirpoides can be readily identified by its solid stems and by having twice as many ridges as per- sistent sheath teeth. The teeth are three in number and are bicarinate or somewhat quadricarinate. Some forms of E. variegatum may have solid stems but these are dis- tinguished by their 5-10 quadricarinate teeth. JZ. tel- mateia also has twice the number of ridges on the green branches as persistent sheath teeth, but cannot be con- fused with EH. scirpoides because of its prominent hollow main stem and regular whorls of branches. E. kansanum and E. funstoni are apparently closely related. Eaton, however, thought them distinct, since he was well acquainted with E. kansanum which he called E. laevigatum. Until Eaton described EZ. funstoni as a new species it was usually cataloged under the name of _ E.-mexicanum. To the writer, who described FE. kan- sanum, the two forms seem distinct enough to merit specific rank. JE. funstoni has a peculiar cluster or rosette of more or less spreading or horizontal branches coming from around the base of the main fertile or sterile stalks, and these branches often branch again above ground. The teeth of the sheath are long persistent, the ridges are usually exceedingly rough with projecting cross bands of silex and the sheaths have a strong ten- dency to be incurved at the top. E. kansanum is de- stitute of a basal rosette although sometimes the stems are more or less clustered, several cone-bearing shoots of various sizes coming from one erect underground branch of the rhizome. The ridges are usually very smooth because of the slight development of the cross bands of silex. In the southwest and Pacific coast, especially California, the plant may be practically as 36 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL rough as £. funstoni. The Californian form of E£. kansanum has, recently, usually gone under the name of E. funstoni nudum. But it is quite similar to the eastern plant in appearance except for its rougher nature. The sheaths of HZ. kansanum usually do not curve in at the top and the teeth are commonly early deciduous except those of the calyx-like sheath at the base of the cone. E. kansanum is strictly annual in its aerial parts. In both species the cone is without a point and the sheaths are green and funnel-shaped. The main stems of both ~ species may have sporadic branching. Large specimens of E. kansanum often look much like E. laevigatum and this probably accounts for the fact that the two were confused for such a long time. F. laevigatum is much more robust and usually rougher. The fundamental characters which separate it from JZ. kansanum and E. funstoni are the apiculate cone and the evergreen habit of its aerial stems. E. laevigatum may also be confused with E. praealtwm when the latter is immature. Normal mature individuals, however, ean be distinguished at a glance. E. laevigatum has long am- pliated green sheaths with a narrow black limb. The upper sheaths are rarely if ever discolored, although those near the ground may approach the ashy-colored appearance of E. praealtum. E. praealtum has close short cylindrical sheaths, usually split in age and soon drying off into an ashy gray color, commonly with a band of black above and below. E. praealtum and E. hiemale, including both European and American forms of the latter, are readily disting- uished from each other by their sheaths and ridges. The sheath segments of EZ. praealtum are tricarinate, without a central grove, except rarely a very slight one, and the ridges of the internodes havea single row of tubercles, while EZ. hiemale has quadricarinate sheath segments with a distinct groove between the two central keels and the Nortu AMERICAN SPECIES OF EqQuiseTuM 37 ridges of its internodes have two rows of tubercles, ap- pearing biangulate. Although perennial, EZ. praealtum usually bears cones on shoots of the season. Shoots sterile the first year may bear cones the second, both terminal and on lateral branches. Branching is rare the first season unless the shoot is injured but the second year branching is common even on uninjured shoots. £. praealtum is an exceedingly variable species, some forms recognized probably being genetic and some ecological, but none of these forms passes outside of the specific limits as usually drawn. Some are short and robust; some tall and massive; some very slender. One variety, E. ferrissi Clute, has exceedingly long internodes but this character seems to intergrade with the usual type, at least in some localities. E. variegatum is sometimes confused with EZ. praealtum, E. hiemale, E. laevigatum, and even E. kansanum. Since the ridges of the internodes are biangulate except in the variety, E. variegatum nelsoni, this character alone should separate it readily from all of them except £. hiemale.. The character of the persistent teeth is dis- tinctive, all the species named above have early decidu- ous teeth except sometimes E. kansanum with which E. variegatum nelsoni might be confused if the latter is really annual as supposed. Since £. variegatum in all of its varieties has persistent teeth (never more than the bristle tip being deciduous) the tooth character with the small number of ridges (5-10) should be sufficient for identification. The cones of E. variegatum are apiculate and this character will readily separate it from E. kan- sanum. E. variegatum nelsoni when fully studied may be found distinct enough for specifie rank which _ already been accorded to it by Farwell. The question naturally arises whether it is an extreme annual-stemmed mutation from the E. variegatum line or whether 1t may not have its natural affinities with EZ. laevigatum, E. 38 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL kansanum, and EF. funstoni. The writer is not well enough acquainted with the plant to express an opinion since he has never studied it in the living condition in its natural habitat. E. variegatum jesupi is readily as- sociated with E. variegatum by its external characters. It appears to be a hybrid as shown by Miss Holden. It should always be distinguishable by its persistent bristle tips and the absence of spiral thickenings in the wall cells of the sporangium as well as by the abundance of abortive spores. The smaller sterile shoots of E. telmateia are often confused with £. arvense. But the two are very distinct. E. telmateia is distinguished from all others of our branched species by the prominent bicarinate sheath segments of the branches, and the fact that the ridges of the internodes of the branches are deeply grooved thus making twice as many ridges as the teeth of the accompanying sheath. All the other related species, as intimated above, have unicarinate sheath teeth on the branches, and the ridges of the internodes are equal to the teeth. The fertile shoots of E. telmateia are usually distinguished by the size of the cone and the leaf sheaths and by the lack of stomata on the internodes. E. silvaticum can be recognized by the peculiar union or coherence of the sheath teeth of the main stems into three or four broad lobes and by its compound branches. E. arvense often has compound branches but the teeth, although they may cohere to some extent, do not form peculiar broad lobes. The branches of E. arvense have ' a tendency to be erect, while those of E. silvaticum have a strong tendency to be spreading and recurved. Some- times the branches of E. silvaticum are also nearly simple so the sheaths of the main stems, both sterile and fertile, are the best distinguishing character. E. fluviatile can be identified by its very large central cavity and hollow terete branches. The unbranched NortH AMERICAN SPECIES OF EQUISETUM 39 forms are readily identified by the persistent teeth of the close green sheaths, together with the annual character of the aerial shoots and the scattered stomata. E. pratense is distinguished definitely from its- near relative, E. arvense, as well as others, by the shape of the sheath teeth on the branches. They are deltoid, obtuse or merely acute and usually green with broad white margins. E. arvense is to be recognized by its awl-shaped or acuminate unicarinate sheath teeth of the branches. The teeth are frequently four or more but sometimes three, while E. pratense seems to have three teeth on the sheath quite regularly. The compoundly branched sterile shoots must be distinguished from Z. silvaticum by the sheath character of the main stems; as stated above, the teeth of E. arvense do not cohere into three or four continuous lobes but the coherence is slight and indefinite. E. palustre is characterized by its loose sheath, usually with less than ten teeth, and its internodes with six to ten ridges and small central cavity. The branches of the whorls are commonly long giving the shoot a bushy appearance. They are terete and hollow as in E. flu- viatile. It is mainly confused with peculiar forms going under the name E. litorale Kuehl. But £. litorale has short cones with no spiral thickenings developed in the wall cells of the sporangium and the spores are abortive and commonly without elaters. E. litorale apparently represents semi-sterile shoots of E. palustre and also hybrids between E. palustre and E. arvense and perhaps also between E. fluviatile and E. arvense. Specimens without cones of E. litorale are usually not definitely distinguishable from E. palustre. Based on the characters discussed above, the follow- ing key has been prepared to facilitate identification ot both sterile and cone-bearing shoots of our North Ameri- 40 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL can species, important varieties, and hybrids. Although some overlapping may be found in the branching char- acter, this is usually so definite that most specimens should be readily identified excepting the very young and the badly weathered individuals. CoLumBts, OHIO (To be continued) Observations on the Climbing Fern in Pennsylvania Rosert J. Sm Porter’s old record of Lygodium for Luzerne County aroused my curiosity as to the present status of this plant there. So, upon meeting Mr. Philip Brierley, 2 botanist of the Federal Horticultural Board, at Freeland, I at once mentioned the possibility of finding the Climb- ing Fern in that region. The next day, Sept. 19, 1922, Mr. Brierley guided me to the place where he had already located it. This station is in the bottom of a deep and wide wooded valley between two mountain ridges. The limits of the colony were not reached. For all I know there may be, up and down the valley, miles of territory included. At any rate, during my two visits (the second on Oct. Ist) the fern was seen to form the dom- inant green of the undergrowth on many acres of ground. So far as noticed, only the bottom of the valley is o¢- cupied—the sloping banks and flat terraces within fifty - feet of the creek-level. No deep and permanently shady forest of large trees is there, but the presence everywhere of second-growth or thicket makes a changing mosaic of sun-light and shadow which seems to fill the require- ments of Lygodium. The soil may be described as & sandy loam—the combination of accumulated humus and material from the weathering cliffs of the flanking CLIMBING FERN IN PENNSYLVANIA 41 mountain ridges. Under the most luxuriant tangles of the fern the ground is rather well drained and has only a medium or slight degree of moisture. In some places, many rods in extent, almost every upright herb or shrub stem is entwined by one or more fronds of Lygodium, and the ground for a slight depth is filled with a network of the slender horizontal root- stocks. The graceful ascending fronds reach upward from three to five feet, but some specimens when un- wound from their supports are five and a half feet in length. The lower half has the larger hand-like, foli- aceous pinnae, while the thread-like upper half bears the exquisite lacy fruiting branches. One of the most striking features is the pale pinkish-yellow color of the rachis, an appearance quite suggestive of some species of Dodder. In little open spaces where no supports are available, the Climbing Fern sprawls over the ground, but here few of the fronds are fertile. With the assistance of Mr. Brierly I made the follow- -ing list of associated plants:— ON HIGHER GROUND AND SLOPING BANKS. Acer rubrum L. Cornus alternifolia L Quercus alba L. Myrica asplenifolia Ehrh. <-> Gabe 1s. Quercus ilicifolia Wang. “ prinus L. Pteris aquilina L. Castanea dentata Borkh. Dicksonia punctilobula Gray Pi igida Mill. Polystichum acrostichoides Schott. “ strobus L. Dryopteris noveboracensis Sw. Populus grandidentata Michx. Fragaria sp. Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. Rubus hispidus L. Betula populifolia Marsh. Potentilla canadensis L. Crataegus sp. Gaultheria procumbens L. Hamamelis virginiana L. Epigaea repens L. Rhododendron maximum L. Mitchella repens L. Kalmia latifolia L. Lycopodium clavatum L. Rhus copallina L. obscurum L. Polytrichum sp. 42 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Unper TsuGa—ACER—QUERCUS SECOND-GROWTH ON LOWER GROUND. Rhododendron maximum L. renee regalis L. Salix sp. cinnamomea L. Sphagnum sp. It appears likely that this hardy and quaintly decor- ative plant may prove to be more common than has been supposed, among the mountains of Pennsylvania. Moreover it seems odd that it has not become a general favorite in ferneries, conservatories and ‘‘ wild” gardens. For what could be more picturesque than the pattern of soft green palmate leaves and the delicate tracery of tendril-like fruiting sprays twining above?! PENNSYLVANIA BuREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. Botrychium dissectum O. A. FARWELL In the Botanical Gazette for Nov. 1920, Vol. 70, pp. 387-398, Dr. C. J. Chamberlain presents data tending to show that Botrychium dissectum is a sterile mutant of B. obliquum, using the latter name in a broad sense to include all its variations. Insofar as his experience of five years goes, B. dissectum occurs only in association with B. obliquum. Botanists of a century or so ago considered the two forms to be distinct species; as, Willdenow, Sp. Pl. V, 63, 64, (1810); Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. II, 655, 656 (1814); Nuttall, Genera, II, 248 (1818); Baciow Comp. Fi. Phil., II, 205 (1818) ; Beck, Bot. N. & Md. States, 459 (1833). They are united by Torrey in the Fl. of the St. of N. Y., IT, 506 (1843) as B. lunarioides Swartz, and var. Hasta, In the various editions of Gray’s 'The reason probably is, that the climbing pte is difficult of culti- vation, requiring rather special conditions and, articular, soil of so high an acidity that most garden plants would not coe nae it.—C. A. W. BoTRYCHIUM DISSECTUM 43 Manual, under whatever specific name used, the two forms have been considered as variations of the same species with the form having the dissected margin as the variant. However, from a taxonomic point of view, B. dissectum Spreng., Anleit., II, 172 (1804), being the first published, is the type. 3B. obliguum Muhl. in Willd., 1. c., 63, becomes B. dissectum var. obliquum (Muhl.) Clute, Fern Bulletin, X, 76 (190 ). B. dis- sectum probably has had no other name; but B. ob- liquum has passed under several, such as fumarioides, lunarioides, ternatum, ete. In so far as my slight field experience and acquain- tance with this species goes, it shows no intermediate forms between it and its variety obliquum. The general outline and size of fronds are the same, the size of the fruiting panicles of each is the same; but the sporangia are slightly smaller than those of the variety with a few that are smaller because undeveloped; but the same con- dition occurs in var. obliquum in which the terminal spor- angia are rarely as large as the lower ones. The spores are plentiful and mostly full and plump but some are smaller and angular. In the variety obliquum the ultimate in finely crenate-serrulate; in the ty are laciniately pinnatifid and inci In separating variety obliquum from the specific type, all individuals whose ultimate divisions have a margin that is essentially evenly crenate-serrulate, that 1s, where most of the serratures are of about the same size obliquum; those plants whe margin, in part or all, extend one-third the distance to the midvein or more, are placed in B. dissectum. In the latter case, every third or fourth indentation is two to four times as deep as the others, forming a tooth that is itself incised or serrate, whence the name dissectum. 44 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL .In southeastern Michigan, both forms are infrequent but the variety is the commoner of the two. My first collection of B. dissectum was in a small copse within the city limits of Detroit in 1906; this station has since been destroyed through the clearing of the land for building purposes. There was no other form of the species there, variety obliqguum being con- spicuous by its absence. September 28, 1922, while botanizing in St. Clair County with Mr. Gladewitz, of Detroit, Michigan, we found two distinct colonies of this species. We had traversed the perfectly flat top of a ridge or hill about one-eighth of a mile long, ten to twenty feet high and from ten to twenty yards wide, perfectly innocent of any growth of shrubs or trees. There was a slight fringe of trees on the west between the hill and a corn- field; on the east was an extensive lowland flat well covered with Oaks, Beech, Yellow Birch, Balsam Poplar, Sour Gum and other species of trees. At the southern end of the ridge on the east side in a small cleared spot in front of the woods we found the first colony of Bo- *trychium.. At that season of the year the only associate vegetation noticeable consisted of leaves of grasses and one sedge; the only grass determinable was Muhlen- bergia Schreberi and the sedge was Carex Swanii. While we did not stake out and tabulate the number of in- dividual plants, there were probably in the vicinity of forty, all told, in a radius of eight feet from the first plant seen, which was the variety obliquum. B. dis- sectum made up fully one-third of the colony. As we traveled back through the woods we did not detect any other colonies as the grasses, sedges, ete., were too rank to permit of their growth there. In a small cleared spot at the north end of the hill, we found another colony consisting of three fronds only of B. dissectum; in @ radius of eight feet from these three fronds no other AUTUMN FROSTS AND THE FERNS 45 Botrychium frond was discovered. Most of the B. dis- sectum fronds were deeply divided and open, as illus- trated in Britton & Brown, 2nd Ed.; the remainder were less divided with closer segments as illustrated in Gray’s Manual. It seems probable that the variety obliquum may be the genetic type of the species while B. dissectum may be a form with jagged or incised margins, a con- dition that is frequent in many and various species of ferns; but since, as stated above, the dissected form was the first described and named it becomes the taxonomic type of the species. Of the three colonies which I have seen, two were of B. dissectum alone, the first containing around a score of plants, and the plants in both colonies bore the deeply divided open fronds of the type. Mr. Gladewitz informs me that heretofore he has observed B. dissectum about 10 times and in every instance associated with its var. obliquum about in the proportion of 2 of the latter to one of the former. Some might propound the suggestion that there are two species B. dissectum and B. obliquum representing extremes of marginal serration while the intermediates mentioned by Mr. Hopkins of Kent, Ohio, found where both grow together are the re- sult of cross fertilization. Parke, Davis & Co., DEPARTMENT OF Botany, Detroit, MICHIGAN. abate ak ces Autumn Frosts and the Ferns Epwarp H. CLARKSON Up to October 17th, 1922, there had been several light frosts in the vicinity of Newburyport, Massachusetts, with minimum temperatures of 32° F. In the fern garden, the big Osmundas, the ostrich ferns, the marsh, New York and Massachusetts ferns, the bracken, both of the chain ferns, the little long beech and oak ferns, the sensitive ferns, and the silvery spleen- 46 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL wort were nearly all browned and shrivelled. Most of the fronds of the maidenhair, lady ferns and hay-scented ferns were curled and dead. Yet in places where they were somewhat protected by surrounding foliage, a few of the last named were still green and fresh. Many of the tall fertile fronds of the big Clinton’s fern, the crested fern, and the handsome hybrid, Dryopteris Boottii, more or less browned or discolored, had fallen over. Even the big Braun’s holly ferns were all flat on the ground. It seems strange that this vigorous semi- | evergreen species should be so sensitive to light frost or to cold rain and wind, yet it is apt to fall rather early. During the nights of October 17, 18 and 19, there was a sharp drop in temperature, the mercury falling to 24° F. Water in shallow receptacles on the lawn froze solid and the surface of the ground was slightly frozen in a few spots. Asa result of this cold weather, the big, handsome Goldie’s ferns, that three days before were as erect and vigorous-looking as in midsummer, were lying flat on the earth. This fern, like the male fern, seems to be intermediate between the evergreen ferns and the more tender sorts and its fronds, although flat on the soil, keep fresh and beautiful for some time after the cold, freezing weather arrives. The Clinton’s ferns, many of which were still erect and vigorous-looking on October 17 th, had also fallen. The broad beech ferns, that were fine and green then, were all frozen and shrivelled, and the last of the lady ferns had succumbed. Even the hardy evergreen species, the polypody, Christmas fern, marginal fern, and the two spinulose ferns, Dryopteris spinulosa and D. in- termedia, were all awry and out of shape. It was very interesting to notice how curled and faded at that time were the broad-leaved spinulose ferns, Dryopteris di- latata. Although their home, here in New England, is in the cold mountainous regions, they, curiously Autumn FRosTs AND THE FERNS 47 enough, unlike the other two spinulose ferns, are not evergreen. It would seem that the stems of many of the first- growth fronds of our native ferns are in a weakened condition in autumn, so that a number of species are ready to fall. Sometimes the immediate cause of their falling is a frost. Sometimes a cold rain-storm or even a strong wind will bowl them over. Mature fronds will oceasionally drop down just from their own weight, because weakened at the base of the stems. After the hard frost recorded above, I found a few fronds of the more tender sorts still alive and as beautiful as ever. These included the New York, hay-scented, maidenhair, and Goldie’s ferns. But in every case these surviving fronds were those that had come up late in summer. The early-growth, mature fronds do not have the vitality to resist extreme cold. In my fern garden is a fine clump of the Dodge hybrid, Dry- opteris cristata X marginalis. In September, 1922, it | sent up a dozen delightfully irregular fronds, most of which were fertile. After these had fully expanded, all the first-growth fronds of the group fell over on the ground. As late as November 16th, these twelve Sep- tember-growth fronds were as erect, green, and fresh as if it had been June instead of nearly Thanksgiving. I particularly prize this special cluster of ferns because I dug it on the last trip that I took with Raynal Dodge. It was not many weeks before he died that he told me he would like to visit a colony of this hybrid m Byfield where for many years he had gathered fronds for his herbarium. We found them just right for collecting and Mr. Dodge gathered a goodly number. At his suggestion I dug a clump for my fern garden. He said that this was one of the first places where he had found the hybrid and I think that he sent living plants from this particular group to George E. Davenport in 1891 or 1892. Therefore the eluster is at least thirty years old. Newprrvonr7r Mass. 48 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The Mosquito Fern R. C. BENEDICT It has long been a belief of mine that a whole course in botany including genetics, morphology, physiology, palaeontology, etc., could be built around a selection of ferns as illustrative material. To be sure, there would be some deficiencies when it came to illustrating adapta- tions for cross fertilization through special types of floral leaves and attraction of insects by colors, odors, and nectar. Such lacunae could well be filled in, however, by drawing the necessary material from the flowering plant offshoot of the fern family as needed, returning to the parental line of the whole vascular plant group when the side excursion was over. Without going further into a general discussion of the manifold variation of the ten thousand different kinds of true ferns (Filicineae) I would like to offer some facts and observations regarding the versatility, botanically and biologically speaking, of the mosquito fern, scienti- fically called Azolla. Let me offer them topically. Wuy Moscurro Fern? Sometwelve to fourteen years ago, Dr. Marshall A. Howe of the New York Botanical Garden, while collecting algae in Central America, was asked by a German scientist for a possible place abroad where Azolla might be procured. They wanted it to introduce into standing water to cover the surface so that mosquito larvae might be unable to rise for oxygen. Dr. Howe was able to refer them to a nearby locality where he had recently seen Azolla growing. Textbooks in biology always cite as preventives for mosquito larvae, drainage, screening, and covering with oil, and the introduction of small fish. I hope they will now add Azolla as a competitor of the Standard Oil Co. CoMMENCALISM, Symsrosis, ParasitisM. These three formidable words represent possible gradations in the Tue Moseuiro FERN 49 relations of two distinct species of living things which have the habit of always occurring together. The best illustration of commencalism I know of is that of the Javan fern-ant combination, in which the fern rhizome is regularly enlarged and hollow, furnishing. a living place for a family of ants whose formic acid secretions, as well as their biting ability, serve to protect the fern from herbivorous animals. Azolla is another good case, although its exact status is as yet undecided. Each of the leaves visible in-the illustration has a considerable hollow which develops as early as the second embryo leaf, and which serves only, so far as known, for an abiding place for a low form of alga, Anabaena Azollae, whose cells grow in close association with those of the Azolla. When Azolla reproduces, the Anabaena works its way into the spores. There is probably mutual benefit in the association. REPRODUCTION AND DistTRIBuTION. Students of bio- logy are familiar with the commonly cited examples of these terms. The cocoanut is a fruit adapted for water distribution. The devil’s horn has a fruit adapted for the bur method of dispersal. The potato is a case of vegetative or asexual reproduction. During the summer of 1922 a few plants of Azolla caroliniana appeared in the lower reaches of the brook ot the Botanic Garden in Brooklyn. By the end of September the plant could have been measured by the peck, if not by the bushel. The branching, breaking apart and continued growth of colonies of the type illustrated resulted in a multiplica- tion of “extraordinary rapidity,” as Prof. Campbell writes (Mosses and Ferns, page 396). Wind and water currents served to distribute the plants along about five hundred feet of open sunny brook. The margins of this were completely lined with mosquito fern, and the ter- minal pool, into which the brook plunged, contained masses which could be scooped out in double handfuls. 50 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The bur method applied to reproduction is illustrated in Azolla in the fact that its ‘‘pollen’” spore masses are provided with projecting hooks which serve to hold the two types of prothallia together for sexual repro- duction. Fatt Cotoration. No textbook in botany is complete without its reference to the changes in pig- mentation of the leaves associated with autumn. Be- ginning in September with-cooler weather, the margin of Azolla along the brook mentioned above began to take on a magenta tone. Through October and November the color became more pronounced. Ex- amined closely, each plant showed a central shade of olive with the margins of all the leaves bright crimson. In the greenhouse grown material of the illustration, it will be noted that the margins appear paler than the center. If red-margined they would have photographed darker. The fall coloration for tree leaves is sometimes ascribed more to drying than to cold, an explanation not applicable to Azolla. In the case of plants which were considerably shaded, the red color did not develop to the same extent. In reddened plants brought into the greenhouse for observation, the old leaves remained of darker shade but the new growth was paler. Harpiness. As the weather became colder through the fall, the amount of Azolla grew less. It happened that the fall of 1922 was mild. The first frost was late in October and not very severe. The Azolla continued alive through November, suffering temperatures of not much lower than 29 degrees Fahrenheit. By the first of December the artificial supply of water was shut off, and the Azolla could be seen only as a reddish margin along the muddy banks of the empty brook bed. Has anyone any accurate information as to the re- peated occurrence of Azolla caroliniana in the eastern states? A few years ago I saw masses of it filling one of AMERICAN FERN JOURN f } N JOURNAL VoLuME 13, PLATE 2 ter enon gage CULTURE Mosouito FERN et (ENLARGED 2-3 TIN 52 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL the locks of the Delaware and Essex Canal near Glen. Ridge, New Jersey. It was September and I remember a reddish coloration like that noted above. Does it occur there year after year? Brooktyn Botanic GARDEN. How to Save the Wild Flowers THE TRANSPLANTING OF WILD PLANTS IN GENERAL AND THE Mountain LAuREL AND RHODODENDRON IN PARTICULAR. MaBeEt Oscoop WriGuHt. We have heard and read so many sermons built about the text “Touch not—take not,” where the wild flowers are concerned, that it is a very pleasant change to be moved by practical experience, coupled with the necessary spirit of the age—compromise—to substitute “please do” for the everlasting “you must not.”’ Conceding, as a matter of course, that trees, flowers and ferns are best seen in their native haunts and that any handling whatever must dispel some of the elusive wildness of their charm, conditions of material progress are making it very difficult, if not well nigh impossible, to keep many of these haunts intact without exerting that frantic and unreasoning fanaticism that finally, but surely, defeats its own ends. The various societies for the preservation of the wild, aided by both Federal and local cooperation, may be able to preserve certain great stretches of forest lands and by educational propaganda, to curb the indiscrimin- ate gathering of attractive, but very perishable, wild flowers—especially certain biennial species like the Blue Fringed Gentian that depends wholly upon seeds for its perpetuation. Yet all this avails nothing when How To SAvE THE WILD FLOWERS - 53 the haunts themselves must be destroyed for either cultural or sanitary necessity, such as the using land for the building of great resevoirs like those of the Croton watershed, and our own wonderful Hemlock Woods reservoir, that is soon to extend through Easton quite up to the Den District into The Valley Forge, not so long ago the very heart of our wild flower excursions, where we flower Jovers, came, saw, analyzed the new and gathered a mere handful to take home, carefully ' bound about with wet moss. If we would preserve the wild things in their haunts, let us re-create these haunts upon soil that is still under private control and intelligently remove the vanishing wild species to it. Not casually or carelessly, but after due study and supplying of proper soil conditions, acid or alkalin, dry, moist or really boggy, according to the several needs of our guests. The sentiment concerning the protection of wild things and the law are at variance ‘in respect to inanimate objects. We read, “The wild bird is the property of the State,”’ wherever it may lodge, and since the passage of the Federal Migratory-Bird Law, the property of the Nation; but tree, shrub, herb, and fern belong absolutely to the owner of the soil upon which they grew, to be gathered and sold at will. The only possible legal curb might be the prohibition of selling outside of State limits, and this step might be proved unconstitutional. Our legal efforts to protect Connecticut ’s State flower, the Laurel, could only go as far as forcing the users to have a written permit from the owner of the land from which the Laurel is taken filed in the nearest town clerk’s office and a similar tag attached to the Laurel in transit. Now I say effect this compromise by speaking and sending literature to the State Granges,—urge all having wild land or pastures where the Laurel is un- welcome to apply forestry to their Laurel and instead 54 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL of having it devastated in the usual manner, cut one portion one year, another the third and by a triennial rotation they will have a better crop with large smooth salable leaves and at the same time we may both see and gather Laurel. In addition, I urge every land owner in the state to secure as large a planting as possible of this beautiful shrub, for a partly shaded bank or other suitable nook in the home grounds. So shall our State Flower not only be preserved but become a part of the home surroundings. I cite the Laurel as an example only; there are native plants by the score that may be brought into safety. We have here at Fairfield established a ten-acre sanct- uary for song and other birds, for though we have excellent bird laws and faithful wardens, it is impossible to control, above a limited point, the unfenced wild. Birdcraft Sanctuary, fenced with cat and climb proof wire, threaded by wild trails and watered by some natural springs united in a natural pond dotted by islands, is proving a most satisfactory refuge for even the shyest songsters and not a few Game Birds. Our next step is to make it a wild flower sanctuary as well. Thirty odd species of berry and seed-bearing plants, beside many that make only for beauty, we found bird- sown in the spot when it was taken over from being a “calf pasture”—a type of land every country explorer knows well. In a vagrant sort of fashion we have gathered up and transplanted such wild plants as enhanced and supplemented the natural beauty of the place, but now we are planning to do more, to prepare special nooks with special soils and set about systemati- cally to gather those wild plants and ferns that, by means of the reclamation of land and the pervasion of the “back to nature” squads of automobilists are surely doomed. How To SAVE THE WILD FLOWERS 55 Literature is sometimes a bad thing, in lieu of being protective, for only last summer I heard of a group of people starting upon a tour for digging wild plants in quantity to supply a purveyor of such things, the location having been discovered through a leaflet asking people not to disturb this particular plantation! At Birderaft Sanctuary last season, we held an exhibition of wild flowers, grasses and ferns every Sun- day afternoon, arranged in the main room of our little cottage museum, and we endeavored to have the Warden of the Sanctuary give brief information as to what might be freely gathered and what should be left untouched. Next season we expect to prepare small folders listing the pickable and the “hands off” species, distributing these to our visitors and also sending them to the Tea Houses in the State. We are asking our friends to help in making this Sanctuary representative of our State Flora. If any one who reads this paper knows of a patch of flowers or ferns that is doomed, will he not remember our Sanctuary and give us a chance, by either telling us of it, or better yet, carefully boxing it with a good bit of its native soil and sending it to BrrpcRAFT SANCTUARY, FarrFIELD, Conn., in care of Mrs. J. O. Waicut, Diree- tor? FAIRFIELD, CONN. 56 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Wild Plant Conservation in Connecticut, A Subur- n State R. C. BENEDICT The problems of wild plant conservation vary accord- ing to the type of region concerned. Vermont’s, as discussed in a previous article,* was one of a ruralstate threatened with the depletion if not the extinction of the rarities of its forests and mountains through their exploitation by commercial collectors of living plants. According to reports which have come to me, the Ver- mont “game law” of 1921 has already accomplished the desired result of restricting the activities of the collectors. Enforcement could be directed against a few known individuals, and was therefore comparatively simple. It will be interesting now to watch the progress of natural restocking. Mrs. Wright’s article presents the problem of a state with a large urban and suburban population. Connecti- cut has its wild places, notably in Litchfield and Wind- ham counties, but on the whole, its problems are different from those of Vermont. Connecticut is pre- dominantly settled ; its wildness is a matter of hills and woods; Vermont’s is that of forests and mountains. Connecticut is within automobile radius of New York and Boston ;a Jarge region is inhabited by New York com- muters. The dangers to wild plant life in Connecticut are correlated with its character as a residence and industrial state, a state of extensive automobile traffic. It has practically passed beyond the stage where it is an important source of living plants of rare wild species for the commercial plant trade. Such rarities as it has like the mountain spleenwort, the lip fern, the climbing fern, etc., occur perhaps in single localities, guarded by _—____——__., * Game laws for ferns and wild flowers, Am. Fern Journal 12: 33-45. Witp PLANT PROTECTION 57 their very rarity from the commercial collector. They should, of course, be given every possible protection, if feasible, in sanctuaries like the ove at Fairfield. Connecticut’s main problem, however, may be said to be typified in the protection of its state flower, the laurel. It has a law relating to the laurel, as well as to the climbing fern. Indeed, Connecticut deserves re- cognition as the pioneer state in the development of game laws for plants. (See appendix to this article.) But in the case of the laurel as with the flowering dog- wood we are faced with a condition which laws alone will not remedy. We cannot as wild plant conserva- tionists sit back satisfied merely to try to restrict the enjoyment of wild beauty like that of the laurel to those able to maintain an estate, or to those able to travel far by automobile, or visit in some favored region. A state flower should be available to all. Nature produces laurel rather abundantly. Let man learn how, and then raise it in large plantations for commercial use. Surely there should be someone in Connecticut interested enough in its State flower to back the exper!- mental study of its propagation, either at the State agricultural college or under private auspices. Make the raising of laurel from seed as simple as raising Tose- bushes and it should be possible to repopulate the roadsides with laurel as the railroad company has ~ planted its embankments with climbing roses. Why not a state laurel nursery as well as a pine nursery, OF a fish hatchery for the free supply of small game fish? The laurel of some quiet pasture or valley is one of the strongest memory bonds of the Connecticut visitor or descendant. Grow it for export. Fill the cities in June with its wonderful bloom. Produce all that New York will take. Give this American plant a chance to take its rightful place as the peer of any of the florist 's present stock. 58 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Education in the enjoyment of the beauties of nature, constructive study to make these beauties more widely available, the protection in sanctuaries and by legal restrictions as far as needed of such plants as are so rare and difficult to grow as to render them liable to extinction: these, it seems to me, constitute the specific lines of action needed in Consoativat: Brooktyn Botanic GARDEN. PPENDIX. CoNNECcTICUTS RELATING TO THE CONSERVATION OF Hodmeareg AL Starures, 1918, § 6274. Wrirc. B eh To STRUCTURES, Tare, Vaux ETABLES, AND OTHER PROPERTY. very person who shalt wilfully injure any tree or shrub sta: standing upon ys mee of another, or injure or throw down any fence, trellis, framework or structure on the land cf another, or shall wilfully cut, destroy or take Hats eprccery he land of another, any cree eeping fern, aes shrub, fruit or vegetable production, 1 more than one hundred dollars or Hircntoetr not m than twelve months or bot h. lees te — Cu. 270. EverGrREEN Trees, FouiaGE AND ON OF THE SAME a @ o ® B ° oe 8 ON person wis gs take from the land of another in this toni the whole or part of a y pine, spruce, hemlock, fir or other evergreen tree with hein bekeing cemuhed thereon without having in i as provided two of this act shall be deemed to have prides: he provisions of this act Se Section 6275 of ca general statues as amended by chapter 285 of ibe: a acts of 1919 is amended to read as follows:—Any P' another, to be sold or offered for sale as a commodity, without having obtain and 1 filed ed with th e town clerk of the town in “which the Jand bad ituated, t ollars nor more than on ce dollars in h one- the amount collected as a fine shall be paid he person upon wh informati e instituted. The owner, occupant or son in charge of the bees as — —— agent, or such person as he n any n lating any pr on, as fort oan Al ae such perso fore some proper person. The owner, occupant, person or agent in charge of the land, arresting any person pursuant ‘to the provisions of this section sha Wixtp Puant PROTECTION 59 entitled to the neo allowed by section 2252 of the general statutes to constables for similar services, which fees shall be taxed as costs by the co fe i i ed upo: highway or vas! ae for tr anspor tation toa common carrier shall be legibly marked by stenc 1¢. . h fah tat of the Owne nd name and iadtoags of pe person who gathered the same. os presence in possession 5 2 pB I = ©. 7 5S © 5 = 3 ° 5 ome og oO =a 2 ta 8 =} = > ® g 2 a ° 6 h or officer authorized to serve criminal process may enforce the provisions this section and may inspect an nd weigh any bale, box or package con- benicar ch foliage, construe- S authorizing any officer to stop or impede the progress of any train or Gidaecka car of any common carrier upon which such foliage may be in transit. No provision of this act shall be construed to apply to any tree, shrub or plant in transit from or growing in any commercial nursery. GENERAL STATUTES, Bae $6276. WitrcotD plein Kirra: Every person who shall wilfully destroy, pull up, tear up, 0 dig up, any trailing a prea a from the land of another, or wens shall “ell, e in his possession, any trailing arbutus with the roots or underground stems attached, taken from land not owned or occupied by him, shall be fined not more than twenty dollars Nores oN THE PROGRAM FOR WILD PLANT PRoTEC- Tion.—Judged by the continued correspondence, wild plant protection has a wide interest. Dr. Gager’s article in Science (Jan. 13, 1923) brought about forty requests for copies of the “Game Laws” reprint, and further are involved as well as flowering plants like earel though to a lesser extent, since they are less conspicuous. One hundred extra copies of the first issue of the JourNnaL for 1923 were authorized by the Council and will be distributed to a list of those, to whom the “Game Laws” paper has been sent. Our stock of this 60 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL is running rather low, but the type plates and cuts have been shipped to Mr. Ricker in Washington for further reprinting during the spring. A gift of $2.00 from Miss Amey Lillibridge is grate- fully acknowledged. Unstated but considerable amounts in the form of postage have been received through the interest of several members who have taken responsi- bility for the distribution of large numbers of reprints. — R. C. Brenenicr. “THE Fern Lover’s Companion.”'—It is nearly twenty years since the day when the appearance of a new fern book was an event of annual or biennial occurrence. And yet, although this book gives evidence of careful reading of current literature, there is not much in it to indicate that the older publications are seriously out of date. However, most of them are out of print, and for this reason and because of its exceptional attractiveness in form and substance the new comer should find an abundant welcome among the present generation of fern students. The author is a contemporary with Davenport and Robinson, and doubtless the perspective gained by the study of ferns in the days when the literature was scant has enabled him to resist the natural temptation to too great comprehensiveness. The book is well supplied with keys, glossaries, bibliography, biographical notes, check list and indices, and the introduction contains a clear and well illustrated account of fern reproduction. All this in the space of some 230 pages, more than one half of which is given to illustrative matter. It is doubtful if any book has been published so well adapted to lead the beginner quickly and directly to whatever information he requires. "the Yeed Gore ’s Companion. George Henry Tilton, 240 pp., 159 illustrations. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 4 AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 61 Some readers may experience a slight shock on reading in regard to Boott’s Shield Fern, “This fern has been thought to be a hybrid between the crested and spinulose ferns, but is now regarded as distinct.” But in general controversial matters are avoided, or, in case of question, both sides are presented impartially. The common names are used, followed by the sciertific names with liberal synonymy. The Ostrich Fern, for example, has all four of its generic titles, as also have the wood ferns. Mr. Tilton aptly characterizes his book as “unpre- tentious, but progressive.”’ It is moreover an exceedingly dainty and attractive specimen of the bookmaker’s art, testifying to the author’s genius for securing the co- operation of others, not only fern students, but photo- graphers, draftsmen, engravers, printers and binders. The flexible covers of dark green leather, the velvety lustre of the paper, the clear print and abundance of excellent illustrations will add charm even to the most enchanting of subjects as the admirably condensed descriptions and appropriate comment will add illumi- nation to its obscurities. True to its name and subtitle, the fern lover will find it a pleasant companion and a safe and dependable guide.—E. J. W.. American Fern Society Mrs. Nellie F. Flynn, a member of the Society since 1910, died at her home in Burlington, Vermont, Dec. 9, 1922. She was born in 1862 at Peru, Vt., the daughter of Albert and Sarah Davis Waite. Most of her early life was spent at Dorset: after her marriage to Mr. John ig Flynn, she came to Burlington. There, for 39 years, she had lived a life full of varied and active interests, both public and private, and had come to occupy ‘‘a unique position in the affairs of thecity . . - the friend of every movement for the uplifting and better- 62 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL ment of the citizens of her state.’ She had served for nearly five years as one of the park commissioners in Burlington, especially concerned with the establishment of playgrounds for children. o us, of course, Mrs. Flynn was best known and, aside from the personal loss to her fellow-workers, will be most missed, as a botanist. She had collected widely, not only in Vermont, but in the course of vacation journeys to many different regions. Her name appears in Mr. Bicknell’s very thorough and exhaustive Flora of Nantucket as the collector of several species not otherwise known to him; and Bermuda, Cuba, California, Florida, and parts of Europe were represented in her herbarium. She had published an excellent flora of the vicinity of Burlington and had contributed occasional notes to botanical journals. At the time of her death she was chairman of a committee of the Vermont Botanical Club engaged iv revising the pub- lished Flora of that state. She had been for many years treasurer and recently secretary also of that club. Report of the Treasurer for 1922 GENERAL FUND Received : spine’ sagt Reo TT NT he Re a $313 .64 Received membership dues 1920......... $5.00 a OS ot 5 te * ict see 356.85 bie te “| 4Oos 39.00 os hi Ce 1924 ap 2.00 Total Dues Received................... $454.35 $454.35 Received Subscription, chests ne Eh eA este gee 64.90 res, 12 13.16 Total subscriptions received............. 78 .06 78 .06 isc. Receipts advertising.............. 4.00 TNGORONE 6 2.10 Collection fees........... -20 SOM Mine. Receipes: 52 <3 6.30 6.30 AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY Brought forward........ Seige cae eee $538.71 Gifts for Mlustrating Fun eee ae de ered spn tania 16.76 Gifts for Special Reprint Fu ad Pcaa tates 60.50 Sales Back Numbers, to Emerseney Fund. Bee bate wen cee 62.87 Total Receipts in 1922. see Sees 678 .84 678 .84 Grand Total.:6 565 ee eee ee i Ce ae eee ‘Treasure —_— 15.00 Secretary's Expe 8.29 JOURNAL Expenses. eae Budget. Ap eget 366 .65 Illustrating Fund. . 16.26 tal Journal Cost,. 82.91 382.91 Balance 1921 Memb ership Campaign 1 Expenses rae 00 1 acct. pai 86.37 Society, Total Expen 507 .57 ‘Transfer on Peesaanaits "peas. ‘Council Order 39. - 100.00 Total Paid Out from bregianiog Fund. ike pen ee Oe. Balance on Hand Dec reer ike 384.91 This Balance on Hand is made up as follows. EmerGency Funp On Hand Jan. cree $101.34 Rec'd sale ay hadiherd. ie ire sear 62.87 Total r i ee PEE ancl aas to gre Fund.. er 100 .00 Balance Forward. Fae ery rar 64.21 64.21 ILLUSTRATING FuND On Hand Jan. 1,. pa 12.43 Gifts Received,. (ei be Gates 16.76 To eal Wasived <4. 29.19 Paid for Tifustrations, 2... 05 20.5 665-28 16.26" Balance Forward 12.93 12.93 Spectay Funp ror ReprinTING ARTICLE ON FERN CONSERVATION Appropriation by Council, Order No. 41 . 50.00 ifts ipurpols Se ee Total Received 3. 53.6 sees 110.50 Paid out on this account. : 86.37 Balance Forw: 24.13 24.13 —— Counc ae for ‘Cataloging ‘Society Herb- 25 .00 Page not appropriated, subject ‘to Council Order. . 258.64 Balance of General Fund. “OL Unexpended Balances of ann niiual Budgets pre re turned as part of this general fund SPECIAL saa ee: Founp Balance on Hand Jan. 1,.. eas ae gees oer eee InrTEREsT RECEIVED.....-- piper amet 64 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL ig fer fi General Fund, Council Order No. 3! Beer 100 .00 DAMA ON SIAN 9 oe ee oie co SRR Any estimate of the Net Worth of the Society woul include the above balances of, General Fund....... $384 .91 rmanent Fund 382.51 Value of Journals on hand in the care of the Editors than and insured for,................ 1000.00 PR OUAL BUNCHES Gs N02 en. ele cod We $1707 82 There are no unpaid bills. This estimate of net worth is only partially correct as it does not include the value of the Herbarium. It might be well to attempt to include this and all other assets next year, and try to show net worth from year to year. Respectfully submitted, J.G. UNDERWOOD, Treasurer. The Secretary has received notice of a summer meeting of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science to be held at Los Angeles, Cal., Sept. 17-19. Though we are planning no meeting of our own, our members will be privileged to attend the meet- ings of the Association. Arrangements are in charge of Mr. W. W. Sergeant, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Dr. D. T. MacDougal, Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Ariz., would like to hear of any eastern scientists who are likely to be in California in September. The Society has received in exchange for the JouRNAL a copy of Christ’s “Farnkriuter der Erde” which is available for lending to any of our members who read German. Changes of address:— Fellows, Dr. Dana W., 150 Park Ave., Port Richmond, N. Y. Strattan, Mrs. G. W., 518 Franklin Ave., Wilkinsburg, Pa AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 65 New Members :— Fisher, George L., 713 Leland Ave., Houston, Tex. Gray, Rev. Fred W., Cass, W. Va. Hutchinson, Mrs. Susan W., 906 South New Hampshire Ave., os Angeles, Cal. Kamm, Mrs. Minnie Watson, 263 Windermere Road, Walker- ville, Ontario. Sim, Robert J., Bureau of Plant Industry, Dept. of Agriculture, Harrisburg, Pa. Wells, Percy E., Maple, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Nathaniel T. Kidder has become a life member. Members of the American Fern Society are cordially invited to attend the meetings of the Vermont Botanical and Bird Clubs to be held in Middlebury, Vermont, beginning June 29th. Members will assemble at the Bread Loaf Inn, 15 miles from Middlebury, on the 29th, remaining there until Sunday night, and then adjourning to the Addison House at Middlebury for two or three days. Rates at the Bread Loaf Inn will be $4.00 up per day, plus a fee of $4.00 for transportation for the round trip from the Middlebury Station to the Inn. Rates at the Addison House in Middlebury village will be $3.75 without bath and $4.25 with bath. Any planning to attend should notify Prof. D. W. Mills, 115 Main St., Middlebury, Vermont. +4 richness of the Vermont fern flora is almost proverbial ; it is hoped that a good number of our members will find it possible to attend. i a te n by fire of the Lorillard Botanical Garden, the Wild Plant Conservation meeting, announced in the last number of the JouRNAL, will be held at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Those planning to attend should Owing to the destructio Mansion in the New York a fee fick hm NTO ns i Ne eta ar ae eee a I Ss eee rie AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL note this change of place; the date, May 23rd, remains the same. The report of the Curator was received too late for inclusion in this number. It will appear in no. 3. THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB MEMBERSHIP Including Bulletin, Memoirs, and Torreya, $5.00 a year PUBLICATIONS Bulletin. M os established 1870. Price, $4.00 a year; single numbers 40 c Of former volumes, only 24-47 can be supplied separately. "Aneta intended for publication in the BULLETIN should be addressed to ProF. A. W. Evans, Editor, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Torreya. Bi-monthly, established 1901. Price, $1.00 a year. Manuscripts intended for publication in TorRREya should be addressed to Gzorcu T. Hastincs, Editor, Robbins Place, Yonkers, iN. ¥, Memoirs. Occasional, established 1889. Price, $3.00 a volume. Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and velgiioet <i de within 100 miles of New York City, 1838. Price, Subscriptions and other business communications should be addressed to the Treasurer, Miss Mary L. Mann, 59 East 86St., New k Ci Plant Names And Their Meanings A series of articles with the above title is now appearing in The American Botanist where an immense number of other articles of interest to botanists and botan- izers may be found Quarterly, $1.50 a year; Sample 25 cents; First25 volumes $16.00 prepaid Ask us about partial sets of Fern Bulletin WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. Joliet, Ill. The Intelligencer Printing Co. LANCASTER, PA. Printers of Botanical and Other Scientific Literature LET US ESTIMATE ON YOUR WORK THE BRYOLOGIST a ee So PUBLISHED BY THE a ===. SULLIVANT MOSS SOCETY —_ = ‘The only magazine in English wholly devoted to Mosses, aaa LES and Lichens. Bin gees illustrated; for. the be- Fe ee OEE Re ea Vol, 13 July-September, 1923 No. 3 American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY ws EDITORS R. C. BENEDICT E. J. WINSLOW c. A, WEATHERBY . CONTENTS How to distinguish the North American Species of Equi- setum (cont.) 3620.5 oho eer J. H. Scuarrner 67 Notes on North ‘Rudess Ferns—XIX..... W. R. Maxon 73 Variation in Polypodium californicum. ...M. L. Kenpatn 7 Is Botrychium dissectum a Mutant?.... ..5. W. Graves 87 A Monograph of the Isoetaceae (review)... .. T. C. Parmer Other recent Fern Literature.........-0-+-++e es erre ree Shorter Notes—Large Fronds of Cystopteris bulbifera— A Pest—Fern Material used by Florists—The Polypody as an Epiphyte—A Mysterious aun No. 1 of the Fern Bulletin......---<++--+-eeer rete? American Fern Society ....-...2220--02ereeee retest reeet® ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, $1.25: FOREIGN, $1.35 AUBURNDALE, MASS. Entered as second class matter at the Auburndale, branch of the Bist, a, axa bade under the Act of March 3, 1879. “hereptance for rags ing pecia een provided for in section 1103, Act of Oct > ha satiated pos july 8,1 fg i . “cl 4 nd 1923 Che American Hern Society Council for 1922 OFFICERS FOR a YEAR WILLIAM R. Maxon, Washingto - President Miss M. A. MARSHALL, Still Sire, 3 \ /16e- ‘president Rev. C. S, Lewis, 835 Edgewood ne, “Trenton, N. = Secretary J. G. UNDERWooD, Hartland, Vt. Fens urer OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS ane = eo - — = als St., Brooklyn, N. ¥. = tae ow = Auburndale, Mass. he. ieee - - . - Fast Hartford. Conn, An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns. Subscription, $1.25 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra; sent free o members of the egy AN FERN SOCIETY (annual dues, $1 .50; life wep, S 25.00). Extracted reprints, if ordered in advance, wi arnished eae atcost. They should be orde Bee olume I, six ae $3.00; other volumes $1.25 each. Sin back numbers 35 cen is Volume I, numbers 1 and 3 cannot : supplied except with pce volum Matter for publication _—— ce Addressed toR. C. BENEDICT, 322 East 19th Street, Brooklyn ubscriptions, orders for rae k ce and other — communications should be addressed to E. J. Wrnstow, Aubur dale, Mass. CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM L.S. Hopgins - - - Culver-Stockton College, Canton, Mo. Aregular loan department is i ened in connection with the Society herbarium. Members may borrow specimens from it at any time, the benuwer Sse postal or —. charges The Sy of the ae are also open to members who wish to ar- — xchanges; a membership list is published re a ng © eeulities American Fern Journal Vol. 13 JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1923 No. 3 How to Distinguish the North American Species of Equisetum ' JoHN H. ScHAFFNER KEY TO THE SPECIES, VARIETIES, AND HYBRIDS OF EQUISETUM IN NORTH AMERICA, NORTH OF MEXICO Arranged for the identification of both fertile and sterile shoots 1, e ae with chlorophyll, at least the branches i keaa. cee with little or no see appearing flesh-colored; sometimes with chlor phyll in the sheaths or with shinruphyll beatine branches when fully mature 2. Internodes of the main stem with a central cavity, if solid the teeth not as be ne deciduous: evergreen cones with a gid point. Fertile and bie stems. E. scirpoides oO deciduous but several species with persistent teeth; cones with or without a point. 4. 1Continued from p: [Vol. 13, No. 2 of yf hast pages 33-66, plate 2, was issued May 11, 1923.) 67, 68 eS) ise ae a on a - AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL . Stems usually much branched, with several to many regular whorls of branches, rarely with only few sporadic branches, annual; stomata in broad bands or scattered in the grooves of the inter- nodes, or only on the sheaths; teeth of the sheaths persistent; cones not apiculate. 10 . Teeth of the sheath persistent or only their bristle- tips deciduous, white-margined, not sharply dif- ferentiated from the sheath; sheath-segments and ower part of teeth distinctly quadricarinate; stems low and slender, usually 5—10-grooved, rigidly erect in tufts, usually evergreen; central cavity less than one-half the diameter of the inter- node; cones apiculate. Fertile and sterile shoots. ath; main stems usually tall, 10-many- grooved, with a central cavity occupying more 6 : bogie soon deciduous, sharply differentiated from the : sporangium wall with spiral thickenings; spores normal. £. variegatum. Ridges of the internodes biangulate; tips of the teeth persistent; cells of the sporangium wall without spiral thickenings; spores largely abortive. £. variegatum jesupi (probably E. variegatum X E praealtum). stems evergreen or annual; cones with or without apoint. 8. po > =" ~] =~] og a = ad NortH AMERICAN SPECIES OF EQUISETUM 69 . Ridges of the internodes with one row of tubercles; sheath-segments without a central groove or some- times with a minute groove, normally tricarinate. Fertile and sterile shoots. . praealtu m. . Ridges of the internodes with two rows of tubercles, more or less biangulate; sheath-segments usually with a deep central groove, normally quadri- carinate. Fertile and sterile shoots. EH. hiemale. Stems evergreen, smoothish, usually large, not with a rosette-like cluster nor with prostrate sterile shoots around the base of the erect fertile shoots; cones tipped with a rigid point. Fertile and sterile shoots. E. laevigatum. Stems annual, very smooth or very rough, sometimes with rosette-like or prostrate branches around the base of the fertile shoots; cones rounded or soon deciduous. Fertile and sterile shoots. kansanum. Usually with a cluster or rosette of small, branched, spreading or horizontal sterile shoots around the base of the main erect shoots; stems very rough with cross-bands of silex; limb of the rather short sheath strongly incurved in age, with a narrow black or brown band, the teeth persistent or as also the sheath segments which are strongly bicarinate, hence the internodes with twice as ridges; sterile stems ivory white or brownish, 2-10 ft. high; fertile stems brown, usually without branches; cones 2-3 in. long. Sterile and occa- sional fertile or semi-fertile shoots. E. telmateva. Ridges of the branches not grooved, and thus sheath teeth as many as the ridges of the internode, the ar bo _ bo " ~ — Oo —_ i AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL sheath segments unicarinate or rounded on the back, or if with a slight central groove, then the main stem green and the branches hollow . Branches hollow, terete, usually simple; both sterile and fertile stems green; plants of wet soil .or growing in water, sometimes without or with only sporadic branches 12. . Branches ‘solid, mostly sharply 3-4-angled, nearly always present, simple or compound; fertile stems brown and at first without branches, soon wither- ing or developing green branches when mature; usually in ordinary moist or dry situations. 14. . Sheaths of the main stem usually appressed, 15-20- toothed; stems usually many-grooved, with a large central cavity, 2-4 ft. high, usually not branched below or at the top, the branches com- paratively short, sometimes oo branches. Fertile aaa sisiet shoots. LE. fluviat . Sheaths of the main stem loose and spree di- lated, Bs seer 7m ‘an: 10-toothed; stems 44-114 , slender, 6—10-grooved, usually bushy polar the branches usually comparatively long; central eavity usually not over one-half the dia- meter of the internode, often much less. Central cavity very small; cones long and the spores mal; cells of the spora ngium wall with spiral thickenings Fertile and sterile shoots. £. pa- . Central ete usually about one-half the pepo d of the node or less; cones short or only slightly pease cells of the iipeinnosen wall sh a of E. palu soles and Ibid probably = Rowete ex B. arvense or E. fluviatile X E. ‘ Branches of the whorls prominently compound, often curving downward, especially those on the fertile shoots; teeth of the sheaths of the main stem united into 3 or 4 lobes, bright reddish-brown; old fertile shoots developing green branches, only the tips withering; teeth of the branches acuminate or awl-pointed. Sterile and old fertile shoots. £. silvaticum. NortH AMERICAN SPECIES oF Equisetum 71 14. Branches of the whorls mostly simple or if somewhat irregularly branched not curving down grace- fully; teeth of the sheaths of the main stem not cohering into 3 or . bbe lobes but more or less distinct and subula . Teeth of the sheaths - the branches obtuse or acute, deltoid in ee branches of both sterile and fer- tile shoots commonly 3-angled and their sheaths 3-toothed; fertile a producing branches at maturity, only the tips withering; northern. Sterile and old fertile shoots. E. pratense. Teeth of the sheaths of the branches acuminate or with awl-shaped tips; branches 3—6-angled, com- monly 4-angled and their sheaths commonly 4- toothed; fertile shoots rarely producing branches at ma turity, usually soon withering; general in distribution. Sterile and or fertile and semi- sterile shoots. - EZ. arvense — Or — os — jor) ~ io) ry oo = ia) ™M cb ia’) ZB E NM =" Rh = & — eee eet? i ty 2 oF > te f 98 fa ej ° om = Nn aa — oe ia) - > "= the in rnodes. Fertile ae eats. wi rs “high, comparatively slender, the sheaths including the 7-15 teeth 34-14 in. long; cones rarely 1/4 in. long; ridges of the branch internodes equal in number to the sheath teeth which are usually unicarinate. 17. 17. Teeth of the sheaths of the main stem cohering into 3-4 broad lobes; bright reddish-brown; fertile stems soon developing of compound branches; whey of the sterile oe _ a pound. Young fertile shoots. £. . Sheaths with AA subulate teeth, wath via "little or not at all coherent when the stem is expanded; branches of the sterile shoot simple or only slightly compound. Teeth of the pale sheath brown, white-margined; fertile stems soon becoming of a greenish ange usually showing whorls of herbi branches buds under the sheaths before the cones cates only the tips withering; teeth of the delicate _ 4s oe ~J a a 72 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL branches usually 3, acute or haga northern. Young fertile shoots. E. praten 18. Teeth of the yellowish- brown sheaths long-pointed, eath chlorophyll; fertile stems brownish or flesh- colored, very rarely showing whorls of branches or buds under the sheaths, the entire shoot withering at maturity; branches ‘of the sterile shoot simple or somewhat compound, 3-6-angled, commonly 4-angled, the aeatha commonly with 4 acuminate or awl-shaped teeth; poi in distribution. E. arvense. LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES ARRANGED IN PHYLETIC SERIES . E. panvicatum A. Br. Smooth Scouring-rush. . E. prazaLtuM Raf. Great Scouring-rush. . E. niEMALE L. Rough Scouring-rush. . E. varrecatum Schleich. Variegated Scouring- rush. 4a. E. varieEGATUM sesupi A. A, Eat. (Probably £. variegatum X E. praealtum.) 4b. E. VARIEGATUM NELSONI A. A. Eat. 5. E. scrrporpes Mx. Dwarf Scouring-rush. 6. E. kKANsaANUM Schafin. Kansas Scouring-rush. 7. E. runston: A. A. Eat. Funston’s Scouring-rush. 8. E 9. E He Go ND . FLUVIATILE L. Water Horsetail. . PALUSTRE L. Marsh Horsetail. 9a. E. tiroraALE Kuehl. (Includes semisterile shoots of E. palustre and hybrids, probably E. palustre X E. arvense or E. fluviatile X E. arvense.) 10. E. stuvaticum L. Wood Horsetail. 11. E. pRATENSE Ehrh. Meadow Horsetail. 12. E. retmarera Ehrh. Ivory Horsetail. 13. E. arvense L. Field Horsetail. Co.tumBus, Onto. Notes on American Ferns—XIX' Wituiam R. Maxon PoLyPpopIUM THYSSANOLEPIS A. Br.—Diminutive specimens of this extremely variable species, collected _ at Fort Davis, Texas, August 26, 1913, have recently been received from D. M. Andrews. Though common throughout a large part of tropical America, P. thys- sanolepis has hitherto been known from the United States solely upon specimens collected in the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona. Like the latter, the present plants have the fronds only scantily scaly beneath, in marked contrast to tropical material. As to small size they are matched by part of the specimens distributed from Chihuahua by Pringle under no. 443. , SELAGINELLA STANDLEYI Maxon.—At the time this species was described? it was known only from a single collection from Alberta (Brown 95) and an extensive series of specimens collected in Glacier National Park, Montana, chiefly by Mr. Standley. Its range must now be extended to include British Columbia and Colorado. From British Columbia specimens were collected by Holway and Butters in August, 1904, the exact locality being Yoho Valley, altitude 2,400 meters; on “rocky slopes near Yoho Lake,” by Titus Ulke, . July 25, 1921; and from shale soil at Sentinel Pass, altitude about 2,560 meters, by Titus Ulke, August 25, 1922. During the summer of 1922, also, Ivan M. Johnston collected it in quantity on Pikes Peak, Colo- rado, at altitudes ranging from 3,390 to 4,200 meters, 1n the Arctic-Alpine zone. The plants were commonly associated here with S. densa Rydb., and grew abund- 1 Published by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 2 Smiths. Misc. Coll. 72% 9. pl. 6. 1920. 73 74 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL antly in various exposed situations, sometimes quite carpeting portions of steep, north-facing, alpine slopes and rocky meadows. The following numbers were collected: Johnston 3876, 3881la, 3882a, 3883, 3884a, 3886, 3887, 3888a, 3899, 3901a, 3903, 3905. No. 3882a, consisting of a few small portions mixed with S. densa, was collected at 4,200 meters altitude, about 30 meters below the summit of the peak. Though obviously related to S. Watsoni Underw., S. Standleyi is readily distinguished by the characters emphasized in the original description. SELAGINELLA Wartsont Underw.—This species, founded on specimens from Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, is well known to extend westward to the high mountains of California (Nevada County to Riverside County), being apparently a common species of rocky slopes and cliffs in the Hudsonian and Arctic-Alpine zones. In Utah it ascends to 3,450 meters. An un- expected extension of range is noted in a Montana Specimen recently received from the Forest Service for identification. This was collected on Cornet Moun- tain, Beaverhead National Forest, at an elevation of 2,700 meters, August 28, 1921, by T. D. Howe (no. 66). SELAGINELLA LEPIDOPHYLLA (Hook. & Grev.) Spring. —Though commonly given a range from ‘‘Texas to Arizona,” this species, the well-known “resurrection plant,” is omitted from the Flora of New Mexico (1915), by Wooton and Standley, who mention two regions in the southern part of the state where it might be expected to occur. Specimens are now at hand from two parts of New Mexico, these collected early in 1923 by James H. Ferriss. One specimen (no. 1) is from foot-hills of the Magdalena Mountains in west-central New Mexico; the other (no. 2) is from the San Andreas VARIATION IN POLYPODIUM CALIFORNICUM fas range, near the south-central part of the state. Both are quite characteristic for the species, agreeing closely with Mexican material. WasuinerTon, D. C. A Study of Variation in Polypodium californicum Ka Mary Louise KENDALL! The work on which this paper is based was done in 1921 and gave evidence for justification of the position taken by Eaton (1879) in dividing P. californicum into two varieties: a coastal one with coriaceous leaves, var. Kaulfussti, and a more common one with thinner leaves and extending from the coast inland, var. intermedium. In 1922 Fernald transferred these to varietal rank under P. vulgare. While the work herein reported was under way, it seemed as if some such final disposition would be desirable, but it still seems worth while to put on record more detailed figures and measurements for Californian material than have heretofore been available. The work was carried on under the direction of Dr. Philip A. Munz of Pomona College, to whom I express deep gratitude for his helpful supervision and en- couragement. Material was collected in many inland localities centering about the Pomona Valley of Southern California and in the coastal region at San Diego and Laguna Beach. In all, 174 specimens were collected, 50 of these being of the Kaulfussii type- Additional material was available in the Baker Herbarium | of Pomona College and from the Herbarium of the Uni- versity of California. 1 Contribution from the Botanical Laboratory of Pomona College, Claremont, Calif. 76 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL GENERAL OUTLINE OF BLADE OF FROND The 174 specimens were grouped under sixteen types varying from lanceolate to a broad triangular shape. Because of the difficulty in description these types can best be shown in outline drawings (fig. A). oe Sedat Oy ONTO 8, 48s a Se. ss 6 18 . The distribution of these types is as follows: ; Tanux i : Shape Total frequency Kaulfussii Intermedium No. 1 byes 0 § 2 19 4 15 Bs 12 5 if 4 10 3 7 5 3 0 3 6 6 0 6 % 18 6 12 8 18 & 13 9 33 i3 20 10 17 4 13 11 5 4 1 12 9 0 9 13 9 5 4 14 2 0 2 15 4 1 3 16 4 0 2 The most common type was a triangular-ovate blade; next came a broadly lanceolate type, then ovate with acuminate tip and orbicular-ovate. The