/ American Hern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY EDITORS Cc. V. MORTON R. C. BENEDICT TRA L. WIGGINS VOLUME 40 —— 41| 1 9 > Mi Bh LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA Mig@e0UuR! BoTANICAL ; GARDEN LIBRARY \? bau \ } CONTENTS VoLuME 40, NuMBER 1, Pages 1-168, IssuED May 1, 1950 Charles Alfred Weatherby, 1875-1949 ........... Henry K. Svenson Charles Alfred Weathe Fi onnahat and Cane a M. ey Jr. A Personal Tributé to Charles Alfred Weatherby a L. Wiggins Additions and Corrections to the Genera aaa E. B. Copeland Phe Ba Ditat OL QGUIa soi coiemani peso W. H. Wagner, Jr. The Problem of deneria Segregates in the gore 7 Lyco- odium ard Boivin po Reminiscences of the Alaskan Highway Donovan 8. Correll The Geographical Distribution of Sees scloana Rodolfo E. Pichi-Sermolli A New Erect Species of the Selaginella ion pe roup . Tryon, Jr. Lycopodium carolinianum in Tropical fhe She ee F, Ballard Ferns, Microscopes, and Brownian Movement R. C. Benedict Ferns of the Monterrey Region, Mexico .... Robert T. Clausen The Male-fern in Vermont Harold G. Rugg Ferns of Pico Bolivar “al the Sources of the Venezuelan ora oseph Ewan A New Interpretation of the Dryopteris oe Oe T. rry A List of the Ferns of Idah6 0. nerun "henie hk Notes on Micronesian Pteridophytes ................... F. R. Fosberg State and Local Fern Floras of ae United States. Supple- it. S. F. Blake isin “Sek n Society ......... VoLtuME 40, NUMBER 2, Pages 169-200, IssuED JuLy 11, 1950 Preliminary Reports on the Flora of Georgia—IIT. The Dis- Sercmeres Sealants ‘ Newly: Recognized tng no- _—— ORION ees Carlotta C. wa 178 Pilularia americana in Kansas ...... eter abe Lt. L. McGregor 187 preeent arm Laberataee soc as ae 188 American Fern Society VOLUME 40, NUMBER 3, PAGES 201-232, ISSUED SEPT. 21, 1950 Two Varieties of Cystopteris Tragilia.) Soc: Ri. L. MeGregor 201 The Upright Psilotum ......... Alex D. Hawkes and Otto Degener 207 Azolla caroliniana in Kent WOR Vn Lhomas N. McCoy 211 Notes on the Ferns in the Eastern United States C. V. Morton 213 Ctenitis vellea, a Neglected West Indian #8 George. R. Proctor 226 Shorter Note: ae rupestris in eel Pri ee neato) APRORE DU TIONG oo kt ar ig 229 American Fern Sécicty. Perales i radesssensanadeciectsdbasban eB a, Cal al 5 232 VoLuMeE. 40, NUMBER 4, PAGES 233-264, IssuED Dxc. 29, 1950. The Chemical Composition of Certain Ferns and ies Allies of Central Pennsylvania oh-Yu Hou 233 Notes on the Ferns of the Eastern United States (cole V. Morton 241 Notes on Dieranopteris emarginata ex D. Hawkes and Otto Degener 253 Shorter Notes: A New Station for Marsilea quadrifolia in Illinois; A Fern Community in Pennsylvania Recent Fern Literature American Fern Society Index to Volume 40 we Vol. 40 January-March, 1950 No.1 va American Bern Journal * QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY Bd ; Cc. V. MORTON : R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS en t Che American Fern Society Council for 1950 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Sate ied i eae mii a 8 Joserx Ewan, Department of Botany, Tulane ated et New Orleans, : Donovan 8. "CoRRELL, Mt. Pisgah Road, Avenel, Silver Spring, Ma, Vie % Miss Evite ScamMan, Gray Herbarium, Harvard University, 6 Camel ae usetts etary WALTER 8. "ALLEN, 144-19 35th Ave., Flushing, N. Y. Treat os Ve Morrow, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. asthe Tditor: ine Chief _ OFFICIAL ORGAN | American Fern Jourwal EDITORS ©. x: token .... Smithsonian Institution, Sel mite ty 25, D. C. B.C. Baw poctet 1819 a Road, Brooklyn 26, NUE mf a Ina rie Wiser... eter: erbarium, Stanford University, C : oe illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of fers q __ Subseription, $1.50 per year, foreign, 10 eents extra; sent free — as coe eat ERI CAN FERN SOCIETY (annual dues, $2.00; sustaining R, $5.00; life membership, $20.00). will ve 4 Ampriran Bern Journal Vou. 40 JANUARY—Marcu, 1950 No. 1 CONTENTS Charles Alfred Weatherby, 1875-1949 ...... HENRY K. SVENSON Charles Alfred Weatherby—Teacher and Counselor Routta M. Tryon, Jr. A Personal Tribute to Charles Alfred Weatherby Ira L. Wiaeins Additions and Corrections to the Genera Filicum E. B. CopELAND ane Fialitet of Disliia = ooo oe | W. H. Waener, Jr. The Problem of Generic Segregates in the Form-genus Lyeco- pcs pte ROTEL aT a NRA Ng eres at BERNARD BOIvIN Reminiscences of the Alaskan Highway Donovan S. CoRRELL The Geographical Distribution of Negripteris scioana Ropotro E. Picui-SERMOLLI A New Ereet Species of the Selaginella oe Group Rouua M. Tryon, Jr. Lycopodium earolinianum in Tropical Africa .......... F, BALLARD Ferns, Microscopes, and Brownian Movement ... R. C. BENEDICT Ferns of the Monterrey Region, Mexico ..... Robert T. CLAUSEN The Male-fern in Vermont Haroup G. Ruae Ferns of Pico Bolivar and the Sources of the Venezuela Flora JOSEPH EWAN A New Interpretation of the Dryopteris clintoniana Group DGAR T. WHERRY A List of the Ferns of Tdaho 00.0.0... SEVILLE FLOWERS Notes on Micronesian Pteridophytes .......... . F. R. Fossere State and Local Fern Floras of the United States. . S. F. B ment I LAKE American Fern Society bo © . 166 [Volume 39, No. 4, of the Journal, pp. 97-128, was issued 9] December ry 194 1 2 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Charles Alfred Weatherby, 1875-1949 Henry K. SVENSON In earlier days of systematic botany the science was usually dependent upon a patron or presiding genius, and such a place I think Charles Alfred Weatherby oc- cupied in the Fern Society. Indeed there was much un- sought opportunity. Soon after the office of treasurer was thrust upon me in 1933 it was apparent that I was a treasurer without a treasury; furthermore, printer’s bills extended beyond this. vacuity to the extent of _ $500.00. A personal note by Mr. Weatherby paid the printer’s bill. When $250.00 had been etched off by our payments, the remainder was given by Mr. Weatherby to the Society. An increase in membership and the sale of back numbers of the Fern Journal did gradually pull the Society out of the financial woods, but it was Mr. Weatherby who held the Society together through this and many other precarious times. But this had not been my first association with him. Shortly after my return to college in 1919 I heard that C. A. Weatherby was to come as an assistant at the Gray Herbarium, in fact had already come on from Hartford. I had been interested in Charles Wright, the botanical explorer of Cuba, who likewise came from Hartford, and Mr. Weatherby told me that some of the plants collected by Wright around Hartford had only recently been re- discovered. Weatherby looked much the same then as in later life, rather thin, erect, always well-dressed, with a short-clipped mustache (which was to become whitened in later years), always polite, ready to help, and after the passing of Dr. Robinson always with a key to the garden gate and the herbarium in case one should wish to remain after hours or come in on Sundays. I under- > 3 | EI 5 > Z ty re aw Zz Cy ° a rd 2 > a CHARLES ALFRED WEATHERBY, GRAY HERBARIUM, 1922 4 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL stand that a few close friends called him ‘‘ Alfred,’’ but he was nearly always called ‘‘Mr. Weatherby’’; this I . suspect was due to a certain dignity in his manner and behavior, but also to the high respect in which he was held by his associates. As a boy he had grown up in East Hartford, Connect- icut, where he was born on Christmas Day, 1875. Life in this village was simple and quite different from the rush of the present day—and it has been well told by Profes- sor Fernald in the biographical sketch in the September, 1949, number of Rhodora. Since the town did not support a school which prepared for Harvard, Charles Weatherby went to a local school conducted by Mr. Bow- man, and then to the Classical School at Hartford. He entered Harvard in the Class of 1897, graduating swmma cum laude, his chief interest being in languages and lit- erature; in addition to Phi Beta Kappa, he belonged to the Shakespeare Club, two other literary clubs, and Delta Upsilon. Daily themes, required for a course on English composition, he thought were a basis for good writing. Surely none of our contemporary botanists have been able to produce such beautifully written, subtly humor- ous, characterizations as those he wrote of the old Con- necticut botanist Barratt.1. At Harvard his chief interest was in languages, and he acquired there, in addition to modern languages, a good knowledge of Latin, which he applied in a non-pedantic style to whatever botanical material needed treatment. Never robust, the years of study extending into 1898 were too much, and he was an invalid for five years. From his boyhood friend, Charles Hanmer, I have received a letter which I can do no better than to quote: ‘*T had the pleasure of knowing Alfred Weatherby for about fifty years, as our families lived opposite on Main Street, East Hartford, Conn. He was away from town several years at Harvard. Upon his return to town he 1 Rhodora 23: 121-125; 171-177. 1921. - CHARLES ALFRED WEATHERBY 6 was ill for a long time and I can well remember his lying out on his veranda in the sun in a steamer chair. Even- tually, after a long time he recovered, and as soon as he was able, started in collecting plants. At first, he used to drive a horse and later the Weatherbys had one of the first automobiles in town and he was thus able to cover all the State in his collecting. I do not think there was a road or by-way he did not know, and he was a fine driver; the Hanmers had many interesting collecting days Larether, He built up a beautiful herbarium which was a pleasure to see. Knowing nothing of botany, my earliest plants came from him around 1904, which started me out as a collector. He always went over my plants that I had collected that season. A collection of Primula (P. officinalis Jacq.) that I found up in Gray, Maine, pleased him. He also on several occasions came to visit us at Fisher’s Island, where we collected many plants. On one trip there, I had collected a plant that when he saw it, he said, ‘‘ Charlie, I don’t know it and I shall have to take it up to the Gray Herbarium.’’ He later advised me that it was Agropyron.cristatum. He stated that this grass had not been collected east of the Rocky Mountains. I may add that his going leaves a void; I shall always re- member him as a true friend, a kindly, fine gentleman.’’ In 1929 the Weatherbys set up their household at 27 Raymond Street in Cambridge. To reach the house from the Gray Herbarium one passed the enormous ginkgo in the Botanie Garden, the dilapidated rock garden where once the most interesting of greenhouses had stood, past a row of gigantic old beeches and through a small gate— one of the two which gave visitors access to the Garden. The Weatherby house was diagonally across the street. The location lent itself to the hospitality offered to Gray Herbarium visitors, and soon many of them had made a beaten trail. The large living room, occupying prac- tically the entire front of the house, was well-furnished, and the Weatherbys were especially proud of their 6 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL oriental rugs, many of them museum pieces, that hung from the gallery which occupied one end of the living . room. A large piano attested to his musical tastes, and he had also an interest in military history which he ap- proached from the point of view of the moves of chess- men—a series of plans and byplays not too unlike the va- rious interlockings of the phylogenetic systems of plants and the points set out by individual generals and little kings in their skirmishes in the field of plant taxonomy. In shaded beds in the yard and close up against the house foundations were planted many thriving species of native ferns together with interesting species of wild flowering plants. At the Gray Herbarium, students interested in ferns usually climbed with Mr. Weatherby to the front third-story room of the Gray Herbarium—above the entrance—where he did his research close to the cases which housed the fern collections, and where he. was relatively free from the interruptions which his kindly nature allowed many visitors to impose upon him. There he carried out much of his work, achieving what was per- haps the best judgment on our fern problems of the eastern States. The climbing fern (Lygodium) grew in East Hartford—so abundantly at oe time as to give the plant the name ‘‘Hartford Fern,’’—and its presence un- doubtedly stimulated him in fern study. Among other things, he conscientiously tracked down the types of variations treated by him in ‘‘A List of Varieties and Forms of the Ferns of Eastern North America.’” Mr. Weatherby’s connection with the American Fern Society began long ago. By 1915 he was one of the editors and remained so until 1940. He was President in 1943 and 1944, and during the span of years did much to determine the policies of the organization. For Maxon he had great admiration and he felt that Maxon, more than anyone else he knew, had an instinctive understand- 2 THis JOURNAL, 1935-36. CHARLES ALFRED WEATHERBY 7 ing of ‘‘species’’ of. plants. He became greatly inter- ested in the Notholaena-Cheilanthes complex of Central and South America. During his several trips to Europe he spent much of his time looking up ‘‘types,’’ and ex- amined with diligence the types of Desvaux’s ferns at Paris. But by no means did he confine himself to the ferns. His interest was much more general, and in the exami- nation and photography of types throughout the collec- tions in Europe he was helped by Mrs. Weatherby who, furthermore, is an accomplished artist. In London, in 1933, I ran across him quite by accident in the rooms of the Linnaean Society, where both of us were looking at the collections of Linnaeus, and the fragmentary but nevertheless interesting collections now preserved of Walter’s herbarium from Carolina. And in 1937 he passed just ahead of me at Berlin and Paris, where he was highly thought of by the curators. For Diels’ ar- rangement of ferns he had especial respect. When Mrs. Svenson and I returned to London, we had dinner in various places with the Weatherbys. Then we left for Ireland, while the Weatherbys got an automobile and covered a considerable bit of the countryside, being especially interested in the seacoast and moors of north- ern Cornwall. Ferns are particularly abundant in the wilder parts of Cornwall, especially the hart’s tongue. Wherever they went on vacation they found something of botanical interest. Thus in a summer in Nova Scotia he turned up the red-root (Lachnanthes), a coastal-plain _ plant hitherto not known north of Plymouth County in Massachusetts. And while on Grand Manan he collected sufficient material to write an account of the species of that island, one of the larger ones off the Maine coast. The New England states provided constant short notes of observations, and during an automobile trip from Texas to New York he was able to obtain a fine series of plants from the state of Tennessee, from which little 8 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL had been known since the early collections of Gattinger. Like Asa Gray, Weatherby entered the botanical field at a comparatively late age. Whereas Gray’s previous background had been in mineralogy and medi- cine, Weatherby’s had been in languages and litera- ture. But both were eminently successful in botanical work, which became their chief interest. I have given only an inkling of the subjects he published upon; one has but to look through any volume of the Fern Journal and there are the book reviews, notices, and often longer articles on the ferns of tropical America. The bibliogra- phy assembled by Professor Fernald and Miss Schubert consists of 300 titles arranged year by year. It is natural that he should have achieved a wide repu- tation and many honors in various fields of botany. He was one of the leaders in the Connecticut Botanical Society and largely responsible for the admirable ‘‘ Cata- logue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Connecticut.”’ At the Gray Herbarium he was Assistant Curator in 1931, Senior Curator in 1937, and retired in 1940 as Research Associate. Also he wasa member of the British Pteridological Society, and an honorary member of the British Society for the Bibliography of Natural History, Councillor of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- ences, an editor of the American Journal of Botany, and Chairman of the Committee on Nomenclature of the Botanical Society of America, President of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and an editor of ‘‘Brit- tonia.’’ At meetings of the International Botanical Con- gress to be held at Stockholm this coming summer, he will be greatly missed ; he had been appointed as Vice- President of the Section on Nomenclature. Though in frail health he worked regularly at the Gray Herbarium and all were saddened to learn that he had died suddenly from the effects of a blood clot on the morning of June 21st. AMERICAN Museum or NATURAL History, New York. WEATHERBY—TEACHER AND COUNSELOR 9 Charles Alfred Weatherby—Teacher and Counselor Routia M. Tryon, JR. Among his many contributions to systematic botany one of the most enduring is the wise counsel and kindly advice Mr. Weatherby so generously gave to the students at the Gray Herbarium. He was frequently called upon for help on identification, nomenclature or a troublesome manuscript. He gave freely of his time and a student soon learned the way up the narrow flight of stairs to Mr. Weatherby’s desk in the fern room. His ability as a teacher and his willingness to help the beginner in- ereased the demands upon his time many fold His qualities as a teacher were based to a large extent upon this objective viewpoint and his keen analytical mind, which enabled him to see the essence of a problem, Students were appreciative of his lucid exposition. He was particularly adept at analysis, a skill well illustrated in his remarks on phyletic classifications in ferns. His published reviews in the Fern Journal on such classifica- tions exemplify the sound and balanced ideas so often ex- pounded in informal discussions. Mr. Weatherby en- joyed teaching. He was perhaps at his best when explain- ing a complex problem of nomenclature. When a prob- lem had become a maze of entanglements with the Rules of Nomenclature seemingly contradictory, it would be presented to Mr. Weatherby and he would quietly point out the various important elements and arrange them in a clear and understandable sequence. Not only was the application of the Rules elucidated but the reasons for them and frequently their historical background ex- plained as well. The art of monography is a difficult one for a student to master and an equally difficult one to teach. There is no set of printed rules, no text or handbook to guide the student or furnish the professor with a basis for or- 10 AMERICAN FERN JourNAL ganized lectures. The traditional styles of form, abbrevi- ations and idioms in several languages all carry precise and special meanings. There are diverse concepts of teach in itself but individual matters must be explained countered in a related order. Mr. Weatherby was emi- nently suited to teach such material from his extensive knowledge of the literature and of the theory and prac- tice of systematics. He was pre-eminent in his patience with a student—a patience that was never tried by repe- tition. He was tolerant of the views of others. A student lowed research in the fields of morphology, plant geog- raphy, evolution, and particularly cytology, genetics and anatomy as they related to Systematics. Art, current polities, education, law, economics, mechanics, literature, music, and military and_ political history engaged his attention and counterbalanced his specialized studies. These broad interests enabled him to retain a remarkably clear and objective view toward his subject. Of perhaps most importance are the high standards of scholarship that Mr. Weatherby set for himself in his own work. Again, he was tolerant of those with lesser standards or. attainments, but a student inevitably gained from this example. His chosen profession will continue to benefit as these standards are preserved and fostered by the many students who were among the fortunate to have had his counsel. Missourr Boranicat, GARDEN, CHARLES ALFRED WEATHERBY 11 A Personal Tribute to Charles Alfred Weatherby Ira L. Wiaarns The biographers! have presented such excellent bio- graphical sketches of the late Charles Alfred Weatherby that it would be futile for one who had enjoyed associa- tion with Mr. Weatherby for only brief and infrequent periods over a span of about twenty years to attempt a further evaluation of his accomplishments in taxonomic botany. But it is my desire to present a note of appre- ciation of some of the characteristics that made him one of the most respected and beloved of American botanists. Many of us, probably, relive in our memories some particular experience, or recapture a mental image of a Specific scene when the name of a friend is mentioned. Thus, when I think of Mr. Weatherby there are two Scenes that stand out sharply among those passing ka- leidoscopically before my mind’s eye. One recalls an afternoon in the Gray Herbarium when patiently, thor- oughly, and with consummate bibliographic skill he helped me trace the complicated nomenclatural history of a much disputed species through a score of books and journals. His remarkable memory enabled him to sift and sort bits of evidence, taking a phrase from one Source, a part of a description from another, a reference to a specimen or a different publication from a third— constantly weighing, evaluating, discarding and reassem- bling the pertinent facts until each piece of the jigsaw puzzle was maneuvered into its proper place. Then, with a precision and decisiveness that was, to me, simul- _ taneous!y cause for despair and great admiration, he recapitulated the whole case, setting forth each step in faultlessly logical sequence! He had been under no obli- M. L. Fernald. Charles Alfred Weatherby, Botanist and Helper of Botanists (with Portrait). Rhodora 51: 109-179, 1949, - K Svenson, TH.s Journat, de AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL gation to contribute so generously of his time, energy and knowledge. He did it because he possessed an end- less supply of patience, tremendous kindliness, and a sincerely genuine desire to aid anyone working with plants and about whose problems he had any knowledge. He taught me, that afternoon, things about solving no- menclatural problems that have been of inestimable value to me on many, many occasions since. : The other outstanding scene connected, in my mem- © ‘ory, with Mr. Weatherby is placed in a.small but famous inn on one of London’s older streets. He had invited me to join him and Mrs. Weatherby on a visit to this delightful ‘little place, ‘‘Ye Cheshire Cheese,’’ one eve- — ning in July, 1937. He knew more about the history of the establishment than did the waiter who pointed out the table at which Ben Jonson is reputed to have sat while partaking of the cheese pie still featured by Ye Cheshire Cheese. Indicative of Mr. Weatherby’s kind- liness was the care with which he refrained from re- porting his anecdotes concerning the place, obviously un- known to the waiter, while the latter was within hearing. As we sat around the massive oak table enjoying the food, admiring the sheen on the smoke-darkened beams of the ceiling, and speculating about the men both great and small who had foregathered there since London’s Great Fire, we forgot, for a few golden moments the puzzles involved in plant taxonomy and the tension that even at that time was building up in Europe and which exploded into war a short two years later. Of course our conversation finally swung back to botany. Mr. Weatherby talked about the lines of demareation be- tween species in Pellaea, Cheilanthes and Notholaena. He remarked that he was not at all satisfied with the status of things in the last genus, and that perhaps some- time he would study critically the species assembled un- CHARLES ALFRED WEATHERBY 13 der that generic heading. It was not apparent from his conversation that he was already working on some of the puzzles involved in Notholaena, although I did note a slight smile that flitted across Mrs. Weatherby’s fea- tures when he said ‘‘sometime he might’’ study the group! (The outcome of some of those studies appeared in print in the form of three papers, one published jointly with Dr. W. R. Maxon,” and two*: * under his own authorship, in 1939, 1941, and 1948, respectively. ) Next, our discussion drifted to the species of Selagi- nella represented in the arid portions of the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico. His knowledge of the structure, growth habits, general range and even of exact localities where the various species had been collected was detailed to an amazing degree. Yet he urged that if the opportunity presented itself I set some brilliant graduate student to work on the group. He thought that intensive study of the group by someone living in the west, and able to do extensive field work, accompanied by study in the herbarium and greenhouse, would repay richly the effort devoted to the project. When we emerged from the subdued light of ‘‘Ye Cheshire Cheese’’ London was bathed in the twilight characteristic of midsummer in high latitudes and Mr. Weatherby suggested that we walk through some of the older sections of the city rather than board a bus or descend into the ‘‘tube.’’ The hour that followed was unforgettable. Mr. Weatherby was thoroughly familiar with dozens of points of historical interest and called attention to unobtrusive plaques, many of which might 2Some Species of oe New 2 nd Old. Contributions from the Gray Herbarium No. 3-17, 1 fig., 1939. 3 The Argentine Bpskind of i Notholaens. ?? Lilloa 6: 251-275. or 14, 1941. 4 The "Range of Notholaena delicatula. Amer. Fern Journ. 33: 27-28, 1943. 14 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL have been overlooked by one unfamiliar with tne city, marking the sites of famous structures or the scenes of _ episodes in English history. Mrs. Weatherby contributed comments on particularly beautiful or unusual archi- tectural gems, the intriguing wrought-iron gates closing off some of the doorways, and on the variety in design displayed by the chimneys that lend a distinctive note to London’s skyline. Mr, Weatherby voiced regret that Westminster Abbey was closed during extensive repairs. His regret was not for himself, for he knew the beautiful edifice intimately, but because his guest, being newly arrived in England, would be unable to share with him - and Mrs. Weatherby their delight in the majesty and dignity of the structure. He urged me to take a couple of days to visit Winchester and its massive cathedral, the Great Hall in which King Arthur’s huge circular table is housed, and the mediaeval gate to the old walled part of the city. He quietly observed that no matter how in- tense might be one’s interest in botany a recreational jaunt during which one contemplated historical land- marks, architectural masterpieces and charming country- — side could easily bring high satisfaction and renew one’s zest for rigorous attention to business after the holiday. Throughout the long, leisurely evening Mr. Weatherby was instructing, guiding, advising me with such tact and complete friendliness that it was not until weeks later that, in taking stock of my sojourn in England, I realized how much he had taught and helped me. Adroitly he had woven helpful comments on difficult taxonomic prob- lems into the conversation, a conversation that seemed at the time to be quite general. The aid he gave me that afternoon and evening has been of great and continuing value. Would that I might have been privileged to spend many other quiet afternoons with him! ee fey se Vee CHARLES ALFRED WEATHERBY 15 At various times since 1937 Mr. Weatherby has looked up references in publications not available on the Pacific coast, given me advice about knotty taxonomic or nomen- clatural problems, has arranged for the photographing of type specimens, and has suggested improvements in manuscripts being prepared for publication. From _among these many favors I select one of the more recent ones as typifying his thoughtfulness and his devotion to the causes of accuracy, critical appraisal, and complete objectivity in taxonomic botany. I had written asking about the original descriptions of Blechnum spicant (L.) J. Smith, forma bipinnatum Clute, and of forma serra- tum (Druery) Broun. He wrote me a typically lucid and detailed account of the nomenclatural history of forma bipinnatum. He’ explained that Clute’s early handling of the epithet had been rather difficult to under- stand, but that in a later paper Clute had helped matters, for in it ‘‘. . . . he gives some two pages of comment and a sketch which should show you exactly what he had.’’ Then, Mr. Weatherby added a sentence that epitomizes his generosity and his devotion to coopera- ~ tion among botanists and to accurate work based on original sources. He wrote, ‘‘As I gather that you do not have a set of the Fern Bulletin, I am having this photographed for you, with the comment, and will send it to you as soon as the prints are ready.’’ There had been no hesitancy on his part about photo- graphing the article even though no request for such a favor had been made. Nor would he ever admit that there had been any personal expense connected with the photographie work or aecept remuneration for the prints. Truly, our knowledge of ferns and their allies, to say nothing of that of other plants, and nomenclatural prob- 16 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL lems has been advanced greatly by the efforts of Charles Alfred Weatherby. Hundreds of his fellows have been encouraged, cheered, and inspired by his kindness, gener- osity, and sterling integrity. His wisdom has contributed much during déliberations dealing with taxonomic and nomenclatural subjects. He was a gentleman and a scholar in the finest sense of each word. Now that we ~ who have known, respected, and loved him no longer can turn to his wisdom for immediate aid we feel the loss keenly. But as long as we continue to work with plants —as long as we remember his advice and counsel—we will continue to hold in high esteem the memory of Charles Alfred Weatherby. | Dupuy Hersarium, Stanford University. Additions and Corrections to the Genera Filicum E. B. CopELANnp So far as I know, Mr. C. A. Weatherby never made an error in one of his publications. All the rest of us who have published at all extensively have made mistakes of record. When this happens, we are fortunate if we can correct our mistakes ourselves. So now, two years after the publication of my Genera Filicum,! I would like to correct the mistakes which have come to my attention, and to add a few notes concerning some recently pro- posed names and some others which were overlooked. On page 23 the statement is made that the sporangia in Actinostachys are in 4 rows instead of in 2, as in the other subgenera of Schizaea. Selling? has described two species (Schizaea inopinata and 8. Wagneri) in which the sporangia are in only 2 rows. 1 Published by Chronica Botanica Company, as Volume 5, An- nales Cryptogamici et Phytopathologici. 1947. Reviewed by C. A. Weatherby, Amer. Fern Journ. 38 ig * Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 40: 274, 280, 1946. Iya haa ee Hee Sk eae ADDITIONS To GENERA FILICUM 17 On page 28 I recognized the genus Hicriopteris as a segregate from Gleichenia. Christensen had suggested this earlier and Ching* had formally revived the genus. In 1941 and 1947 he proposed the following new com- binations: H. glauca (Thunb.) Ching, H. laevissima (Christ) Ching, H. Blotiana (C. Chr.) Ching, H. Nor- ris (Mett.) Ching, H. volubilis (Jungh.) Ching, H. bullata (Moore) Ching, and JH. Baneroftii (Hook. ) Ching. All of these antedate my own combinations of the same names. On page 51 the following is to be inserted as a synoa nym of Microlepia: Coptidipteris Nakai & Momose, Cytologia Fujii Jub. Vol. 365. 1937 (not seen); Ito, Fil. Jap. Illustr. 12. 1944. The sole species is C. Wilfordii Nakai & Momose, a synonym of Microlepia Wilfordii Moore. On page 112 I wrote concerning the geographic distri- bution of the genus Cyclopeltis that I mistrusted the label on the only specimen that I had seen ascribed to Mexico. Mr. Weatherby wrote me that the Gray Her- barium contains three specimens of Cyclopeltis from Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico. On page 113 the following two generic synonyms are to be added to Rumohra: Arachniodes Blume, Enum. Pl. Jav. 241. 1828. This is typified by A. aspidioides Blume, which is said to be Rumohra aristata (Forst.) Ching. If the several critics who deny the generic affinity of R. adiantiformis (the type of Rumohra) and R. aristata are correct, then Rumohra is monotypic, and the proper name of the genus of about 60 species is Arachniodes. Acrorumohra Ito, in Nakai, Nov. Pl. Jap. no. 4: 101. 1939; Fil. Jap. Illustr. 291. 1944. * Sunyatsenia 5: 278. 1940. 18 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The sole species, A. diffracta (Baker) Ito, is a syno- nym of Rumohra diffracta Ching, Sinensia 5:69. 1934. On page 131 in the discussion of the genus Luerssenia I commented that I had never seen a record of this fern since the original collection from Lankat, West Sumatra. — Holttum* reports that it was collected by Kloss on Sipora Island. On page 132 I discussed the typification of the genus Anapausia Presl,? but without coming to any definite conclusion. The name was first applied® to a section of Gymnopteris, the first Species mentioned being G. Wal- lichiana Presl. In raising this section to generic rank Presl cited first the species A. decurrens (Blume) Presl, citing Gymnopteris Wallichiana Presl as a synonym. Accordingly A. decurrens may be accepted as the type of the genus. Therefore, Anapausia becomes the correct name for the genus I described as new on page 198 under the name Paraleptochilus, the type of which is also Lep- tochilus decurrens Blume. On page 140 an additional synonym to be inserted under Cyclosorus is the following : Pnewmatopteris Nakai, Bot. Mag. Tokyo 47: 179. 1933. The sole species is P. callosus (Blume) Nakai, a syno- nym of Cyclosorus callosus (Blume) Copel. On page 146 the following should be inserted as a synonym of Cystopteris: Acystopteris Nakai, Bot. Mae. Tokyo 47: 180. 1933. The sole species is A. japonica (Luerss.) Nakai, a Synonym of Cystopteris japonica Luerss. On page 157 the following should be added to the. — paragraph concerning Diploblechnum (a synonym of Blechnum) : The type of the genus is Blechnum integri- 4 Journ, Malay. Branch Roy. Asiatic Soe. 6: 21. 1928, 1849, 5 Presl, Epim. Bot. 185. 6 Presl, Tent. Pterid. 244. 1836. ADDITIONS To GENERA FILIcumM 19 pinnulum Hayata,’ the Formosan form or representative of B. Fraseri. ; On page 157 the following should be added to the paragraph on Blechnidium (a synonym of Blechnum) : Ching* has reported some collections from Yunnan and has found several reasons for maintaining this genus as distinct from Blechnum, On page 164 the following should be added to the synonyms of Asplenium: Cetarachopsis Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Bot. 10: 8. 1940. Cfr. also page 169. Two species are referred to the genus: C. paucivenosa (Ching) Ching, based on Ceterach paucivenosum Ching, and C. Dalhousiae (Hook.) Ching, based on Asplenium Dalhousiae Hook. (Ceterach Dalhousiae ©. Chr.). The latter is the species of this relationship occurring in Arizona. On page 188 the following should be added as a syno- nym of Neocheiropteris: Neolepisorus Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Bot. 10: ll. 1940. The type is N. ensatus (Thunb.) Ching, a synonym of Neocheiropteris ensata (Thunb.) Ching; five other spe- cies of the genus are recognized by Ching. On page 205 in the discussion of Lecanopteris the species L. sinuosa is spelled correctly once but. is twice misspelled L. sinuata, as it is also in the Index. My at- tention was called to these errors by Director Holttum. On page 210 I proposed the new genus Polypodiopsis. Reed® points out that the name Polypodiopsis was used by Carriére’ for some mysterious plant of New Cale- donia. Accordingly, he proposed the substitute name _ TIeon. Fl. Formosa 4: 236. fig. 165. 1914, 8 Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Bot. 10: 4. 1940. ® Amer. Fern Journ, 38: 87. 1948. 10 Conif, ed. 2, 710. 1867, 20 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Polypodiopteris, and makes the corresponding new spe- cific combinations. Reed™ would also replace Crepidop- teris Copel. by Crepidophyllum Reed, on the ground that my name Crepidopteris was invalidated by the use of the same name by Bentham. Bentham, in synon- ymy, did print ‘‘Crepidopteris brasiliensis Walp.,’’ but this was a miscitation, obviously accidental, of Crepido- tropis Walp. It does not seem to me to invalidate my use of Crepidopteris, On page 224 I stated that the gametophyte of An- trophyum seemed to be unknown. It was shown by Troll** to be of the type of its family. Mrs. Giauque has confirmed this for two other species. On page 232 the following generic synonym should be added to Azolla: : Rhizosperma Meyen, Reise 1: 337. 1834. The publication of the new genus Negripteris Pichi- Sermolli® reached me before the publication of the Gen- era, but after the inclusion of new material became im- practical. The genus, typified by N. scioana (Chiov.) Pichi-Sermolli (based on Mohria scioana Chiov.), is characterized by having the frond form of typical Chei- lanthes with narrow base, the ‘‘farinose powder’’ of Aleuritopteris, the absence of a stomium, and the thick- ening of all walls of the cells of the annulus, which pre- vents the forcible discharge of the spores. The struc- ture and behavior of the sporangium are the chief fea- tures which moved Pichi-Sermolli to establish a new fam- ily, Negripteridaceae, for this fern. The affinity, as well as resemblance, to Cheilanthes and Aleuritopteris (Sin- opteris) was fully appreciated. But, as Mr. Pichi-Ser- 11 loe cit. 88. 12 In Mart. Fl. Bras. 151: 166. 1859, 13 Linnaea 14: 296. 1840, Ta any als Hasitat oF DIeLuia 21 molli wrote, ‘‘The last word will however only be said after a complete revision of all the genera of Cheilan- theae, which, as usually construed, are certainly neither naturally nor conveniently classified.’’ And now we have lost the man best qualified for such a revision. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. The Habitat of Diellia W. H. Waener, JR. The Hawaiian fern genus Diellia has been beset with problems for the taxonomist and morphologist for many years. Doubts have been expressed repeatedly by vari- ous authorities as to whether its “*species,’’ eight in all, have any real validity. Its generic relationships have been interpreted as being with the pteroid ferns (espe- cially Lindsaea), the davallioid ferns (Davallia, Humata, and Nephrolepis), and more recently with the asplenioid ferns, Asplenium and Loxoscaphe. These wide discrep- ancies in interpretation have been based on the sorus structure, the frond habit, and scales. Underlying these problems has been the excessive scarcity of materials of this genus in herbaria, and ‘in na- ture. It is generally believed to be on the verge of ex- tinction. Modern, complete collections are few, and most of our ideas of the diversity within the genus are based on isolated fragments collected in the period 1850- 1880. The most recent attempt to study Diellia was made by the late Dr. Frances G. Smith whose report was briefly reviewed by Mr. Weatherby.:| Dr. Smith econ- eluded from her lack of success in finding materials in the field and in aligning what specimens did exist in her- baria that the problems of this genus might never be 1This JourNAL 25: 103, 104. 1935. pa AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL settled and that Diellia was dying out.? Therefore, in 1947 and again in 1949, investigations of this genus were made under auspices of the University of California De- partment of Botany with the cooperation of Dr. H. St. John of the University of Hawaii and Miss Marie C. Neal of the B. P. Bishop Museum. Dr. H. L.. Lyon has kindly contributed considerable information. In view of the rarity of the genus, it is believed that this sum- mary of results in getting information on its occur- rence in nature will be a contribution to our knowledge of these peculiar Hawaiian ferns. Few herbarium sheets made before 1900 give locali- ties; of modern ones only few include data complete enough to guide the collector to appropriate habitats. The literature is usually vague or misleading regarding habitats. Brackenridge, who described the genus in 1854, gave for Diellia erecta the habitat ‘‘in mountain forests of the western division of Maui’’; for D. falcata, ‘‘Kaala Mountains, Oahu . . +» ON open and dry rocky ridges; rare’’; and D. pumila, ‘‘Oahu .. ., in the erey- ices of rocks; rare.’’ In 1867, Mann gave the habitat of dD. Mannii (as a Microlepia) as ‘‘ Waimea, Kauai, 2000— 3000 ft.’’ This species has not been found since 1900, but the altitudes given suggest it was a fern of the arid western “‘plateau’’ region of Kauai, well below the rain- forest. Support is given this belief by Hillebrand’s addition in 1888 of Halemanu, Kauai, as a locality. That this spectacular fern with fronds 4-5 times pinnate and stipes of shiny dark-purple was uncommon even then is suggested by Diel’s reference to it only 14 years later as a ‘‘Seltenheit Kauais.”’ . For Diellia Alexandri (as Davallia) Lidgate in 1873 gave “‘Haleakala, 3,000 to 4,000 ft,’ and Hillebrand 2 Diellia and its variations. BP, Bi 10, No. 16: 1-92," lose P. Bishop Museum Oce. Papers Hasitat oF DIeELLIA 23 (calling it Lindsaea) later added “northern slope.’’ But to the investigator seeking the exact spot, it would have been necessary to refer to a popular book, ‘‘ Alé- ha!’’, published in 1879 by A. L. Chaney. Here, in dis- cussing the prevalent sport of the day—fern-hunting— the writer revealed ‘the exact gulch (p. 253). Further habitat notes on D. pumila are confusing: Bailey said it grew on the ‘‘damp side of gulches’’ in 1883, and Hille- brand in 1888 called its habitat ‘‘exposed cliffs.’”’ Rock in 1913 said that ‘‘ Diellia has several species peculiar to Kauai, as D. centifolia, D. lacimata, and D. Knudsenii, which belong to the Swampy region.’? MacCaughey in 1918 included Diellia in his third class, ‘‘species which are characteristic of the middle forest zone—the rain- forests on the mountain slopes which lie between 1800 and 3000-5000 ‘ft.’’ D. erecta was in his fourth class, _ “a region of torrential rain,’’ but D. pumila and D. fal- cata were ‘‘ distinctly xerophytic.’’ These conflicting re- ports actually give no real picture of the habitat of Diellia. For some of them there is no evidence at all. It is my belief that all of the ‘“species’’ of this genus occur or occurred in the same basic type of habitat. This is concluded from a study of ten localities on four islands, and a compilation of what accurate data are on labels. Only one description of a habitat known to me gives a clear picture, that of C. G. Munro on the island of Lanai, quoted by Smith. ea or C. Leaves free of the stem and branches, usually 6- or 8- Date ities Sultan cemesnticorans pee ete ee RCo 8 : oup V. CC. Leaves partly adnate to the branches, usually 4-farious. Group VI. GENERIC SEGREGATES OF Lycopopium 41 Because of the similarity of the problems involved, the development of the nomenclature of Lycopodium parallels the mosses. As pointed out by W. C. Steere,’ the Linnean Hypnum and Bryum were essentially form- genera. This was also true of Lycopodium in the Lin- hean sense and is still quite possibly true even in the modern sense. The natural classification of the mosses began to take shape when Hedwig started stressing the © importance of the reproductive structures, mainly the peristoma. Similarly, we now consider Tmesipteris, Psi- lotum, Lycopodium, and Selaginella as widely separated genera on the basis of the characters of their spores and sporangia, but we are unable to make full use of the characters of all the reproductive structures because the prothallia of only a minority of the species are known and because the sporophyte is almost never associated with the gametophyte, thus rendering impractical any classification based on the gametophyte. There is, in the present state of our knowledge, a g0od possibility that groups based on the characters of the prothallia might be natural groups and that it might be possible to define those groups in terms of the char- acters of the sporophyte. This possibility, if confirmed, would naturally lead to the splitting of Lycopodium in its current sense and the setting up of 4 to 7 segregate senera. However, such a step should not be taken until the gametophytes have become known for at least a ma- jority of the species of each group concerned. Not enough is known yet of these gametophytes to justify Such generic segregation, while, on the other hand, the sroups listed above are based on minor vegetative char- acters that do not suffice in themselves for the splitting of the genus Lycopodium UL. DEPARTMENT oF AGRICULTURE, OTTAWA, CANADA. * Bryologist 50: 251. 1947, 42 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Reminiscences of the Alaskan Highway _ Donovan 8. CorrEeuL Although northern British Columbia and southern Yukon have fewer ferns and fern allies than are to be found farther south, the superb surroundings in which they occur are scarcely surpassed anywhere in North America. It was across this wilderness, from Dawson Creek to Fort St. John, thence to Fort Nelson in British Columbia, northward to Watson Lake and west to White- horse in Yukon that the southern half of the Alaska Military Highway was laid for more than 900 miles during the summer of 1942 and winter of 1942-43. The ‘‘Road”’ or ‘‘ Alean Highway,”’ as it is popularly called, traverses some of the most rugged territory on the Con- tinent. Great expanses of the Road are in country bulent rivers, deep extensive muskegs, inclement weather, insect pests, and other natural barriers makes this project one of the most difficult human and engi- neering accomplishments of the century. _ The Road, south of Whitehorse, does not go above tim- berline, although the higher mountains through which the Road travels have their summits well above the tree zone. Most of the country is heavily forested, but the tree species are very few. The forests consist primarily of various combinations of white spruce (Picea glauca), black spruce (P. mariana), lodgepole pine (Pinus con- torta var. latifolia), and trembling aspen (Populus trem- uloides), with alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), balsam pop- lar (Populus tacamahaca), paper birch (Betula papy- rifera vars.) and northern larch (Larix laricina) oc- curring less frequently. Numerous willow species, two ALASKAN HIGHWAY 43 species of alder, and a dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), commonly called ‘‘Kinnikinnik,’’ are the most frequent shrubby species. Except for Indian camps, army and construction camps, and the old settlements of Fort Nel- son, Lower Post, Teslin, and Whitehorse, the region above Fort St. John is an unbroken country of forests, muskegs, tundra, and bare mountain peaks, unspoiled by man. It was upon a crude and unimproved Road that our party started north from Dawson Creek, British Colum- bia, early in the summer of 1943, about a year after bull- dozers had cut a swath through the forest to make a packtrain trail across the country, later to be followed by the present Road. We made our first encampment along the Beatton River at Mile 101 above Fort St. John, in the outer foothill country at an elevation of 3200 feet. This was the first of a series of base camps which our party established in regions considered to be typical of the larger topographic and vegetational areas of. the country. The next camp, after that at Beatton River, Was near Summit Lake, at Mile 104 west of Fort Nelson, where the Road passes through the main range of the Rocky Mountains. The elevation here is around 4200. feet, the highest point over which the Road passes. The third camp was at Watson Lake, Yukon, near Mile 350 northwest of Fort Nelson, in the broad plain of the upper Liard River. The last camp of any duration was at Mile 56 northwest of Teslin in a mountainous region, at about 2400 feet elevation. It was possible to work out into the country from all these camps, as well as to Make trips up and down the Road of 25 or 30 miles, or more. Frequent stops and overnight camps were made all along the Road, but only the above-mentioned camps were of two weeks or more duration. Our camp on the Beatton River was on an open lodge- Pole pine-black spruce slope. Pink Mountain, with its 44 . AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL snow-covered crest, towered 5000 feet in the west.