American #ern IJnurnal

Published by the

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY

Eprrors
Cc. V. MORTON

R. OC. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS
A. C. SMITH
oF
VOLUME 46 ~ 4
10:56 (74 /

MissouR!I BoTANICA
GARDEN LIBRAR

BUSINESS PRESS, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Contents
VotuME 46, NuMBER 1, Paces 1-64, IssurD APRIL 16, 1956

Models $4 POT Oluay. ase cou aw ein Griswold 1

The Microscopy of Fern Spor . F. Gordon Foster 7

The Pteridophytes of pent fe siiais {comlated
Robert H. enbrock 15

The Status of Pityrogramma Goidleise i in ae

y Diddell 22
The Virginia Chain-fern ..... C. V. Morton and aoe Neidorf 28
Shorter Note: Auxin and Psilotum 30
t

England meeting; Field-trip in Ontario; Letter tecin. Pres-
ident-elect; Prospective Field-trips in 1956 EMG Ne eat n hy Mines

VotumrE 46, NuMBER 2, PAGES 65-96, ISSUED JuLY 11, 1956
Plants of the Tree-Trunks in Liberia ...... Win Ns ed J. Hariey 65
More Hart’s-Tongue in Michigan ................ e J. Hagenah 70
Asplenium ebenoides x platyneuron, a New triploid Hybrid

Produced under Artificial Conditions

W. nay teyagt dr, 15
Notes on Fern Distribution in Louisiana. .......... n A, Moore 82
Notes on Kansas Ferns
Ronald L. McGregor and Emily L. Hartman 84
The Family Names of the Lycosphens . Clyde F. Reed 88
A New Locality for Marsilea quaiicifolin Pe . Bert Miller 90
An Unusual Form of Asplenium pinnate
bert H. Mohlenbrock 91
A Collection of Asplenium montanum in Indiana
Dale M. Smith 94
American Fern Society 95

VoutuMe 46, NuMBER 3, Pages 97-136, ISSUED OCTOBER 16, 1956
The Microscopie Structure of the Mature Spores of the
tive Fern, the Ostrich Fern, and the Royal Fern
Norman P. Marengo 97

Ferns in Basket Douglas Swinscow 105

a sae in ‘Georgia... Gilbert R. Rossignol 107

ardoo John W. Thieret 108

foe on the Pteridophytes of Delaware sere New
arl L

York
. Brooks 109

The First Popular Fern Boo
Spore Studies in Dryopte LES . Fern W
ene: deltoidea Dicapienl from the Ty36 Loealit;
Charles E. Devol 131
Shorter Notes: What Ferns May Be Classed as Weeds?; A
uropean Fern for Northern Gardens 133
American tan PROGR Fes rete celiettes ooo tcnetnetsler sorters ont 136

VotuME 46, NUMBER 4, PAGES 137-176, IssUED JANUARY 4, 1957
Observations on Some Bulblet-producing Populations of the
Cystopteris ina Complex
WH. intel Jr. and Dale J. Pacts 137
Tree-ferns in Western Mexico 2... ence Cc. orton 146
New County Records for ioe matecarnftiam in
Maryland and Delmar . Clyde F. Reed 148

A New Name for sere um Hybrid .... a? fs saat 152
Shorter Notes: Lyeop0 ium obscurum var. ae ae ideum f.
aaa: in the Quetico-Superior be aries Area, Minne-
sota; Hart’s-Tongue in Michigan Again occ nein 155
Heccut. Fern Literature
merican Fern Society: Chauncey Jackson Newell, ‘‘Undis-
tinguished Fern Lover’’?; Susan H. TRUrStOn coco
Index to Volume 46 .... 173

a
Vol. 46 = January-March, ie
American Sern Journal —
A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS
Published by the :
AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY
Ss
i a : =
pe eae oe BENEDICT IRAE WIGGINS
<2 . C. SMITH :

The American Hern Society

Council for 1955
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR

Ira L. Wiaeins, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford bciomiade <6 Cali- —
fornia esident —
Dwiaut M. Moorz, Department of Botany, University of pee a
Fayetteville, Arkansas Vice-President —
Minprep EH. FAus bee ae alas of Botany, Syracuse Caiversity, ‘
Syracuse, New Y: bios f
ore L. MoGnroor, Pépmtment of Botany, University of
as, Lawrence Treasurer

Cc. v. gree ecieaan Institution, Washington 25, D. C. =

: Baitor-in-Chief

OFFICIAL ORGAN

American Hern Journal

#2. 35 per year, foreign, 1 ts extra;
e AMERICAN eta SOCIETY. rid dary moe!
; life own oF #50,00).
— be furnished

Amprican Fern Journal

Vou. 46 JANUARY—MarcH, 1956 No. 1

Models for Spore Study!
Maup Mary Griswoip
WHY MODELS?

The main purpose of the study of spore models at
Mistaire Laboratories’ has been to help us learn as much
as we can about the true shape and characteristics of
fern spores. Because spores are so minute, they are dif-
ficult to examine; and as a result there are some aspects
which are only vaguely understood, and others about
which there is definite disagreement. Spores need to be
studied by several different methods; and models have
proved to be a valuable and interesting approach. As
tangible, three-dimensional objects, they can help over-
come the limitations of microscopic work—they can be
handled, experimented with, and talked about. Models
are both a means and an end. They are both an impor-
tant tool for learning and a useful tool for teaching.

APPROACH

Our first approach was theoretical—a study of spores
as purely geometric forms. It was not to be influenced

with variations from the standard forms, and then turned

1A talk given = the symposium on fern a at Mistaire Lab-
Srataress Millburn, New Jersey, June 4, 1955
he work on Spore ge was begun by Carolyn Corey and

ee i, oh 4, of the JouRNAL, pp. 133-172, was issued
Decunbes 12, 1955.]

ve AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

to actual spores and spore photographs to compare with
our theoretical spores.

The second approach was the reverse. Specific spores
and their distinguishing details were studied carefully
with the microscope, and then models of what we saw
were made to help clarify our ideas, and if possible to
verify them.

PHASES OF STUDY

Spores come packaged in groups of four (tetrads) and
the questions were: What shape was the original mother
cell?, and in what manner does it divide? The shapes
of the individual spores would, of course, be directly
determined by these two factors. Two types of tetrad
division are most commonly described. The first is like
an apple being cut into four equal parts; the single
central line where the four spores were joined gives
them the designation monolete, or ‘‘one sear.’’ In the
second type, the four spores meet at the central point of
the tetrad; from that point, three lines on each spore
mark where it has separated from the others, giving
therefore the name trilete, or ‘‘three sears.’’ We ex eri-
mented with both spheres and non-spheres as possible
shapes for the mother cell, dividing them by these two
methods. The non-spherical cells, we discovered, yielded
asymmetrical shapes in most cases.

More lengthy studies were made of single whole spores
of both monolete and trilete types. The shapes used as
the standards for these were based on a divided sphere.
First, these standards were studied to see what, and how
many, apparent variations of shape eould oceur because
of the angle of view. This type of analysis corresponds
to viewing spores under low magnification. Then we
made monolete and trilete models with actual variations
from the standards—rounded edges, bulbous or indented
areas, and variations of the scar ridges. Some kinds of

Mopeus For Spore Stupy 3

spores change noticeably after they separate from each
other and begin to mature, and we tried to think of

Cross-sectioned models were another phase of study.
These models imitate the effect of examining the spores
under high magnification, focussing from the top sur-
face to the bottom. A surprising number of different
shapes may oceur within a single model at different
levels. Concentration on the shape of a single focus
could be very misleading and distort one’s interpretation.
The same caution must be used in studying sectioned
models as in studying photographs of spores seen under
high magnification. Each shape must be thought of in
its relation to the next and preceding shape in the series;
and the whole spore must always be kept in mind.

Study of details of surface and structure by means of
models has been our final area of concentration. The
models for this study were based almost entirely on pre-
liminary microscopic work. Ridges, projections, surface
markings, and patterns were all observed and then
copied. It is difficult to be certain about fine details.
Light effects greatly confuse the issue, and the slightest
shift of focus-level gives quite different impressions of
the same feature.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the course of this project, we have tried everything
from plastic to gumdrops as possible materials to work

Those which are opaque are limited to demonstrating
spore shape and external appearance. The few which are
transparent may be used to illustrate the internal ap-
pearance of the spore. The two most practical materials
from the standpoint of both ease of use and permanence
of the model are plasticene and plastic.

iC

Mopets oF TRILETE Spores, Two Positions EAcH

A, B, ©, D, PLASTICENE ene ps: A, B, SPORES < SPHERES; C, D, Spro
H, PLASTIC SPORES: CE pi AT 7 ER Crtortasinic Baws “SuRPACE (EB, G
Ener; F, GREEN AREA. Low Spore EDGE) ; EL CHLOROPL TH i

Nvucu ano Hy, ‘Orr- sae a Neots

s BULBOUS id SPHERE E,

¥,.G,
REEN ceo YELLOW
H CYTOPLASMIC Bowl (G, CENTRAL

IVNUQO¢ NYY NVOMIN VY

I aivig ‘OF INATIOA

MopELs FoR Spore STUDY 5

The ever-pliable plasticene can readily be shaped or
reshaped with the hands and requires a minimum of
simple equipment. The most valuable tip we could give

‘keep cool’’—both you and the model. As plasticene
is worked, the oil within warms up, and the model be-
comes progressively softer and wibikint erin it is ce
to form and no longer retains its shape well. Our
—store it in the refrigerator for a while. Chilled pesto
cene is firm and can be carved easily. Unfortunately, a
hot, humid day may cause models to become sticky again.
A shellac coating as a final step for plasticene has
desirable features, but several disadvantages as well. It
gives the model a sturdy protective shell, and a glossy

or hit, the plasticene will dent as usual, but the shellac
will smash and erack. Also, two shellacked models may
stick together, even months after the shellac is applied.
Dr. Marengo has suggested powdering the models. By
doing this instead of shellacking, an effective temporary
way to prevent sticking is found. Wax paper has proved
to be best for separating models when packing them.
The main disadvantage of plasticene from the viewpoint
of spore study is the fact that it is opaque.*

Plastic has the important characteristics of being

transparent and relatively indestructible. It is, however,
a much more difficult medium to use than plasticene,
because plastic models must be constructed instead of
modeled. Sharp edges are more easily constructed than
the round edges of a true spore.
"8 Since this paper was written, 28 geen have been made with
another medium, Pyrocon, available from the Gene eral Glaze Cor-
poration, Baltimore 11, Maryland. This is opaque and can be
handled like A cegtcoane hardened in the oven for about five panuten
at 350° F., and then cut with a very thin, sharp knife for perfect-
ing, if nece iar y.

6 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

The immediate problem that arose was in the realm
of solid geometry. To avoid a wasteful trial and error
cutting of parts from plastic sheeting (acetate) and
commercially made hollow spheres, certain facts needed

e known—particularly about the trilete spore shape.
An electronics engineer helped us as a mathematical
consultant and determined the interior angles and vari-
ous ares of the four units of a trilete tetrad. The inte-
rior angles at the crest are, by the way, 109.5° (approxi-
mately )—a highly treasured bit of information to anyone
making trilete models.

Unfilled plastic models resemble very immature spores
and are useful for comparing with microscopic material.
The plastie shells can also serve as molds for clay, plasti-
cene, wax, or gelatine models, or can be used as parts
of other models.

The ideal material would be a clear plastic which could
be modeled by hand and then allowed to become per-
manent, or which could be formed in home-made molds.
So far, we know of no such plastie.

VALUE OF STUDY WITH MODELS

Not only are models helpful in checking ideas and
impressions, but also they may suggest new ideas, some-
times quite by chance. For instance, the possibility of
the triradiate ridge shadow occurred to us when we
noticed one of the models produce such an effect. There
are many such microscopic illusions which can fool the
eye, so don’t always believe what you think you see. The
models have been valuable in indicating some of these
misleading effects.

In discussions of theories, models can be an important
aid. It is much easier to be specific and to avoid con-
fusion of ideas when a 3-dimensional model is handy
to point to or compare with the spore in question.

Finally, models are wonderful for explaining to the

Microscopy oF FERN SPORES 7

layman in an easily grasped manner the spore story.
Such fundamental terms as tetrad, trilete, and monolete
are immediately clear ideas, not abstract, perhaps con-
fusing, word i

MIsTAIRE Lanoramonms, Muwsurn, N. J.

The Microscopy of Fern Spores!
F. Gorpon Foster

The study of ferns under magnification is not a new
or recent application of the microscope. History informs

us that an artist was commissioned in the seventeenth
century to make drafts of numerous plants then re-
garded by botanists as seedless, but now known to be
teeming with minute spores. The ‘microscopy of fern
spores may be divided into three distinct sections—prep-
aration, examination, and recording.

PREPARATION

The ultimate results of a microscopical examination
depend to a large extent on the preparation of material.
It is therefore most important that this phase of the work
is not passed over lightly. It should be emphasized that
no matter how carefully the subsequent steps of examina-
tion and recording are made, the original faults in prep-
aration cannot be overcome. Since many microscopical
examinations are made by means of slide preparations,
it is necessary to master this part of the work.
material should be selected carefully before making the
slide and its history well established. An otherwise ex-
cellent slide may lose much of its value if the identity
of its contents is inaccurately recorded, or if the material
was not well selected and cleaned. A sample of spores

1 A talk given at the symposium on re’ a at Mistaire Lab-
cntenlen Millburn, New Jersey, June 4,

8 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

may be cleaned by pouring on a hard smooth white paper
and gently tapping, which will cause a separation of the
spores and their sporangia from other debris.

In the making of permanent microscopical slides,
spores are mounted between a standard 25mm x 75mm
glass slide and cover glass. A simple method is to place
a very small number of spores on the slide and with a
drop of mounting medium on a cover glass mull gently
until dispersion is complete. After being clipped with

in a sloping position overnight. To accelerate the setting
of the medium, a gentle heat of not more than 40°C can
be used.

Slides may also be prepared by first dispersing the
spores on a cover glass with a fixative such as 12% par-
lodion-acetate solution and subsequently mounting on
the slide with the selected mounting medium. This
method has the advantage of causing all of the spores
to be in one plane which is helpful in the photomicro-
graphy of spore groups. This method, has, however, the
disadvantage of ‘‘clumping,’’ if the work is not care-
fully done.

Mounting media have multiple purposes. The medium
is used for locating and holding the spores in position,
providing an air tight and somewhat permanent housing
for the spores, and supplying a connection between cover
glass and slide that gives a more or less homogeneous
medium for the light rays to traverse. For years, natural
gums such as balsam and dammar have been used. While
these have been relatively successful, they are slow in
setting or hardening, and yellow on aging. More re-
cently many synthetic resins have come into the market,
and no doubt many more will be available. Care, how-
ever, must be used in the selection. Although most of
these newer media are faster setting, there is a danger
of using a medium which sets too fast and produces air

Microscopy OF FERN SPORES 9

pockets in and around the specimens and edges of the
cover glass. Permount, a medium with a refractive index
of approximately 1.56, while slower setting, may be used
with little fear of bubbles and does not craze or yellow
appreciably on aging. In selecting a mounting medium

it should be remembered that a medium with a sofenctaw
index similar to that of the spores will cause these to ap-
pear more transparent. A medium giving a greater re-
fractive index differential will lessen this effect and cause
the spores to appear in greater contrast.

Although long lasting, a slide preparation made with
lactophenol cannot be considered permanent. This
mounting medium, which may be plain or staining, has
the advantage of clearing the denser portions, and is in
itself an excellent preservative.

rom the practical side, it is better to use the central
area of a 50mm x 75mm slide, so as to preclude any of
the mounting solution finding its way to the microscope.
Scotch tape may be used to hold the cover in place for a
short time. If an oil immersion lens examination is an-
ticipated, a thin slide and No. 1 cover glass should defi-
nitely be employed.

No slide should be considered finished until it is care-
fully labelled. Identification may either be on a
gummed label or directly on the glass with ink. If the
paper label is used, it should be placed on the top side
of the slide only. The information on the label should
contain the following data as a minimum: Species, loca-
tion and date collected, collector’s name, mounting
medium and dispersing agent if used, cover glass thick-
ness, date of slide, maker’s name.

EXAMINATION
The examination of fern spores really should start

with the study of the frond with the unaided eye. By
means of this cursory examination, much general knowl-

10 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

edge can be gained of the little world which surrounds
this interesting organism, the spore. In addition to see-
ing the structure of the frond, it is also desirable to
observe other features, such as the character of the
pinnae, venation, and type and distribution of the sori.
When such examination has been completed, further basic
study can be made by using a magnifying glass. A high
grade magnifier of the Coddington or Hastings type of
ten diameters is preferable. Excessive magnification
should be avoided because of the limitation of field and
reduction in working distance.
For the ultimate in knowledge through visual study, a

compound microscope is required. s in other instru-

quality and in function. In general, the most useful
type of microscope is the biological or medical type, an
instrument designed for the examination of material of
thin and somewhat transparent nature. Although spores
are relatively small, they should be considered as three-
dimensional organisms. It is this characteristic of depth
that sometimes causes difficulty in the use of the com-
pound microscope, and especially in recording either in

sion of depth may be enhanced. Molded models as pre-
pared and exhibited by the Mistaire Laboratory staff
overcome this limitation.

Perhaps the greatest fault of the untrained user of
the microscope is the incorrect method of illumination.
The best microscope that may be purchased is of no more
value to the user than some elementary instrument if he
does not choose to adjust it carefully. There is no doubt
in the experienced microscopist’s mind that the Abbe-
Nelson and the Kohler types of illumination are best.
Briefly stated, the first of these systems focuses the illum-
inating source in the plane of the object by means of the

Microscopy oF FERN SPORES BID

substage condenser. In the second system, the lamp
filament image is projected on the substage condenser
iris, and the condenser in turn focuses an image of the
lamp iris in the object field. Both of these methods are
excellent for visual work, the latter being especially
beneficial for photomicrography

esolution, or the ability to observe fine detail as such,
is a function of the wavelength of light and the numeri-
eal aperture of the objective lens. With a given light
source, any use of the microscope which allows excessive
closing of the substage iris decreases the effective nu-
merical aperture and the resolving power, and can ulti-
mately lead to spurious images and false interpretations.
Control of the illumination intensity for eye comfort
should be made by means of a variable transformer or
neutral density filter. Since maximum resolution re-
quires that the condenser back lens be completely filled
with light, only the plane mirror should be used.

o get the most from a microscope regardless of age
or make, the following simple instructions should be
observed :

1. Place the instrument on a table with ample space.

2. Sit on a chair or stool which will allow comfort in
using the microscope.

3. Carefully adjust the illumination to Kohler or
Abbe-Nelson.

4. If not a binocular instrument, learn to keep the un-
used eye open, and alternate eyes from time to time.

5. Learn to check for dirt in the optical system: a. If
on revolving the eyepiece the specks of dirt turn, clean
the eyepiece ; b. If the dirt moves when using the mechan-
ical stage, clean the cover glass; ¢. Examine the con-
denser and mirror for dust; d. Make certain that no oil
has been left on the oil immersion lens and all surfaces
are clean.

6. Use proper components: That is, combine the eye-

le AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

piece with the objective for which it has been designed.
Pairing an eyepiece of one manufacture with an objective
of another may lead to less critical resolution. An eye-
piece good for visual work is not necessarily the best for
photographic work. The photographie amplifier, which
is a negative component forming a diverging image, can-
not be used visually.

Determine the value of transmitted darkfield illumi-
nation and surface illumination in your work. These
are two very old methods, but they are not employed as
often as they should be and are unknown to some.

8. Obtain oblique illumination by decentralizing the
condenser iris or slightly tilting the mirror to aid in
giving an impression of a third dimension.

. Always watch the objective when focusing down-
ward, in order to avoid damaging a slide or objective.
RECORDING

The importance of recording the observations of a
microscopical examination must not be overlooked. It
is in the observation and accurate recording that knowl-
edge is preserved. The recording may be by the written
word or by graphic means. In this brief discussion, the
latter alone will be mentioned.

Basically there are two methods of recording the struec-
tures of the spore—by drawing and by photography. In
drawing, the observer may examine the organism through
the microscope and then draw from memory the result
of the observation, returning to the instrument from
time to time to refresh his memory. With this method,
the accuracy depends on observation and artistic ability.
Under ideal conditions excellent results may be obtained,
particular advantage accruing from the incorporation of
greater depth of focus and the omission of distracting
debris contained in the slide. Other methods of drawing
are by means of the camera lucida or micro-projector,
methods familiar to all biological students. Here again,

Microscopy or FERN Spores 1134

however, the ultimate accuracy depends upon the ob-
server.

Photographie recording has a high degree of accuracy,
is convenient, and is reproducible. There is great vari-
ation in equipment used in photomicrography. Equip-
ment may range from a simple eyepiece camera attached
to a standard microscope allowing exposures to be made
after each observation to special microscope-camera com-
binations using low power and high power lenses avail-
able for recording structures from natural size to 200
diameters. With simple equipment, roll-film, which can
be finished commercially, can be used. With more elabo-
rate equipment, better results may be expected, but
greater experience will be required for its proper opera-
tion.

Low power photomicrographs, generally called photo-
macrographs, are pictures having magnification up to
about 10 diameters. In this range it is possible to record
gross information, that is, the type of frond, the un-
rolling of croziers, the distribution of sori, and so forth.
Work of this type is done with specially oe lenses
known as microtessars, microplanars, or microsummars
trade names of different manufacturers. Goisidér able
overlapping exists in the magnification range of micro-
tessar lenses; the final selection usually depends on avail-
able bellows draw and the desired area coverage.

Micrographs of fifty diameters and up are made by
means of a compound microscope, the final magnification
of the instrument being the product of the objective and
the eyepiece at a projection of ten inches; by changing
either of these optical components or extending the bel-
lows the magnification may be increased. A high grade
achromatic objective paired with Huygenian eyepieces
used with proper filters will yield excellent results. e
ultimate in photomicrography is obtained by using fully
corrected apochromatic objectives and compensating eye-

14 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

pieces or amplifiers. It is always necessary to have the
optical system correctly aligned and the specimen illumi-
nated by the Kohler or Abbe-Nelson system. In photo-
micrography, a comprehensive trial and error method
of exposure determination is still the best. By making
a series of exposures on one negative, each exposure sub-
sequently receives similar developing, and the ideal ex-
posure may be selected. :

Many different types of films are available for black
and white photography as well as for color transparencies
In black and white work, orthochromatic and panchro-
matic films in different contrast ranges may be selected.
Since the contrast is very low in many spores, it is
necessary to select a film with a high contrast emulsion
such as the contrast process orthochromatic or contrast
process panchromatic. By slightly over-exposing, fully
developing, and slightly reducing the negative in a bat
of ferricyanide, a good image with a strong white back-
ground will be obtained. Inasmuch as spores are in
general more or less monochromatic, little may be gained
by the use of filters. It is best to select one type of film
and learn its full capabilities, rather than becoming con-
fused with many. In adjusting the microscope, excessive
closing of the substage iris should be avoided since a
diffraction image will result and depth of focus increased
to the extent it will be hard to differentiate the various
planes. The method of decentering the substage iris to
give a relief effect, as already described for visual work,
may be used to advantage in photomicrography.

In closing, it should be emphasized that a knowledge
of the proper use of the microscope and photography are
most useful adjuncts in the study of fern spores. ime
taken to acquire mastery should be regarded as well in-
vested. As in the time of Hooke and Van Leeuwenhoek,
the microscope and its application is still a challenge.
Norta Terrace, MapLewoop, New JERSEY

cena

PTERIDOPHYTES OF JACKSON COUNTY 15

The Pteridophytes of Jackson County, Illinois
Rosert H. MoHLENBROCK
(Continued from page 150, Oct.—Dec. 1955)
ASPLENIUM RESILIENS Kunze. This, one of the rarest

spleenworts of Jackson County, is extremely difficult to
; it grows on limestone bluffs in the Grassy Knob

County. The uniform sterile and fertile fronds readily
distinguish it from A. platyneuron.
SPECIMEN EXAMINED: Grassy Knob, Dee. 26, 1954, M 4948.

AspLENIUM TRICHOMANES L. The Maidenhair Spleen-
wort, one of the most delicate of our ferns, is not common,
although more abundant than A. pinnatifidum; it grows
on moist shaded sandstone, in crevices of rocks. Else-
where in southern Illinois, it is recorded from Union,
Johnson, Pope, Alexander, and Hardin Counties.

SPECIMENS EXA ED: Fountain Bluff, Sept. 16, 1921, Steagall
215; Midland tis, March 11, 1941, McCree 613; Little Gra
Canyon, June 26, 1951, V 692; Horesihos Bluff, March 13, 1954,
V & M 4788.

ATHYRIUM FILIX-FEMINA (L.) Roth var. MICHAUXIL
(Spreng.) Farw. The Lady Fern grows in very moist
woods, like the two following species. It has been re-
corded in southern Illinois from Union, Johnson, Alex-
ander, Pulaski, Pope, and Jackson Counties.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Leo Rock, Sept. 14, 1921, Steagall 176;
Little Grand Canyon, Aug. 24, 1949, BS 819; May 13, 1954, M 4031
Lia tact: 2 f. rubellum (Gilbert) Farw.] ; Giant City State Park,

16, 1953, M 474,

Avnyrtum pycnocarpon (Spreng.) Tidestr. The Nar-
row-leaved Spleenwort, our only Athyrium with simply
pinnate leaves, is found in very mesie woodlands, where
it is associated with A. filix-femina var. michauxti and
Aralia racemosa.

16 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

MENS EXAMINED: Fountain Bluff, Sept. 14, 1940, McCree
i Tike Grand Canyon (most abundant where the stair-step creek
at right angles to the north-facing slope flows into the valley), Aug.
24, 1949, BS 818.

ATHYRIUM THELYPTERIOWES (Michx.) Desv. The Sil-
very Spleenwort, found in moist woods and along wet
sandstone bluffs, is apparently less common than the pre-
ceding. Additional records from southern Illinois are
from Union, Gallatin, and Hardin Counties.

SPECIMEN EXAMINED: Giant City State Park, June 16, 1953,
476.

CAMPTOSORUS RHIZOPHYLLUS (L.) Link. The Walking
Fern, so named from its ability to take root at the tips
of the slender fronds, is an indicator of slightly basic
conditions, although it is often found on sandstone rocks.
It prefers very moist areas in the deepest shade. At
Giant City, it grows in company with the Puttyroot Or-
chid (Aplectrum hyemale), Celandine heat (Stylopho-
rum diphyllum), and Valeriana pauciflora

ECIMENS EXAMINED: Fountain Bluff, Se ept. 14, 19 pet McCree
iv

Jan. 11, 1953, M 55; six miles west of Murphysboro, woe
kaids,’’? March 13, 1954, V & M 1804; Horseshoe Bluff, March 13,
1954, V g M 4793.

CHEILANTHES FEEI Moore. The Slender Lip-fern is a
very woolly plant found only on calcareous bluffs in the
southeastern section of the county. The fronds are much
smaller than those of the following species. Like C
lanosa, however, the fronds curl during dry periods, and
revive quickly after a rain. At the Devil’s Bake Oven,
this species grows with Pellaea atropurpurea.

SPECIMEN EXAMINED: Grand Tower, Aug. 24, 1948, Bailey 583.

CHEILANTHES LANOSA (Michx.) D. C. Eaton. This spe-
cies, apparently more abundant in southern Illinois than
in either Missouri or southern Indiana, grows on dry, ex-

dicen canbatenclioabamadees ab aa

PTERIDOPHYTES OF JACKSON COUNTY Lé

posed sandstone bluffs along the Shawneetown Ridge, as-
sociated with the Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa),
Goat’s-rue (Tephrosia virginica), and American Aloe
(Agave virginica). It is called C. vestita (Spreng.)
Swartz in Fernald (1950).

8 ENS EXAMINED: pe Bluff, Oct. 7, 1949, BS 911;
Giant Oe State Park, M1

CYSTOPTERIS BULBIFERA (L.) Bernh. The Bulblet Blad-
der-fern, so-called because of its ability to produce bulb-
like structures along its rachises, prefers calcareous soils,
and hence is limited in its distribution in southern IIli-
nois. I have seen it most abundantly along Rock Castle
Creek, in Randolph County, where many plants are grow-
ing on a wet, liverwort-covered, east-facing sandstone
bluff on which limestone has leached down from above.
Across from it on the dry west-facing bluff is one of the
two stations in southern Illinois for Asplenium bradleyi.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Leo , Oct. 10, 1921, Steagall 21;
Little Grand Canyon, Aug. 24, os aa 820; Giant City State
Park, June 4, 1953, M 208.

Cystopreris FRagiuis (l.) Bernh. var. PROTRUSA
Weatherby. The Fragile Fern is undoubtedly the most
common fern in southern Illinois, for it may be found on
almost any moist bluff or in any mesic woods, growing
with typical plants of moist woodlands, such as species of

iola, Hydrophyllum, and so forth. It resembles two
other ferns of hig area—C. bulbifera and Woodsia obtusa
—differing from the former in not producing bulblets
along the rachis and in having its veins running to the
teeth rather than to the sinuses, and from the latter in
the absence of scales along the rachis.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Southern Illinois University Farm, May
23, 1947, BS 66; Fountain Bluff, Oct. 10, 1921, Steagall 74; Carbon
Lake, July 29, 1949, Hatcher 231: 7; four miles north of Carbon-
dale, aren 17, 1940, McCree 3602.

18 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

DRYOPTERIS AUSTRIACA (Jacq.) Woynar var. INTER-
mepta (Muhl.) Morton. This plant is rare in southern
Illinois, where it is known from Pope, Union, and Jack-
son Counties, in the last only from the Giant City area,
where it grows on moist sandstone bluffs. It is often
called D. intermedia (Muhl.) A. Gray. The closely allied
var. spinulosa (Miill.) Fiori [otherwise known as D.
spinulosa (Miill.) Watt] is known in Illinois mostly from
the north, but has been found twice in the south—along
a gravel road in Union County (Hatcher et al.) and on
moist sandstone at Ferne Clyffe State Park, in Johnson
County (V & M 1906). It differs from var. intermedia
by its eglandular, less-divided blades.

SPECIMEN EXAMINED: Makanda, Aug. 19, 1880, Seymour (UI).

DRYOPTERIS HEXAGONOPTERA (Michx.) C. Chr. This
handsome fern, the Broad Beech-fern, is usually confined
to moist woodlands, but I have seen it in very dry situa-
tions at Giant City, where it is not very vigorous how-

ever. It grows in abundance at Lake Murphysboro and

Little Grand Canyon, in addition to the localities listed
below. It is known also as Thelypteris hexagonoptera
Saray Weatherby.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Fountain Bluff, ae 22, 1952, BS 2839;
Giant ne State Park, Aug. 30, 1954, M 4687

DRYOPTERIS MARGINALIS (L.) A. Gray, The Marginal
Fern, one of our most attractive evergreen ferns, is one
of the most variable. The typical form is by far the most
abundant, ma large forms, known as f. elegans (J.
Robins. ) W. Gray, in which the basal pinnules are
inna, | may be found (as at Little Grand Canyon, M
1905). At Saltpeter Cave, this species grows with Mit-
chella repens and Luzula bulbosa.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Fountain Bluff, June 18, 1940, McCree
155; Giant City State Park, June 24, 1947, BS 91; Little Grand
rors on, May 30, 1949, Hateher 789; Saltpeter Cave, March 13,

4 V §& M 1801; Horseshoe Bluff, March 13, 1954, V & M 1807.

PTERIDOPHYTES OF JACKSON COUNTY 19

DRYOPTERIS NOVEBORACENSIS (Lu.) A. Gray. [Thelyp-
teris noveboracensis (lu.) Nieuwl.]. The New York Fern,
one of Illinois’ rarest ferns, has not been found in south-
ern Illinois since 1

SPECIMEN EXAMINED: Makanda [Giant City?], Aug. 19, 1880,
Seymour (UI).

DRYOPTERIS THELYPTERIS (L.) A. Gray. [Thelypteris
palustris Schott]. The Marsh Fern is known from a sin-
gle station in Jackson County, where its existence is being
threatened, since the marsh in which it grows is being

rained. We are in danger of losing not only this species
from the flora of southern Illinois, but also several others
which are present in the marsh, such as Viburnum recog-
nitum, Carex lanuginosa, Carex comosa, Apios americana,
f. pilosa, Solidago patula, and Chelone glabra var. lini-
folia. Carex swanii, growing adjacent to the marsh, is
also in jeopardy.

SPECIMEN EXAMINED: “The Marsh,” one mile north of Mur-
physboro, April 4, 1950, Hatcher 1157.

ONocLEA SENSIBILIs L. The Sensitive Fern, common in
rich woodlands in southern Illinois, is particularly abun-
dant at Lake Murphysboro, where it is associated with
Ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) and Virginia Snakeroot
(Aristolochia serpentaria). At one station on Lake Mur-
physboro, it is growing in shallow water along the bank.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Giant City State Park, May 12, 1952, V
1220; Fountain Bluff, Sept. 14, 1921, Steagall 92.

PELLAEA ATROPURPUREA (L.) Link. The Purple Cliff-
brake is limited in distribution in southern Illinois be-
cause of its preference for calcareous rocks. At Grassy
Knob, it is found often with Solidago drummondii and
Phlox bifida. The Smooth Cliff-brake, P. glabella Mett.
(P. atropurpurea var. bushii Mack.), which differs in the
nearly glabrous stipes and rachises, has been found in

20 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

southern Illinois only in Pope County ; it should be looked
for in the Grassy Knob area.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Fountain Bluff, Oct. 7, 1949, BS 9 2;
Devil’s Bake Oven, May 30, 1954 Mt 2428; Grassy Fail, apt 5,
1954, M 4781.

Ponypopium PoLypopiowEs (L.) Watt var. MICHAUXI-
aNuM Weatherby. The densely scaly fronds curl up dur-
ing drought, like our species of Cheilanthes, and revive
after a rain; hence the common name Resurrection Fern.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Leo Rock, Sept. 7, 1921, Steagall 284;
Fountain Bluff, June 18, 1940, Welch & ee 165; Giant City
State Park, Feb. 23, 1953, M 47.

Poiypoprum viRGINIANUM L. [P. vulgare var. virgini-
anum (l.) Eaton]. The Polypody, much more common
than the preceding species, usually grows on sandstone
rocks or bluffs. Like many of the ferns of southern Illi-
nois it is evergreen.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Fountain Bluff, Sept. 16, 1921, Steagall
276; Little Grand Canyon, Feb. 11, 1950, Hatcher ; Giant City
State Park, Jan. 31, 1953, M 493.

PouysticHuM AcRosTicHoIpEs (Michx.) Schott. The
Christmas Fern, one of the commonest and most admired
ferns of the area, grows on slopes in shaded woods and
on stream banks. The fronds are evergreen, and have
been collected for decorations at Christmas time. At one
place near Lake Murphysboro hundreds of plants cover
a densely shaded east-facing slope.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Grand Tower, Oct. 29, 1922, Steagall 148;
ree 206; mi 0

Jan. 31, 1953, M 492; Lake Murphysboro, Feb. 26, 1954, M 489
Preripium aguininum (L.) Kuhn var, LATIUSCULUM
(Desy.) Underw. |P. latiusculum (Desv.) Hieron.]. The
Bracken, by no means common in Jackson County, seems
to be most abundant in southern Illinois in dry woods.

PTERIDOPHYTES OF JACKSON COUNTY 21

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Hickory Ridge, Aug. 24, 1949, BS 815;
three miles north of Carbondale, July 8, 1951, V 986.

Woopsta optusa (Spreng.) Torrey. The Blunt-lobed
Woodsia may be distinguished from other ferns with
which it might be confused by its scaly rachises and
stipes. It is usually confined to moist shady bluffs, gen-
erally of sandstone. It may be found the year round,
since it produces a winter rosette of sterile leaves, which
are replaced in the spring by fertile ones. At Giant City
it is associated with the Bishop’s-cap (Mitella diphylla)
and the Small-flowered Watercress (Cardamine parvi-
flora var. arenicola).

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Fountain Bluff, June 10, 1921, Steagall ;
Grand Tower, Oct. 29, 1921, Steagall 61; Giant City State Park,
March 13, 1953, M 27.

In addition to the species of Polypodiaceae enumerated
above, one other oceurs in southern Tllinois, although it
has not been found in Jackson County as yet. This is the
Hay-scented Fern, Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.)
Moore, which is known from Wabash and Pope Counties.
It is distinguished by its glandular, fragrant leaves.

SALVINIACEAE

AzoLLA MEXICANA Presl. This tiny, mosslike fern is
found floating in quiet waters. It is not uncommon in
the Larue Swamp, Union County, growing with species
of Lemna, Wolffia, and Spirodela. Fernald (1950) con-
siders our species to be A. caroliniana Willd., which is
restricted to easternmost North America by Svenson
(1944).

SPECIMEN EXAMINED: Campbell’s Lake, Oct. 11, 1940, McCree
563.

REFERENCES
Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray’s Manual of Botany, Highth Edition.
French, G. H. 1870. Notes on some plants from southern Illinois.
Amer. Ent. & Bot. 2: 383, 384.

22 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL
Gleason, H. A. 1903. Additional notes on southern Illinois plants.

Torreya 3: 1-3.
—1904. Additional notes on southern Illinois plants. Torreya
(|

Ags 4
Hill, E. J. 1912. The fern flora of Illinois. Fern Bull. 20: 33-43.
G a A

Mohlenbrock, R. H. 1954, Fete notes on the flora of southern
Illinois. a 56: » 228

Palmer, E. J. a. Santi reconnaissance of southern Illinois.

ourn. 2 : 129-153.

Pfeiffer, Norma E. 1922. Monograph of the Isoétaceae. Ann.
Mo. Bot.

pein A. B. 882. Notes tran southern Illinois. Bot. Gaz. 7:
103, 104.

Steagall, Mary M. 1927. Some Illinois Ozark ferns in relation to
soil acidity. Trans. Ill. Acad. Sci. 19: 113-136.

Svenson, H. K. 1944. The New World species of Azolla. Amer.
ern Journ. 34: 69-—
Voigt, J. 1953. Plante recently found in southern Illinois.
Rhodora “6B: 290, 291. 1953.

DEPARTMENT OF BoTANY, WASHINGTON UNIversiry, St.
Louris, Mo.

The Status of Pityrogramma calomelanos
i orida
Mary DIppELL

The Tropical American, Pityrogramma calomelanos
has been considered to be escaped from cultivation
ieee : i

that the first collection in Florida was that of W.

Knight in 1931, who found it ols of Fort Meade (Polk
County) ; he quotes Mr, Knight: we found quite a
large and thriving colony. . This i is | duiibtiets an escape

1 Ferns of the Southeastern States 94. 1938.

Pee eT eee

PITYROGRAMMA IN FLORIDA 23

but as it covers the bank of a road ditch for several rods
it seems to be both thriving and reproducing itself so that
you may, eventually, have another naturalized species to
add to your list.’’ Dr. Small visited the locality and
collected specimens himself in 1934, Also, Dr. E. D.
Merrill has mentioned this matter in his article “‘Fern
Names Proposed by Rafinesque.’”* Rafinesque deseribed
a new genus and species of ferns under the name Nesoris
discolor, based on material from Florida collected by Kim
or Baldwin; Rafinesque’s name Nesoris is five years later
than Link’s genus Pityrogramma. Dr. Merrill identifies
Nesoris discolor as Pityrogramma calomelanos and adds,
‘This species was originally introduced into Florida
more than a century ago, as an ornamental plant,’’ a
statement for which no documentation is given. :
I do not understand why these authors should consider
this species as an escape from cultivation. The material
seen by Rafinesque must have been collected prior to
1838, at which time Florida had been a part of the
United States only 18 years. Jacksonville, which had
discarded its old name of Cow Ford some 16 years previ-
ously, St. Augustine, perhaps New Smyrna and a few
other settlements were the only ones on the upper East
Coast. In the west there were a few small towns on the
West Florida strip to Pensacola, which was the only
town on the upper Gulf Coast, with the possible excep-
tion of Appalachicola and the old town of St. Joseph.
Fort Brooke, the site of which is now included in the city
of Tampa, had been built in 1823, Fort Meade in 1835,
Fort Myers in 1839, and Fort Christmas in 1846. All
these were built during the Seminole Wars; it is safe to
say that the inhabitants were busier fighting Indians
than they were in importing and raising ferns. There
were a few settlements below J acksonville, along the
upper St. Johns River, where were planted the first
2 Amer. Fern Journ. 33: 50, 51. 1943.

24 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

orange sae in the state. The rest of the interior was
a wildern

fter ah salons of the Seminole Wars people began
coming into Florida, and new towns and _ settlements
sprang up. The early comers were chiefly interested in
orange culture. Later, settlers came and built winter
homes to escape the northern cold. For ornamental
plants to beautify their homes, these early settlers de-
pended chiefly on flowering shrubs that could be set
out at the beginning of the rainy season and left to shift
for themselves. Water was a serious consideration, for
during a long, dry spring—I have seen years when not
a drop of rain fell from January to June—water had
to be drawn from deep wells by hand-operated buckets.
Some of these ornamentals were of West Indian origin—
Royal Poinciana, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Russelia

just

seed sent or brought from the West Indies. There is now
a beautiful Ceiba tree near Tarpon Springs, grown from
seed sent by a missionary in Brazil about 75 years ago.

It was not until the 1880’s that two circumstances
started the purposeful introduction of tropical plants.
The first was the establishment of the Royal Palm Nur-
series by the very young Reasoner Brothers. So far as
T am aware, this was the first nursery in the state that was
largely devoted to ornamental plants. Pliny, the elder
brother, died of yellow fever in 1887; hi

family, and the nursery was carried on. Before Pliny
died, the brothers had started going to Cuba by boat to
bring in tropical plants, and Egbert continued the trips,
going farther and farther into the tropics.

The second impetus to plant introduction was the
erection of the Tampa Bay Hotel, which was completed
in 1886 or 1888, where many introductions were made to
ornament the grounds. At that time there were no quar-

PITYROGRAMMA IN FLORIDA 25

antine restrictions on bringing plants into the country ;
all one had to do was to get them. People who had ac-
cess to the West Indies brought in plants to ornament
their home grounds or to add tropical fruits to their
menus. Other than edible fruiting plants, the new in-
troductions were mostly flowering ornamentals or palms,
especially palms. There are today in the older parts of
Tampa many rare and beautiful specimens which were
brought in during this era.

My young days were spent in Tampa. I have a vivid
recollection of the plants in the grounds of the Tampa
Bay Hotel, but I do not remember a single fern. I have
an incomplete file of old Reasoner catalogs. In the oldest
one, dated about 1907, there is a list of ferns, small com-

ared with other ornamentals, that includes Gymno-
gramme tartarea [Pityrogramma tartarea] ; in catalogs
of the 1920’s this name was changed to Ceratopteris tar-
tarea (a mistake for Ceropteris, which Mr. Reasoner as-
sured me was a printer’s error, but it was not changed
in the last catalog, 1930). The description agrees with
Pityrogramma tartarea, which is superficially similar to
P. calomelanos. There is hardly any doubt that these
two species have been confused, both being white-cerace-
ous beneath and both with the common name Silver Fern.

Several years ago, returning home from a trip to
Tampa, I stopped at Chinsegut Hill. The Superintend-
ent, Mr. Chapman, took me down a hillside and showed
me a fern garden that he had made around a small spring.
He had collected the ferns all growing naturally in the
Brooksville area. I told him that I had all the species in
my own fern garden except Pityrogramma calomelanos.
He said that he had plenty and would like to give me
one, but that as this was government property he was
not allowed to dispose of anything. He added, however,
that there were plenty of the ferns growing around a
small pond on some land he owned a few miles farther

26 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

along my road toward home. I started on, parked the
ear where he said, and walked along a narrow lane be-
tween cultivated fields until I found the fence that en-
closed Mr. Chapman’s property. I climbed the fence
and could see where the pond had been; the soil was hard
and caked around the edges although still soupy in the
middle. I did not find a fern of any species, and so I
started back to the fence. Lying alongside where I had
climbed over was a snake. I detoured to get over the
fence in another place and saw another snake. Just then
a man came toward me from the direction of a barn in
the distance. He asked if he could help me, a polite way
of asking what business I had there, so I told him he could
get rid of the snakes. After he had taken a stick to them,
I told him why I was there. He said that there had been
plenty of ferns, but that they had died back when the
pond dried up and would come out again when the rainy
season started.

Pityrogrammas are very susceptible to cold, being
killed back by light frost and entirely killed by severe
cold, although a colony might be revivified by spores ly-
ing dormant on the ground. It would seem now that
they also disappear during dry seasons. These facts may
account for their not having been collected in Florida
between the time of Rafinesque and Mr. Knight’s collec-
tion, a period of almost a hundred years.

Pityrogramma calomelanos is a_ tropical species.
Maxon’ gives an imposing list of 24 islands in the West
Indies on which it grows naturally, including Cuba and
Porto Rico; the fern also grows on the continent, from
Mexico to Brazil, and is introduced in parts of the Old
World. All its associates in the Fort Meade area are
West Indian species—Thelypteris panamensis, Hypo-
lepis repens, Meniscium reticulatum, M. serratum, Acro-
stichum aurewm, Vittaria lineata, and many others.

3 Pteridophyta of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands 438. 1926.

_

PITYROGRAMMA IN FLORIDA 27
During the past 25 years, I have grown several hun-
dred species of ferns in my green house, and none has

in pots with other plants. Of the 85 to 100 species
usually growing outdoors in the fern garden, only one,
Lygodium japonicum, has possibly escaped; I found
three or four small plants of this species growing in the
edge of a swamp about a mile from my place, in 1934
or ’35. This is not a commonly grown fern; at the time,
I did not know of another plant anywhere in the city—
and I usually do know most of the plants that are grown
here.

Lygodium japonicum is a climbing species, and long-
distance dispersal of the spores of climbing or epiphytic
ferns seems much more likely to occur than of low-grow-
ing, terrestrial species. The ground air-currents are
weaker, and when a strong wind does strike low ferns
it comes from above and the fronds are flattened down
and the spores shaken out beneath; on the contrary, the
normal air-currents blowing on climbing and epiphytic
ferns will be stronger, and will strike the sporophylls
from beneath, and so the spores will be carried much
farther. Also, the spores are much less likely to be
caught on grasses and other lower-growing vegetation
than in the case of ground ferns.

The long-distance distribution of spores is facilitated
by storms, and it is more than probable that hurricanes
are responsible for the introduction of our West Indian
species. This is borne out by the widely disjunct dis-
tribution of a good number of our species. A par ‘icu-
‘ larly striking case is that of Asplenium auritum, which
has been known in a few localities in the Brooksville area,
in Hernando County, on the middle West Coast; this
species has recently appeared in Sykes Hammock, near
Homestead (in Dade County), in the southernmost part

28 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

of the state. My herbarium specimens from two of the
Brooksville localities and from Sykes Hammock differ
in the cutting of the pinnae, indicating that the colonies
may have originated at different points in the West
Indies. Polybotrya tenuifolia was introduced into
Tampa 20 years ago or more. It has been reported as
growing wild in Hillsborough County, where it may well
be and probably is, an escape from plants cultivated in
Tampa; the species is high-climbing, and has spores
freely produced on sporophylls borne high on the plant.
There are several other species of ferns growing ‘‘wild”’
within the state that are considered as escapes from cul-
tivation; I think that research should be done to deter-
mine, if possible, their correct status.
8092 HawrHorRNE Sv., JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

The Virginia Chain-fern
C. V. Morton AND CHARLES NEIDORF

The Virginia Chain-fern, Woodwardia virginica (L.)
J. E. Smith, is a rather well-known inhabitant of acid
bogs on the coastal plain of the eastern United States.
The accompanying illustration is taken from a plant in
the garden of Miss Clara S. Hires, of Millburn, New

the glandularity of the indusia. The glands, which are
found both on the backs and margins of the indusia, are
compesed of a single-celled, colorless stalk, and a brown-
ish, several-celled, subspherical head. Herbarium studies
indicate that such glands occur on all specimens, in
greater or lesser numbers, but this is a point that should ©
be verified by studies in the field. Similar glands occur
elsewhere on the fronds of W. virginica, but apparently
not in other species of Woodwardia.

tein Hy Ae aia The New Britton and Brown Illustrated
Flora 3: 37. 19

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLUME 46, PLATE IT

WoOODWARDIA VIRGINICA

30 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

The Virginia Chain-fern is the type and only species
of the genus Anchistea Presl, which is recognized as
yalid by Broun (Index to North American Ferns),
Small (Ferns of the Southeastern States), and other
authors. Its claims to recognition are slight. Presl
depended on the cartilaginous margins of the segments
and the superficial sori, but neither character is distine-
tive; the margins are not essentially dissimilar to those
of some other species, and, althoug . radicans, the
type species of Woodwardia, does have the sori deeply
immersed in the leaf-tissue, other species that are ob-
viously congeneric (e.g. W. japonica) have superficial

ori as in virginica. The only character (except the
glandularity mentioned above) distinguishing virginica
from all other species is having the areoles in a single
series along the costae, instead of in two series or more,
hardly a generic distinction.

Shorter Note

AUxIN AND Psmotum.—The keystone in the develop-
ment of the modern recognition of all vascular plants as
one division (or phylum), for which the names Stelo-
phyta and Tracheophyta have been proposed, was pro-
vided by the work of Kidston and Lang in the early nine-
teen-twenties. Studying a band in the Old Red Sand-
stone (Devonian) of Scotland, they described several
plants of presumed pteridophyte affinity that were char-
acterized by leafless, forking growth, both above and

elow ground. The rootless condition was interpreted as
primitive, root and leaf differentiation not yet having
taken place. About ten years later, Lang and Cookson
described still earlier vascular plants of a similar type,
from the Silurian of Australia. This group was recog-
nized as a distinct group of vascular plants and given
collectively the designation Psilopsida. These conclusions
have received wide acceptance, and psilopsids are rather
generally recognized as coordinate with, though pre-

Recent FERN LITERATURE 31

sumably ancestral to, the lycopods, horsetails, and the
fern and seed-plant congeries. Two modern representa-
tives of Psilopsida are accepted—Psilotum, pantropical,
and Tmesipteris, of 136 —— area.

In Science for Sept. 30," . Jacobs reports what
amounts to an i a pa confirmation that
the rootless character of modern Psilotum has a phylo-
genetic basis. Using three synthetic auxins, well known
as capable of stimulating the origin of roots on many
higher plants, even on leaves and stem internodes, he
tested Psilotum and a variety of other plants, including
mosses and algae. The results were negative. At the
same time, similar tests with horsetails and lycopods
brought positive responses. The author leaves in abey-
ance the question of whether auxins may not cause in-
creased development of rhizoids in Psilotum, as it has
been found to do with mosses and algae. One positive
result of Jacobs’ tests was the finding of diffusible, natu-
ral auxin in Psilotum shoots.—R. C. BENEDICT.

Recent Fern Literature

A Booxter on Brirish Ferns.2—In general, British
nature guide-books are freer from misunderstandings and
errors than comparable American ones. However, a con-
venient-sized volume (334 x 534 x 34 inch) which has just
come to my attention is disappointing in this respect.
The Introduction and Glossary contain quite a number
of poorly worded statements and other technical errors.
Each of the 45 species treated in detail is allotted 2 or 3
pages of interestingly written text, covering general as-
pect, habitat, ranges in Great Britain, and detailed char-
acters. The plates, in green and red-brown, bear illus-
trations of one or two species each. They vary consider-

1122; 955

2 The O servers Book of British shee compiled by W. J. Stok
Pages 1-128, pl. 1-26. Frederick ge e & Co., Ltd., London "&
New York. 1950. (Price about $1.5 0).

32 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ably in quality; a few are excellent, as pl. 14, Ceterach,
many are fair, but some, like pl. 22, purportedly Dry-
opteris filix-mas, are erroneous. On pl. 5, the legends
are reversed, and on pl. 10 two species are illustrated but
only one named. In too many places the text and illus-
trations disagree in one or more respects. —_ the
rachis of Asplenium trichomanes is described as ‘‘pur-
plish glossy black,’’ but in pl. 8 is shown as pale brown.
In Cystopteris fragilis, ‘‘the stalk is purplish black,’’ and
the frond widest ‘‘about the middle,’’ yet in pl. 17 shown
as bright green and widest just above the base, respec-
tively. When errors, misunderstandings, and contradic-
tions appear in technical works, the specialist can soon
eatch and correct them; but when they are allowed to get
by in books for the beginner only confusion is likely to
result. It is regrettable that to the list of three inac-
curate or inadequate popular American fern books a
British one must now be added.—Epaar T. WHERRY,
Philadelphia, Pa.

A New ZEALAND FERN Boox.—The ferns are among
the most striking botanical features of New Zealand,
where they reach an abundance and luxuriance equalled
in few other temperate countries. There are about 150
species, ranging from minute filmy-ferns to tree-ferns and
including several strange Southern Hemisphere genera.
The study and enjoyment of these will be greatly helped
by the new ‘‘ Book of Ferns,’’ just published by Dr. Greta
Stevenson, a well-known New Zealand botanist.! This
attractive book of 160 pages and 67 plates describes briefly
over a hundred of the species and illustrates 72 with ex-
cellent habit drawings by the author. In addition, the
book has a good summary of what the amateur fern stu-

of Ferns, by Greta Stevenson, pp. 1-16

1A B 0. 67 figs
1954. Obtainadie from Henry ree ene ot 31 East 10th Street,
New Yor N. Y., at a reasonable ¢

ReEcENT FERN LITERATURE 33

dent needs to know about names, reproduction, cultiva-
tion, and identification of ferns. No one interested in
ferns who visits New Zealand or enjoys knowing exotic
ferns can afford to be without this book —F. R. Fossrre.

““GRowING Fern ProrHauuia,’” by Herbert M. Clarke,
Professor of Botany, University of Wisconsin, gives de-
tailed instructions for growing era on a large scale
for classroom use. A limite mber ts eee are
available to interested persons. i V. Morro

‘““F'Lora or Dominica, B. W. I.,’?! by Walter H. Hodge,
contains the most extensive treatment of West Indian
ferns that has appeared in many years. Nomenclaturally,
the treatment is conservative. Although not all the ferns
of neighboring islands are included, a good many of those
of Guadeloupe and Martinique are keyed, in the expecta-
tion that some will be found in Dominica eventually —
C. V. Morton

Another treatment of the pteridophytes of Illinois by

r. G. N. Jones has appeared.1. The account of the ferns
is much less complete than Dr. Jones’ previous ‘‘An
Enumeration of Illinois Pteridophyta,’’ (1947), but it
does have maps for each species illustrating the range in
Illinois by counties. New records for the state are:
Lycopodium flabelliforme (first found in 1952), and
Pteris multifida (a casual occurrence, now extinct).
Some of the ideas that conflict with current treatments,
such as the complete reduction of Pteridiwm aquilinum
var. pseudocaudatum to synonymy under P. latiusculum,
deserve some discussion. Unusual in a local flora is the
attempt to indicate the authorities and places of publi-

TOE Lzeery

1 Amer. Biol. Teacher 16: 214, 215. 1954.

ey, Lloydia 17: 1-238. 1954

1 Vascular Plants of Ilinois, by G. N. poy and G@. D. Fuller.
Tllinois tats Museum Sci. Ser. 6: 1-593. 19

34 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

cation for the names of families and higher categories.
Unfortunately, the names selected are not quite in accord
with the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
Thus Tracheophyta is termed a ‘‘Phylum,’’ a category
not recognized in the Code; according to the Code the
termination -phyta indicates a Division. Lycopsida,
Sphenopsida, and Pteropsida are termed ‘‘Subphyla,”’
but the endings indicate that these are Classes. Again
with ‘‘Class Lycopodiineae,’’ the termination -ineae is
properly that of a Suborder. The determination of the
proper authorities for Ordinal and Family names is a
matter of great difficulty ; thus the family Lycopodiaceae
is attributed by Jones and Fuller to Warming (18 Wicdbe
but it was surely used long before that date, according
to Dr. Clyde F. Reed first by L. C. Richard (in Lam. &
DC., 1805). A paper on this subject by Dr. Reed will
appear in a future number of the Journal. _—C. V. Mor-
TON.

Another state fern flora has appeared—‘‘THE FERNS
AND Fern ALLies or New Mextco,’’! which shows clearly
the results to be achieved by intensive exploration. The
‘‘Blora of New Mexico,’’ by Wooton and Standley
(1915), contained 41 species of Pteridophyta; the present
treatment lists 59 species, almost a 50 per cent increase.
This is not an inconsiderable total for a state as gen-
erally arid as New Mexico. Some of the newly discov-
ered species are conspicuous plants like Cystopteris bulb-
ifera, Pityrogramma triangularis, Cryptogramma acros-
tichoides, Gymnocarpium Dryopteris, Asplenium platy-
neuron, and Cheilanthes tomentosa; most of these are
probably quite rare and local in the state. The text of
the book, which is clearly and beautifully printed, gives
keys and descriptions ; the illustrations are well drawn

1 By H. J. Dittmer, E. * magie Pe ary M. Clark. Univ. New
Mexico Publ. Biol., no. 6, 139. 1954. Univ. of New Mexico
Press, Albuquerque, N. Mex e. 00.

ReEcENT FERN LITERATURE 35

and should PAF identification of specimens an easy
matter—C. V. Morron.

Two papers by Dr. Warren Herbert Wagner, Jr., are
to be noted. One? describes a natural hybrid between
Polystichum acrostichoides and P. Lonchitis that was
found growing with the parents on the Bruce Peninsula,
Ontario. It was vigorous in vegetative growth, but ap-
parently sterile. In morphology it is intermediate be-

paper’ reports for the first time the chromosome num-
bers of several eastern American ferns. These numbers
have important taxonomic implications, among them:
That Botrychium oneidense has the characteristics of a
normal species and not a hybrid; that Onoclea and Mat-
teuccia are not closely allied, as has been assumed; that

markably different (7. noveboracensis 27, T. Phegopteris
30, T. palustris 35,° indicating that possibly the genus,
even in a restricted sense, is polyphyletic; that the east-
ern American variety of Asplenium Ruta-muraria has
the same number as the European; and that A. Trudelli
has a number indicating it to be a hybrid rather than a
variety of A. pinnatifidum. A number of reprints of the
latter paper are available from the undersigned—C. V.
ORTON.

A Natural Hybrid of Polystichum Lonchitis and P. acrosti-
ebaiies from the Bruce Peninsula. (with Dale J. Hagenah.)
Bhodora 56: 1-6. pl. 1198. 1954.

2 Cytotaxonomie Observations on North American Ferns. Rho-
Hors 57: 219-240. figs. 1-33. 1955
anton indicated 34 in European T. oreopteris.

36 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

American Fern Society
Report of the President for 1955

For three score and three years, presidents of the
American Fern Society have been submitting annual re-
ports.'. The present report is merely the latest in the
long chain that began in 1893. In preparation for this,
my fourth and final report as President, I have scanned
carefully all the reports of my predecessors. This review
has proved so interesting that it has been hard to refrain
from extending unduly my statement by citations from
past records. However, I have limited historical refer-
ences almost entirely to emphasis on what have proved
to be the two major objectives of the Fern Society through
all the years: the continued growth in membership, and
the mission of the Society to serve all members, whether

beginners or advanced research students.
rom the earliest report of the first President, Willard
N. Clute, to that of my immediate predecessor, Joseph
Ewan, the presidents and other officers have urged, even
exhorted, the members to work for greater and greater
aumbers. None has been more enthusiastic or optimistic
than William Maxon. In his report for 1900, when the
membership roll was a little more than 100, he saw no
reason why it should not at that time be expanded to 500.
The 500-mark was not finally attained until 1953, but, as
a result of my experience during the past four years, I
am ready now to equal Maxon’s optimistic forecasts of
1900 and predict that a five-fold increase in Fern Society
membership can be reached from today’s figures and in

1 Twenty-one different individuals have held the presidency since
a with ter ms of office ranging from the six months of Mrs
f

3
ve been partly balanced by several der tadlia ely offered by
President. elect.

AMERICAN FrErn Socrery 37

not too long a time.?

There is no dearth of possible new members; in fact,
the number of nature lovers who might be interested in
joining is greater than ever before. During the past 16
years, 670 accessions have been recorded. For the first
11 of those years, from a total of 400 new members, a net
gain of 30 was made, but the dislocations of the war years

roll rose from 430 to 564, a net gain of 134. Actually,
this gain was achieved in the first three years, 1952-1954

At the beginning of 1955, it was my hope that the
growth rate of the preceding three years might be con-
tinued, and that a total of 600 might be achieved before
1956. Instead, for a variety of reasons, the total member-
ship numbers have remained stationary; 48 new names
were added to the list, but an equal number was removed.
However, no year can be counted unsuccessful which has
ineluded such well-planned meetings as the June gather-
ing in Milburn, N. J., under Miss Clara Hires’ leadership,
the late summer Canadian field-trip to the Ontario hart’s-
tongue localities, led by Prof. James Soper, and the

chiefly responsible. Furthermore, one of the most poem
ing developments of 1955 was the organization of a ‘‘New
England Committee,’’ under Dr. B. R. Allison, and its
promotion of a delightful two-day series of meetings and
field- -trips in New Hampshire and Vermont during July.
In 1956, further activity on the part of this Committee
may be expected. Appreciation is also due to three
Pennsylvania trip leaders, Messrs. W. L. Dix, Maurice
Broun, and R. K. Lampton, and to Mr. J. E. Benedict, as
ndreds has been
as The growth pons 398 ed E Watern, Presiden s 200 in 1911,

Philip Dowell, President; 300 in 1922, W. R. Maxon, President ;
400 in 1943, Robert T. Clausen, President; 500 in 1953.

38 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

leader of a trip in Virginia.

Further healthy growth of the Fern Society must de-
pend not only on ever-expanding accessions but even
more on providing for new members the kinds of service
that will make them want to remain in the Society. In
fact, the addition of large numbers of new members only
to have them drop out in a year or so is most wasteful of
the energies of officers and other members and of the

Journals. A heavy turn-over of members is nothing new
in Society history. Even in 1893, when the total of listed
names by the year’s end was 29, only 23 actually quali-
fied by paying their dues—advance payment not then
being a requirement for enrollment. At the present time,
an increased rate of growth can only be accomplished if
both objectives of the Society are realized—the attrac-
tion of new members, and such services as will hold them.

The Treasurer, Dr. McGregor, reports that a good
many of those who resign give as a reason that the Fern
Journal is ‘‘too technical.’? That complaint has been
made since the Journal was started in 1910. Suggestions
have been made from time to time that in each issue of
the Journal, a few pages should be reserved for beginners
and filled with the most elementary fern lore. I do not
believe the editorial policy of our periodical should be
changed from what it has been for 45 years, but I do.
believe that the interests and needs of beginners should
be met by appropriate printed matter. My suggestion is
for a series of bulletins, some mimeographed, some re-
printed from appropriate Journal articles, to be kept in
stock and made available to new members. I am sure
the least experienced of tyros could be carried forward
in knowledge through such bulletins, to an a preciation
of the Fern Journal as a unique botanical periodical,
widely accepted for its scientific standing, and also for
its coverage of popular fern-lore.

AMERICAN FERN Society 39

It may be noted that this proposal involves no depar-
ture from earlier policies and practices. During the first
seven years of the Society, members received a wealth of
extra dividends in the way of popular fern books and
technical ‘‘Fernwort Papers’’ and other material. Since
then, distribution of extra material has been sporadic but
never entirely stopped. Through the mid-years of the
Society, various members contributed extra copies of re-

hundreds of young hart’s-tongue plants raised at the
Garden. What is here proposed is the planned prepara-
tion of a series of bulletins of interest and help to those
Starting in fern study, and the distribution of these ac-
cording to an organized plan. The proposal will be made
clearer by a consideration of the following suggested list
of bulletin titles.

1. Ferns as a hobby: various lines of study; the Fern
Society.

2. Primer of fern structure and function.

3. Making a fern herbarium; services of the Society
Herbarium.

4. Fern books for beginners and others; the Society
Library. (See also earlier bulletin issued by the Society :
“Fern books to lend.’’

5. Checklists of ferns according to major areas, by
states, ete.

6. Native ferns and their preferred haunts; fern
ecology,

7. Soil-testing, in field and garden.

8. Fern gardens; appropriate native and introduced
Species and varieties.

9. Raising ferns from spores; the Society ‘‘Fern spore
exchange,’’

40 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

10. List of information centers in the U. 8. and Can-
ada. (See 1952 list in the : scons

11. Ferns as house plan

12. Field- trips and eens meetings.

the printing or mimeographing, jpn my experience of
the past few years convinces me that the cost would be
very quickly returned in the continued dues of members

eld in the Society. Some of the topics could be well
covered by as little as a two-page statement ; others might
require two or three times as much space. As a test of
the interest in the preceding proposals, I urge that mem-
bers indicate their reactions by writing to President
Wiggins or to other officers to state (a) whether they
would like to receive such bulletins, and (b) their will-
ingness to aid in the preparation of any of the needed
manuscripts, or in their duplication.

Two other tried and tested measures are recommended
for increased emphasis—expanded programs of field-
trips and other meetings, and the promotion of area as-
sociations or ‘‘chapters,’’ with special standing commit-
S. en the Society had just passed the 50 mark in
membership, Willard Clute wrote that some areas had
enough members to permit of ‘‘strong associations.’
Ten years later, James Ferriss reported the formation
of the first such group, with a name—the Woodsia Chap-
ter of Museatine, Iowa. It remained for Matt Mann to
demonstrate within the past ten years how such a local
association (in New Jersey) could be effectively carried
on. The New England Committee of 1955 is a promising
further demonstration.

oe
oO
fe")

AMERICAN FERN Society 41

A field-trip program and some local organization go
hand-in-hand. It has long been a policy of the Society
to hold one formal annual meeting in connection with
one of the convocations of scientific societies, with a local
committee in charge. Additional trips have occasionally
been scheduled, often jointly with some other botanical
organization. For greatest service to members, however,
the more meetings the better, not only for their service to
beginners but also for the friendships they promote
among members. While areas with larger concentrations

any hobbyist enjoys, of sharing his interest with his
neighbors.

When in the fall of 1951, my acceptance of the nomina-
tion for President was being considered, a friend of long

the past four years can be called ‘‘too onerous,’’ although
the time and effort spent have been considerable. The
work with the other officers and with many other mem-
bers, involving the addition of many friends, has made
the past four years stand out as the climax of my 50 years
in the Society. I hope I may continue to help in Society
affairs, and I hope also that many other members will
offer their services to the new President, Dr. Ira
Wiggins.
Respectfully submitted,
R. C. Benepict, President

Report of the Secretary for 1955
The total membership for the Society at the end of
1955 was 564. There were three new life members: Miss
Harriet E. Baker (1941), Mr. Boughton Cobb (1946),
and Mr. George R. Cooley (1956). Forty-eight new mem-
bers were added and 47 withdrew. Seven of the new ones

42 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

were from foreign countries, as were five of the seven
new subscribers. The Society now includes members
from 41 states, the District of Columbia, and 19 foreign
countries. Those with ten or more members are, in
descending order: New York, California, New Jersey,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Ohio, Florida,
Washington, D.C., Illinois—Michigan, Virginia—Canada,
Missouri—Wisconsin, and Maryland.

We regret to report the deaths of the following mem-
bers: Mrs. E. M. Foote (1925), Mr. Hugh M. A
McEachran (1948), Dr. Theodore S. Palmer (1911),
Miss Nettie M. Sadler (1943), Mrs. G. W. Strattan
(1916), and Dr. Campbell E. Waters (1893). Dr. Waters
was an honorary as well as a charter member.

The Annual Meeting was held with the A.I.B.S. at
Michigan State College, East Lansing, Michigan, on
Monday and Tuesday, September 5 and 6. This was
preceded by the Bruce Peninsula field-trip, August 31
to September 3, and started with an all day field-trip
Monday, September 5, with the American Bryological
Society to localities of the central part of southern Mich-
igan. The morning of September 6th was devoted to
contributed papers, with Pierre Dansereau presiding.
The scheduled papers included: ‘‘The Distribution of
Ferns in Kansas,’’ by Ronald L. McGregor ; ‘‘New Cyto-
logical Data on North American Ferns,’’ by Warren i,
Wagner, Jr.; ‘‘The Status of Our Knowledge of the
So-called ‘Hymenophyllum’ Gametophyte of the Ap-
— Region,’’ by A. J. Sharp and W. H. Wagner,
Jr.; ‘‘The Morphology of the Gametophyte of Mohria,”’
by Lenette Rogers Atkinson; ‘‘Taxonomie Characters of
the Genus Ceratopteris,’’ by Charles E. DeVol; fhe
Ferns of the Atlantic Islands,’’ by Pierre Dansereau;
‘‘The Fern Genus Woodsia,’’ by Donald F. M. Brown;
‘‘The Interrelationships of the Eastern North American
Members of the Dryopteris spinulosa Complex,’’ by

AMERICAN FERN SoOcIETY 43
Edgar T. Wherry; ‘‘A Review of the Taxonomic Status

Kenneth A. Wilson; ‘‘Noteworthy Arkansas Pterido-
phytes,’’ by Dwight M. Moore; and ‘‘Milestones in Fern
Research,’’ by Ralph C. Benedict. The formal meeting
was followed by a luncheon in the Union Building, with
informal discussions and reports of field-trips. The
representatives, I. W. Knobloch and Warren H. Wagner,
Jr., were responsible for an excellent demonstration set
up in one of the laboratories for the entire week of the
meetings; this consisted of an exhibition of variations of
Mexican pteridophytes; variations of the grape-ferns
(Botrychium) ; gametophytes of the genus Mohria; and
various living ferns, including backcross hybrids of
spleenworts (Asplenium). There were a number of
pamphlets and keys on ferns displayed.
Respectfully submitted,
Mivprep E. Faust, Secretary

Report of the Treasurer for 1955

The Fern Society ended 1955 in good financial condi-
tion. Income from dues of members and subscribers,
sale of back numbers, etc., amounted to $2,243.03—the
highest on record for the Society. This was helped con-
siderably by the 64 individuals who are sustaining mem-
bers, and by the brisk sale of back volumes, and gifts.
Publication costs did not increase, but such costs still
account for over 90% of our expenses. No withdrawals
were made from the reserve fund or the two special
accounts

During the year the number of members in arrears
for payment of dues was reduced by 96%, and thus our
financial condition was further improved. Members who
do not pay current dues are being notified three times,
and are then removed from the rolls if payment is not
received,

44 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Numerous changes of addresses were made in 1955.
Many notifications were received just after the mailing
of each number, which resulted in members failing to
receive copies of the Journal or experiencing delay.
Members should notify the Treasurer of changes of ad-
dress by the middle of February, May, August or Novem-

ber, if san wish to receive the Journal promptly upon

publicat
Your ite sent out over 1800 items of correspond-
ence during : is is an indication of the activity

of the Society and its healthy condition, due largely to
the interest and response of its members

Receipts Amount Total

Cash on hand, Jan. 1, 1955 $1,315.80
1954 b $ 20.00
ve mi 726.00
1955 sustaining members = 319.65
1955 new members 91.35
1956 membership renewals i eeceeecmemmseenen 29.35
1956 new members 17.35
1954 subscription arrears 4.80
1955 subscription renewals 113.72
1956 subscription renewals ..... 242.30
Life memberships 85.00
Sale of back co ipeees 248.72
Sale of repri 199.47
Sale of su ee library books. j.c00csiései 3 54.15
1955 advertising ........ 40.00
CTE ee ee eee 51.17

2,243.03

$3,558.83

Disbursements Amount Total

A. F. J. Vol. 44, No. 4 .. 12.8
AvP 512.61
A, F. 326.90
. FB. J. Vol. 45, 360.49
Havelopas Snahing a 84.46

Reprints

AMERICAN FERN Society 45

Expenses
President 38.84
Secretary 18.44
Treasurer 76.85
20.00
2,049.18
Cash on hand, January 1, 1956 $1,509.65
STATEMENT DECEMBER 31, 1955
Assets Amount
Cash on hand $1,509.65
Bissell Herbarium Bequest 616.20
Life Membership Fund 707.48
Reserve Fund 1,686.68
aaa Ayr, 3,148.63
". S. Library
$8,114.64
Liabilities Amount
Capital Account $6,020.97
Suspense —
mee 46.70
sieeiuen 242.30
hanes VOL, 405°No0, 45; Ay By dé, nscca et fetch 484.99
Bissell Herbarium Fund s 612.20
ife membership fund 707.48
$8,114.64

Respectfully submitted,
Ronatp L. McGreeor, Treasurer

Report of the Auditing Committee
We hereby certify that we have seen the books and
accounts of Dr. Ronald L. McGregor, Treasurer of the
American Fern Society, and have obtained confirmation
of the correetness of the Society’s balance on hand as set
forth in detail in the accompanying report of the Treas-
urer

Eminy L. HartMaNn
W. H. Horr
Auditing Committee

46 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Report of the Judge of Elections
The results of the balloting for officers of the American
Fern Society are as follows:

For President

ra L. Wig; 243
Ralph C. Benedict 7
Walter S. All 1
C. V. Morto 1

For Vice-President
Dwight M. Moore 252
Mrs. William S. Learned 1
Harold G. Rugg ....... I
For Secretary
jidred: Bi. Wanst ae oes 253

For Treasurer
Ronald L. McGregor ....... 252

I therefore declare the following candidates elected to
the several offices: President, Ira L. Wiggins; Vice-
President, Dwight M. Moore; Secretary, Mildred E.
Faust; Treasurer, Ronald L. McGregor.

Respectfully submitted,
Lice A. Bristow, Judge of Elections

Report of the Curator and Librarian for 1955
There has been an encouraging increase in the use of
the Library during the past year, and | think that even

known. Although there are two lists available to send
to members requesting information about books in the
Library, they are both old and rather brief. We are
hoping that a complete list, which will be sent to every
member, may be published in the near future. Prior to
the preparation of this list, I would like to solicit reprints
from all members who have published in the Journal, or
elsewhere, so that these titles may be included. It is
much easier to send on loan a few reprints than the
bound volumes of the Journal in which the articles appear

AMERICAN FERN Soctery 47

and this also eliminates delay in the case of duplicating
requests. Mr. Morton contributed three books to our
book sale and Dr. Benedict sent the remainder of Mr.
. D. Mann’s library, which he had received from Mrs.
Mann for the Society. Several of the books were addi-
tions to our collection and the others were sold.
There has been no special activity in relation to the
Herbarium
Respectfully submitted,
Rorua M. Tryon, Curator and Librarian

Report of the Spore Exchange

The Spore Exchange, the infant project of the Fern
Society, has come to the end of its second year of exist-
ence, and a brief report of activities may be in order.

During 1955, eleven members sent spores to the ex-
change—some only one species, others several to many.
In addition, three other persons, not members, knowing of
its existence, contributed interesting species, and we have
the promise of four others to send spores as soon as they
are available. And so, contributors this year numbered
14 (last year, eight).

Thirteen people requested spores, and a total-of 101
packets were sent to ten of these ; the other three received
lists of available species but have not yet replied with
Specific requests. The number of packets sent to one
person varied from two to 19. Ferns requested, as well

greenhouse hoe and apis natives for outdoor planting ;
both are welcom
Re equests Vie: we have been unable to fill include the

aspericaulis f£. tricolor, described as ‘‘like argyraea but
with red instead of white markings’’; Campyloneuron
ed Pellaea andromedifolia; Aspleniam pinnati-
» A. montanum, A. Bradleyi, A. Ruta-muraria;

48 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Cryptogramma Stelleri, and any Adiantums (for green-
house use). If any reader can cause any of these to ma-
terialize, it will be greatly appreciated.

Though the number is small, our contributors and users
write from England, Canada, California, New England
and points between. The interest of the few is great, and
the appreciation of the existence of the exchange seems
very real. We urge more members to keep the exchange
inmind. And as strongly, we urge more members to start
in planting spores; it is easy and exciting, and the reward
for little effort satisfying indeed.

A fertile frond or a piece thereof, an envelope, a
stamp—it takes only a moment, but perhaps that is the
very fern some other member may desire above all others.
Address that envelope (and your requests for spores) to

Mrs. Kathryn E. Boydston,
Fernwood, Route 3, Niles, Michigan

Symposium ON Fern Spores, Misratre LABORATORIES,
Minitpurn, New Jursey, JuNE 4, 1955

Forty-seven members and guests of the American Fern
Society and the Torrey Botanical Club met for an in-
teresting full-day program comprising a symposium cen-
tered around fern spores and a visit to the Mistaire
garden, which contains more than 80 species of native
and cultivated ferns.

r. Ralph C. Benedict, chairman of the meeting, in-
troduced the five speakers taking part in the symposium.
Another scheduled speaker, Dr. Norman P. Marengo,
was ill, but later sent the complete text, and photographs
of his paper, ‘‘The Microscopie Structures of the Mature
Spores of the Ostrich Fern, the Sensitive Fern, and the
Royal Fern.’’

Mrs. Lenette Rogers Atkinson, in ‘‘The Developing
Prothallus of Anemia,’’ described the triradiate spores
of three species of Anemia (Schizaeaceae), and showed
lantern slides to illustrate the lateral meristem of the

AMERICAN FERN Soctery 49

gametophyte.

Dr. Edgar T. Wherry outlined his theories on ‘‘ Hybrid
Ferns versus Ancestral Ferns,”’ using large charts to
show relationships in Dryopteris.

Mrs. W. D. Diddell spoke on ‘‘The Spores and Spor-
angia of Ceratopteris,’’ illustrating these interesting
aquatic ferns with pressed herbarium SRE photo-
AA se and projected microscopic sli

F. Gordon Foster, discussing ‘‘The Micceaey of
park Rootes > demonstrated the pekit use of the micro-
Scope and the effects of light and mounting media of
varying refractive indices on spore detail.

Miss Clara S. Hires spoke on ‘‘Three-Dimensional
Fern Spores,’’ summarizing her basic beliefs on spore
shape and construction. Spore models, photomicro-
graphs and drawings from the Mistaire Laboratories

Miss Mau d Mary Griswold, of the staff of Mistaire
Eatoratgeies in ‘‘Models for Spore Study,’’ stressed the
value of models in learning and teaching about fern
Spores, and mentioned some of the technical and theoreti-
cal problems involved in model construction.

A highlight of the program was the new SpeedMatic
Micro-Projector, kindly lent by Bausch and Lomb Optical
Company and demonstrated alternately by Mr. Foster
and Mr. Burton Dezendorf, of the American Optical
Company. This instrument, which shows spores and
Sporangia magnified up to 2350x on a screen, illustrated
Mrs. Diddell’s talk on Ceratopteris spores, and Mr. Fos-
ter’s talk by showing the effects of different refractive
indices on spore detail in Osmunda spores mounted in
various media. These illustrations provided an excellent
introduction to Miss Hires’ subject.

Interesting exhibits included Mr. Charles Neidorf’s
Photographs of fertile fronds, beautiful drawings of the

"¢ t “9 ANY
AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Vouume 46, Puate IIT

Plate III. Party at S Symposium on Fern pe es, le af bye oe a _ a
Plate, Mrs. Elizabeth Valentine, Mrs. ©. M. V a . Rie 3
Mra 2G; yi gg) Dr.

, Mr ket
ire. a isch hth Mr.
6B Bobol, ‘si
ee Hires, Mr.
R. M. La s M. pig ay Br 2. "C, Boasdict, Dr. M.
Renainia' ae dail Mr.

AMERICAN FERN Society 5

Anemia story from spore to prothallus, Anemia prothallia
cultured by Mrs. Atkinson, and Mrs. Diddell’s Ceratop-
teris specimens. The Mistaire Laboratories exhibits in-
cluded representative selections from the collections of
photomicrographs, models, herbarium specimens, an
slides of fertile pinnae sealed between glass, a method of
sealing that preserves the color and freshness of speci-
mens for at least a year, if the slides are stored under
refrigeration for later study.

There was a large attendance for the meeting. Miss
Hires was a gracious hostess for Mistaire Laboratories,
which provided a delicious luncheon for the group.

New Eneuanp Meetine, July 15 and 16, 1955. The
New England section of the American Fern Society met
in Hanover, N.H., on the morning of July 15. Notices,
with return post cards had been sent to 110 members, 74
in the New England states and the rest in the New York
City and Hudson River valley region. 86 replied to the
notices, 43 stating that they would attend if possible.
There were 35 present at the meeting. The program was
arranged by Professor James R. Poole, the head of the
Botany Department of Dartmouth College and the meet-
ings were held in his department. Mr, Harold Rugg was
associated with Dr. Poole in planning the indoor part of
the program and the field-trips.

he morning session was conducted by Dr. Poole and
purposely planned to appeal to those less advanced in
the study of ferns. Excellent kodachromes of the New
England ferns, taken by Professor Charles J. Lyon, were
shown on a screen and described by Dr. Poole. The life-
eycle and growth of the fern was depicted by the use of
class room models and charts. This was followed by a
twenty-minute time lapse film of the development of
ferns. In an adjoining laboratory microscopes were set
up to illustrate some of the material presented. In an-
other room, Mr. Charles Neidorf’s enlarged photographs

a2 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

of the fruiting portion of ferns and a mounted collection
of pressed fronds, were displayed. Various plastic con-
tainers of live prothallia and sporelings were exhibited
by Dr. Benedict. Also displayed was an unusual as-
semblage of fern books from Mr. Rugg’s and the Dart-
mouth College library.

After lunch, Miss Clara Hires spoke briefly and gave
an extensive demonstration of her three-dimensional
spore studies, supported by meticulously prepared plastic
models and beautiful spore photographs. Harold Rugg’s
fern and flower garden in Hanover was then visited.
Many uncommon species, forms, and hybrids were in-
spected and discussed. Then there was a two-hour field-
trip in a nearby bog in Vermont.

In the evening, Mrs. Lloyd Bugbee, of Bradford, Ver-
mont, who for years has been interested in the conserva-
tion of plant life, showed her remarkable photographs of
wild flowers in Vermont and New Hampshire in their
natural settings. Subsequently, we had a short talk by
Harold Rugg on an expedition in the British Isles that
he had taken the preceding summer with members of the
British Pteridological Society. a

The next day, guided by Cyrus Darling, of Marlboro,
Vermont, several districts west of Brattleboro were
visited, including Mr. Darling’s fern garden. About 30
varieties were seen in the field. Blackberries, raspberries,
and two wood-thrush nests, containing eggs, provided
diversion. The day was hot with some rain but 23 par-

ticipants thoroughly enjoyed themselyes—BENJAMIN R.
A

LLISON

Report oF FIEuD-TRIP IN Ontario. The fascination of

Botanists have long known the unique position that ‘The
Bruce”’ holds in the plant world, and the announcement
of the Society’s four-day field-trip in this area brought

AMERICAN Fern Society 53

fern enthusiasts from such widely separated points as
New York, Louisiana, Connecticut, Washington, D.C.,
and the Province of Qntaaiar

The group, under the leadership of Prof. James H.
Soper, met at the Rocky Saugeen River, north of Durham,
Ontario. Among the first to reach the rendezvous were
Dr. and Mrs. Clair A. Brown and their two daughters
from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. With the arrival of Dr
and Mrs. A. V. Smith, of Washington, D.C., and Richard
G. Blackburn, University of Toronto student, the party
numbered nine.

After lunch the group proceeded on foot along the
south bank of the Rocky Saugeen River. We descended
a rocky slope to see Green Spleenwort (Asplenium
viride), Maidenhair Spleenwort (A. Trichomanes), Wood
Fern (Dryopteris spinulosa), and Bulblet Fern (Cystop-
teris bulbifera). As we followed the path through the
Woods to the bank of the river, Dr. Brown was the first
to spot Selaginella apoda growing in damp soil near a

wall, and where we had our first view of the Hart’s-
tongue (Phyllitis Scolopendrium) growing among moss-
covered rocks in a shaded grotto. On a large mound we
saw Lycopodium lucidulum, Marginal Fern (Dryopteris
marginalis), Walking Fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus)
and Polypody (Polypodium virginianum). Following
the river downstream, we found nice stands of Maiden-
hair Fern (Adiantum pedatum), Narrow-Leaved Spleen-
wort (Athyrium pyenocarpon), and more Phyllitis in all
Stages of growth scattered for a hundred yards or more.
We also observed Ostrich Fern (Pteretis pensylvanica),
one plant of Silvery Spleenwort (Athyrium thelypteri-
oides), and Equisetum arvense growing by the shore.
Just before returning to the cars we were hailed by a

54 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

party of three from Connecticut (Mrs. Muriel P. Brown,
Mrs. Marion B. Rhodes and Eugene Rhodes) who had
been held up by engine trouble enroute to the rendezvous.

Proceeding toward Owen Sound, the party stopped at
Inglis Falls, where the Sydenham River tumbles over
the Niagara escarpment. It was here in 1857 that the
Hart’s-tongue was first collected in Ontario by C. Wil-
liam Hincks, one of the earliest professors of natural
history at the University of Toronto. Here, too, during
the Botanical Society of America’s trip in 1934, Prof.
M. L. Fernald collected the type material he used for
the American variety of Hart’s-tongue. In the horizontal
seams of dolomite, the Hart’s-tongue is still flourishing.
On the sloping talus of the lower glen, the evergreen
Holly Fern (Polystichwm Lonchitis) was found growing
in close association with the Hart’s-tongue. The Bulblet
Fern (Cystopteris bulbifera) was luxuriant here, and
fronds up to 30” in length were discovered. A few speci-
mens of Fragile Fern (Cystopteris fragilis) were noted.

Now numbering twelve, the party proceeded to head-
quarters in Wiarton, Ontario, where we were comfortably
quartered at the Pacifie Hotel. Here we were joined by
another member of the Fern Society, Dr. Mildred E.
Faust, of Syracuse University.

The town of Wiarton, overlooking the blue waters of
Colpoy’s Bay, aptly terms itself ‘The Gateway to the
Bruce Peninsula.’’ The interesting topography of the
Peninsula merits some description. The Niagara cuesta
is, of course, the dominating geological feature. Chap-
man and Putnam give a clear picture of the topography
of the Bruce when they state: ‘The dip of the rock
strata is towards the west: the surface rises from the
water’s edge on the Lake Huron side towards the escarp-
ments on or near the Georgian Bay shore, the highest
bluffs on Georgian Bay being well over 200 feet in
height.’’ Thus is explained the interesting contrast be-

AMERICAN FERN Society 55

tween the two shorelines: the rugged beauty of the lime-
stone bluffs and talus slopes of the Georgian Bay shore,
and the tranquil scene of sandy beaches, limestone pave-
ments and marshy tracts on the Lake Huron side. There
are many lakes and swampy areas. Outerops and ridges
of grey dolomite are frequent; the limestone surface is
irregular and often deeply creviced. Some farming is
carried on, but the percentage of arable land is small;
there is much stony pasture. A considerable portion of
the land is covered in forest and there are many wild
and unfrequented places. It seems a rather stern, un-
compromising land by most standards. But its chief at-
traction lies in the fact that it is not yet completely over-
run with the insignia of civilization. For the outdoor
enthusiast—for the botanist and naturalist especially—
the Bruce has a particular appeal. There are rocky
forested areas of great beauty, wind-swept sand dunes,
unfrequented marshlands, rough wild tracts of land that
offer a challenge to the questing botanist. In his charm-
ing book, ‘‘The Bruce Beckons,’’ Dr. W. Sherwood Fox
writes: ‘‘Happily it seems to be true that most men,
despite the stifling effects of modern life, still keep alive
in their souls the race’s rare power to perceive in any
wilderness—however barren, unfriendly and unkempt—
witcheries that beckon to quest and adventure. In quali-
fications of that order the Bruce is indeed extraordinarily
rich.’’

With high anticipation, then, we looked forward to our
first day in the Bruce Peninsula itself. In the morning
we were joined by Vincent Elliott and Ralph Beacroft,
of Wallaceburg, Ontario, and Mrs. Claire Davison, of
Hamilton, Ontario, making a party of sixteen.

Dr. Soper’s previous explorations and his careful plan-
ning served us well. At our first morning stop we saw
Several fine stands of Male Fern (Dryopteris Filix-mas)
growing in open sun on the edge of a rocky wooded slope,

56 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

a station discovered by Dale J. Hagenah, of Detroit, who
unfortunately was unable to be with us, although he took
an active part in the planning of the excursion.

This might well have been called ‘‘Hart’s-tongue
Day,’’ because we saw it in abundance in the forested
area north of Hope Bay. The strap-shaped fronds were
glistening green in the morning light. Following a
prominently exposed limestone ridge we found Hart’s-
tongue with fronds 20 inches long, and Holly Fern with
fronds up to 24 inches.

A deep curve in the limestone ridge, overarched with
trees, formed a forest-cathedral where a chipmunk held
up his little paws in prayerful attitude, wide-eyed at our
intrusion. His rocky prayer bench was decorated with
Walking Fern and Polypody. Knee-deep in Maidenhair
(Adiantum pedatum), Marginal Fern (Dryopteris
marginalis), Wood-fern (D. spinulosa var. americana),
and Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), we walked deeper
into the wood where the rich soil of a damp hollow pro-
duced Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis), Silvery
Spleenwort (Athyrium thelypterioides), Narrow-Leaved
Spleenwort (Athyrium pycnocarpon) in fruit finally,
and Rattlesnake Fern (Botrychium virginianum).
Vineent Elliott held aloft a rare find—the brilliant-
berried Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). In this very
rich locality we also saw Ostrich Fern (Pteretis pensyl-
vanica) and after diligent searching Goldie’s Fern
(Dryopteris Goldiana).

Each day the hotel supplied an appetizing midday
lunch. At the kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Vincent
Elliott, we enjoyed our picnic in the grounds of their
summer home near Stokes Bay.

In the afternoon, two stations of exceptional interest
were visited along the provincial highway south of
Tobermory. At the first stop, we saw the Purple-
Stemmed Cliff-brake (Pellaca atropurpurea), growing iD

its accustomed limestone crevices. This fern is rare in

AMERICAN F'prN Society 57

Ontario, P. glabella being the common species of the es-
carpment. At the second station, we were shown a single
plant of Wall-Rue (Asplenium cryptolepis) growing in
a dense little tuft not over three inches high, again on
a limestone ridge. Standing guard over this rarity—as
each of us in turn admired and photographed the tiny
plant—Dr. Soper was heard to remark: ““Asplenium
eryptolepis—one plant—much handled, much photo-
graphed, but not depleted!’’ The discovery of this
Station’ was made by Dr. M. T. Hall, of Cranbrook In-
stitute of Science, while botanizing with Mr. and Mrs.
N

Green Spleenwort (A. viride), as well as Equisetum
scirpoides were growing on a shaded limestone ledge.
Proceeding to the sandy shores of Dorcas Bay, Lake
Huron, we were charmed by the view and the wealth of
flowering plants. The delicate blue of Kalm’s Lobelia
(Lobelia Kalmii) vied for our attention with the little
pink Gerardia (Gerardia paupercula), the pure white

munda regalis) to our fern list as well as Equisetum
variegatum. The fragrant Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes
Romanzoffiana) was in flower as was the False Asphodel
(Lofieldia glutinosa), another native of the Lake Huron
Shore. Truly our first day had been rich indeed in the
Plant treasures of the Bruce!

On Friday, September 2nd, a visit to Dyer’s Bay was
planned for the purpose of exploring the limestone cliffs
i,

This station adds one hitherto unreported locality to those re-
corded by J. H. So oper, This JouRNAL 45: 97-104. 1955.

58 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

on the Georgian Bay side of the peninsula. Mr. Vincent
Elliott assisted Dr. Soper by leading this expedition.
In this area, an unusually large Leatherwood Tree (Dirca
palustris) was inspected with great interest. Leaving the

through a deciduous forest. As we emerged at the edge
of the cliff, we had an extraordinarily beautiful view
of blue Georgian Bay and white limestone bluffs circling
the shoreline. Immediately below us was The Monument,
a huge pillar of stratified stone eroded from the craggy
face of the cliff. We descended to the water’s edge by
way of an old iron stairs and the talus slope, and rested
on the cobblestone beach before ascending the cliff again
the hard way.

A damp cavity in the rock was festooned with Bulblet
Fern. Further climbing around the boulders on the
talus slope revealed large green tufts of Maidenhair
Spleenwort. As we climbed higher, we found the Slender
Cliff-Brake (Cryptogramma Stelleri) hidden in crevices
of the perpendicular rock face. The ascent of this last
bluff required some careful and determined climbing,
but the assistance of the leaders turned this hazard into
a ‘‘mission accomplished’? when all scrambled to the top
without incident.

Returning through the woods we found a single plant
of Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), as well
as Holly Fern (P. Lonchitis) and other ferns seen previ-
ously. The strange and beautiful Earth-stars (Geaster
sp.) compelled our attention, their star-like forms being
in various stages of development.

After lunch in the woods, we drove northward to within
a few miles of Tobermory where we secured permission
to visit a dry blueberry bog, the only locality given by
Krotkov (1940) in the Bruce Peninsula for the Chain
Fern (Woodwardia virginica). It was found easily,
along with characteristic bog plants such as cotton-grass,

AMERICAN Fern Soctety 59

leatherleaf, sheep-laurel and labrador tea.

The weather during these September days was mild
with clear sunny skies. Such a day was Saturday for
our final field-trip. We drove along the Oxenden Road
toward the Bruce Caves, getting some fine views of the
sparkling blue waters of Colpoy’s Bay and its rim of
white bluffs. While proceeding toward the Caves on foot,
some of the party observed a porcupine at close range,
and others had a fleeting glimpse of a red fox. Holly
Fern and Maidenhair Spleenwort were abundant in the
rocky woods and Polypody enlivened the mossy slopes.
Near the cave entrance several gi masses of Walking
Fern covered huge boulders. An exploration of the cliff
face aga the Slender cae Brake (Cryptogramma
Stelle

Oe aesbndl stop was near Oliphant, where a stony
pasture contained a great colony of the interesting plant
appropriately called Woolly Lamb’s-ears (Stachys
olympica). Both upper and lower surfaces of the leaves
are thickly felted with a soft down of white wool, giving
the plant a grey appearance. At this season only a few
of the purple florets of the flower spike were to be found.
But they gave an indication of the attractive picture the
colony would present in summer, with the dense spikes
of purple flowers amid the grey foliage. This plant is a
native of the Caucasus Moutains of the Old World, and
Bruce and Grey counties in Ontario represent one of its
few known areas in North Ameriea.

In our short drive across the peninsula we had ex-
changed the cliffs on Georgian Bay for the sandy shores
of Lake Huron, and our sights were trained on Sauble
Beach, where a damp basin between the sand dunes was
@ previously reported? habitat of Schizaea pusilla. Here,
amid a profusion of Fringed Gentian, pink Gerardia,
Kalm’s Lobelia and Ladies Tresses, one and all searched

? This Journan 35: 40. 1945.

60 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

diligently for the Curly Grass Fern. Our combined
efforts, however, were unsuccessful: Schizaea eluded us.

It was at this point that our congenial party regretfully
disbanded. All voiced warm appreciation of Dr. Soper’s
excellent arrangements for our pleasure and comfort.
His familiarity with this region and its flora enabled him
to plan daily trips that were both interesting and varied.
As a member of the party, I can testify to the enthusiasm
and appreciation which pervaded entire group.
Altogether 31 species of pteridophytes were observed
during the four-day excursion, and photography oceupied
the group rather than collecting. The success of this.
excursion encouraged us to hope that a similar trip may
be planned another year—Epiru Austen Luovp.

Letter from the President-elect
Dear fellow members of the American Fern Society :
You have honored me by electing me to serve as presi-
dent of the Fern Society through 1956. This honor, and
the responsibility it carries, somewhat appall me when

I contemplate the tremendous amount of work invested
in our Society by my immediate predecessor, Dr. Bene- —
dict, and by the loyal officers who served with him. It —

is my great fortune to be able to rely on them during my

tenure of the office, but it is my hope that at the end of —

1956 they will not feel that the total burden has been
shifted to their shoulders!

As you know, our Society has cooperated with other
organizations during recent years in sponsoring symposia

and sessions for the presentation of contributed papers —

during the annual meetings of the American Institute of
Biological Sciences, In 1956 the A.I.B.S meets on the

campus of the University of Connecticut. Almost simul —
taneously with notification of my election as president, —

arrived a request from Dr. Hiden Cox that I designate —

|

C

AMERICAN FerRN Society 61

an official representative of the Fern Society to serve on
the Local Committee at the University of Connecticut.
Unfortunately, there seems to be no member of our So-

terests of the American Fern Society during the deliber-
ations and planning of the Local Committee while it is
making arrangements for the August, 1956, meetings of
the A. I. B.S. Papers for presentation at this meeting
are very much needed; will members, and others with
papers to present please send the titles without delay to
the Secretary, Dr. Mildred E. Faust, Department of
Botany, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.

It is not possible for me to promise to attend all of the
meetings, field-trips, or forays of the Fern Society, but
I will make a strenuous effort to attend the meetings of
the A.I.B.S, and I hope to have the opportunity at that
time to meet many of you and to discuss ways and means
of furthering the objectives of the American Fern So-
ciety.

In the meantime, I wish to express here my high regard
for the self-sacrificing manner in which Dr. Benedict de-
voted many hours of hard work in furthering the interests
of the Society. His friendly letters to many members,
his close participation in most of the field-trips, his will-
ingness to lend aid to tyro and to specialist alike, and his
unfailing devotion to any effort that would improve the
Journal or increase our knowledge about ferns has been
an inspiration to all of us. I wish that it had been prac-
ticable for him to continue as the President of the Ameri-
can Fern Soeiety. Since he feels that he can not do this,
it is my wish that he may find great satisfaction in the
splendid work he has done for the Fern Society and that
he will reap great benefits from the time he will have free
to devote to those efforts that have appealed to him but
for which he has lacked time or energy.

62 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

It is with humility that I take up the duties and re-
sponsibilities of president. At the same time, I consider
myself very fortunate to have a group of such capable
officers to help run the affairs of the Society, all of them
people who have behind them the experience of several
years of working with and for the Fern Society.

In closing this, my first communication addressed gen-
erally to the membership of the American Fern Society,
I wish to make two requests. First, I would like to urge
that each member attempt to interest one or more others
to become regular members of the Fern Society. Increas-
ing our membership will help solve the problems attend-
ing publication of the Journal. Second, I suggest that
each member be alert to any observation or discovery
relating to ferns or fern-allies that may not be generally
known by other members. Often the commonplace in one
individual’s experiences may be an exciting episode to a
member living half way across the continent—or in the
next township. Who knows? If these observations and
discoveries are written out and the paper submitted to the
Editor, your efforts will enable him to select additional
material for the pages of the Journal. Mr. Morton will
usually know whether or not a particular item has been
published previously, and will weleome contributions of
carefully written manuscripts from amateur and pro-
fessional botanist alike. A larger membership will make
possible a larger Journal, and more numerous papers
submitted for the Editor’s consideration will permit in-
clusion of more pages in the Journal. The two sugges-
tions aim at one and the same ultimate goal.

I look forward to an enjoyable, profitable year for the
American Fern Society, and hope that it will bring hap-
piness and increased satisfaction to each of its members.

Very Sincerely,
Ira L. WiaGIns-

AMERICAN Fern Society 63

ProsPEcTIVE FIELD-TRIPS IN 1956

ApRIL 25-28. Dr. A. J. Sharp wishes to call attention
to the Sixth Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in
the Great Smoky Mountains. There will be one tour
especially devoted to ferns and mosses, several for birds,
and some indoor meetings in the evenings. If interested,
write to the Gatlinburg Chamber of ergs Gatlin-
burg, Tennessee, which sponsors the prog

JULY (probably). Dr. B. R. Allison, chiician of the
New England Committee, suggests a possible two-day
meeting near the junction of Connecticut, Massachusetts,
and New York, with perhaps the famed Bartholomew’s
Cobble as one place to visit. Inquiries should be ad-
dressed to him at Hewlett, New York.

The August, 1955, number of the magazine ‘‘Friends,”’
contains two pages of pictures of the Fern Society field-
trip to Haines Falls, New York (reported in Volume 45,
no. 1, p. 42). Several of our well-known members are
recognizable, including Dr. R. C. Benedict, Dr. iM
Wherry, and Miss Helen Bristow.

For current work on the genetics of Asplenium, Dr.
. Wagner, Jr., Department of Botany, University of
Welican: Ann doohes Michigan, is in need of spores of
A. Bradleyi, A. montanum, and A. platyneuron. Mem-
bers are urged to supply these during the coming season if
possible.
New MEMBERS

Mtse TT: Brakefield, 853 77 Way South, Birmingham, Ala
Mrs. Herman H. H. Hardison, 206 Washington St., Wadesboro,

N.

. Car,
Miss Edith James, Route 1, Vanburen, Indiana
Mrs, Gladys Mattuket, 314 North Rural Drive, Monterey Park,
Calif

alif,
Mr. Arnold W. Mueller, 1801 Meadow Ave., Manhattan Beach,
Calif.

64 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Mr. Marcial Truffin, O’Reilly 455, Havana, Cuba
Mrs. L, A. Walters, 310 North Rural Drive, Monterey Park, Calif.
Mrs. Ruth E. Waltzer, R.R. 2, Box 178-A, Sumter, So. Car.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

Mr. Sarmukh Singh Bir, igre University Botany Department,
eogeag: College, Amritsar, In

Mrs. H. P. Bracelin, 2214 Vine i: Berkeley 9, Cal

Miss ee G. Bristow. 141 Silvermine Road, New ae Conn.

Mr. Newell J. Burns, 2137 E. Bennett Ave., Milwaukee 7, Wis.

Mrs. Edward H. Cotton, Sr., 248 Hatfield St. fe agate Mass.
. Willi 8 2

oli
Mr. David L. ‘gals Box 188, Mercersburg Academy, Mercers-

burg, Pen
Mrs. John es Gaston, Box 147, Webster, Texa
Mr. Ne rt

Yi; la.
Dr. Robert K. Lampton, 23 North Viena Maplewood, New Jersey
Mr. J. Hatry Lehr, 75 Herrick arte Spring — New sage

yn,

Mrs. Charles Aig 4107 W. Woodbine St., Chevy Chase 15, oe
Dr. W. C. Muenseher, 1001 Highland Ro a, Ithaca, New Yor
Mr. David H. Perry, 251 Dorking Road, Rochester 10, New Toit
Dr. Nicholas Polunin, Department of Botany, College of Arts and

yea Sacer, Iraq

Dr. Jam : ge Department of Botany, Dartmouth College,

Hanover, New Hampshire

. J. H. Sedgwick, 5922 Prospect Road, Peoria 4, Illino

Mr, Franklin D. Snyder, 825 East Tugalo St., Toccoa, F rida

lo
Miss Fri jeda L. . Wertman, 4042 ‘Meadowbrook Lane, Minneapolis q

, Minn,
Dr. William T. Winne, 2517 Troy Road, Schenectady 9, New York

A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS
Published by the = ee
AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY
_ ‘ ce

EDITORS __
Cc. V. MORTON poe
RG BENEDICT : IRA pe WIGGINS | :
: : A. ITT = Gis

C. SMITH

| The American Fern Society —

Council for 1956
‘OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR

ERA L. _Wroans Dudley Herbarium, Stanford Sti EB Cali-
dent
: eae sor Moor gf cadanceeaiogg of Botany, paces > vs Arkansas,
Fayetteville, Arkan e-President
Mp: E. Faust, Dapertiaat of Botany, vstes “Ueiverate
Syracuse, New York Seer Taey,

Ronatp L, McGrecor, Department of Botany, esc ohe a = Kan.
sas, Lawrence, sas asurer

C. V. Mor: Ton, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D °C.

: Editor-in-Chief

_ OFFICIAL ORGAN

| American Fern Journal

Amprican Fern Journal

Vou. 46 APRIL—JUNE, 1956 No. 2

Plants of the Tree-Trunks in Liberia
Wintrrep J. Haruey?

Plant life in a tropical rain-forest is abundant and
varied. Every sort of locale furnishes a place for some
type of vegetation—the rocky stream beds, the sunny
cliffs, the forested slopes, and the fertile valleys. Some
plants flourish in the black mold, some on the wet rocks,
and some on the forest trees themselves. Indeed a mar-
velous variety of species is at home on the lower por-
tions of the tree-trunks in the moist warm forest.

“‘Mossy tree-trunks’’ is a triteness which can hardly
be avoided. They are mossy in Liberia! And what an
abundance of mosses is to be found on these trees where
warmth and moisture are present all year round! Some
mosses cling like a close thick felt ; others have ‘‘leaves”’
arranged in stiff little rosettes; there are mosses whose

. Harley is the author of the are recent paper ‘‘The

1Mrs
Ferns of L iberia’’ (Contributions fro e Gray Herbarium, no.
177, pp. 58-101. 1955), which aiannees the physical features of
ogy the er

di
any of these are, of course, widespread species, bu

more restricted, and do indicate a rather close ee ssaahios etween

these two distant areas.—C. V. M.

66 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

shoots look like miniature ferns, a gray-green species
that forms thick soft cushions. And each, of course,
bears its own distinctive fruit.

e liverworts, small brothers of the mosses, are usu-
ally overlooked except by the botanist. They come in
a great variety of forms, intermingled with the mosses
on our trees. Some are shapeless blobs of green proto-
plasm, unexpectedly rearing an arm with granules of
reproductive tissue. Other species might be mistaken
for a very fine type of moss, with their microscopic
strands woven in and out over all the other small plants
of the tree-trunk community.

Probably the commonest plants are the lichens. It
would be hard to find a tree anywhere on which no
lichens are to be seen. One is a ecrisp-curled, silvery,
shell-like plaque, frilled and fluted with infinite deli-
cacy, and studded with flower-like structures, each with
a flat, brown crater. Another sort is less cut and curled,
and its fruiting discs are surrounded by lips that bear
sparse, black hairs. A ragged smoke-colored, low-fruit-
ing species covers the twigs like sooty cobwebs. There
are gray-beard tufts—dry and unreal looking, and irreg-
ular blotches that form areas on the bark like spots of
splashed paint—gray, brown, and mauve. The lichens
are everywhere.

Flowering plants also find favorable homes on the

for any listing. Bulbophyllums, Polystachyas, and
others grow in clumps where rough bark or a limb’s
crotch gives them a footing. Vanilla and other coarse-
leaved kinds drape and festoon themselves from the
branches, sending out thick air-roots seeking moisture
and support. The blossoms of these West African or-
chids are usually small, without showiness or brilliance;
but what an amazing and fantastic perfection of tiny

ry Puants oF LIBERIA 67
parts they display under the magnifier !

Among the smallest and most delicate of flowering
plants are the Utricularias. Some species grow floating
in still pools, in a tangle of stems buoyed up by little
bladders, holding their tiny flowers above the water.
Other species grow on soil or moist rock and a few are
found on mossy tree-trunks. The blossoms, borne on
stems as slender as a hair, are as tiny and fragile as a
gnat’s wing. The few leaves, almost lost among the
mosses, may be only one-eighth of an inch across.

Contrasted with these little plants, which must be
looked for carefully, the members of the arum family
with their large leaves can hardly be missed even by a
careless observer. Anywhere from the lower few feet up
to the higher stretches of the trunk, these plants climb
and hang out their banners. The aroids are familiar to
every child who has roamed the spring-time swamps of
New England through their representative, the Jack-in-
the-Pulpit. Among our tree-dwellers, the spathe-and-
spadix blossom is usually green and inconspicuous, but
sometimes the fruits make red or orange bunches among
the leaves. The largest species has leaves like the sole
of a number 12 shoe. Others have leaves pointed like
arrow-heads, or heart-shaped, or oval.

Among all the members of the tree-trunk community,
none is quite as fascinating as the ferns. On saplings,
on forest giants, or on the loops of woody vines, they
delight the eye of botanist and layman alike. The large
forest trees, with their countless individual leaves and
twigs, act as reservoirs for the rain-water and the con-
densation of fog, and by a slow gradual trickling and
Seepage down along the larger branches to the trunk,
their vast and lofty crowns maintain long steady periods
of constant moisture to the lower parts of the trunks.
It is this supply of moisture that enables the mosses,
ferns and other plants to grow there.

68 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Some great trees are clad with a thick rich growth of
the moss-like ‘‘filmy-ferns’’—species of T'richomanes and

finger, each bearing a single goblet-shaped fruiting-body
at its apex. The local representative of these tiny ferns
is Trichomanes liberiense. Other species only slightly
larger have several lobes, fingers, or branches, some of
which bear fruits. Two species of Hymenophyiluts
grow here. All leaves of these ferns are a single cell-
layer in thickness. During times when moisture is
scarce, they curl up, presenting a minimum of surface
to the dry air, and expand again when soaked by the
next rain.

Perhaps the commonest ferns of the tree-trunks are
the Aspleniums, those most commonly found along the
lower trunks being rather delicate and lacy. They in-
elude A. Geppii, A. hemitomum, A. Barteri and A. Dre-
geanum. In the last-named, the individual clusters of

sprays are joined like links of a green chain by
slender fronds which reach out from the mother plant,
develop rootlets at their tips, and, anchoring in a bit of
wet moss, form new plants to continue the chain.

There are two species of Nephrolepis, relatives of the
Boston fern, and an Arthropteris which somewhat re-
sembles them in appearance. These all climb by means
of a slender running root-stock. In very wet places the
coarse Stenochlena guineensis attaches itself by thick
clinging roots, and puts out its two kinds of fronds.
There are the grass-leaved Vittarias, whose young fronds
show rosy pink as they unroll, and whose fruits form 4
line like brown braid along the edge of the narrow fronds.

On some trees there are species from the Polypodium
group, with their round fruit-dots. Polypodium -
podioides with its soft scaly rootstock and its neatly
placed oval leaves is often seen at the lower levels, and

PLANTS OF LIBERIA 69

also the lance-shaped P. Loxogramme. Somewhat higher,
often out of easy reach, we may find the small hair
P. villosissimum, and the notched blades of Xiphopteris
serrulata. There are the very un-fernlike, leathery
leaves of three or four species of Elaphoglossum, and
occasionally the broad thin fronds of Antrophyum,
whose fruit lines trace out a net-work of veins. Mue
larger and coarser than any of these, Polypodium scolo-
pendria flaunts its fronds, simple or many-lobed, bearing
fruits in large brown spots.

Drynaria Laurentii pushes large, green, divided leaves
out from a base protected and sheathed by thin papery
blades shaped like oak-leaves. Here and there, in a
favorable lodging place, there is a massive Platycerium
plant, or a whole colony overlapping and intergrown.
Like Drynaria, it has special fronds at the base whose
purpose seems to be holding moisture and humus for
nourishment. From the center the huge fertile fronds
arise, branching once and again in the ‘‘stag-horn’”’
fishion: and bearing on the outer parts great brown
patches of fruiting structures. All of these large ferns
may be found both in the upper branches of the trees
and on the trunk closer to the ground.

The tree-dwellers in this belt of heavy rainfall flourish
best and most abundantly in the virgin forest, which
persists chiefly on the rocky slopes of the broken moun-
tain country, where the ferns, mosses, lichens, and liver-
worts, and the flowering epiphytes clothe the trunks of
the forest trees. It has been my good fortune to become
familiar with this country. Returning on each vacation
period it is satisfying and refreshing to find the familiar
Species on the trees along the path, and it is a pleasant
thrill to discover one of the less common ones.

Ganta Mission, Monrovia, LIBERIA.

70 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

More Hart’s-Tongue in Michigan
Date J. HAGENAH

The first known Michigan station for the American
Hart’s-Tongue (Phyllitis Scolopendrium var. americana)
was found near Trout Lake, Chippewa County, in July,
1953, as previously reported.’ The discovery of that
small group of plants, only eight in all, immediately
raised the question of whether they represented an un-
recorded introduction by some fern enthusiast or whether
they were the remnants of a formerly larger colony, a
view which seemed to be supported by the situation and
the associated vegetation. If there had been a larger
colony here, were there others somewhere along the Ni-
agara formation in Michigan? That region became the
most interesting in Michigan so far as I was concerned,
and many hours during the winter season of 1953-54 were
devoted to a study of the geological literature dealing
with it. Between Trout Lake and Drummond Island,
where the Niagara formation enters Michigan, I found
that the Niagaran rocks were exposed in a range of
rather conspicuous hills on which northern hardwoods
were, or had been, the principal forest type. Polystichum
Lonchitis and other species known to oceur in the Bruce
Peninsula of Ontario, where the American Hart’s-Tongue
reaches its greatest abundance, were already known 10
occur in this part of the state. Additional interest was
focused on this section by a letter from a local resident
who thought that she and her husband had seen Hart’s-
Tongue while deer hunting, although they could not
remember the location.

In the end, Mrs. Hagenah and I set aside two weeks
in August for the search, and Dr. Marion T. Hall, dis-
coverer of the Trout Lake plants, agreed to join us for a

1This JOURNAL, 44: 2, 1954,

Harr’s-TONGUE IN MICHIGAN 71

few days. As a start, we revisited the Trout Lake area,
where we found the plants at the original station to be
larger and more healthy appearing than in 1953. Al-
though we spent two days in combing that vicinity, we
found no more Hart’s-Tongue, but we did find Crypto-
gramma Stelleri, not previously reported from the eastern
part of the Upper Peninsula. We moved on to Cedar-
ville, where Dr. Hall and his family joined us, and spent
the next few days exploring the hills in the vicinity of
Rockview.2. New stations were found for such interesting
species as Asplenium viride, A. Trichomanes, Camptoso-
rus rhizophyllus, Dryopteris Robertiana, Polystichum
Lonchitis, and Polypodium virgimanun. However, al-
though some of the woods seemed well suited to Hart’s-
Tongue, none was found. Next we turned our attention
to Drummond Island, but, in the areas where the roads
could be negotiated without danger to the oil pan and
other under parts of passenger cars, we found the rock
outcrops to be situated in terrain much too dry for
Hart’s-Tongue.

After we returned to the mainland, the Halls left to do
some collecting along Lake Superior while we scouted
farther north and returned to Cedarville. Our corre-
spondent had planned to take us to several places where
she and her husband thought that they might have seen
the ferns or which they thought might be likely territory.
In the end, both they and some friends whom they had
interested in our quest, kindly acted as our guides. On
the next to last day of our stay, under the guidance of
two brothers, one well past eighty, who had hunted the
countryside since boyhood, we visited a rocky hill-country
penetrated only by logging trails. Here we found some
fine old hardwoods, among the best we had seen in that
region, and after hiking inward more than a mile, we

The area visited by the 19 3 Michigan Foray group to see
Asplenium viride and Camptosorus rhizophyllus.

12 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

reached a bluff of Niagara rock in thick woods. On this
north-facing bluff we found the Slender Cliff-Brake
(Cryptogramma Stelleri) to be abundant, and on great
rocks at the base of the bluff were numerous colonies of
Walking Fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus), by far the
best stands of both species that we had ever found in
Michigan. Along the trail we noted Maidenhair Fern
(Adiantum pedatum) and Goldie’s Woodfern (Dryop-
teris Goldiana), while along a low escarpment along one
poulder-studded hillside were more Walking Fern, North-
ern Holly-Fern (Polystichum Lonchitis) and a real
surprise, Braun’s Holly-Fern (Polystichum Braunu var.
Purshii). So far as I have been able to learn this is the
first time that this beautiful fern has been found growing
on rocks of the Niagara formation. The discovery of a
new station for this unusual fern could not turn our at-
tention from Hart’s-Tongue, but once again although
the woods seemed eminently suited to it, we came away
disappointed.

The next day, which was the last we could spend in
the Upper Peninsula on this vacation, we paid a visit to
a well-known fossiliferous limestone area near Raber,
on the chance that here near the St. Mary’s River, which
is at this point more like a lake than a river, conditions
might be similar to those near Georgian Bay in the Bruce
Peninsula. The woods which we penetrated proved to
be second-growth and not at all suited to Hart’s-Tongue
because of the dryness of the situation. However, we
did find some very robust Dryopteris Robertiana and
some Asplenium viride. All day, as we drove to Raber
and as we turned back west to reach St. Ignace, we had
tried to compare the Hart’s-Tongue stations that we
knew in Ontario with the areas we had visited along the
Niagara formation in Michigan, searching for clues that
might lead us to the elusive fern or explain its absence.
At last we realized that we had seen little of one of its

Harr’s-Tonaue IN MICHIGAN 43

most frequent Ontario associates—Herb-Robert (Geran-
ium Robertianum). At about the same time we re-
membered that the previous day was the only time when
we had seen much of it, and that in the area where the
two Holly-Ferns were growing. We had seen such good
indicators as limestone, mature hardwoods, Northern
Holly-Fern, Walking Fern, but no Hart’s-Tongue. Then
we remembered that, like many of the Niagaran bluffs
in Michigan, this one faced north while many of our
Bruce stations were on east-facing slopes, and the Trout
Lake plants were on a west-facing slope. By any chance
did the little esearpment where we had seen the Holly-
Fern and Herb-Robert extend around the hill so that it
would have either an east or west exposure? There was
still time for us to reach the area and have two or three
hours of daylight. As fast as the roads would permit,
we hurried to the place where we had parked the previous
day and then made our way to the spot where we had
found the Holly-Ferns.

A bluff not over ten feet high extended along the hill-
side a little below the summit of the hill while huge
boulders and slabs of rock lay close to the base of the
bluff, and a belt of smaller boulders spread out into the
woods on the nearly level ground of a small plateau.
Painstakingly, we began to search this area eastward

and along the foot of the bluff. We tried not to miss
any side of the rocks and to look in all large erevices. AS
we proceeded, it became evident that the rock formation
did turn to the south around a shoulder of the hill.
Suddenly, Mrs. Hagenah announced that she had found
Hart’s-Tongue. I hurried over and saw one smallish
plant on the side of a mossy boulder. We marked the
location well and continued our search. Before long we
found much larger plants, some with fronds a foot im

74 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

length. Not only were there many large plants scattered
over a considerable area, but in the moss on the boulders
there were numerous small plants of all sizes. The hunch
had been right, and Herb-Robert had led us to the place
that we had been seeking for two weeks. As we made
our way out to the logging trails to establish landmarks
by which we could return again, we realized that on the
previous day we had been not more than a hundred yards
from the edge of the Hart’s-Tongue area. By this time
it was beginning to get dark in the woods, but we tried
to determine the extent of the stand. The area was
irregular in shape, but I paced along the principal axis
and at right angles to it in two places and estimated that
it might occupy as much as five acres.

We got off the back roads just before darkness over-
took us and hurriedly changed our plans as we drove
into the nearest town, Hessel, some twelve miles to the
southeast. However, all thoughts of delaying our return

ome by even half a day so that we could have a few
more hours for exploration were ended by a heavy rain
which began during the night, making it impractical to
try to use some of the rather primitive back country
trails, and leaving unanswered the question of whether
there were additional Hart’s-Tongue colonies along other
ridges in the same woods. At least we were sure that this
real rarity among American ferns was definitely entitled
to a place in the native flora of Michigan, for this large
and healthy stand was located in a remote forest area.
If it had not been for the interest of our North Country
friends, it is doubtful that we would have ever chanced
upon the right logging trail which led us to it.
CRANBROOK INSTITUTE OF Screncr, BLoomrre.p Hus,
MIcHIGAN
Je En single plant which was brought back from the new station
* aenne in the University of Michigan Botanical Garden.

agner has determined its chromosome count to be 2n = 144,
the same as in plants from the Bruce Peninsula.

ce Ce a ee nn ee

psalm ie ela ine

ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES X PLATYNEURON 75

Asplenium ebenoides x platyneuron, a New
Triploid Hybrid Produced under
Artificial Conditions

WarrEN H. WAGNER, JR.*

During the past several years the species and hybrids
of the Appalachian Asplenium complex have been com-
pared cytologically, morphologically, and anatomically.*
These studies have provided more clear-cut evidence of
relationships in the group than has heretofore been
available. In particular, the information now suggests

e hypothesis that eight known taxa, including such
familiar plants as Asplenium bradleyi, A. pinnatifidum,
and A. trudellii, arose as a result of reticulate evolution,
ie., through the coming together of the respective germ-
plasms of three basic and ancient species—A. montanum,
A. platyneuron, and A. rhizophyllum (Camptosorus
rhizophyllus). If this general hypothesis of relation-
ships in the Appalachian gereres is valid, then three
of the taxa pg aN in he wild, namely A. Deatieui

becearien hybrids. And if it is correct that the three
basic parental species are but distantly related, then the
chromosome behavior of these natural backcrosses may
be expected to be distinctive, with the characteristic
formation of 36 pairs of chromosomes (bivalents) and
36 single chromosomes (univalents) during the meiotic
Process preceding spore formation. ppprommnataly: these
1 This is one of a series of studies carried out in part
aid of a grant from the H, H. Rackham School of te University
of Mich I wish to express thanks to Mr. Wal rf
schmiat dor: cultivating the plants at the University vot Michigan
Botanical Garden.
? This Jouana AL, 43: 109-114, 1953; and ‘‘Reticulate Evolution
ho ¥ iat ‘Aspleniums,” Evolution 8 (no. 2): 103-118,
or de
three of these. taxa are Aaeced in Wherry, E. T., Guide to
Basten Perns ed. 2, pp. 127 and 181.

76 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

numbers have actually been found in A. trudellii, the
only one of the three backerosses which has been observe

eytologically. Because of their radically unbalanced
chromosome situation, it can be concluded theoretically
that none of the backcross hybrids should be able to exist
in a fertile state. They should always be found as
single plants; and if they are discovered in large numbers
it may be expected that some form of vegetative repro-
duction must be operative. Thus it is possible that A.
trudellii, wherever it occurs as a locally common plant,
may be capable of some form of reproduction, as yet
undiscovered, that does not involve ordinary sexual
means. In the investigations of Appalachian Aspleniums
made thus far, the writer has been unable to obtain
living plants from nature of either A. bradleyi x mon-
tanum or A. bradleyix platyneuron because of their
excessive rarity. Any plants of either of these entities
are greatly desired for cytological examination.’

In this paper I wish to report a somewhat unexpected
backcross hybrid in this complex, a hybrid which has not
been discovered previously, and which, in fact, from our

present knowledge of one of the parents, has very little
likelihood of ever being discovered in the wild, except
possibly in one small area in Hale Co., Alabama. This
new backcross hybrid—Asplenium ebenoides x platy-

know considerably more of the relationships of the three
taxa involved in its formation than we do of the other
members of the Appalachian Asplenium group. The
following relevant facts are known: (1) Asplenium
ebenoides is the morphological intermediate between
platyneuron and A. rhizophyllum; (2) it was produced
4A trip was made by the author to the Blairsville area in New
pues ae A. bradleyi x montanum occurred in a fine large
stand diseovered by Dr. Wherry some years ago; but the colony had

isappeared, -_ a grape-vine has elimbed over the rocks where
formerly it gre

ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES x PLATYNEURON yee

artificially by crossing the latter two species in culture
y Slosson®; (3) several plants of A. ebenoides from
Montgomery County, Maryland, revealed that spore
abortion in sterile individuals of the hybrid was due to
the complete non-pairing of the chromosomes, so that 72
univalents are visible in meiotic metaphase; and (4)
there is one population of fertile plants at Havana Glen,
Hale County, Alabama, in which normal spore produc-

fertile Alabama plants are thus typical allopolyploids,
he chromosomes of the original sterile hybrid ancestor
having been doubled, so that normal chromosome pair-
ing at meiosis became possible by duplication of chromo-
somes. Our position is therefore stronger in the case of
A. ebenoides than in the cases of A. bradleyi and A.
pinnatifidum, the sterile forms of which are still not
known, to state with certainty that the plant in question
is of hybrid origin: it has been produced experimentally
in culture, and the only fertile population has double
the _ number of the sterile ancestral hybrid.

ew backcross, A. ebenoides x platyneuron, in-
vols the fertile form of A. ebenoides. It appeared in
a mixed culture of gametophytes of the respective par-
ents. The original culture of gametophytes of the fertile
form of A. ebenoides was kindly supplied by Miss Clara
S. Hires of the Mistaire Laboratories. The plants were
grown on nutrient agar, and were transplanted to soil
in a low, square pot next to living sporophytes of A.
platynewron from which spores were being discharged.
As it developed, although there were other species of
Asplenium in the near vicinity, only the contaminating
Spores of A. platyneuron germinated in the culture of
A. ebenoides. Even in the early stages of the growth

*Slosson, Margaret. The od re of a ebenoides. Bull.
Torrey Bot. Club 29: 487-495. 1902

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

VotuME 46, Puate IV

ier A

4
ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES x PLATY

ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES X PLATYNEURON 79

of the young sporophytes which formed in the mixed
culture of gametophytes, it was possible to distinguish
readily between A. ebenoides and A. platyneuron. It
was also evident quite early in the aruith of the young
plants that, of the approximately 200 plants present in
the culture, ten of the young sporophytes were inter-
mediate between these two species. We concluded at
the time that backerossing had occurred. The inter-
mediate plants were, therefore, separated from the rest
and were grown individually in pots and studied. Ac-
cording to relative size, they were marked with letters—
‘*A”? for the largest intermediate specimen, ‘‘J’’ for the
smallest. In the progression to more and more adult-
type leaves, it became clear that the plants retained their
intermediate morphology at all stages; later cytological
study revealed good evidence that backcrossing had, in
fact, produced them. That hybridization occurred in
this mixed culture was probably due in part to the fact
that the gametophytes of A. platynewron were younger
for the most part than those of the A. ebenoides, so that
the gametangia of the respective species were more likely
to be of opposite sex, the younger plants of A. platy-
neuron antheridial, the older ones of A. ebenoides
archegonial. The first intermediate plants were noticed
around the middle of July, 1954, and by November, 1954,
the largest plants had begun producing sori. By the
summer of 1955, some of the plants were forming fronds
up to 30 em. long and 4 em. wide. Specimens from
‘Plant B’’ are shown in Plate IV.

Asplenium Se ee is Bel distin-
guishable from A. ebenoides, as shown in Plate V (cf.
figs. A, B, and D, with fig. Eb). The new hybrid pos-
Sesses a stipe only one-half or less the length of that in
A. ebenoides. In medium-sized fronds of the backcross,
the stipe length varies from 0.5-1.5 em. The blade of
the new hybrid, on the other hand, is relatively longer

VotuME 46, Pate V

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

' B

B

A, B,D. FRonps FROM DIFFERENT PLANTS OF A, EBENOIDES X PLATYNEURON;

Es. A PLANT AND SEVERAL FRONDS OF

EBENOIDES, HaLE Co., ALABAMA, GROWN IN CULTURE.

>

NUMBERED FROM YOUNGER TO OLDER;
A. y

ASPLENIUM EBENOIDES X PLATYNEURON 81

than that of A. ebenoides, where the over-all length of
the fronds compared is the same. The most conspicuous
feature of the new backcross is the large number of well-
developed segments, the large fronds having up to 25-85
segments on a side in contrast to typical A. ebenoides in
which the segments generally number only two-thirds or
one-half as many. The cutting of A. ebenoides x platy-
neuron is much more regular or symmetrical than that
of A. ebenoides (as was found to be the case in A. tru-
dellii vs. A. pinnatifidum). In A. ebenoides, medium-
and large-sized fronds are usually conspicuously irregu-
lar, with large segments next to small, and segments of
different shapes. In contrast, irregularities of any sort
were extremely rare in the backcross. The lower part
of the blade of the backcross resembles A. platyneuron
quite closely, and without the characteristic apex the
backcross might be confused with that species. he
elongated apex of the blade of the new hybrid, while
like that of A. ebenoides, is much shorter in relation to
the whole blade. (One visitor described the leaves of
the backcross as being ‘‘like those of platynewron except

does typical A. platyneuron. The leaves shown in Plate
V were drawn from the lower view, to show the size of
the dark-colored sector on the underside of the midrib.
On the upper side, the dark color does not run so far
either in the backcross or in A. ebenoides. The juvenile
leaves of the new hybrid are quickly separable from the
corresponding leaves of A. ebenoides by their deeper
dissection, the crenate laminar margins, and the shorter
petioles (Figs. A,;-A; vs. Eb;-Ebs).

As discussed above, the cytological behavior of a back-
cross in the Appalachian Aspleniums would be expected
to be distinctive, showing certain characteristic features.
Cytological examination of the backcross hybrids re-

82 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ported for the first time here revealed that the somatic
chromosomes numbered 108, i.e., that they are triploid.
At the time of spore formation in young sori, the pairing
behavior of the chromosomes during meiosis was approxi-
mately that predicted, namely 72 bodies (36 univalents
and 36 bivalents). The actual figures obtained by
averaging the estimates for 10 sporocytes from 5 plants
were 70.5 (66-75) units, with 36.4 (33-41) univalents
and 34.1 (30-38) bivalents. The backcross therefore

ment, and cannot be expected to exist in a fertile state.

At the time of this writing, the ten plants of the new
hybrids are growing vigorously and producing numerous
leaves which are harvested from time to time. A limited
number of individual specimens of leaves will thus be
available for distribution to interested persons upon re-

quest.
DEPARTMENT OF Botany, UNiversity or MICHIGAN,
Ann Arpor, MICHIGAN.

Notes on Fern Distribution in Louisiana
Joun A. Moore

The additional information reported below concerning
the distribution of some of the ferns in northern Louisi-
ana has been gained by several years of botanizing. The
localities are in addition to those in Brown and Correll.*

e specimens cited are deposited in the herbarium of
Louisiana Polytechnic Institute

BotrRYCHIUM VIRGINIANUM (L.) Swartz. The rattle-
snake fern is evidently of wide distribution but rarely
collected in Louisiana. I have it only from Lincoln
Parish: 8 miles southwest of Ruston, $36 T17N R4W
(Moore 5523); Redwine Farm, 5 miles southwest of

1 Brown, Clair A. and D. S. Correll. Ferns and Fern Allies of
Louisiana. Louisiana State University Press, 1942.

FeEerNns IN LOUISIANA 83

Ruston (Moore 6202).

BorrycHIuM DISSEcTUM Spreng. var. OBLIQUUM
(Muhl.) Clute. Fairly common late in the summer in wet
years. Lincoln Parish: 2 miles northeast of Ruston
(Moore 5353). Jackson Parish: 1 mile north of Vernon
(Moore 6404). Ouachita Parish: Cheniere (Moore
6494).

LorINseRIA AREOLATA (L.) Presl. Abundant in boggy
streams and springs. Lincoln Parish: Ruston (Moore
4043). Jackson Parish: 1 mile northwest of Clay (Moore
5388). Ouachita Parish: Camp Kiroli (Moore & Chap-
pell).

ONocLEA SENsIBILIS L. It was a surprise to find the
Sensitive Fern on D’Arbonne Bayou, a tributary of the
Ouachita River, more than 75 miles from any other re-
ported station in Louisiana. It formed an extensive,
vigorous colony, more than 100 yards long on the south
bank of the bayou. This station is normally ‘flooded in
the spring. Abundant fruiting material was collected.
Lincoln Parish: D’Arbonne Bayou, $26 T20N R2W
(Moore 5323).

Potypoprum ponypopiowEs (L.) Watt. Our collee-
tions from Jackson, Lincoln, and Union Parishes fill in
a distributional gap in northern Louisiana. Jackson
Parish : 2 miles northwest of Clay (Moore 5386). Lincoln
Parish: Ruston (Moore). Union Parish: 0.5 mile north

D

growing abundantly in clumps in an open pasture. The
locality represents a considerable range extension from
the nearest stations given by Brown and Correll. Lincoln
Parish: Calahan Farm, 8 miles southwest of Ruston,
$36 TI7N R4W (Moore 5519).

SELAGINELLA APopa (l.) Spring. Found abundantly
in moist places both in spring and autumn. Jackson
Parish: 1 mile south of Vernon Fire Tower (Moore

84 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

6521). Lincoln Parish: Ruston (Moore).
LouisiIANA PoLYTECHNIc INSTITUTE.

Notes on Kansas Ferns
Ronaup L. McGregor aNnD Eminy L. HARTMAN

Field and herbarium studies made during the past

or
some doubtful records has been revealed. Significant
extensions of range are given below for a few taxa. The
specimens cited in this paper are in the herbarium at
the University of Kansas, unless otherwise indicated.

Isoiites MELANOPODA Gay and Dur. Previous reports
of this quillwort from Kansas have been based on a speci-
men collected by John C. Hancin in a low, moist area in
a wheatfield, Saline County, May 20, 1943. Mr. Hancin
searched repeatedly but unsuccessfully for additional
specimens in succeeding years. e presence of this
species in Kansas is now certain with the discovery in
the summer of 1955 of a large colony on shallow soil,
over limestone, in a small ravine, located in an open blue-
stem prairie, 3 miles west of Neodesha, Wilson County
(McGregor & Hartman 10267, 10861). A number of
plants in the colony could be gig uly as Isoétes
melanopoda forma pallida (Engelm.) Fern.

IsoftEs BUTLERI Engelm. is rea in lists of ferns
known in Kansas on the basis of a specimen collected in
Cherokee County by A. S. Hitchcock in 1892. Numerous
attempts have been made by several collectors to relocate
the site from which the specimen was taken, but all have
failed. The species has not been found elsewhere in
Kansas. _ Hitcheock’s collection came from the small
Ozarkian area in extreme southeastern Kansas.

Borrycuium bissecrum Spreng. is known from the

Kansas FERNS 85

extreme southeastern corner of Kansas, and the forma
obliquum (Muhl.) Fern. is found in the eastern one-
eighth of the state, where it occurs as an occasional plant
in rich woodlands.

OPHIOGLOSSUM ENGELMANNI Prantl is found abun-
dantly in shallow soil over limestone in the bluestem
prairies and open woodlands of the eastern one-fourth
of the state. In such sites thousands of plants are often
encountered. The literature reports it only from cal-
careous or argillaceous barrens; however, we have the
species from a strictly sandy soil over sandstone in an
open wooded area in which Quercus stellata Wang. is the
characteristic plant. This collection (McGregor 4186)
from central Chautauqua County extends the known
range of the species some 50 miles westward in the state.

OpHI0GLossuM vuLGATUM L. has been reported from
Kansas on the basis of a specimen in the ‘‘herbarium at
the University of Kansas,’’ but no such specimen is pres-
ent in the herbarium now, and, therefore, this species

should thus be excluded from the list of Kansas ferns
until further evidence is obtained.

SMUNDA REGALIS L. is reported from Kansas on the
basis of a specimen collected in Woodson County by We
H. Horr on July 10, 1930. The location was given as a
wet creek bank just southwest of Yates Center. This
site apparently is now in the middle of a city reservoir ;
and as the surrounding area has been searched repeatedly
without finding further plants, it is doubtful if this
species should be listed as a part of the state’s present
flora

Cystopteris Frags (L.) Bernh. var. PROTRUSA
Weatherby is a common fern of eastern Kansas wood-
lands. In late May or early June, the fronds of this fern
are often infected with the ascomycete Taphrina cystop-
teridis Mix which causes the formation of small yellowish
galls on the frond. By July, the fronds have browned,

86 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

dried, and died back for the season. In late September
or early October, Cystopteris fragilis var. tennesseensis
(Shaver) McGregor is in its prime and is infected by
the above fungus in the same way. At this time, fall
fronds of var. protrusa are abundant, but do not appear
to be infected by the fungus.

POLYSTICHUM ACROSTICHOIES (Michx.) Schott has pre-

of the state. A recent collection (McGregor 10058) ex-
tends the range some 50 miles north to Franklin County.

PELLAEA ATROPURPUREA (L.) Link is a common fern
over the eastern half of the state, where it is found on
limestone and sandstone outcrops. In August, 1955,
specimens were taken from outcrops of gypsum in Barber
and Comanche Counties. These collections (McGregor
10944, and 10977) extend the range some 130 miles to
the west in the southern half of the state. The plants
were numerous on shaded, dry gypsum outcrops and
were relatively abundant on red, gypsiferous soil below
the outcrops. In the last habitat the fern is associated
with Bouteloua gracilis.

CHEILANTHES FEEI Moore is a rare fern in Kansas and
known previously only on Dakota sandstone in three
counties in north-central Kansas and from one doubtful

ern Kansas. Recent field-work has revealed several ex-
tensive colonies on outcrops, called Mortar beds, which
consist of cemented zones or beds of sand and gravel, in
Hodgeman and Ford Counties. Specimens (McGregor
10928, and 10935) from these counties extend the range
of the species some 140 miles southwestward in the state.

AZOLLA MEXICANA Presl has been found (McGregor
5198) in the central part of the state in an area known
as the Cheyenne Bottoms, Barton County, some 200 miles
west of the other known stations, which are in Douglas
and Jefferson Counties, in northeastern Kansas.

Kansas FrErns 87

A few species of ferns which appear in several lists
of Kansas plants and which are the basis for the citation
of the state in ranges should be removed from such
records. These reports have been based on a series of
sheets in the herbarium of the University of Kansas
sent in by J. Wilson, of Leavenworth. Mr. Wilson was
apparently the first individual in the state to cultivate
ferns. rom his cultivated plants he prepared her-
barium specimens and sent them to the University, where
they are deposited. Among these are Athyrium filiz-
foemina, Dryopteris cristata, D. hexagonoptera, D. spin-
ulosa, Polystichum acrostichoides, Asplenium platy-
neuron, Asplenium trichomanes, and Cystopteris fragilis.
All of these have the date 1871 or 1872 and have the
abbreviation cult. on the label. However, on one sheet
bearing a specimen of Dryopteris goldiana and on an-

valid records, and the species included in the state’s flora.
It is clear that the Wilson series represents cultivated
specimens only, as none of the native ferns of the Leaven-
worth area are included without the ‘‘‘cult.’’ on the
label. It also seems as though the labels were prepared
by someone other than Wilson, for the same handwriting
appears on other labels in the herbarium. It seems
certain that the individual writing the labels merely
omitted the ‘‘cult.’’ inadvertently on the above two, and
thus introduced errors in our records.

A similar situation applies to the report of Athyrium
filic-foemina from Osage County. A specimen in the
herbarium of Kansas State College, Manhattan, Kansas,
is the basis for its inclusion in our flora. Available evi-
dence indicates the plant actually came from a garden.
There is no habitat in Osage County suitable for this
fern, and only a few of the most common ferns are to be
found there.

University or Kansas, LAWRENCE, KANSAS.

88 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

The Family Names of the Lycosphens
CuypEe F’, Reep

Modern classifications of the ferns and lycosphens
(‘‘fern-allies’’) group them into various Classes, all of
which along with the Gymnospermae and Angiospermae
are called the Tracheophyta (‘‘vascular plants’’), in
allusion to the development of a vascular system, in dis-
tinction to the Bryophyta and other lower, non-vascular
groups. There are four classes of Tracheophyta now
recognized. The Psilopsida include Psilotum and Tmesi-
pteris; the Lycopsida, Lycopodium, Selaginella, and
Isoétes ; the Sphenopsida, Equisetum ; and the Pteropsida,
the dean (ferns), Gymnospermae, and Angiosper-

rst three, along with the Filicineae, were
formerly supa as Pteridophyta in older classifications.

In earlier years the forms for names above the rank of
genus were not definitely prescribed, and the same name
was often used to represent an order, a family, or a tribe,
without change in the termination.'. The present Inter-
national Code of Botanical Nomenclature (1952) speci-
fies the terminations to be used: Divisions to end in
-phyta, Subdivisions in -phytina, Classes in -opsida, Sub-
classes in -idae, Orders in -ales, Suborders in -inede,
Families in -aceae, Subfamilies in -oideae, Tribes in -eae,
and Subtribes in -inae. A good many older names were
published with terminations other than those indicated
above; the Note appended to Article 29 of the Code is
intended to allow the endings to be changed to accord
with the rule, without changing the authority [or date,
for purposes of priority].

Because of the absence of any sort of index to the
ordinal and family names of the lycosphens, there has
been a good deal of disagreement concerning the proper

many editions of Engler & Gilg, Syll. der poet the
dita -ales is used for Class, Gitcian: and Order (‘‘Reih >,

Famity Names or LycosPpHENS 89

authorities. In most works, no authorities at all have
been given. Those adopted below seem to be the ones
having priority, but it is possible that some of these may
be displaced by future studies.

Order LycopopraLes Trevisan, Bull. Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat.
19: 476. 1876; Engler, Syll. Vorles. 58. 1892.

Family Lycopopracear L. ©. Richard ex Lam. & DC.,
Fl. Frane. 2: 571. 1805 (p.p. excel. Isoétes) ; Grenier &
Godron, Fl. France 3: 653. 1855-56; Mett. Fil. Hort.
Lips. 16. 1856; Warming, Haandb. Syst. Bot. 111. 1879;
Luerssen, Die Farnpflanzen, in Rabenh. Krypt. Fl. 3:
782. 1889; Britton & Brown, Fl. North. States & Can.
1; 39. 1896; ed. 2,1: 42. 1913; Fiori, Fl. Ital. Crypt.
pt. 5 (Pteridophyta) 386. 1943.

Order SrLaGINELLALES Wettstein, Handb. Syst. Bot. 2:
97. 1908.

Family SevaGINeLLacear Reichb., Handb. Nat. Pflan-
zensyst. 163. 1837 (as Selaginelleae) ; Mett., Fil. Hort.
Bot. Lips. 16. 1856 (as Selaginelleae) ; Kanitz, A term.
noy. attek. 9. 1874; Warming, Haandb. Syst. Bot. 111.
1879; Underwood, Our Nat. Ferns, ed. 1, 50, 103. 1881;
Luerssen, Die Farnpflanzen, in Rabenh. Krypt. Fl. 3:
862. 1889; Britton & Brown, Fl. North. States & Can. ue
44. 1896.

Order Isoirates Gola, in Gola, Negri, & Cappelletti,
Tratt. di Bot. ed. 1, 1: 697. 1935 ;? Koidzumi, Acta Phy-
totax. et Geobot. 7: 11. 1938; Reed, Index Tsoétales, Bol.
Soe. Broter. 27: (Ser. 2a); 5-72. 1953.

Family Isoiracrar Reichb. Consp. Reg. Veg. 43. 1828
(as Isoéteae) ; Dumortier, Anal. Fam. PL. 68. 1829; Bart-
ling, Ord. Nat. Pl. 16, 1830 (as Isoétae) ; Endl., Gen. Pl.
68, 69. 1838-40; Ledeb., Fl. Ross. 4: 495. 1853; Trevi-
san, Bull. Soe. Ital. Sci. Nat. 19: 475. 1876; Underwood,
Min GoW. toned and G. D. Fuller, Vascular Plants of Illinois 10,

4InG. Dd :
1955, the authority is given as ‘‘Schaffner, Field Man. Fl. Ohio 21.
1928,’ but the name is a nomen nudum at this place.

90 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Our Nat. Ferns, ed. 1, 104. 1881; Britton & Brown, Fl.
North. ord Can. 1: 45. 1896; Reed, Index Isoétales,
Leud3.2.19538

Order EquisrtTates Trevisan, Bull. Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat.
19: 476. 1876

Family Equisetacnar L. C. Richard ex Lam. & DC.
FL. Frane. 2: 580. 1805; Underwood, Our Native Ferns,
ed. 1, 50, 103. 1881; Luerssen, Die Farnpfianzen, in
Rabenh. Krypt. Fl. 3: 622. 1889; Britton & Brown, FI.
North. States & Can. 1: 35. 1896; Fiori, Fl. Ital. Crypt.
pt. 5 (Pteridophyta), 332. 1943.

10105 Harrorp Roap, Bautimore, Mp.

A New Locality for Marsilea quadrifolia L.
Bert Miuer

In September 1951, the writer was botanizing in Hal-
dimand County, Ontario, along Nanticoke Creek, which
flows into Lake Erie about six miles east of Port Dover.
Just south of the village of Nanticoke he was surprised
to find floating on the surface of the sluggish stream,
leaves that looked like four-leaved clovers. Closer ex-
amination showed that they were attached to petioles
about 18 inches long embedded in the muddy bottom of
the stream, and examination of the bases of the petioles
showed a number of sporocarps. The plants proved to
be Marsilea quadrifolia L., an introduced species, a rare
find indeed, for this plant. has been found only once be-
fore in Ontario: A specimen collected in 1911 at Toronto
by T. J. Ivy (Herbarium of the University of Toronto).
It has not been found in the Toronto area since.

The plants at the new locality covered an area of
about half an aere of water, and were so dense that one
could hardly wade through them. It is evident that they
have been there for some years. A number of the vil-

Form or ASPLENIUM PINNATIFIDUM 91

lagers were questioned concerning the possible origin of
the plant, but none was able to give a satisfactory ex-
planation of its occurrence. Specimens from the same
place have been collected each year since 1951, and the
plants seem to be becoming even more abundant.

M. quadrifolia was first reported in North America at

to the fourth edition of Gray’s Manual, 1863. It has
sinee been recorded at a number of localities in Maine,
Massachusetts, Indiana, Connecticut, and in the vicinity
of Ithaca, New York. It is still very local in America,
and does not appear to be becoming a pest of waterways
like the introduced Flowering Rush, Butomus umbella-
tus, or the Water Hyacinth, Eichornia crassipes.
Fort Erm, ONTARIO

An Unusual Form of Asplenium pinnatifidum
Rosert H. MoHLENBROCK

While studying a population of Asplenium pinnati-
fidum Nutt. in southern Illinois during January, 1955, a
unique form of this species was discovered. Three speci-
mens were observed that differed from normal material
in that their laminal development was so completely sup-
pressed that the entire aerial portion of the plant ap-

1). The longest frond of the three plants measured
4.8 em., the shortest 0.4 em. The rachises had laminal
protuberances arranged alternately along them. On the
abaxial surface of almost all these projections was borne
a sorus. The sori varied in size, but averaged two mil-
limeters in diameter. They were so large that most of
them could be observed from the adaxial side. Some-
times they were placed back to back (subdiplazioid), a
condition which gives the indusium the appearance of
being double. The specimens were fruiting prolifically,

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VotumeE 46, PuaTe VI

STONE

J y . ahd +
FoRM OF ASPLENIUM PINNATIFIDUM

Form or ASPLENIUM PINNATIFIDUM 93

with rachises as short as 0.6 em. bearing sori.

The variability of leaf forms in Asplenium pinnati-
fidum has been noted by Copeland? and Wagner,” the
latter stating that ‘‘the blades show conspicuous irregu-
larity in pattern.’’ However, as far as is known to the
author, the reduction of the frond to a skeletonized lam-
ina bearing sori has been reported for only one other
fern—Phyllitis Scolopendrium (L.) Newm. (Scolopen-
drium vulgare Sm.).° It is of interest that the genus
Phyllitis is usually placed near Asplenium. In fact,
Copeland‘ merges Phyllitis with Asplenium because of
the great similarity in sori. Concerning Phyllitis Scolo-
pendrium, Andersson-Kotté stated that ‘‘the most ex-
treme reduction of growth proceeds so far as to leave
scarcely more than a branched rhachis with sori along
the edges.’’ She found this to be due to a simple Men-
delian factor in which the tendency for laminal reduc-
tion is recessive.

A specimen is on deposit in the herbarium of the Mis-
souri Botanical Garden, oe collection data being as fol-
lows: Growing among ‘‘typical’’ Asplenium pinnati-
fidum in crevices of sandstone bluffs, Giant City State
Park, Union County, Illinois, January 16, 1955, Mohlen-
brock 4950. Subsequent collections from the same area
have shown several similarly reduced specimens.

The author is indebted to Mr. Benjamin C. Stone who
contributed the illustration.®

Dept. oF BoTANY, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, Sr. Louis.

1 Copeland, E. B. Two Fern Monstrosities. Botanical Gazette,
34; 143, 144. 1902.
Wagner, W. H., Jr. Re — — in Appalachian As-

0

,
3 Andersson-Kotté, Irma. A coon Investigation in Scolo-
pendrium vulgare. Hereditas ACT 1929.
£0 Pe land, nera Fil

47.
5 A similar type of leaf reduction is described in English oe
ture in ‘home other genera, e.g. Dryopteris and Athyrium. R. C.

94 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

A Collection of Asplenium montanum in Indiana
Date M. SuitH

Deam! listed four species of Asplenium for Indiana,
as well as one species of the closely related genus Camp-
tosorus and the intergenerie hybrid Asplenosorus ebe-
noides (Scott) Wherry. All except Asplenium platy-
neuron (L.) Oakes, and Camptosorus rhizophyllus (.)

ink are japan local and are considered rare species
by D

In ae spring of 1955 it was my good fortune to find
a fifth species of Asplenium of the Indiana flora—A.
montanum Willd. It too, must be considered a rare spe-
cies, as only one isolated colony of a few plants is pres-
ently known to exist in the state. The first collection

, Owen Cou
the author in 1950 ee Pag but was not recog-
nized as A. montanum until a 1955 collection was de-
termined by Dr. Warren H. Wagner of the University
of Michigan. The two collections were compared by Dr.
C. B. Heiser of Indiana University and were considered
conspecific.

This record of Asplenium montanum will be of in-
terest to fern students for several reasons, but primarily
because it lends support to Wagner’s theory? concerning
the hybrid origin of A. pinnatifidum Nutt. According
to Wagner, A. pinnatifidwm is an amphidiploid hybrid
of A. montanum and Camptosorus rhizophyllus. How-
ever, until this collection was made, only one parent
could be found in association with the hybrid in Indiana
—that being Camptosorus. Even though Asplenium

1Deam, C. ©. Flora of Indiana. 1940.

2 Wagne arren H., Jr. Reticulate Manag or in the Appa-
lachian sp iahwoicg Evolution 8: 103-1 954,

AMERICAN FERN Society 95

montanum and A. pinnatifidum are not now in close as-
sociation, the distance between them can be reckoned in
terms of a few miles rather than hundreds.

The new locality is one of the marginal points in the
distribution of the species.* The region is very close to

phyllus are found in close association. The relict nature
of this bluff area in southern Indiana is evidenced by
the presence in rather large numbers of hemlock trees,
Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. Similar bluff areas with
hemlock are known in Indiana, and in each case support
a peculiar flora.

University or Kentucky, Lextneton, Kentucky

American Fern Society

The Florida Homemaker and Gardener for October
1955 carries a two-page, illustrated article entitled Stag-
horn Ferns. The account reports the extensive collee-
tion of Alvin B. Cutler, Miami nurseryman an ern
Society member, which contains 17 different species.
The Staghorn-fern genus, Platycerium, with its array of
bizarre and striking forms, is probably the most highly
prized of tropical ferns from the horticultural view-
point. It is reported to be easily grown in southern
Florida under a variety of outdoor conditions.

The same issue carries also a story about another Fern
Society member, Mrs. W. D. Diddell, of Jacksonville.
It reports Mrs. Diddell’s twenty-year study of Florida
ferns, with an ‘‘inch-by-inch’’ search of the whole state,
and her interest in two projects—the preparation of a
—_

* Wagner Bg lit.) regards it as the northwesternmost collection
of the s speci

96 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

complete fern flora of Florida, and a monograph on
the Staghorn-fern genus.—R. C. BENEDICT.

DRYOPTERIS VIRIDESCENS WANTED: Dr. Stanley Walker,
The University of Liverpool, England, is interested in
obtaining material of the Asiatic species Dryopteris viri-
descens in connection with his study of the cytogenetics
of Dryopteris species. This species used to be available
in greenhouse collections in New York. Living plants
or spores are desired. Dr. Walker has recently pub-

(Watsonia, vol. 3, September, 1955). A study of Ameri-
can forms of this group is well under way.—R. C. BENE-
DICT.
New MEMBERS

Dr. Walter H. Hodge, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa.
Mr. Donald G. Huttleston, Longwood Gardens, ais Square, Pa.
Mrs. J. F. Magale, 437 Sherwood Road, Shreveport, La.
Mr. Mulford Martin, New York University, Saas Square,

New York 3, N. Y.
Mrs. J. Lewis Seott, 208 Camberwell Drive, foals, Pa.
Mrs. P. G. Smith, 542 Tioga Trail, Willoughby, Ohi

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Dr. R. Eliot Stauffer, Kodak Park Works B59-2, Room 470, Hast-
man Kodak Company, Rochester 4, New York.

July-September, 1956 ee

merican Hern Jour:
A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS | y

Published by the : mee

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY _
EQITORS t5 ci 23

ee oo NY. MORTOM 2 2 ee

__R. C. BENEDICT _ IRA L, WIGGINS ©

i 8 : aC. ee as ee ee

The American Fern Society

@ouuril for 19556
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR

ira ms bite Dudley Herbarium, Stanford ee Cali-

esident
Paes M. Moore, ooo of Botany, tins = of Akane
Fayetteville, Arkan: ice-President —
Mitprep E

‘AUST, Depariiant of Botany, esis tee
: Syracuse, New York
a L. McGrecor, Department of Botany, University of Kax-

s, Lawrence, Kansas Tre
‘S v2 Morton, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C.
Edi tor-in-Ohief

OFFICIAL ORGAN

— American Hern Journal

membership, $5.00; life m hip, $¢
Bxtrcted reprints, St wiasd Gh aatac ee, will be furnished

“They ‘should be e ordered when proof is returned.
eck Sumi #1) na L

Amprican Bern Journal

Vou. 46 JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1956 No. 3

The Microscopic Structure of the Mature Spores
of the Sensitive Fern, the Ostrich Fern, and the
Royal Fern!

Norman P. Marengo ‘
In view of some anticipated experimental work deal-
ing with irradiation of fern spores, a number of species

were examined to determine whi res would be
most suitable for use with various cytological tech-
niques following irradiation. er represents

sensibilis, Matteuccia pensylvanica, and Osmunda reg-
alis.

The work of Knudson (1940) with Polypodium aur-
eum indicated that radiation may produce heritable
plastid changes. With this species, however, the phys-

not detected, and plastid abnormalities were observed
only after germination (M. Marengo 19

The spores of the ostrich fern and sensitive fern have
been found to be generally suitable for direct micro-
Scopy. All three species mentioned are satisfactory,
in varying degrees, for cytological fixation, sectioning,
and Staining techniques. An account of the techniques
used and the results secured with the mature spores
are herewith described.
a .

prepared for the Fern Spore 3 bo gel Mistaire

7A pap
Laboratories, Milburn, New Jersey, June 4, 1
u e 46, No. 2, "of the JOURNAL, pp. 65- 96, was issued July
, 1956]

98 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mature spores were collected and concentrated as fol-
lows. _ooponies fronds or frond parts were broken
up and the fragments spread on paper. If the paper
is tilted slightly, and gently tapped or agitated, leaf
and sporangia fragments will separate out, leaving
behind the shed spores and unopened sporangia. If
the sporangia are then wet, and allowed to dry, they
open and can be readily separated from the released
spores by again tilting and agitating the paper. Pure
masses of spores can thus be secured with little diffi-
eulty, and sectioning troubles caused by the tough an-
nulus tissue may in this way be avoided.

r immersion in the fixative, large numbers of
spores were placed in small bags made of pre-soaked
animal intestine membrane. These bags were tied with
fine thread, manipulated to remove air bubbles, and
placed in the fixing fluids. These membrane bags were
permeable to all reagents used in the techniques, and
from fixation on, each mass of spores could be handled
as a single piece of tissue. Puncturing the bag in sev-
eral places was found to speed up the penetration of
_ the reagents.

For nuclear preservation, Flemming’s strong fluid
was the fixative used (Baker 1945). For preservation
of cytoplasmic structures, the nae, of Lewitsky
(1925) and Huseby (1946) were employec

Following fixation and washing, spores were dehy-
drated in ethyl alcohol, cleared in xylene, and embedded
in a paraffin medium consisting of 90% 56-58° paraf-
fin, 5% beeswax, and 5% bayberry wax. Slides of sec
tions 3-4p in thickness were mordanted 24 hours in 2%
ferric alum, rinsed in distilled water, and stained 24
hours in 0.5% hematoxylin, following which they were
destained in 2% ferric alum. Following washing, the
slides were dehydrated in ethyl alcohol, cleared in

Microscopic StructuRE OF SPoRES 99

xylene, and mounted in gum damar.
OBSERVATIONS

Onoclea sensibilis. The spores of this species are
most difficult to section. They are penetrated only by
the strongest fixatives, and the only suitable prepara-
tions are of material fixed for 48 hours in Flemming’s
strong fluid. Several minutes in full-strength ‘‘Clorox”’
will remove the outer spore coat, but apparently will
not kill the spore. The difficulty in sectioning these
Spores is due entirely to the tough and brittle nature
of the inner spore coat. Of hundreds of sections made,

the knife must immediately be sharpened.
produced when a block is sectioned suggests the cutting
of a piece of sandpaper.

The chemical nature of this thick inner spore coat
requires further study. If these spores are soaked
overnight in concentrated H,SO, the outer spore-coat
and protoplast are dissolved, but the troublesome inner
coat is still recognizable. This result suggests silica,
and this is supported by the appearance of consistent
quartz lines with X-ray diffraction following micro-
incineration. Some physical tension in this wall is sug-
gested by the curling out of its broken fragments in sec-
tioned material (fig. 1).

Sections of these spores, fixed in Flemming’s fluid,
consistently show a centrally placed nucleus with a well-
defined nuclear membrane faintly staining chromatin,
and a large nucleolus he chloroplasts are densely
crowded around the nucleus, and the periphery of
the spore is a mass of deeply staining granules, which
in the living condition appear colorless. The chemical

yet to be established, but it is probable that they are
either immature plastids or granules of ergastic mate-

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Voutume 46, Puate VII

at gt ;

a

Fig. 1. Onoclea sigoetiagy FIXATION FOR 48 HOURS IN bdgeear ’S FIs
ION ; x ca. 860. Fig Matteuccia pensylvanica, Fig. 2. FLEM MMING 5
FIXATION, X ca. 860. ay ig. a. LEWITSKY FIXATION, x ca. 860. Fig. 4. is

ig.
MING’S FIXATION, x ca. 860. Figs. si 3 SECTIONED AT 4 y AND STAINED wit
IRON HEMATOXYLIN, fig. 4, UNSTAINE

Microscopic STRUCTURE OF SPORES 101

rial. <A clearly positive starch or protein reaction has
not been obtained.

Although O. sensibilis spores can readily be looked
into following exospore removal, sectioning difficulties
render them unsuitable objects for further cytological
investigation

Matteuccia pensylvanica. The spores of this species
are slightly smaller, but practically identical in ap-
pearance to those of O. sensibilis. The exospore is easily
removed, and the spore contents readily accessible to
direct microscopy. The inner spore coat, although as
thick as in Q. sensibilis, presents no problem in micro-
omy. Fixation with Flemming’s fluid and by the
Lewitsky method yielded highly satisfactory material.
Spores of this species can be easily sectioned at 3-4u,
and due to rapid and complete Ee de of fixatives,
staining is brilliant and of uniform qualit

As in OQ. sensibilis, the nucleus Maite a central
position, and has a deeply staining nucleolus, which is
well preserved following Flemming and Lewitsky fixa-
tions (fig. 2, 3). Following Flemming fixation, the
nucleus shows a sharply staining network of beaded
strands, which in Lew itsky, material show only as faintly
staining granules (fig. 2

The chloroplasts in ie nen spore are concentrated
around the nucleus and the periphery of the spore con-
tains numerous granules which stain very deeply fol-
lowing both fixatives, and which are colorless in the
living spore. Clear vacuoles may appear at the edge
of spore sections in some cases, and in unbleached and
unstained Flemming slides, are shown to be large fat
droplets (fig. 4). The chloroplasts stain deeply follow-
ing Lewitsky fixation, and only faintly following Flem-
ming’s fluid (fig. 2, 3).

In favorable sections, a rough outer and a smooth
inner spore-coat are visible, as well as a sharp surface

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL . VotuME 46, Puate VIII

‘igs. 5,6. Matteuccia eee. Fig. 5. Lewrrsky FIxation 5 DAY
APTER SOWING, x ca. 860. Fi LEWITSKY FIXATION 7 DAYS AFTE se
x ea. 860. Figs. 7, &. Osminia regalis. Fig. 7. FLEMMING’S rxarioth
xca. 1000. Fig. 8. HUSEBY FIXATION, X ca, 1000. ALL SPORES SECTIONED AT

4 pu AND STAINED WITH IRON aeons dining

Microscopic StructuRE OF SporEs 103

limiting the protoplast proper (fig. 3). In spores sown
on agar, but not yet germinated, the surface of the
protoplast shows an additional thick membrane, which
is presumed to be the cell wall of the germinating pro-
toplast (fig. 5).

Sections of spores fixed by the Lewitsky method 5-7
days after sowing showed marked changes in structure
and staining reactions. The chloroplasts now stain an
intense blue-black with hematoxylin, and have migrated
to all parts of the spore. During this pre-germination

complete history of nuclear and cytoplasmic changes
leading up to germination is not available at present,
but a further study of this is contemplated when this
season’s spores are available.

Osmunda regalis. The mature spores of this species
are green and almost uniformly spherical. The outer
Spore-coat is thick and rough and not readily removed;
it usually breaks in sectioning, but without damage to
the protoplast (fig. 7). A very thin inner spore-coat
is distinguishable from the limiting surface of the pro-
toplast, but this is easily sectioned without damage to
the spore (fig. 7)

he nucleus occupies the center of the spore and,
following Flemming’s fixation, shows the characteristic
interphase appearance, with dark nucleolus and sharply
staining chromatic network (fig. 7). The chloroplasts,
as in the other two species, are crowded around the
nucleus, and the peripheral cytoplasm contains numer-
ous deeply rc granules and many vacuoles are
evident (fig. 7

Huseby’s Serinalin: pyrogallol, which has proved
highly Satisfactory for meristematic and sporogenous
tissues, has not been found of value with these spores.
The entire spore is poorly fixed and sectioning without

104 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

damage is impossible. Chloroplasts are clumped in a
dark mass around the nucleus, and the peripheral gran-
ules fail to stain (fig. 8). Lewitsky-fixed spores of this
species were not available for this report.

DIscuSSION

Because of their large size and relative ease of sec-
tioning, the spores of Matteuccia pensylvanica and Os-
munda regalis are highly favorable objects for deserip-
tive and experimental procedures. In this regard, fu-
ture work along the following lines is planned.

1. Irradiation of spores with study of immediate post-
irradiation effects on nucleus and cytoplasm.

Germination studies of normal and_ irradiated
spores with emphasis on cytological changes in the pre-
germination stages

3. Utilization of ce) tests to establish the
precise identity of the peripheral granules in all three
species.

Onoclea sensibilis has very large spores, but with
impossibly tough walls. Preliminary work suggests
silica as the source of the trouble. This should be con-
firmed by more extensive tests.

DeparTMENt or BroLoay, C. W. Post Counnce, LONG
IsLAND UNrversity, GREENVALE, L.1., New York.

LITERATURE CITED
Baker, J. R., 1945. Cytological Technique. Second Edition.
Methuen, London.
Huseby, R. A., 1946. Hydroxybenzene Pik eee as Cytoplasmic
Fixatives. Proc. Soc. Exp. Bio. and Med. 61: 122-125.
Knudson, L., 1940. Permanent Pp of Choro soda
ays in the Gametophyte of Polypodium aureum. t. Gra
1-758.

+, 1925. rie anon in 2 poem bei
Equisetum palustre L. Arch. Wiss. Bot.
Marengo, M., 1941. anton beagle p ass Plastids
Produced iy Irradiation of Spores of Polypodium aurewm.

FERNS IN BASKETS 105

Ferns in Baskets!
Douauas Swinscow

Most of the ferns that grow on rocks on walls are
rather difficult to establish in flowerpots. The outstand-
ing exception is Asplenium marinum. In a greenhouse
from which frost is excluded it will grow in a pot to a
far greater size than among the coastal rock clefts that
are its usual habitat in Britain. But the other Spleen-
worts seem rather to resent being planted in pots, and a
botanist recently mentioned to me that in his laboratory
they find Asplenium viride impossible to keep in a
healthy state. As I have had some success in erowing
these ferns in wire baskets, I thought a note on the
method might be of interest not only to those members
of the Society who, like me, grow them for pleasure in
their greenhouses, but also to botanists and others who
require a constant supply for scientifie study.

The wire baskets that I buy are of the usual horti-
cultural pattern and the cheapest I can find. The best
variety consist mainly of a thick wire wound spirally
into the shape of a bowl, with three wires leading from
the top edge to meet at a wire hook, from which the
whole is suspended. When bought, the baskets are too
large for my purpose, so I cut them down with wire elip-
pers to about half size. I then line them with moss, my
favourite being the common woodland moss Mnium
hornum. It can be sliced off the woodland floor with thin
Sheets of the soil in which it grows. The advantage of
taking this moss in slices of soil is that it will continue

compost in which I put the ferns is made up of about
equal parts of loam, sterile peat (or sometimes leaf-

1 Reprinted from the British Fern Gazette, vol. 8, no, 6, pp. 141,
142, 1955.

106 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

mould), and sand. For lime-loving ferns I add some lime-
stone chips; or the fern may be planted between small
nuggets of limestone knocked off a rock of it.

In order to water these baskets I have constructed an
exceedingly simple framework over the water-tank in
my greenhouse (I am no handyman). It is a broad shelf
on legs, supported about 2 feet above the top of the tank.
Ferns in pots stand on it, and some hooks are screwed
into its under-surface. I dip the baskets in the tank, and
then hang them on the hooks to drain into it for a few
hours, perhaps overnight. Rainwater, a precious com-
modity in Hertfordshire, is thus conserved.

The ferns I grow in this way are Asplenium septen-
trionale, A. viride, A. trichomanes in three varieties, A.
obovatum, Ceterach officinarum, Cystopteris dickieana,
and Polypodium vulgare in four varieties. That they
grow with exuberance several members of the Society
can testify, having seen them at the last annual meeting.
That they grow better in baskets than in pots I have
learnt by trial, since several of them spent a year or two
in pots, where they languished, before being put into
baskets, where they raced ahead. I have also been able
to compare the results of growing two equal parts of the
same clump of Cystopteris dickieana, one in a pot and
the other in a basket. The vigour of the basket-grown
plant greatly outshines that of the pot-grown. The same
result was noted in two plants of Asplenium viride, one
kept in a pot, the other transferred to a basket. The
latter’s fronds are about 6 inches long. Indeed so strik-
ing is the growth of the basket-grown plants that they
seem on the average to be about twice the size of their
pot-grown relatives, though as a result of giving various
plants away, or of transferring all of some species to
baskets, I have not sufficient material with which to
compare actual measurements

OPHIOGLOSSUM TENERUM 107

Ophioglossum tenerum in Georgia
GILBERT R. RossigNou

On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1955, accom-
panied by R. C. Marves and F. N. Irving, I discovered
a sizeable colony of Ophioglossum tenerum Mett. an
collected a number of specimens, some of which were
deposited in the U. S. National Museum, and others
were sent to the Department of Botany, University of
Georgia. The locality is about one mile south of Sa-
vannah, Chatham County, near where U. S. Highway
17 crosses the Atlantic Coast Line Railway. Here a
shallow excavation was made for material used in build-
ing an abuttment for the construction of a bridge. The
area of the entire depression is approximately 63 acres.
In the center is a large pond which floods most of the
lower ground during heavy rains and becomes com-
pletely dry in midsum

The overall height of sis taller fertile spikes, all de-
hisced, averages 14 cm.; the sterile blades, of which
there are two to six per plant, are mostly 3 em. long
and 1.3 em. wide. Many of the plants bear one or two
new sporophylls from one to five em. in height. The
plants are growing in moist sandy soil in the light
shade of tall grasses with little or no other vegetation.

This is the first authentic record of this species for
Georgia. The only other record, reported in Ferns of
Georgia by MeVaugh and Pyron, is: ‘‘A doubtful speci-
men, which was presumably collected near eipenterr,
Effingham County, in the early part of the last century.’’

Lycopodium adpressum Chapm. was also discovered
growing quite abundantly along the margins of the pond.
Many plants with fertile branches were found. This
was the first recorded for Chatham County, Georgia, by
Dr. Dunean in 1955.

108 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Nardoo
JOHN W. THIERET

The indigenous plants of Australia produce, for the
most part, nothing laudable in the way of human food.
The products of many of these, though ‘‘eatable,’’ are
not ‘‘fit to eat,’’ to quote from J. D. Hooker’s Flora of
Tasmania (1860). An interesting example of such a
plant is found in the clover fern or nardoo, Marsilea

w

of the island continent. The hard sporocarps of the
nardoo were—and, in remote districts, probably still are
—utilized by the aborigines as an article of food. When
the swamps dry up, the Marsilea leaves wither but the
sporocarps remain. These the omnivorous natives col-
lected, either by sweeping them with twig brooms inte
wooden vessels or by gathering the dried roots with
sporocarps attached. In preparation for use, the sporo-
carps were pounded into a fiour or meal between two

scant nutritive matter, including a little starch and
mucilage, and cakes made from it are highly indigestible.
The spore cases of the nardoo are the food to which the
unfortunate explorers, Burke and Wills, resorted in a
futile effort to sustain life at Cooper’s Creek, Victoria,
in 1861. In Will’s journal we are told: ‘‘I cannot
understand this nardoo at all; it certainly will not agree
with me in any form. We are now reduced to it alone,
and we manage to get from four to five pounds per day
between us... . It seems to give us no nutriment.

Starvation on cabsidlo is by no means very sealenndiel
but for the weakness one feels, and the utter inability
to move oneself, for, as far as appetite is concerned, it
gives me the greatest satisfaction.’’ It has been sug-
gested that the nardoo of Burke and Wills may have been

~

PTERIDOPHYTES OF DELAWARE CouNTY 109

the seeds of Sesbania aculeata, a legume, rather than the
sporocarps of a Marsilea, because of doubts that the latter
can be obtained in sufficient quantity for food. How-
ever, reliable observers have reported that in certain
areas 10 pounds of sporocarps might easily be gathered
by one person in a day.

Cuicaco Natura History Museum.

Notes on the Pteridophytes of Delaware
County, New York!

Karu L. Brooks

Delaware County comprises an area of some 1,470
Square miles (over 250 square miles larger than Rhode
Island) in the southeastern part of New York State,
occupied in large part by the western Catskills and

with the exception of the Susquehanna valley, border-
ing the northwestern side, which may be said to lie in
the glaciated Allegheny Plateau. The higher mountain
areas lie generally in the southeastern part of the county.
Both branches of the Delaware River have their origin
in the county. From a botanical point of view the flora
is largely that of the beech-birch-maple forest regions,
with the exception of the lower reaches of the Delaware
River below Walton and Downsville, where oak-hickory
intrudes

The earliest records of Delaware County flora are con-
tained in the Fifty-fourth Annual Report of the Regents
es is eapeey

1 This article is based 1 argely on records filed in the herbar ‘jum
of the New York State Museum, in Aussae pelt by observations and
Collections in the field. The author is geoply indebted to Stanley
J. Smith, senior esi a mes erbarinit New York State
Museum, who not 0 ned and ve erified the some et —
mens of pteridoph od Sillecter from Delarary Pipes y and pre
ently located in Nevbalia at any, Cornell, and New York, but

also gave the author aecess to records of the “Rr Museum.

110 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

of the University of the State of New York (1841),
where M. Platt, teacher of natural science at the Dela-
ware Literary Institute, Franklin, listed some 380
haae collected and examined, by the botanic class

ing the summer term of 1840.’’ A note at the
en of of on list states that ‘‘the preceding plants were

most approved names of modern botanists have been
adopted.’’

Platt, of course, was not writing a flora of the county ;
he was not even attempting to compile a catalogue of
local plants. His list was merely intended to give some
indication of the scope of the Institute’s course in bot-
any, which, even judged by modern standards, must
have been quite comprehensive. It can be assumed that

county, and it is possible that they were brought in by
some of the students from outside the county or that
some of them were not properly identified. Platt listed
the following pteridophytes (in many cases under other
names): Lycopodium clavatum; L. complanatum subsp.
flabelliforme; Equisetum hyemale subsp. affine; Bot-
rychium virginianum; Osmunda cinnamomea; O. clay-
toniana; Adiantum pedatum; Athyrium thelypteroides ;
Dennstaedtia punctilobula; Dryopteris cristata; D. mar-
ginalis; Onoclea sensibilis; Phegopteris hexagonoptera;
Polypodium virginianum; Pteridium aquilinum subsp.
latiusculum ; and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens.

the vicissitudes of time. Equisetum hyemale subsp.
affine has not since been reported or collected from Del-
aware County, but it does occur in the Susquehanna

PTERIDOPHYTES OF DELAWARE COUNTY 111

River valley a few miles away.

A number of people have been interested in the pter-
idophytes of Delaware County. e earliest known
preserved collection from that region is Elizabeth G.
Knight’s (later Mrs. Nathaniel Lord Britton) specimen
of Polypodium virginianum, collected at Hancock in
1874 and presently located in the herbarium of the New
York Botanical Garden. In 1878 Charles H. Peck, first
state botanist, reported Polystichum braunii as occur-
ring near Griffins. The only other nineteenth century
botanical collector in the county was David L. Topping,
who visited North and West Harpersfield in 1895, where
he collected Lycopodium clavatum, L. lweidulum, and
L. obscurum. An amateur botanist, he also collected
extensively in the eastern United States, Borneo, Hawaii,
the Philippines, and Siberia; his specimens are located
in Minnesota and at the U. S. National Herbarium.
Topping made two other visits to Delaware County,
one in 1906 and another in 1920.

The last fifty years have witnessed more activity in
Delaware County than did the preceding century, and
practically all botanical records of the region have been
made since 1900. Fanny A. Mulford, a member of the
Torrey Botanical Club, visited the Deposit and Arkville
areas in 1903 and returned to Arkville in 1915. Percy
Wilson, of the New York Botanical Garden, also col-
lected in Arkville in 1915. Edmund N. Harvey, As-
Sociate Professor of Botany at the University of Penn-
Sylvania, explored the Arkville area in 1905, and George
PB, Cleveland, a member of the American Fern Society,
collected at North Franklin in 1907. Philip Dowell, first
editor of the American Fern J ournal, and Norman Tay-
lor, author of Flora in the Vicinity of New York, at-
tended a botanical symposium at Stamford ‘during the
first week of J uly, 1909, and took this occasion to climb
Mt. Utsayantha and collect in other localities near Stam-

112 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ford. Taylor also collected in the Arkyille area about
the same time. jlson visited Stamford in 1913 and
collected quite extensively in the Arkville area again
in 1915. Herbert M. Denslow, a charter member of
the Torrey Botanical Club and honorary curator of the
local herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden,
collected in Arkville in 1920 and visited Walton and
Tompkins in 1927. Aravilla M. Taylor, a member of
the American Fern Society, visited a farm near Andes
in 1923, reporting her finds in the American Fern Jour-
nal, and Neil Hotchkiss, at one time on the staff of the
New York State Museum, visited the Delhi region in
e only person to collect extensively in the
entire region is Mrs. Elsie G. Whitney, a member of the
American Fern Society, who made nearly 100 collections
of pteridophytes from various sections of Delaware
County in 1929, 1930, 1933, “998 and 1936. Her collee-
tions are in the herbarium of the New York State
Museum, where she was for some time a member of the
staff.
Records of pteridophytes from Delaware County are
not numerous. Of the 19 towns into which the county is

the towns of Andes, Colchester, Deposit, Franklin, Ham-
den, Harpersfield, Masonville, Meredith, and Tompkins.
Excepting one collection made in Franklin, records of
that area rest on Platt’s list, and until this past summer
our only knowledge of the fern flora of Andes was con-
tained in Dr. Aravilla M. Taylor’s article, ‘‘Some Pteri-
dophytes of the Western Catskills.’’ The towns best
covered include Davenport, Delhi, Kortright, Middle-
town, and Stamford, which together account for over
two-thirds ‘of the collections for the entire county. Col-
lections from the other four towns, Hancock, Roxbury,
Sidney, and Walton, total only 53, as shown in the fol-

PTERIDOPHYTES OF DELAWARE COUNTY als

lowing table:

Records of ps tisk County aint fee
Arr:

anged by Tow
Town Printed © Collee- Sight ~——'Total. « NUmPEr
Records tions Records Records Species
des 35 1 13 49 34
Riise pc ee oe 18 18 18
Colchester q 2 8
Davenport _—_..... 20 8 28 2:
WU STR Ea aaa ie 35 79 114 3
RIRBOME oe Vine ea sat i
Franklin 16 Lo 17 1
Momidan yk 2 is 2
aneock 14 23 37 2€
Harpersfield _..... Hf 11 1
errgibe Asien 48 52 100 3
Masonville _..... U Es 8
a re Se ee 4
Middletown 1 61 34 96 38
Py 6k 12 12 24 2
Sidney i 14 12
Stamford 6 22 7 35 3
Tompkins Lehi 1 L
Walton) oe 13 13 1
Total 58 270 258 586 54

The above table shows beyond doubt that our knowl-
edge of the fern flora of Delaware County is far from
complete with respect to the number of species occurring
in the various towns and to the distribution of those
Species throughout the county. Assuming that it is not
unreasonable to expect at least 30 species in each town,
only 5 have been explored sufficiently to reach that goal,
and records for 7 towns contain fewer than 15 species
each,

The list of pteridophytes given below contains not
only the names of the ferns known to grow in Delaware
County (together with the towns from which they have
been collected) but also the authority for placing the
name on the list and some indication of the frequency

114 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL
with which the species occurs in the area. In determining

specimen collected has been cited. In a few instances,
however, no specimens have yet been collected and the
authority rests on printed records alone; reference has
been made to the Platt list only where no other authority
exists for including a given species. Final authority for
ineluding a given name in the list should ultimately rest
only on specimens collected; in the present instance,
however, the names of species not yet represented in
collections have been included in part as a matter of
historical record and in part to point up the possibility
of finding certain species or varieties.

The question of the frequency with which a particular
species occurs in any given area is often difficult to de-
termine because of the lack of definite criteria for mak-
ing any given designation. The admittedly subjective
designations incorporated in the following list are
arranged in descending order as follows: (1) rare, (2)
‘infrequent, (3) scattered, (4) common, and (5) abun-
dant. No one familiar with the Catskill flora will deny
that Dryopteris austriaca, var. intermedia is abundant;
it can be encountered in practically every woodlot in the
county. Dryopteris goldiana, on the other hand, pre-
sents some problems. Ordinarily it is considered rather
rare, but it is not infrequent in the county and ‘‘scat-
tered’? seems a more appropriate designation than ‘‘in-
frequent’’ or ‘‘rare,’’ although it is no doubt less com-
mon than Dryopteris cristata, which is also ‘‘scattered.”’
It is hoped that additional field-work and the applica-
tion of more objective standards may ultimately result
in more accurate determinations of relative abundance.

LYCOPODIACEAE

LYCOPODIUM ANNOTINUM L.

PTERIDOPHYTES OF DELAWARE COUNTY ddd

Arkville: Mulford é Wilson 29-31 May 15 (NY Local).?
Infrequent; Andes,3 Davenport, Delhi, Hancock, aspen,
Kortright, Middletown Stamford. Specimens from five tow
are var. acri. ve i m Fer
LycoPopIuM CLA ML,
Se cada: “Topping, 2 Oct 95 (MIN).
Scattered; Andes, Bovina, Delhi, Hancock, —_- Kort-
right, Middletown, Hee rd, Walton. Var. egastachyon
ern. & Bissel, has been — from je ee a M. Taylor,
Amer. Fern Journ. 14: 86, 1924.
9 ai COMPLANATUM L. ete FLABELLIFORME (Fern.)
Clau
Rk. 7 N. ha ue 1905 (NY).
Abundant; Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Franklin, Hancock,
axpersiia\i, nee EIEN ‘Adsl ahabienes. Roxbury. A collection by
F. Mulford (1903—Brooklyn) from Deposit has been regarded
S a hybrid of this — s and L. tristachyum
oo LUCIDULUM Mic
N. Harpersfield: Topping, > Oct 95 (MIN).
Seatt tered; Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Hamden, Hancock,
Harpers Kortright, Masonville, Middletown, Roxbury,
Tom

mpk1
ror: OBS uh.
Ww. Harpers D. L. Topping, 2 Oct 95 (US).
Common; Andes, Bovina, Davenport, xi hi, Hancock, Harpers-
et Kortriht, Meredith, rae town, Roxbury, Stamford,
Wal Var. dendroideum (Michx.) D. C. Eat. i ee been col-

Mm Willd.
elhi: N. Hotchkiss 2045, 10 May 27 (CU).
Rare; Delhi. Only two other collections in New York State are
reported by House in his rR d List.

« Pur:
Stamford: N. Taylor 622, 3— ¥ Jul 09 (NY Loeal).
ie. Andes, Delhi, Kortright, Middletown, Stamford,

2 The abbreviations used for herbaria follow Index sss useage
Sted BKL, Brooklyn Botanical Garden; Brooks, herbarium ht
ki: 1 y ;

og
nesota; NY, New York Botanical Garden; NYS, New ;
Museum; 1 PENN, University of Pennsylvania ; US, U. S. National
erb
No spec s have been collected - the towns _ ge
italics ; she that the sees 2 — n that area rests either
on a sight record or on a printed record.

116 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Walton.
EQUISETACEAE
EQUISETUM ARV
Davenport: pee 5009, 17 Jun 36 (NYS).
Abundant; Colchester, Davenport, Delhi, Hancock, Harpersfield,
Kortright, Middletown, Stamfor
EQUISETUM HYEMALE L. ‘utle sp. AFFINE Cupola’) Stone
Franklin: M. Platt, 1640:
Has not yet been collected in the county, although reported from

Franklin.
EQUISETUM X LITORALE Kuhl. (HE. arvense x E, fluviatile)
Hancock: 8. J. Smith observation 10 Aug 55
Rare; Hancock.

OC.
EQUISETUM SYLVATICUM

W. Harpe pate Brooks 1543, 14 Jun 52 (Brooks).
Infrequent ; Delhi, Kortright.

OPHIOGLOSSACEAE
rie ae DISSECTUM Spreng. var. DIS
by w of W. Harpersfield : estas’ nia fb Sep 51 (Brooks).
Sleidlocet 1 Kovtright.
OTRYCHIUM DISSECTUM Spreng. var. OBLIQUUM (Muhl.) Clute
ville: F. Mulford, 1903 (BK
Scattered ; cn ee Maines
BoTRYCHIUM LANCEO mel.) Rupr. subsp. ANGUSTISEG

l 0 Nab eg
are; Andes, Kortright, Middletown, indscr Stamford.
BorRYCHIUM MATRICARIIFOLIUM A. ne

Arkville: F. Mulford, 1903 (BK

Seattered; Andes, Davenport, ria! Kortright, Middletown,

, Stamford.
BorrYCHIUM MULTIFIDUM (Gmel.) Rupr. aoa MULTIFIDUM
Meridale: Whitney 4459, 26 Jul 35 (NYS)
are; Meredi
BorrycHIUM MULTIFIDUM (Gmel.) Rupr. subsp. SILAIFOLIUM
(Presl ausen
Arkville: Denslow, 29 J pe 20 (NYS).
Rare; Meredith, Middl
BorRyCHIUM ONEIDENSE pon House
Arkville: HE. M. Harvey, 1905 (NY).
Rare; Middletow
Borevonm SIMPLEX E. Hitche.

PTERIDOPHYTES OF DELAWARE COUNTY 117
Catskill Mts.: F. C. Buckheister, Jun 09—Ohio State Univ.

mford (?).

BorrYcHIUM Soa tek os (L.) Swartz

rkville: sflagh atc 19038 (BRL).

a, Davenport, Delhi, Franklin, rrenraey

rte oh, "aialtown, Roxbury, Sidney, Stamford, Walto

pata VULGA'
rtright : pris § Smith 1763, 19 Jul 52 (Brooks, NYS).
are ; cades Kortri

OSMUNDACEAE

OSMUNDA CINNAMOME
Arkville: FE. N. Hare 1905 (NY).
Common; Andes, Davenport, Delhi, Franklin, Hancock, Harpers-
field, Kortright, hk lletown, Roxbury, Stamford.
OsMUNDA sraies NIANA
Arkville: E. N. Barvey: 1905 (NY).
Common; Andes, Bovina, Colchester, Delhi, Franklin, Hancock,
octright, Middletown, Stam
OSMUNDA REGALIS L. . SPECTABILIS “(winld. ) Gray
Stamford: N. ravlor 30%: 1909 (NY, N
Scattered; Delhi, Hancock, Middletown, Stamford.

POLYPODIACEAE
ADIANTUM PEDATUM L.
Arkville: E. N. Harvey, 1905 (NY).
Common; Andes, Colchester, Delhi, Phat Hancock, Kortright,
ord lto

M
ASPLENIUM PLATYNEURON (L.) Oakes
Arkville: H. M. Denslow, 20 Aug 20 (NYS).
Infrequent; Andes, Hancock, Kortright, Middletown.
ASPLENIUM RHIZOPHYLLUM
Arkville: H. M. Denslow, 10 Jul 20 (NYS).

Arkville: E. N. Harvey, 1905 (NY).
Infrequent; Colchester, Middletown, Roxbur
ion FILIX-FEMINA (l.) Roth subsp. ee srum ( Willd.)

Goula | Sie davon 3503, 12 Jun 33 aT

Common; Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Han cock, Harpers-
field, soian Manat. sips wine Roxbury, Sidney,
Stamfor

118 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ATHYRIUM opeesay (Spreng.) Tidestr.
Arkville: P. Wilson, 1915 (BKL).
Infrequent; Andes, Kortright, sane aicelae

(Michx.

- gente ).
common; Andes, Bovina, Delhi, Franklin, a Masonville,
Middletown, Roxbury, Sidney, Stamford, Wal
ELLERI (S. G. Gmel.) Prantl
Arkville: F. A. — 1903 (BKL).

are; Middletow
CrsToprenis BULBIFERA (L.) Bi
Delhi: Brooks 3093, 11 Jul ba pan NYS).
are; Delhi, Middletown.
CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS oh . Var. MACKAYI Lawson
ubbel’s Cove: Whitne o58, ie ay 29 (
Seattered ; Andes, Col — eobtesay Miia Hanioes, Kort-
iddl ry, Sid amford.

bi
eld, Kortright, Middletown, Fpl Stamfo
DRYOPTERIS AUSTRIACA (Jacq.) Woyn. subsp. AUSTRIACA
Stamford: P. Dowell 5801, 6 Jul 09 (NYS)

e; Stamford.
DRYOPTERIS AUSTRIACA (Jacq.) Woyn. var. INTERMEDIA (Muhl.)

Morton
Roxbury: Whitney 3449, 9 Jun 33 (NYS
set Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, jm Kortright,
Middle , Roxbury, Sidney, Stamford, Wal
protest Averniaca hays Woyn. subsp. SPINULOSA (Miill.)
Schinz & Thell.
Davenport: Whitney 5032, 17 Jun 36 (NYS).
Scattered ; Davenport, Kortright, Roxbury.
x DRYOPTERIS Boortm (Tuckerm.) Underw. (D, AUSTRIACA VAR.
)

mfo
DRYOPTERIS pies A (D. C. Eaton) Dow
Andes: A. M. Taylor (inet Fern Journ. 1: 87, 1924).
Rare; Andes
Drvopreris CRISTATA (L.) A. @
Stamford: P. Dowell 5816, 7 ay 09 (NYS).
Scattered; Andes, Davenport, Franklin, Kortright, Stamford.

PTERIDOPHYTES OF DELAWARE COUNTY 119

PRLORTERIC GOLDIANA (Hoo ok. ) A. Gray
w of Andes: Brooks 329, 25 Jun 51 (NYS).
Scattered; Andes, pte: Kortright, Stamford.
DRYOPTERIS MARGINALIS (L.) A. Gr
Kortright: Whine 5045, 17 Jun 36 (NYS).
Abundant; Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Franklin, —
eld, Kortright, oa wea Roxbury, Sidney, Stamford
GYMNOCARPIUM DRYOPTERIS (L.
ille: E. N. Harvey, ie oon.
Scattered; Andes, Bovina, Colchester, Davenport, Delhi, Han-
oa Harperstel, Kortright, Masonville, Middletown, Rox-
‘y, Stam
wide oeii STRUTHIOPTERIS (L.) Todaro
Arkville: es - Harv sie 1905
Common ; , Davenport, Delhi, Franklin Hancock, Kort-
right, Mito Roxbury, Stamford, Walto
ONOCLEA SENSIBILIS L.
Masonville: Whthes 5113, 19 Jun 36 (NYS).
Abundant; Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Franklin, Hancock,
Harpers seal a right, Masonville, Middletown, Roxbury
Stamfor

PTERIS CONNECTILIS (Michx.) Wat
ould School: Whitney 3509, Gime YS).
co Andes, Colchester, oats sun Sidney, Stamford.
HEXAGONOPTERA (M
Bias ‘ M. Taylor (Amer. sie sr anes 14: 87, 1924).

rea a a
Dare rennes gy pa ML.
Hancock: 6. nih 1874 cher al).
Common ; wina, Davenport, Delhi, Franklin, Hancock,

per 0 Bae por
Harr ‘ov Meredith, ’ Middletown, Roxbury, Sid-

Picea. ACROSTICHOIDES (Michx.) Schott
Arkville: EZ. N. Harvey, 1905 (N an
Abundant; Andes, Bovina, Colch , Davenport, Delhi, Han-
cock, Harper. rahield, repo avi Middletown, Rox-
y, Sidney, Stamford, Walton
ee BRAUNIL resbicbte Fée var. PURSHI Fern.
(NY).

2B.
are ; an hi, Middle town.
PYERIDIUM AQuILINUM (L.) Kuhn subsp. LaTiuscuLUM (Desv.)

enn. E. N. Harvey, 1905 (NY).

120 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

: Andes, Bovina, Delhi, apm Hancock, Harpersfield,

ad
Abundant; Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Ha neock, Harpers-
eld, Kor : ae ie Middletown, Stamford, Walton.
s Schot

THELYPTERIS PALU c yar. PUBESCENS (Emthoi) Fern.
rkville: E. .. rvey, po NY).
Co: Bovina, Bet ipo Franklin, Hancock, Kort-

mmon; Andes,
right, Middletown, Roxbur.

If one were to point up one surprising feature of the
fern flora of Delaware County, it would no doubt be the
occurrence of such limestone-loving species as Cystopteris
bulbifera, Cryptogramma stelleri, and Asplenium rhizo-
phyllum. There are no outcroppings of limestone in the
Catskills; the explanation must therefore lie in the fact
that some of the Catskill shales contain relatively large
amounts of lime. As a matter of record, Acer nigrum
Michx. f., Hackelia americana (A. Gray) Fern., and
Oryzopsis racemosa (Sm.) Ricker likewise occur in the
area—three other plants which demand calcareous soils.

A critical examination of the above list discloses a
ioe of a omissions. Selaginella, Isoétes, and

sia, for example, are conspicuous by their absence.
Selaginetla icine (L.) Spring, saya echinospora
Durieu, I. macrospora Durieu, I. riparia Engelm., and
Woodsia obtusa (Spreng.) Torr. have ts been collected
from one or more neighboring counties. It is to be ex
pected that at least some of these species also occur in
Delaware County. In addition, se tie fluviatile, one
of the parents of x E. litorale L., grows in neighboring
Green, Schoharie, and Ulster Lhe a it should likewise
turn up along one of the rivers or lakes of Delaware
County. It is thus apparent that additional fieldwork i7
Delaware County can still supplement our knowledge of
the fern flora of this area.

First PopuLtark FERN Book 12)

REFERENCES
Dowell, Philip. Notes on Some Ferns Found During 1909. Amer.
rm Journ. 1: 12-14.

House, Homer D. aonabad List of the Ferns and Flowering
Plants of New York State. New York State Mus. Bull. 254,
Sept. 1924, pp. 12-41.

Peck, Charles H. sete of the Botanist, Thirty-First Ann. Rep.

ew York State Mus. 1878, p. 53.
Platt, M. Pla nts ie and Examined by the Botanic a
Dur the Summer Term of 1840. Fifty-Fourth epee
ths Univ. of the State of New York, 1841, pp. ey

Tap avis M. Some pe ioe aha of the Western esti
Amer. Fern aes 14; 85-88. 1924.

Wager Warren Cytotaxonomie Observations on North Ameri-
ean Ferns, monet 57: 219-240. 1955

The First Popular Fern Book
R. C. BENEDICT

A few years ago, a reference was noted to a fern book
by an English writer with a publication date of 1790;
the author was given as James Bolton,’ a and the title

s ‘‘Filices Brittanicae.’’? The very early date was a
matter of interest and the reference was filed in mem-
ory as something to be looked up when time permitted.
After ferns themselves, books about them are an inter-
esting fo of fern study and the earliest known vol-

During the fall of 1955, a copy of Bolton was obtained
from the New York Botanical Garden by an inter-
library loan. Its inspection and some follow-up corre-
spondence have led to the present report.

Two questions are of particular sncioine What was
the nature of this eighteenth century book? And what
influence did it have on the tremendous expansion of
British interest in ferns which was characteristic of
the nineteenth century?

11758-1799. The composite, Boltonia, was named after him.

122 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

There seems to be no question but that Bolton’s vol-
ume was the pioneer in popular fern literature. One
hundred years later, a well-known fern student, James
Britten, of the Department of Botany of the British

useum, wrote as follows: ‘‘The first book specially

pro
first Aah at Leeds in 1785; the second at Hudders-
field, in 1790. These two form a quarto volume, ¢con-
taining cae inc pages of letter-press, and forty-six
coloured plates.’

olton’s purpose may very well be reported in his
own words: ‘‘What is here attempted is to bring to-
gether and illustrate the British proper ferns. No at-
tempt of the kind has ever appeared in our own, or in
any other language.’’ He makes the further observa-
tion that ‘‘many who may wish to be informed on the
indigenous plants of our country have neither time

terms, he adopted a series of simpler ones in his pre-
liminary outline on fern structure. For example, for
leaf, pinna, and pinnule, he proposed ‘‘first leaf,’’ ‘‘se¢-
ond leaf,’’ and ‘‘third leaf,’’ respectively. Spore cases
are called ‘‘seed vessels, the most plain and expressive
name I ean think o . globes or separate seed vessels
are of a =e truly ‘gphaeiael and are attached to the
2 James Britten. European Ferns. Cassell, Potter, and Halpi

1890. Tasidaataly, Britten’s volume is indicated by its autho
as the first on the ferns sf Europe or any part of continental

urope writ , eral reader; pe treatises had been
addressed to pistemionsl botanists He comments, also, that at
least up to 1890, fern s tudy a wide-spread amateur pursuit

had been limited to English- speaking peoples.

First Popuntar Fern Boox 123

surface of the leaf by a short footstalk. They are sur-
rounded by a circular chain, or elastic ring, which, when
the seeds are Fre ‘Wreoke and tears open the shell in
a vertical fashion

Bolton has been referred to as an ‘‘Highteenth cen-
tury naturalist.’? He published popular books on two
other nature subjects—on fungi, and on birds. His ‘‘An
History of the fungusses growing about Halifax’’
(1788-1794) was reprinted in German and has earned
him the characterization of ‘‘gifted amateur,’’ with
special reference to his plates. Under the happy title
of ‘‘Harmonia ruralis’’ (1794) he published a volume
on British songbirds. In 1845, a reprint of the bird
book was published from the original plates, except
for a different introduction. The fungus book I have
not seen, but the bird and fern volumes acaed
with a strong love of nature and careful ee of
the things he was writing about. Some further words
from the introduction to the fern book present it as
“for those who are desirous to inform themselves of
a tribe of plants so singular and beautiful as the British
proper ferns must be allowed to be.’’

Amateur he may have been, but his fern book shows
him to have possessed keen discernment, intelligently
sae of the current Linnaean system of classification

m which his technical names were based. Using the
oa then common, he presents 33 species under
Seven genera: Ophioglossum, Osmunda, Acrostichum,
Pteris, Asplenium, Polypodium,’ and Trichomanes. His
Osmunda includes species of four different genera as
We regard them today: Osmunda regalis, Botrychium

wnaria, Cryptogramma crispa, and Blechnum spicant.

is own comment shows his dissatisfaction with this
assemblage: ‘‘It must offend the taste of the judicious
Saerce

5 Misspelled Bh Fes wecrigual through the text but corrected in
the list of Err.

124 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

reader to find the characteristics of the genera fixed on

a separation between Ophioglossum vulgatum and Bot-
rychium Lunaria, between Acrostichum septentrionale
[a true Asplenium| and Asplenium Ruta- muraria.
Acrostichum was for many years after Bolton a catch-all
genus for many diverse fern species that, when mature,
have an appearance of massed spore cases on the backs
of their leaves. Bolton notes this but observes that
one Acrostichums, when young, belong in Asplen-
ium.’

Of the other genera, with several species, Asplenium

ium, Polystichum, Phegopteris, Thelypteris, and Gym-
nocarpium, to use the most recent generic names in-
dicated by two British fern students of today, Irene
Manton and Stanley Walker.

Since Bolton was writing for the general public, he
naturally indicated for each species a ‘‘common’ OF
gat name. Some of these, even more than is true of

ce) names used in recent fern books, bear
ee relationship to the scientific classification of his
time. or example, most on the true aspleniums are
designated ‘‘maidenhairs,’’ a usage that may have
arisen from the widespread use of a good many ferns
in recipes of the kitchen, or as herbs in medicine. Ad-
iantum Capillus-veneris is referred to as ‘‘true maiden-
hair.’ Blechnum (his Osmunda) spicant is called
‘trough spleenwort.’’ For some of the species he places
in Polypodium, the English name is merely a translation
ot the latin technical name, e.g., ‘‘marsh polypody,’

“‘erested polypody.’’

Was Bolton’s volume the starting point from which

First Popuntar FERN Book 125

developed the very extensive interest and publication
which characterized British fern study during the nine-
teenth century? The answer to that question seems to
be completely negative. A search through a score or more
of the fern authors of both the first and second half of
the 19th century turned up only two or three citations.
In a letter, the Rev. E. A. Elliot, a member of the Ameri-
can Fern Society and long active in the British Pteri-
dological Society, suggests the reason: ‘‘Speaking gener-
ally, and from memory, I should say Bolton got for-
gotten when the big outburst of fern interest began, and
Newman and Moore began writing; and therefore Bolton
never much influenced fern study. He seems usually re-
ferred to as an original authority for the occurrence of
this or that species in Great Britain.’’

Soon after Bolton’s time, long before Newman and
Moore, professional botanists began to depart from the
Linnaean conceptions as to fern genera. Quantities of
herbarium collections were received from all over the
world, and many new species and genera had to be recog-
nized. During the same period, John Smith, curator of
ferns at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, placed great
emphasis on the study of living fern material. During
his 41 years of service at Kew, he reports that the tropical
fern collection grew from 40 species in 1823 to 1084 in

864 when he retired.*| Tropical ferns as an amateur
pursuit attained a considerable vogue and this continued
at least until the time of the first World War. I have in
front of me the ‘‘Amateur Guide and Catalogue’’ of H.
B. May and Sons, of Upper Edmonton, England, which
was put out apparently in 1913.° The catalog introduc-
tion states that ‘‘upwards of two thousand species and
varieties’’ are listed and available for sale. In 95 pages
eet

‘Historia Filieum. 1875. :

5 No publication date is given but letters dated late in 1912
from pleased customers are included.

126 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

of listing, 71 are concerned with tropical species that re-
quire greenhouse treatment in Great Britain. Of the re-
maining 24 pages devoted to hardy ferns, six, listing
‘‘hardy exotic’’ species, include a good number of sub-
tropical origin which would be hardy only in the warmer
parts of the United States, e.g. species of Cyrtomium,
Pteris, et al. The remaining 18 pages are concerned with
British species and their multitudinous varieties. Most
of these are included in half a dozen species: common
polypody, hart’s-tongue, lady fern, male fern, and two
polystichums—P. aculeatum and P. setiferum (P. angu-
lare of many authors).

The greatest expression of amateur interest in ferns
in Great Britain developed after 1850 and centered in
the discovery and cultivation of an ever-increasing num-
ber of sports from native species. In 1880, Edward
Lowe, whose books are perhaps the most extensive eX-
pression of this phase of fern interest, stated that over
1100 varieties had been announced and named.® ‘Lowe
mentions Bolton, citing him for two things: the recogni-
tion of the limestone oak fern as a species distinct from
the common oak ferns, and for having called attention
to the existence of varieties among British species, ¢.9-
Polypodium vulgare var. cambricum, and ‘‘ well-known
varieties of hart’s-tongue.’’

Obviously, nearly all the nineteenth century expan-
sion of fern study in Great Britain was outside and far
beyond the scope of Bolton’s Filices Brittanicae. His
interests and the contents of his volume are much closer
to the kind of amateur fern study in the United States,
from Robinson’s first volume in 1878 to the present.
His volume contains many more items of interest about
the natural history of ferns than could be included in
the space of this article.

Brookuyn, New York.

6 Our Native Ferns.

Spore StupiIEs IN DRYOPTERIS 12%

Spore Studies in Dryopteris. III
Fern Warp CRANE

0 previous articles' on Dryopteris spores dealt
with the ‘‘cristata-clintoniana-spinulosa’’ complex. It
was established that spore characters are diagnostic for
the taxa of that series. This further report of spore
studies? includes Dryopteris arguta from the Pacific
Coast and D. marginalis, D. fragrans var. remotiuscula,
and one form of D. filiz-mas from eastern North Amer-
ica.

The close similarity of the spores of these species is
clearly demonstrated by the perispore characters they
possess in common. The spores are tan to brown in
color; the perispore surfaces and edges are completely
glabrous; and the wings are usually small and numer-
ous, varying from separate to continuous.

The smallest spores of the group occur in D. arguta
(Pl. IX, fig. 1; p. 129, fig. 1) and D. marginalis (Pl. IX,
fig. 2; p. 129, fig. 2), in which narrow wings, often con-
tinuous, give a sculptured appearance to the perispore.
The wings in D. arguta are more numerous. D. fragrans
var. remotiuscula (Pl. LX, fig. 3; p. 129, fig. 3) bears the
largest spores in the series. A tight-fitting perispore
is so covered with manifold wings that the spore is
tuberculate in general aspect.

everal markedly different types of spores have been
observed in specimens identified as D. filiz-mas, col-
lected from widely scattered sections of North America.
The form illustrated here, termed form K). 1s from
Bridgewater, Windsor County, Vermont. The treat-
ment and discussion of additional forms is reserved for

1THIs JouRNAL 43: 159-169. 1953; 45: 14-16. 1955. :
2 These studies have been financed by a ape from the

Penrose Fund of the American Philosophical Society.

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLuME 46, Puate IX

Ww

Pe ig. 1, Dryopteris argeta; PIER MEN? OCINO Co., Cauir., O. J- Byers
Doing oe ae Fig 4g; 2. Ds ssmasecdies NEAR “LEBANON, A ? Lont TON, VAs
rane 53834. Fig. D bile Se VAR. remotiuscula; HAINES FALLS,

E. T. Wherry Cine 5036). Fig 4. D. filiz-mas; NortH Fe oaR want,

Vt., Crane 5414

Spore Stupies IN DRYOPTERIS 129

another paper when it is hoped that cytological data
will be available. Rhizomes have been sent to the Uni-
versities of Leeds and Liverpool, England, where studies
are now in progress. The cytologists’ report on the
chromosome counts may well lead to a review of D.
filix-mas in North America.

DrYopreRiIs AarGUTA. Fig. 2, D. MARGINALIS. Fig. 3. D. FRA-
1G. 4 Ss

Fig. 1,
GRANS VAR, REMOTIUSCULA D. FILIX-MAS.

In general appearance the spores of D. filix-mas form
“A”? (Pl. IX, fig. 4; p. 129, fig. 4) resemble those of D.
fragrans var. remotiuscula. However, they are slightly
smaller in size and the number of wings is fewer.
Plants producing spores of this sort are represented in
collections from Newfoundland to Ontario and to Ver-
mont.

130 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Spores of the British D. filix-mas sens. strict. emend.*
are quite comparable to those described under form
‘*A.’? The plants themselves are alike in habit of
growth and in morphology, and they live in similar
habitats. D. filix-mas is one of the most common ferns
in woods, hedgerows, and ditches throughout Great Brit-
ain; it has been transplanted to gardens of large estates
and of small cottages alike. In fact, it seems to be
almost a naturalized plant. In eastern North America,

of individual plants in any given area is small. Is i
possible that the early British colonists brought rhi-
zomes of D. filiz-mas to America, and our occurrences
represent escapes from cultivation? It appears quite
conceivable that early settlers wished to transfer a bit
of their own country to a new and strange land. And
what more familiar and desirable plant could be chosen,
since the fern is hardy and a transported ?

1. Spores of D. arguta, D. marginalis, D. fragrans
var. remotiuscula, and D. filiz-mas form ‘‘A’’ show
striking similarities but still exhibit differential char-
7 peculiar to each fern.

. Chromosome counts are necessary before ee
oe can be reached on the status of the D. filx-
mas complex in America.

anton, Irene. Problems of Cytology and Eyolution in the
Piondopinin, Cambridge University Press. London. p. 44. 1950.

CERATOPTERIS DELTOIDEA 131

Ceratopteris deltoidea Disappears from
he Type Locality

CHARLES E. DEVoL

The type of Ceratopteris deltoidea Benedict was col-
f

lected there also by Harris, Wilson, Sherring, and others.
Specimens of these collections are in the herbaria of the
U. 8. National Museum, New York Botanical Garden,
and Missouri Botanical Garden. G. 8. Jenman collected
it at Clarendon, Jamaica, in 1874 and 1879.

Since I am especially interested in this genus I wrote
to George R. Proctor at the Science Museum, The In-
stitute of Jamaica, asking him to collect some specimens
forme. He replied that C. deltoidea and C. thalictroides
“have not been seen here for over fifty years. I myself
have searched for them during the past six years without
success. As a matter of fact, the field trip which took me
out when your letter arrived was a visit to the type
locality of C. deltoidea, near the mouth of the Orange
Bay River, but the plants were not to be seen.”’

C. deltoidea has also been collected in Puerto Rico,
where P. Sintenis collected it first in 1886. Britton
collected it at Ratillas, Earle at Aguirre, and Hess at
Mayaguez. I wrote to Ismael Vélez at the Polytechnic
Institute of Puerto Rico to see if he could get me some
Specimens. In reply Dr. Vélez says that they do not

ave Ceratopteris and enclosed a letter from Garcia
Benitez, who wrote he had never found it

C. daNotdea once grew in Louisiana. The Herbarium
of the New York Botanical Garden has specimens col-
lected by Hasse in 1885 at New Orleans, some collected
by Cocks in 1890 at Lake Ponchartrain, and by him in
1910 at Bayou Gold. At the suggestion of Donovan S.

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 46, PLATE X

Ceratopteris deltoidea; ORANGE Bay River, JAMArcA, Marcu 14, 1908,
William Harris. LOWER LEAF STERILE, UPPER TRANSITIONAL BETWEEN STERILE
AND FERTILE,

SHortER Notes 133

Correll, I wrote to Clair Brown regarding the species,
and he replied that it is no longer found to be in Louisi-
ana. He remarked that the habitat had evidently been
disturbed.

The sterile leaves of OC. deltoidea are broadly deltoid
in outline, the ultimate lobes being large and broad. The
stipe is long and stout, but not swollen. The transitional
leaves are also broadly deltoid in outline, but with
narrowly linear or lanceolate ultimate segments. The
fertile leaves are similar in outline to the sterile leaves,
but have long narrow ultimate segments, with revolute
margins that cover the sporangia. The illustration may
help those who are not acquainted with this species to
identify it.

Paul C. Standley, who has collected Ceratopteris in
Central America, writes that it ‘‘grows in places where
no sensible person would ever look for a fern.’’ It is to
be hoped that it will continue to be found in the streams,
rivers, lakes, and pools of the West Indies, and in Cen-
tral and South America.

Shorter Notes

Wuat Ferns May Br Cuassep AS WEEDS ?—

In a recent issue of the National Horticultural Mag-
azine,’ B. Y. Morrison reports some experiences with
the Japanese climbing fern, Lygodium japonicum, usu-
ally known as L. scandens in horticultural literature.
Besides noting that it could be grown successfully as
a dooryard plant, he notes that it has been reported
a8 a weed in parts of Alabama, and also quotes a Japan-
ese report that it may be a serious weed in parts of
Japan. Lygodium japonicum is one of the subtropical
Species often grown by northern florists for table fern
use. It has been reported as hardy with protection as
far north as New Jersey. Potted plants can be suc-

‘Vol. 35: 47, 48.

134 AmMeERICAN FERN JOURNAL

cessfully grown as house plants in the northern states.

species, but with interest also in any tropical species
which may on oceasion qualify as weeds—plants inter-
fering with cultivated crops. Some years ago in re-
sponse to a statement that our native ferns are never
aggressive, never troublesome in relation to crop plants,
an exception was noted with respect to cranberry cul-
tivation in eastern Massachusetts. There the common
marsh fern and the Virginia chain fern were reported
as frequently troublesome invaders of cranberry bogs.
The common brake has earned opprobrium both for its
invasion of grazing areas and because its foliage is
harmful to cattle. Likewise, the common horsetail is
harmful browse and may even invade moist situations in
ploughed land and lawns.

Under the special conditions of greenhouse fern eul-
ture, both commercial and in special collections, spore
cultures designed for particular species are often in-
vaded and pre-empted by undesired species, such as
Polypodium aureum, Cyrtomium faleatum, et al. Does
any reader know of circumstances in which other fern
or caer species have qualified as troublesome

s?—R. ENEDICT.

A European FERN ror NortHERN GARDENS.—Great
Britain and continental Europe have contributed very
few species to the fern gardens of the United States,
particularly where there are severe winters. The types
of cultivated hardy ferns available have been chiefly

tum and P. setiferum, usually known as P. angulare
among British growers. For that reason, it is interesting
to run across a European species, Athyrium crenatum

SHORTER NOTES 135

and figured by James Britten, in his European Ferns,
published in 1890, and its range given as northern
Europe and Asia, from the Scandinavian countries all
the way to Japan.

In appearance, from Britten’s figure, it looks a little
- like the rather well known Japanese variegated athy-
rium, A. goeringianum var. pictum, the hardiness of
which has been well tested. The leaf-blade is, in gen-
eral, triangular, the stipe thick. Whether it would
offer competition in growth and other good qualities to
the American athyriums, A. pycnocarpon and A. thelyp-
teroides, will have to wait trial, but it would be an in-
teresting project to obtain plants for a try-out. Some
correspondent who can supply viable spores would con-
fer a favor on American fern gardeners interested in
testing this species.

In the preceding paragraphs, I have used the genus
name as a common or English name in preference to
referring to this fern as some sort of a ‘‘lady fern,’’ as
has been done with the Japanese variegated species. I
do not like the practice of calling athyriums ‘“spleen-
worts’’ which dates from an early American misconcep-
tion of the relationship of these species with true spleen-
worts. Dr. Wherry has attempted to correct this out-
moded use of spleenwort by coining the names “glade
fern” and ‘‘silverstripe fern’’ for A. pycnocarpon and
A. thelypteroides. Perhaps these names may recelve
general acceptance, but, in any event, calling all species
of the genus athyriums will be perfectly clear. It will
also follow the precedent of using the generic name
Woodsia as a common name without a capital letter, a
Practice very familiar in the case of many flowering
Plants genera, eg. gladiolus, delphinium, et al—R. C.

DICT,

Bene

136 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

American Fern Society

Los AnceLEs Mertine. Los Angeles members of the
Fern Society, including Mrs. Fay MacFadden, Mr.
Fred Kaye, Mrs. Barbara Joe Hoshizaki, and Mr. A. W
Roberts, and guests met August 3 for a dinner and
informal meeting which was addressed briefly by the
undersigned. Four new members were enrolled, whom
we are glad to welcome: Dr. W. C. Drummond, Mr.
Paul C. Hutchison, Miss Muriel Merrell, and Mr. Frank
X. Montoya. Interest in fern matters is running high in
the Los Angeles area, and we may expect to hear more
from the enthusiastic group there-——C. V. Morton.

NEw MEMBERS
Miss Eva Alexander, ~ Graymont Ave. West, Birmingham 4, Ala.
Mr. Claude Berryhill, P. O. Box 2934, Carmel, Calif.
Dr. Alfred T. Collette, Dept. of Plant Sciences, Syracuse Univ.,
New York.

y:
Mrs. Edward J. Dorn, R. F. D., Castleton-on-Hudson, New York.
Dr. W. i York.

Mrs. George Harsh, 383 Greenwood Road, Memphis 17, Tenn.
Mr. Cecil Hart, 132 N. 3rd St., Montebello, Calif.

Mr. F. E. Miholich, 3121 Robinhood Lane, South Bend, Ind.
Mrs. Travis G. Rogers, 2156 Kent Way, Bitinin ghiain 9, Ala.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

Mr. Rollin C. Bastress, 87-71 Chevy Chase St., Jamaica 32, N. Y.
Mrs. David C. Boyce, 516 ve 6th, Hinsdale, Ill.
Mr. Curtis F. Dowling, Jr., P. O. Box 178, Coral Gables, Fla.
ee ee Garrett, 309 Majaciik, Tampa 6, Florida.

David F. Grether, State Teachers College, St. Cloud, Min
ie Ellsworth P. Killip, Smithsonian Institution, sea 9 25,

DC.

Dr. Gilbert R. Rossignol, 1010 East Park Ege Savannah, Ga.

Mr. Albert B. Schultz, Penryn Park, Port Hope, Ontario, c anada.

Dr, spotty C. Smith, National Science Ea a Washington 25,

Mr. Orville M. Steward, P. O. Box 19, Fordham Road Station, Bronx
58, N. Y.

Mrs. Lucile Evans Swendsen, 211 TIlinois St., Vallejo, Calif.
Mr. Marcial Truffin, Villa Mercedes, Ave. Truffin, Marianao, Cuba.

October-December, 1956

American Hern Journal

A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS

Published by the

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY
io
¢ v. ‘MORTON

er BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS
A. C. SMITH

‘ern Society: — :
: angus ore. Lover’ ; Su

: The American Hern Saciet

Gouncil fas 1956

- OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR

se dpa L. WiccINs, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford bites Cali
fi :

ornia
- Dwient M. Moore yh abc of Botany, University of pie?
wilt ce Arkan Vice-President
Minprep E. t Deoattinett of Botany, Syracuse Chteerety
: Syracuse, Mew Yo Tk ecretary
Ronatp L. Mi co ttshemer Department of Botany, Ene by Kan-
pe sas, Lawrence, Kansas asurer
c YV. Morton, Smithsonian Institution, becca iade™ eee D.C.
; tor-in-Chief

OFFICIAL ORGAN

| American Fern Journal

ae _ Dudley Her! rbarium, Stanford Univ
= ational Daeae: Foundation, Washington

“aw Mustrated reatenny devoted to the general study of fons. a

seta $2.35 per |
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Ampriran Fern Journal

Vou. 46 OcToBER—DECEMBER, 1956 No. 4

Observations on Some Bulblet-producing Popu-
lations of the Cystopteris fragilis Complex

W. H. Waener, Jr. AND Date J. HAGENAB

Several years ago, C. V. Morton’ suggested that mem-
bers of this Society might profitably cooperate in the
study of the American varieties of the fragile-fern,
Cystopteris fragilis, a group of perplexing variations,
some of which might be more than varieties—some even
subspecies or species. Since then, the writers have made
some suggestive observations which amply justify Mor-
ton’s viewpoint, and which in some cases will likely lead
to a fuller understanding of relationships than we have
heretofore possessed. A number of localities have been
found in Michigan for a supposed hybrid, Cystopteris
bulbifera x fr agilis.2. The chromosomes of this plant
were studied and shown to number n = 126, 7.¢., it repre-
sents the first hexaploid in this genus known in North
America, the ferns having six times the presumed basic

(These plants were identified when their chromosomes
were reported as ‘‘Cystopteris fragilis var. tennesseensis
(Shaver) McGregor,’’ but it now seems probable that

1 A suggestion for a cooperative study WA members of the Ameri-
ean Fern Society. This JouRNAL 42 (no, 1): 31-35. 1952.

? Hagenah, D. J., 19 155. Notes on eee ee ot I.
New County records in O and P. This

: 5-81.
3 Wagner, W. H., 1955. Cytotaxonomic — on North
American ferns. Rhodora 57 (no. 680): 219-24
gee e 46, No. 3, of the JOURNAL, pp. 9 pines was ae October,
56. ]

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLUME 46, PLATE XI

Lert: BULBLET-PRODUCING heel ct OF THE GLANDULAR VARI-
ETY, TRouT LAKE, MicH. RieHT: GLANDLESS VARIETY, BERNVILLE,
Berks Co., PENNSYLVANI A.

BULBLET-PRODUCING POPULATIONS OF CysTOPTERIS 139

they are not identical with that variety, and, in fact, that
they may represent an undescribed taxon.) Intensive
studies are now being pursued at the University of Mich-
igan of this and other members of the Cystopteris fragilis
complex, utilizing three approaches especially : (1) Grow-
ing plants of different varieties side-by-side under uni-
form conditions; (2) making anatomical studies of pin-
nae and sori by the clearing technique; and (3) com-
paring spore structure and size. Regarding the first ap-
proach in particular, we wish to solicit members of the
Fern Society throughout the United States (and in for-
eign countries also) to help by sending living rhizomes
of populations from their areas. We feel strongly that
interesting populations of this group of ferns are often
overlooked—especially those that form bulblets along the
rachis; the bulblets are commonly very small and are
often only one on a frond (see Pl. XII, b;). (For ex-
ample, some of the materials referred by Weatherby to
var. lawrentiana have since proved to have bulblets, ¢.9.,
from Iles du 1’Etang-du-Nord, Victorin & Rolland-Ger-
main 9333, GH.) The bulblet-producing populations
have so recently been recognized that there are great
gaps in their presently known distribution ; and for many
states (e.g., Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and
many others) where they almost surely occur, there are
no records at all. For this reason, we believe that the
following observations on the bulblet-bearing populations
known to us will be of value. We have also included some
notes sent to us by Dr. R. L. MeGregor and Mr. Joseph
S. Krakow. Dr. Reed ©. Rollins kindly lent us the ma-
terial of Cystopteris in the Gray Herbarium for study.

We hesitate at this time to identify our populations
With any assurance, so we shall merely call them here
the ‘‘elandless variety’? (Pl. XI, the frond on the right) ;
and the ‘‘glandular variety’’ (frond on the left). Our
glandless variety (which is perhaps ‘‘forma simulans

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VotuME 46, Puate XII

a, and ax. Tracings of dried garden-grown leaves of
Trout Lake,

oe Th
Ca, Ca) C4: The glandless variety from Catoctin Furnace, Maryland
(very large and well-developed bulblets collected by E. T, Wherry;
c, has a leaf fragment still attached)

BULBLET-PRODUCING POPULATIONS OF CyYSTOPTERIS 141

Weatherby’’) was found in 1943 in an old iron furnace
at Catoctin, Maryland, by Wagner* and was later en-
countered in the old canal locks at Bernville, Berks
County, Pennsylvania. Dr. Wherry kindly revisited both
of these localities for us and sent living plants. Our
glandular variety (which now appears to be distinct
from ‘‘var. tennesseensis’’) was discovered by Hagenah
first in 1949 in Gogebie Co., Michigan, and subsequently
located in a number of places in the northern Great Lakes
region.

One of the curious facts concerning the bulblet-pro-
ducing entities is that none of their populations has ever
been recorded growing directly on soil, i.e., terrestrially
—although Cystopteris bulbifera, C. fragilis var. mac-
kayi and C. fragilis var. protrusa are, of course, known
to do so abundantly. All the populations that have been
found are growing upon rocks, usually on more or less
vertical walls of rock cliffs, either sandstone or limestone,
or on the man-made walls of canals or iron furnaces.
McGregor, who has probably seen more living popula-
tions of bulblet-producing varieties in the field than any
other worker, has had the same experience, and he writes
(Oct. 5, 1953) that ‘‘ I have never taken a plant from
the ground.’’ It is possible, however, that they will turn
up in terrestrial situations, especially since awareness of
the distinctness of these plants has only recently been
pointed out. Field workers should look out for terres-
trial populations. One observation that may help us
locate bulblet-producing populations in terrestrial situ-
ations is that they appear to be more frost-resistant than
the more typical varieties of C. fragilis.

Bulblets were first noticed in plants considered to be
varieties of C. fragilis as early as 1933 by Elizabeth
Pinkerton, but her discovery seems not to have attracted
1d Ratton, bocurvende of the apparent hybrid Cystopteris. This
JouRNAL 34 (no. 4): 125-127.

142 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

attention.* Although the bulblets have been repeatedly
compared with those of C. bulbifera, they actually have
very definite differences. With respect to their positions
on the fronds, those of the ‘‘hybrid’’ varieties tend to
oceur singly or a few at a time along the rachis at the
junctures of the pinnae, either at the extreme base of the
blade (as in some of the Great Lakes material), or in the
upper half or third of the blade (Pl. XII, a). They are
very rarely—almost never—found on the pinnae. In
C. bulbifera the bulblets are borne abundantly on the
dorsal sides of the costae of the leaflets, and they are
usually much more common than in the present forms.

The bulblets of C. bulbifera are frequently ilhnsthateds
and in their details they deviate quite noticeably from
those in the C. fragilis complex. In general, the bulblets
of C. bulbifera are essentially symmetrical, nearly round,
with two very succulent, hemispherical ‘‘cotyledons,”’
between which the shoot apex later grows. The bulblets
when mature (contrary to Shaver’s illustration’) are
usually almost entirely naked, with a shiny epidermis,
as was beautifully illustrated by Geske.? The bulblets
of the ‘‘hybrid’’ plants, on the contrary, are usually
more or less ovoid, asymmetrical, and commonly highly
irregular. Furthermore, they frequently form sporangia
from their surface cells, as will be described below.

Our ‘‘glandless’’ and ‘‘glandular’’ varieties also differ

ee paiie ge Ua iw tay ee
5 Ferns and Fern Allies of Missouri. Ann. Missouri Bot. Garden
20: 45-78.
6A study of Tennessee ferns reste, a to the genera a
—_ we rape eee — Cystopteris. Journ. Tenn. Acad. Sei
(no. 2): 101. fig.
7 Marvels of ora ite. Nat. Geogr. Mag. 47 (no. 5): 547-562.
May, 1925 ee :

BULBLET-PRODUCING POPULATIONS OF CyYSTOPTERIS 143

from each other in their bulblets: The bulblets of the
Pennsylvania and Maryland representatives are practi-
eally naked, except for some hairs and small scales at
their apices, and they appear to be much more irregular
than those of our glandular variety (cf. Pl. XII, b, and
c.). All the bulblets of our glandular variety of the
Great Lakes region tend to be heavily invested with dark
scales when mature, so that their ‘‘cotyledons’’ are
scarcely or not at all visible. In both of these varieties,
there is a tendency for sporangium production to occur,
especially around the sides and base of the proliferation,
as shown by the arrows in Pl.

Natural propagation via these shilidevatiowy probably
occurs from time to time, although it must be very much
less common than with the analogous structures of C.
bulbifera. Dr. McGregor (in letter, Oct. 31, 1955) con-
tributes the following notes:

“Mr. Weatherby had early asked me to look for bulb-
lets forming sporophytes naturally. I have observed this
twice. The first time was in Woodson County. Here a
ledge had a row of perhaps 67 to 70 plants growing out
from a erevice. The fronds hung down the side of the
ledge. Just below. was a small shelf. On this I found
Several bulblets. Some were just recently from the par-
ents. Several were anchored and had a primary leaf
about 2 em. long. The second field observation was not
SO positive as the first. This time I was collecting gameto-
phytes for class use. They occurred in large numbers at
the base of a sandstone ledge. A small sporophyte was
among them, and was growing from what I took to be
a bulblet. The bulblet, however, was almost gone. From
the ease with which these bulblets can be grown in the
greenhouse, I do not see how they could fail outside.’’

Tn greenhouse culture, our specimens from Fayette,
Delta County, Michigan, formed numerous small plants

144 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

from the bulblets, directly on the surface of the blade.

smal] plant has been grown from a bulblet from a
Trout Lake, Chippewa County, specimen.

Under certain conditions of cultivation, the number of
bulblets may be greatly increased, as was shown by a
plant from Trout Lake, Michigan, grown at Birmingham
out of doors in soil by Hagenah. Some of the fronds
of this plant bore as many as 12 bulblets; two of these
fronds are shown in the tracings in Pl. XII. Such a
condition of supernumerary bulblets was likewise found

““C. fragilis var. tennesseensis produced bulblets much
more abundantly on limestone than on sandstone. I have
seen it on several different limestone ledges and observa-
tion revealed hundreds of bulblets. I have never seen
such on sandstone-inhabiting plants.’’

Over a decade ago it was reported® that the prolifera-
tions of these plants were peculiar in character, and the
description of the bulblets of the colony of the glandless
variety at Catoctin Furnace has proved to be typical of
subsequent observations. The bulblets range from ir-
regular masses 3 to 4 mm. in diameter, made up of sev-
eral smaller masses (mainly leaf primordia) as shown in

l. XII, down to smaller masses of vegetative tissue only
0.5 to 1.0 mm. in diameter, with some sporangeous tis-
sue intermixed. And at the Catoctin Furnace locality,
the latter extreme may also pass into an enlarged sorus
just above a pinna base. It is these tiny proliferations
especially which are overlooked in the field and in the
herbarium, and for which collectors must be especially
on the lookout.

In Shaver’s description of the bulblets of C. tennes-
seensis he commented that ‘‘they seem to be similar to

8 Wagner, 1944, op. cit., p. 126.

BULBLET-PRODUCING POPULATIONS OF CYSTOPTERIS 145

those of C. bulbifera in general structure and shape, in
their location in leaflet axils, and in the perenck si
small white (or rarely brownish) lanceolate scales.’
further comments suggest considerable irregularity :

“The very young bulblets are often club-shaped when
viewed from the side and this is a very common shape
for bulblets in C. bulbifera. In some cases these bulblets
are flattened in one plane and they may even be expanded
into a leaf-like appendage which may show veining. In
one case a very small one had more scales—brown in this
pee than usual and bore a cluster of sporangia among
them

A small bulblet from a plant from Trout Lake, Michi-
gan, is shown in Pl. XII, bi, - = sporangia are borne
along the sides among the sca

During the years 1953-54, . Joseph S. Krakow un-
dertook to grow bulblets of the glandless variety from
Catoctin Furnace, Maryland, in sterile culture; and he
kindly provided us with the following notes: ‘“The bulb-
lets were sterilized in 10% chlorox for 15 minutes and ©
were grown on 0.1% yeast extract plus White’s Standard
Medium.’° Of those put up in culture, approximately
70% became contaminated and were discarded. This
left about 15 bottles of uncontaminated cultures. In
those in which the bulblets were well formed at the time
of excision, growth occurred with new crosiers being
formed, but in no instance with the formation of roots.
In those cultures inoculated with only a piece of the
rachis containing what appeared to be a bulblet prim-
ordium, none grew. Of interest were the masses of pro-
thallia which formed around the bases of the bulblets.
ee Gl ese 0h vices | oat! te some pees Ses

* Shaver, J. M., 1950. A new fern ibcyosiige™ tennesseensis sp.
113. from’ Tocbelass Journ, Tenn n. Acad. Sci. 25 (no. 2): 106-

10 White, P. R. 1948. A handbook of plant tissue culture. Lan-
€aster, Pa, J. Cattell.

146 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

In a few cases, there appeared to be an inhibitory effect
of the prothallia on the bulblet. In these instances the
plantlet died, whereas the prothallia were going strong.”’
In all probability the production of numerous prothallia
around the bases of the bulblets was due to the presence
of sporangia on the bulblets.

This last peculiarity is unquestionably the most re-
markable feature of the ‘‘hybrid’’ varieties in the Cystop-
teris fragilis complex—a situation entirely unlike any
other known species of fern that has been reported to our
knowledge—that sporangia can be borne not only in sori,
but also along the rachis at the bases of the pinnae, asso-
ciated with the peculiar bulblets. Yet this condition,
which seems so teratological, occurs as a more or less
“‘normal’”’ phenomenon in a large number of populations
over a very wide geographical range. Collectors are
urged to make further studies of these unique plants.

DEPARTMENT OF Botany, UNIvERSIry oF MICHIGAN,
ANN ARzBor, AND CRANBROOK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE,
Bioomrieip Hiuis, MicHiaan.

Tree-ferns in Western Mexico
C. V. Morton

In Dr. William R. Maxon’s account of the tree-ferms
of Mexico 23 species are listed and described—six 0
Cyathea, five of Hemitelia, nine of Alsophila, one of
Dicksonia, and two of Cibotium. All of these species are
reported only from Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca, Tabasco,
or Chiapas, all located in eastern and southern Mexico.

There have been rumors of tree-ferns in western Mex-
ico, but no definite information or specimens until rather
recently. Two species may now be recorded definitely.
Alsophila bicrenata (Liebm.) Fournier was collected by

n P. C. yr arb a and Shrubs of Mexico, Contr. U. S.
Nat. "Hor b. 23: 920.

TREE-FERNS IN MEXICO 147

George B. Hinton (his no. 14185) at Chilacoyote, in the

District of Mina, State of Guerrero, on April 20, 1939.

It was reported to be a tree 10 meters high by streams

in dense mixed forests. It is common enough to have

received a local name ‘‘Palo de la Vida,’’ as reported by
i

nton.

The species Hemitelia costaricensis (Klotzsch) Met-
tenius was also collected twice in western Mexico by Hin-
ton, first at Pasién, District of Montes de Oca, State of
Guerrero, October 12, 1937 (Hinton 10793), and secondly
at Coahuayana, District of Coaleoman, State of Micho-
acdn, January 2, 1942 (Hinton 16262). The three speci-
mens mentioned above were identified by Dr. Maxon.

A recent collection of H. costaricensis extends the
range far to the north and west. The ornithologist Dr.
Allan R. Phillips sent a specimen that he found in the
Arroyo de la Cordoncillera, a little south of Puerto Val-
larta, in the northwestern part of the state of Jalisco, at
an elevation of about 100 meters. The species here has
the local name ‘‘Palmita de Tierra Fria.’’

These two species are rather similar in general appear-
ance but differ in many essential ways. Alsophila bi-
crenata has a tall trunk, 5-10 meters high when well
developed. The scales of the crown are conspicuously bi-
colored, the central portion being deep castaneous or pur-
plish-black. The stipe is strongly prickly. The hairs of
the costae are long and abundant, and brown, bullate
scales occur at the base of the costules. Hemitelia cos-
taricensis is often a smaller plant, the trunk sometimes

more. The scales of the crown are more or less concolor-
ous and pale brown. The stipe is, apparently, not at all
prickly. The hairs of the costae are present but fewer
and shorter, and bullate scales are lacking or nearly ee
Tn addition, of course, the H emitelia has an indusium—a
hyaline seale on the proximal side of the sorus, not con-
spicuous but always to be found—whereas the Alsophila

148 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

has no indusia, not even rudimentary ones. It is likely
that study in the field will show additional characters of
habit and perhaps leaf-shape.

It is interesting that in Dr. Maxon’s diseusRien of
Hemitelia costaricensis? the statement occurs: ‘‘The
original specimens, collected by Warscewicz (nos. 36 and
197) in ‘Costa Rica and Veragua,’ have the appearance
of being decidedly xerophilous for a tree fern; and it is
interesting to note that the Guatemalan specimens cited
below are all from the drier, western part of that country
and that the Santa Rosa specimens in particular, which
in their lesser size perfectly match the original, are from
a region which, in fact, may even be called semi-arid.
Few tree ferns are able to exist in such surroundings.”
This suggests that the occurrence of this species in a
region as relatively arid as Jalisco is not altogether un-
expected.

New County Records for Botrychium matri-
cariaefolium in Maryland and Delmarva

CuiybE F’. REED

n Clausen’s Monograph of the Ophioglossaceae
(1938), the map (no. 16) showing the distribution of
Botrychium matricariaefolium A. Braun in North Amer-
ica indicates a single locality in Maryland, which is given
on page 87 as Towson, Baltimore County, where it was
collected by C. E. Waters (G, NY, U). That this species
was reported by Tidestrom (1905) from within four
miles of Washington, D. C., is also noted in Clausen’s
Monograph. This species is not listed in Tatnall’s Flora
of Delaware and the Eastern Shore (1946), and to the
best of my knowledge no specimens of this fern have been
recorded from the Delmarva Peninsula in any of the
three states. In the Ferns and Fern-allies of Maryland
and Delaware, including the District of Columbia (1953),
2 Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 17: 417. 1914.

BoTRYCHIUM MATRICARIAEFOLIUM IN Maryuanp 149

the author indicated on map 2, page 40, several localities
and counties where this species had been found in Mary-
land.

‘Most of the specimens from Maryland have been found
in the Piedmont Region—in Baltimore, Howard, Carroll
and Montgomery Counties. Specimens have also been
found on the Inner Coastal Plain, that is, in southern
Maryland, in Prince Georges and Anne Arundel Coun-
ties. These areas are immediately adjacent to the Pied-
mont Region. The Patuxent River flows from the Pied-
mont Region of Carroll and Frederick Counties through
Prince Georges and Howard Counties and along the side
Anne Arundel and Calvert Counties on to the Inner
Coastal Plain. Such a drainage could account for this
species being along this river near Marlboro, as well as
for the 70 specimens found along West River in Anne
Arundel County, as West River is just to the east of
the Patuxent and their drainages are contiguous in that
area,

It may be worth while to mention here the distribu-
tion of another Piedmont plant that reaches its southern
limit in Maryland in the region of the tidewater Patux-
ent and West Rivers. This most critical species is the
hemlock (T’suga canadensis), which is found in the region
about Battle Creek, in Calvert County, an estuary of the
upper Patuxent River. This area is not too far from
either the West River locality or the Marlboro locality
where B. matricariaefolium has been found. As a mat-

reaches its northern limit in southern Maryland in the
upper tidewater Patuxent River region. Herpetologi-
cally the Patuxent River drainage is also a critical north-
ern limit for Hyla femoralis' and Microhyla carolinensis.”
(1): 6-7.

; 1 Fowler & Orton, Maryland Journ, Nat. Hist. 17
2 Noble & Hassler, Copeia 1936 (1): 63-64.

150 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

The author has collected B. matricariaefolium in west-
ern Maryland in mossy pastures bordering hemlock for-
ests on Savage Mountain, near Finzel, in Garrett County,
at about 2950 ft. elevation. This was the first collection
of this species in the Appalachian Region of Maryland.
Several specimens were collected; their identification has
been verified by Dr. R. T. Clausen. Since this species is
found to the north of Maryland in such habitats, its oc-
currence here in western Maryland is not surprising.

While collecting and studying the flora of the Delmarva
Peninsula the author has found many interesting and
new species for that region, one of these species being
B. matricariaefolium. Tn a forest just east of Silva, in
Accomac County, Virginia, several plants of this species
were found in 1955. Four specimens were collected, and
there were several more. Within a few feet were numer-
ous plants of Ophioglossum vulgatum, Botrychium dis-
sectum f. dissectum and f. obliquum and B. virginianum.
To the best of my knowledge these specimens from Silva,
Virginia, are the first record of this fern on the Delmarva
Peninsula. This woods in which B. matricariaefolium
occurs contains many species of ferns and flowering
plants which are otherwise considered Piedmont in their
distribution; about 150 species are now on record and
an annotated list is being published as ‘‘The Piedmont
Flora of Coastal ac > Notable Piedmont ferns
in this area are Dryopteris hexagonoptera, Osmwnda
claytoniana,t Athyrium Maiyptbrocdess and Ophioglos-
sum vulgatum® These species are known from other
Piedmont areas on the Delmarva Coastal region

The occurrence of B. matricariaefolium on Coastal soils
is also known in New Jersey, west of the pine barrens, in

3Reed, Clyde F. The Ferns and Fern-allies of Maryland and
Delaware, fog ry ex the District of Columbia, 157, map 34. 1953.

map
5 Reed, op. cit. 101, map 19.
6 Reed, op. cit. 37, map 1.

BorrRYCHIUM MATRICARIAEFOLIUM IN MaryLANnD 151

Burlington, Monmouth, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem
Counties, along the estuaries of the Delaware River.’
The finding of B. matricariaefolium in the Silva woods
extends the known distribution of this fern about 150
miles southward and 100 miles eastward from the New
Jersey localities and the Inner Coastal Region of Mary-
land respectively. However, there seems to be no im-

in the Silva woods. (Actually the Silva woods extend

land, to Modest Town and Atlantic, in hsupwiae County.
Virginia.

The following are the specimens forming the basis for

the statements made in this paper.

HIAN REGION: GARRETT Co.: In mossy pastures
uit of Finzel, elev. 2950 ft., Fie 1, 1952, Reed 29320 ead
by R. 'T. Clausen).

PIEDMONT ag Baurrmore Co.: Towson. C. E. Waters (G,
NY, U); Towson, May 30, 1905, C. 0. bute (Reed Herb.) ; moist
woods in Baltimore Co., July 14, 1906, GC. C. Plitt; rocky woods,

E C

31: 22. . ANNE ARUNDEL Co.: Damp ope
West River, below Mayo, W. H. Wagner, Jr., in 1939 and 1941 (70
Keats

: 941).
OASTAL PLAIN: AccoMAc Co. | VincINta: Woods in Pied-
mont area between Silva and Binniékson, May 30, 1955, Reed 36617.
10105 Harrorp Roap, Bautrmore 34, MARYLAND.

je & Edwards, The Ferns of New Jersey, 23, map ©

152 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

A New Name for an Asplenium Hybrid
C. V. Morton

The Scott’s Spleenwort, Aspleniwm ebenoides, was
demonstrated long ago to be a cross between A. platyneu-
ron and Camptosorus rhizophyllus by Miss Slosson.*
Later, another cross, A. cryptolepis Fernald [A. Ruta-
muraria var. cryptolepis Wherry, as I prefer to call it]
with Camptosorus, was described by Dr. EB. Lucy Braun.

It has recently been rather conclusively demonstrated

Dr. Warren H. Wagner, Jr.,? that the well-known
Puce pinnatifidum is a fete tetraploid (allopoly-
ploid) derived by the crossing of Asplenium montanum
and Camptosorus rhizophyllus. This being so, it is quite
likely that this crossing is taking place de novo occa-
sionally, and that some plants of A. pinnatifidum found
in the wild may be sterile diploid hybrids, the result of
recent hybridization and not the descendants of pre-
existing plants of A. pinnatifidum. A condition similar
to this has been shown by Dr. Wagner to exist in A.
ebenoides, for the Alabama population of this is a full-
fledged ‘‘species,’’ being a fertile tetraploid, whereas
plants occurring elsewhere are newly formed, sterile
diploid hybrids. Dr. Wagner has indicated that other
Aspleniums also, such as A. Trudellii, A. Gravesii, and
A. kentuckiense, have some Camptosorus ‘‘blood’’ in
them, being crosses of pinnatifidum.

he I pointed out in my review of Wagner’s paper,”
these facts point up a serious nomenclatural difficulty.
The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature pro-
vides that intergeneric hybrids (if designated by more
than a formula, ie. Asplenium platyneuron x Campto-

1‘¢The Origin of Asplenium eb ” Bot. Club
TO Png po p m ebenoides,’’ Bull. Torr.
2 ‘*Reticulate rotation in the Appalachian Aspl ms,’’ Evo-
tution 8: 103-118. fig. 1-8. 1954. sae ena eages a
is JOURNAL, 45: 25, 26. 1955.

ASPLENIUM HYBRID 153

sorus rhizophyllus) be supplied with a generic name
“usually formed by a euphonious combination of parts
of the names of the two parent genera,’’ and further that
“The [specific] epithet of an intergeneric hybrid must
not be placed under the name of either of the parent
genera.’’ (Appendix II, Art. H3). The example actu-
ally given in the Code is the Scott’s Spleenwort, which
should be called ‘‘x Asplenosorus ebenoides,’’ and not
““Asplenium x ebenoides.’’? If this procedure were
rigorously followed, it would mean that pinnatifidum,

of Asplenium, and anastomosing veins (and the conse-

quent irregularity of the sori) are found in other (unre-

lated) species, such as A. Purdieanwm Hooker, of South

America, which form the ‘‘genus’’ Asplenidictyum J.
mith.

Dr. Wherry proposed‘ that hybrids between Asplenium
and Camptosorus be called x Asplenosorus and he made
the new combination Asplenosorus ebenoides. Although
this name has been accepted in several fern books, it is

4‘*4 Hybrid-fern Name and Some New Combinations,’’ This
JOURNAL, 27: 56. 1937.

154 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

not validly published. According to the International
Code (Art. 49) ‘‘For purposes of valid publication names
in Latin form given to hybrids, including nothomorphs,
are subject to the same rules as are those of non-hybrid
taxa of corresponding rank.’’ This means that hybrid
genera must have descriptions, and also, after 1935, diag-
noses in Latin. Wherry originally provided no descrip-
tion and no diagnosis in Latin. Later in 1937, Wherry°
did provide a description that might be considered as a
combined generic and specific description of a new mono-
typic genus (inasmuch as ebenoides was the only species
known at the time), and consequently valid as a descrip-

names published under Asplenosorus are invalid (Code,
Art::51),

The remarkable hybrid originally described merely by
the formula Asplenium cryptolepis x Camptosorus rhizo-
phyllus EK. L. Braun was provided with a Latin diagnosis.
Later, this plant was provided with a Latin specific
epithet, as x Asplenosorus inexpectatus EB. L. Braun ex
Friesner, Butler Univ. Bot. Stud. 4: 154. 1940, but this
epithet is invalid, since, as shown above, the genus As-
plenosorus is invalid. The hybrid is therefore lacking 4
valid name. It seems fitting that Dr. Braun’s name
should continue to be associated with this plant, and
therefore the following new name is proposed, with her
kind permission.

Asplenium i inexpectatum E. L. Braun, nom. nov

Asplenium cryptolepis Fernald x A. [Camptosorus]
rhizophyllum L., Amer. Fern. Journ. 29: 133, pl. 10.
1939 (diagn.)

In this connection, it is of interest to point out that
in England hybrids between Asplenium and Phyllitis are

5 Guide to Eastern Ferns,’’ 111. 1937.

SHortER NOTES 155

known, and have been provided with the generic name
Asplenophyllitis, which is validly published by Mr. A.
H. G. Alston with a Latin diagnosis. These hybrids are
between Asplenium Trichomanes, A. obovatwm, and A.
Adiantum-nigrum and Phyllitis Scolopendrium. This
suggests that Copeland may be right in reducing Phyl-
litis to Asplenium, as he did in his Genera Filicum.
Certainly, a close relationship between the genera is sug-
gested. Still, these hybrids are excessively rare, and
always sterile, which indicates perhaps that Phyllitis is
farther removed from Asplenium than is Camptosorus.

Shorter Notes

LyYcopopluUM OBSCURUM VAR. DENDROIDEUM F. PROLI-
FERUM IN QUETICO-SUPERIOR WILDERNESS Area, MIN-
NESOTA.—Lycopodium obscurum var. dendroidewm is a
common clubmoss in northeastern Minnesota, where its
extensive colonies dominate the ground cover of forested
shores of many a wilderness lake. Excepting for minor
variations in the size of strobili, the plants are uniform
in growth habits and structural characteristics. There-
fore, the finding of fruiting plants with apical tufts
came as a surprise. The arresting novelties, some dozen
individual plants, constituted a distinct group in a Mossy
hollow, amidst scattered colonies of var. dendroideum,
under a coniferous cover in rocky terrain sloping into
Basswood Lake. The plants, identified as L. obscurum
L. var. dendroideum (Michx.) D. C. Eaton, f. pr oliferum
Viet., are characterized by proliferation of the strobilus
axis into a sterile leafy tip above the sporophylls. All the
Strobili of the plants observed were thus tufted. Occa-
®**Notes on the Supposed Hybrids in the Genus Asple

ira in Britain?’ Proc. Linn, Soc. London 1939-40, pt. 2: 1

nium
39.

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLuUME 46, PLATE XIII

2 d n

Lycopopium OBSCURUM F. PROLIFERUM

SHortER NOTES 157

sionally an anomalous appearing individual plant may be
found in which the fertile strobilus is reduced to a few
millimeters in length with a much prolonged sterile apex.
This rarely encountered variant was discovered and eol-
lected (Lakela 19576), on Sept. 24, 1955, at the Quetico-
Superior Wilderness Research Center, Basswood Lake,
Lake Co. The strobili are well shown in the photograph
by Clifford Ahlgren.

In studying herbarium materials, an earlier overlooked
collection (Lakela 9501) made by the author was dis-
covered among some 60 sheets of St. Louis County plants.
A single plant of this collection, from granite ledges of
Kabetogama Lake, has distinctly tufted strobili. The
other plant on the same sheet is typical var. dendroi-
deum. The Kabetogama Lake site is about 80 miles north-
west of Basswood Lake, thus extending the range of f.
proliferum along the Canadian border.—Ouea LAKELA, ©
University of Minnesota, Duluth Branch.

ART’S-TONGUE IN MicuiaAN A@arn.—In the last num-
ber of the Fern Journal Mr. Dale J. Hagenah reported
the good news of the discovery of a large and flourish-
ing colony of hart’s-tongue in northern Michigan. We
have just received the following letter from Mr. Hag-
enah ;

“IT must report that I have sad news about the stand.
The area was lumbered over last winter although it was
not clear cut. Apparently the tec was interested
only in the real prime timber. M. T. Hall and I were
there this fall. We could still find oe a lot of hart’s-
tongue and in terrain which is not likely to be damaged
by any further lumbering operations, as it is an area
of huge boulders with only small timber. However,
this area would be at most about one-fourth or less of
the total. We do not feel that we can tell much about
the remainder until next year, as the combination of
timber cutting and a hot, dry summer made the area

158 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

look very sad, but we are hopeful since some of the
Bruce Peninsula stands appear to have withstood severe
conditions. The land was in private ownership, but we
hear that the owners will sell after they complete lum-
bering, so it may be possible to find a way to get the
fern area into suitable ownership, so that it can be
protected from further damage. There is still a very
large area which has not been botanized, and so there
is still some possibility of other colonies being found.”’

Perhaps some conservation societies will interest them-
selves in the case?—C. V. Morton.

Recent Fern Literature
‘Ferns or Manaya,’” by Prof. R. E. Holttum is easily
_ the most important book on ferns published in many years
—the result of a lifetime of concentrated work and

rainy tropical jungle and moist mountains provides the
ideal situation for ferns, which if not exactly a dominant
part of the vegetation are certainly an important com-
ponent.

The specific descriptions are commendably long and
detailed for a floristic work. Of course, most valuable of
all is the fact that they are completely original and are
not quoted from other sources, and thus include many
new observations on morphology and relationships. The
wonderful drawings are also wholly original, and are
probably the work of Professor Holttum himself; there
is no indication of assistance from a professional artist.

1In ‘A Revised Flora of Malaya,’’ vol. II, pp. 1-643 fig 1-362.

pl. 1-3. . For sale by the Botanic Gardens, Singapor’-
$20.00, Malayan ($6.00, U. 8S.).

Recent Fern LiverRatvre 159

The general classification follows Holttum’s own system
as he outlined it in 1949.? In this, the traditional family
Polypodiaceae is divided into five—P olypodiaceae sens.

that were formerly included within Polypodium itself),
Thelypteridaceae (which includes only Thelypteris and
some genera that may very well be included in Thelyp-
teris, all of which were formerly included in Dryopteris
sens. lat.), Adiantaceae (which includes Adiantum, Cera-
topteris, and the subfamilies Vittarioideae and Gymno-
grammoideae), and Dennstaedtiaceae, which includes all
the rest. This expanded ‘‘Dennstaedtiaceae’’ i

valliaceae, Aspidiaceae, Aspleniaceae, and Blechnaceae,
and like Copeland’s families is a mélange, completely in-
definable. It is not without significance that no key to
families is provided, nor that there is no Saas
tion of the family Dennstaedtiaceae nor any

tion of it, although descriptions of describable fienitiss
such as Cyatheaceae, Hymenophyllaceae, Thelypterid-
aceae, Grammitidaceae, and the others are provided as a
matter of course. And it is to be regretted also that the
name Dennstaedtiaceae was chosen. Holttum at no time
has attempted to explain his choice of this name, prob-
ably for the good reason that it would be impossible to
justify. Priority applies to family names just as much
as to generic or specific, and Dennstaedtiaceae dates as
a family only from 1940 whereas Pteridaceae or Aspidi-
aceae (and others) have priority of a hundred years or
more. And this is certainly not the only instance in
which the Code of Nomenclature is ignored.*
Sa

*Holttum, R. E. The Classification of Ferns. Biol. Rey. 24:
267-296, 1949,

160 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Holttum’s general approach is radical when it comes
to the recognition of segregate genera and conservative
in dealing with species, which is all right with me. After
all, the discrimination of species is the SED OE thing
in everyday work in the herbarium and in the field.
Genera are of more importance theoretically te prac-
tically. However, Holttum has been conservative in the
Gleicheniaceae, in which only one genus is recognized,
and I was pleased to find only the traditional Hymeno-
phyllum* and Trichomanes in the Hymenophyllaceae.
Exception ought to be taken though of the recognition
of ‘‘Ampelopteris’’ as a genus distinct from Cyclosorus
apparently solely on the basis of having proliferous buds,
for we read on p. 299, ‘‘Ampelopteris is very distinct
from Cyclosorus in its proliferous habit, and may con-
veniently rank as a separate genus; but of its close rela-
tionship to Cyclosorus I have no doubt.’’ The presence
of proliferous buds is a commonplace among ferns an
surely not a character of generic significance or phylo-
genetic importance. One thinks immediately of Asplen-
ium enatum of the Hawaiian Islands, a notably prolifer-
ous plant that is cnly doubtfully even specifically dis-
tinct from another species, and, of course, of the well-
known A. bulbiferum. In American Goniopteris, which

3 For instance, the name Ctenopteris, an illegitimate name that
Holttum proposed for conservation. It was considered by the In-
ternational Committee on Nomenclature, ach rejected. Neverthe-

us a 8, even re g the r genus Prosaptia
to it, with the statement that this ‘‘arrangement seems to involve
m chang: present ci nees.’? Actually,
however, out of 13 species of ‘‘Ctenopteris,’’ Holtt nd it
necessary to make nine new combinations of Malaya
adoption of the name Prosaptia wo have involved exactly the
same amount of change, namely nine new combinations, a and the

would have had — least a chance of 7 cetiinhiies, which those under
Ctenopteris do
4 An dela om minor error was noted in the discussion of f Hy-
menophyllum on p. 75, paragraph 4. Meringium has the segments
toothed “ip Mecodium entire and not vice versa; this is obviou
purely as

ReEcENT F'eRN LITERATURE 161

is closely allied to Cyclosorus, some species have buds and
others do not; and the same holds true in Polystichum, in
Cystopteris (C. bulbifera!), and many other genera.
However, matters of technical nomenclature are not
of importance at all in judging the value of the Ferns of
Malaya, which is truly a landmark in fern books for
which I have the deepest admiration. Considering the
scope of the work, it is impossible to comment on the de-
tails, much as I should like to do so. The fact that
Holttum knows so many of these ferns in the field adds

will find himself constantly consulting it, for its usability
is by no means confined to the limited area of Malaya.
Many of the genera discussed, and many species too, are
widely distributed throughout the world; and many are
known in cultivation also. And so, my advice about the
book is—buy it !—C. V. Morton.

“Fretp Guipe to Ferns AND THEIR RELATED FaAm-
ILEs,’”! is a curiously unbalanced book. The drawings
by Mrs. Foster are among the best ever published, beau-
tifully designed and accurately executed. On the other
hand, the text by Mr. Cobb is one of the worst, being
replete with blunders of all sorts. The area treated is
stated (p. xvi) to be ‘‘that territory lying east of the
88th longitude, north of the 47th latitude, and south of

North of the 36th parallel. This area includes from
Wisconsin south to Kentucky and eastward to the At-
lantie Ocean. The nomenclature employed is that of the
New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora, but regret-
tably the different names used in the eighth edition of

1 By Boughton Cobb, with illustrations by Laura Louise Foster.
Aponpes as one of the Peterson Field Guide Series, by Houghton
n Company, Boston, Mass. pp. 1-281. 1956. $3.75.

162 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Gray’s Manual are not added, so that sometimes users of
the latter work may have difficulty in figuring out which
species is which.

The first 35 pages are devoted to a series of illustrated
keys; the key characters are rather poorly selected and
erudely stated. The individual species, which appar-
ently are arranged in no sort of order (Woodwardia be-
tween Onoclea and Polystichum, Woodsia between Ad-
iantum and Cheilanthes), each have a page of text de-
voted to them, including paragraphs describing the as-
pect (curiously termed ‘‘Style’’), one on Ecology (which
includes some unclear statements of geographic range),
one on Leaves (adopted instead of the well-nigh univer-
sally accepted term fronds), in which the alleged dimen-
sions are stated in inches, followed by the symbol for

lus-or-minus.? The data given are grossly misleading,
often twice the average size of the species; to mention
but one example, a beginner will never find a Walking
Fern if he looks for a fern with leaves 12 inches long and
linch wide. The next heading, ‘‘Leaflets,’’ refers either
to pinnae or (erroneously) to lobes or segments ; and
smaller divisions are clumsily termed ‘‘subleaflets,’’ not
a word that will be found in any dictionary. Axis is
used for either rachis or midrib, stalk for the stipe.* The
descriptions of Rootstocks and Roots do not agree well
with the accurate illustrations; and the roots are too
often said to be black, this being the color of the humus

PT h e conga Per implied here by Professor Wherry is a valid but
subtle one. The symbol + is used in statistics to give maximum and

. .€. +6 inches, mean “aie ¢
en obb writ df neernin, the leaflets 0
Crested Fern Be Gut into 6+ blunt-pointed su subleaflet: “ , - is actually
saying ‘ more or eat blunt-pointed,’’ whereas what: e means 18
‘fabout rine wd
5 And s mr ho “stem? correctly the “i — or paps is
used for ilae a stipe or ra ‘ his, ee ta ead, i nstance,
‘where over-all ne is pias that mt of ss coated by leaf’s
surface is called the Midrib, the name also applied to central stems
contained by ria se subleaflets, ay lobes.’?? (p.1). [Ed]

Recent FERN LITERATURE 163

that stains their simian The old term ‘‘Fruitdots’’ is re-
vived for ‘‘sori,’’ even though it is not really A teat
or descriptive for sori that are not dots but li

The following will illustrate some of the errors: The
fertile leaves of the Ostrich Fern are lute-shaped, not
‘‘lyre-shaped’’ (p. 6); the form of the frond of the
Maidenhair Fern is certainly not ‘‘whorled’’ (it might
perhaps be described as a double-scroll) (p. 12) ; the Oak
Fern is described as having a ‘‘kidney-shaped’’ aes
ium, but actually it has no indusium at all (p. 32);
the Stiff Clubmoss (L. annotinum) the cones are ec
less and not ‘‘short-stemmed’’ (p. 35) ; in Narrow-leaved
Spleenwort, the leaflets are uncut and not ‘‘once-cut’’
(which would mean that they were pinnatifid or pin-
nate) (p. 53); the leaves of Woodsias are rarely, not
“‘usually’’ evergreen (p. 58); in Marginal Woodfern
(Dryopteris marginalis) the edges of the ‘‘subleaflets’’
(4e. segments) are merely undulate, and not “‘serrated
or lobed’’ (p. 64); the Virginia Chain Fern grows in
Sunny, not ‘‘shady’’ locations (p. 124); in the common
polypody the leaves are not ‘‘lustrous golden color’’
above, but are green, and the fruit-dots (sori) are not
‘‘red-brown’’ but yellow (p. 130); the leaves of Rusty
Woodsia are green above and not ‘‘dark brown”? (p. 146) ;
the “‘stalk’’ (i.e. stipe) of Hartford Fern (Lygodium )
is unbranched, not ‘‘sinuous and branching,’’ which evi-
dently has reference to the rachis; in fact, the whole
description of the Climbing Fern shows a misunder-
Standing of its structure; the rachises grow intertwined
and so may give the casual impression of having
‘branches and forks, unlike other ferns,’’ but of course
they are actually unbranched (p. 162); the spores of
Royal Fern do have, and not Sse ’* chlorophyll, and
they ripen in early, not ‘‘late,’’ summer (p. 168) ; in the
Water Clover (Marsilea), the ‘‘leaflets’’ (ie. pinnae)
are said to be composed of ‘‘4 wedge-shaped petals,’’ but
actually it is the leaves, not the ‘‘leaflets,’’ that are com-

164 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

posed of 4 wedge-shaped segments (or pinnae, or leaflets,
but not ‘‘petals’’) (p. 178); the Leathery Grape Fern
(Botrychium multifidum) is said to have a number of
‘‘variable forms, depending on their ecology, and inte-
grating ‘embarrassingly’,’’ by which is intended inter-
grading* (p. 190); in the Rattlesnake Fern, the sporo-
phylls are borne in the spring, and not in ‘¢midsummer’’
p. 192); in contrasting the archegonia of Equisetum
with those of the true ferns, those of the latter are said
to ‘‘grow from the top of the prothallus,’’ whereas they
actually grow on the bottom surface (p. 196); the
branches of Equisetum palustre are said to form ‘ta flat-
topped inverted triangle,’’? but a triangle is a plane
figure and ‘‘cone’’ would be more appropriate (p. 210) ;
E. litorale is considered to be a hybrid of E. fluviatile,
and not E. palustre, as stated (p. 212); the spores of
clubmosses are said to be ‘‘semi-kidney-shaped,’’ which
would seem to mean shaped like half of a kidney, but
actually they are round, and the gametophytes of elub-
mosses are the largest known, and not ‘‘minute’’ (p.
215); [Lycopodium] porophilum does not mean ‘‘split-
leaved,’’ but ‘‘crevice-loving’’® (p. 217); the leaves of
Bog Clubmoss (L. inwndatum) are not ‘144’? inch long,
but are more nearly 14 inch (p. 224); the quadrangular
fertile tips of the stems of Selaginella are not ‘‘spore-
phylls,’’ but cones or strobili (p. 234) ; the publisher of
the Manual of Pteridclogy is Frans Verdoorn, not
‘‘Father Verdoorn’’ (p. 263).
Infelicities in the text could be listed indefinitely.’
4 And at the bottom of p. 53 we find the meaningless statement

regarding the lady-ferns: ‘‘The integration of the varieties in the
middle grounds make them almost impossible to classify properly.

lected by Prof. Wherry for mention are: The strange paragraph at
the bottom of p. 44, ‘‘Practically all pteridophytes are perennial

lants. Certainly all species dealt with in this handbook are peret™
nial; one exception is the British annual gymnogram, Annogramme
sic] leptophylla, a delicate little fern found only in the Channel

Recent FERN LITERATURE 165

Such is the use of the word ‘‘style,’’ defined on page
three as ‘‘the quality of form,’’ for what is normally
termed habit. The enlarged drawings are said to have
been ‘‘arranged as symphonic margins’ (p. 3). The
rootstock of Ebony Spleenwort is said to be both ‘‘creep-
ing’’ and ‘‘erect,’’ which are antithetical terms (p. 90).
The drawing fig. d on page 91 is said to represent a
‘Vegetation budding leaflet’’ growing from an old stalk,
[of Asplenium platyneuron] var. proliferum (p. 90).7
The fruit-dots [by which in this case is meant indusia]
of Asplenium Ruta-muraria are said to be ‘‘on veins near
and opening toward outer segments of outside segments of
subleaflet,’’ whatever that means (p.100). The ‘‘leaflets’’
[pinnae] of Silvery Spleenwort are said to be cut into
“‘semi-subleaflets,’? which could only mean “half pin-
nules’’; ‘‘segments’’ is intended (p. 112). The leaves
Unsealed soins acelin

Islands’’; strange because Anogramma leptophylla is not dealt with
ae Ps handbook, because of the invented word ‘¢oymnogram,

are extremely rare, rather than ‘‘not uncommon,’’ as Cobb has olf
are always borne on the rachis at the base of the pinnae, and no
on the stipe. [Ed.]

166 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

and in the same paragraph are said to often reach 36
inches in length and known to reach as much as five feet
p. 156). The rootstock of Bulblet Fern is said to be
‘‘slightly horizontal’’ (p. 156). The spores of Equi-
setum are said on germination to ‘‘throw off their other
coats and change from round hard bodies to the dorsi-
ventral (spreading or lobed) soft prothalli, male or
ale.’’® The stems of Equisetum scirpoides are said
to have ‘‘3 broad ridges, deeply concave, give a ridge
appearance’’; what other appearance can ridges give?
(p. 198). The stems of Selaginella apoda are described
as ‘‘spreading alternately’’ (p. 236).

To illustrate how badly some individual species fare,
the Netted Chain Fern (Woodwardia areolata) (p. 122)
may be selected.® This is said to ‘‘sometimes grow in
semi-brackish waters,’’ but it is a plant growing in acid
humus and would soon die in such an environment; it is

said to be ‘‘rare,’’ but it is rare only in the north and
common southeastward. Its sterile blades are said to
be cut into ‘‘pairs of nearly opposite leaflets,’’ but these
are in fact alternate, one of the best obvious distinctions

‘8 Aside from the patent absurdity of the above statement, it
might be pointed out that ‘‘dorsiventral’’ does not mean ‘¢spread-
ing or lobed.’’ [Ed.

9 own choice for the worst treatment would be that of the
Oak Fern (p. 78). It is certain that Mr. Cobb has completely mis-
understood the architecture of the frond (which is of a normal

r avi in
hand.) e whole leaf of the Oak Fern is said to be about five
inehes ‘‘tall,’’ but the subleaflets (i.e. pinnules) are said to be
iway eight inches long, an anomaly that I am unable to interpret.

Recent FERN LITERATURE 167

from the sensitive Fern being missed here.*® As usual,
the leaf dimensions are exaggerated. The fertile leaves
are contracted throughout the season and not only ‘‘when
mature’’; their lobes are normally flat, and not ‘‘re-
eurved.’’ They do not have ‘‘sausage-shaped rows of
chainlike fruitdots,’’ but the reverse; and these rows lie
close to the midrib, and not halfway to the margin (cor-
rectly shown in the drawing).

But why go on? For there are scores of blunders such
as those enumerated above. In a work intended for ama-
teurs extra care should have been taken to have the infor-
mation accurate ; folks who are so misguided as to rely on
the present book are going to have to unlearn a lot later
on. The text can only be classed as a disgrace to the
Peterson series of Field Guides, and a serious setback to
fern study by the amateur.’*—Epear T, WHERRY.

In ‘‘Los Hetecnos (Prermorrros) DE CHILE CEN-
TRAL’” our Honorary Member Dr. Gualterio Looser has
provided a useful treatment of the pteridophytes of cen-
tral Chile (the Provinces of O’Higgins, Colchagua, Val-
paraiso, Santiago, Aconcagua, and most of Coquimbo).
The genera treated will almost all be familiar to fern stu-

td te in the drawing. [Ed.]
hey are correctly shown as alternate 1 Satan cratuation

to be the pointing out of the obvious errors
rewriting that the text patently needed. [
1Moliniana 1: 5-95. figs. 1-31, 1955.

168 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

dents of the United States; some of them show affinities
especially with the western states in such species as
Pellaea ternifolia (common to both, although rare in the
United States), P. myrtillifolia (very like P. andromedi-
folia), Adiantum chilense (much like the Californian A.
Jordanii), Cryptogramma fumariifolia (extremely simi-
lar to GC. acrostichoides), Blechnum Gayanum (not un-
like B. spicant), Dryopteris argentina (similar to D.
nevadensis), Polystichum mohrioides (near or identical
with western American plants), Ophioglossum lusitani-
cum subsp. coriaceum in Chile, subsp. californicum in
California), and species of Notholaena and Cheilanthes
suggesting west-American types. This close relationship
between the Chilean and Californian floras has been
known for a long time, and is, of course, not confined to
the pteridophytes. The flora of Chile also shows affini-
ties with that of New Zealand, another well-known alli-
ance; this is shown among the ferns here treated by such
species as Hypolepis rugosula (typically in New Zealand
and represented in Chile by var. Poeppigit), Pteris chil-
ensis (quite like the New Zealand P. tremula), Blechnum
chilense (in New Zealand, the allied B. ‘‘procerum”’),
Asplenium obliquum (typical in New Zealand, var.
sphenoides in Chile), and especially by the remarkable
Pleurosorus papaverifolius. Plewrosorus will be unknown
to most readers, for the very good reason that it is one
of the rarest fern genera, having only three species, all
excessively rare, one in Chile, one in New Zealand, and

in Morocco and southern Spain. The only other

oughly scientific and accurate presentation, which i™-
cludes descriptions, synonymy, citation of specimens,
and notes on ecology, popular uses, and cultivation. It
is to be noted that ferns are still in general use in fol

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 169

medicine in Chile, some, such as Polypodium Feuillei,
apparently being considered almost as a panacea. Some
hilean ferns are in cultivation locally (Looser mentions
particularly Dryopteris argentina, Dennstaedtia glauca,
hnum auriculatum, B. chilense, and Cheilanthes
glauca), but apparently only two have been cultivated in
Europe and the United States—Adiantum sulphureum
and A. excisum—both of which must be exceedingly un-

dropped out of cultivation altogether. Because of the
similarity in climate, it is likely that many Chilean ferns
could be grown successfully out-of-doors in California ;
two species would seem to be particularly suitable sub-
jects for experimentation, because they are both large
and handsome plants—Blechnwm chilense and Pieris
chilensis. Here is tempting ground for some of our new
Los Angeles members to explore. All they need now is
a source of supply.—C. V. Morton.

“Tree Ferns,’’ by our new member Walter H. Hodge,’
is a small pamphlet giving a brief popular account of
the tree-ferns. It is notable for several fine photographs
of trees in their natural habitat and in cultivation. It
is available to Fern Society members at cost (25 cents).—
‘C. V. Morton.

American Fern Society
CHauncey JacKsoN NEWELL, ‘UJ NDISTINGUISHED”’

the welfare of the country at large depends finally on

1Longwood Favorites No. 2, pp. 1-10. 1956. Published by
Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

170 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

the behavior of the general run of the citizens y, even
though the activities of these ‘‘common men’’ are not
specially newsworthy. This note calls attention to an
‘‘undistinguished’’ representative of the Fern Society,
who has owned and operated a grist mill and saw mill
in Alstead, New Hampshire, since 1902. In that same
year, he was married, and also became a member of
the Fern Society. During the past fifty-four years, his
name has probably not appeared in the pages of the
Fern Society publications five times. He has never
written anything for publication; ‘‘I almost did, once,”’
he told Dr. B. R. Allison, a summer neighbor who pro-
vided the data for this note.

r. Newell’s first interest in ferns began when, as a
boy in Parrishville, New York, his birthplace, he tried
and liked eating fern fiddleheads as greens. There, his
first business venture was a grist mill. Later, he be-
came a surveyor and his experiences in running lines
cross-country, through woods and over mountains, stim-
ulated his interest in nature. At the age of 92, he is
still ready to show a friend a fern locality. On a re-
cent visit of Dr. Allison’s, Mr. Newell asked, ‘‘Have
you seen the ferns in the pothole?’’ Instead of giving
directions, Dr. Allison reports, “‘He proceeded to lead
me through the woods to a peculiar rock formation up 4
near-by brook where fragile fern and several other
kinds grew.’’—R. ©. Benepicr.

Susan H. Tuursron:—Through the death of Susan
H. Thurston (Mrs. Edward D. Thurston, Jr.), last sum-
mer, the American Fern Society lost a member who ha
contributed significantly toward the study of ferns as
garden plants, and also to the Fern Society. In 1938,
Mrs. Thurston and her husband, working as a team,
staged an exhibit of 60 native ferns at the annual Inter-
national Flower Show in New York. This exhibit, pre

AMERICAN FERN SocIETY 171

sented under the auspices of the Millbrook Garden Club,

material and the experimental determination of the times
needed for forcing dormant plants into full leafage, had
required extensive testing and record keeping.

Later, Mrs. Thurston contributed a precise report of.
the experiences and procedures of the forcing operation
to the Fern Journal.! The article included a large folded
chart which gave in detail the schedules of development
required by various species. Through the generosity of
the Thurstons, this article was reprinted as a special
Fern Society bulletin of information for distribution to
new members and other interested people. Included with
it were two articles on raising ferns from spores.

A few years later, the Thurstons developed a fern
garden at their home in Sharon, Connecticut. The site
picked, a sunny acre of pasture, was made suitable for
ferns by a shading cover of timber and lath, with borders
of bushy hemlock as windbreaks. Under the lath shade,
grading and a hidden water supply provided a realistic
brooklet and a setting appropriate to different fern spe-
cies. Massive blocks of limestone, and other rock mate-
rial furnished successful sites for rock-loving species.
The completed result was an unusually successful home
for a large number of different ois not a few of which

to visitors ee the Fern Society had a sits Ne meet-
Ing there in 1952.—R. OC. BENeEDICT.

iS,
; This JOURN. 28: 85-94.

a
eo)
ts)
=}
@
Qs
e
ic]
sew
ra)
ne ee
mE.
hae
ae
oF
r=
a
Z
i)
29°
Fo
oO

—98. 1939, and Edson, J. &
1939.

3 This Journ, 32: 41-57.

172 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

New MEMBERS

Mr. onions G. Conley, 145 Townsend Avenue, Boothbay Harbor,

Mr. Wiss Cowgill, 811 Chiltern Road, Hillsborough, Cali
Mrs. H. E. Dillard, 3810 Bales Ave., Kansas City 28, ae
Dr. W. C. Drummond, 1246 North etigs Road, Los anpalee 46,

Ca
Mr. Hobert H. Gaede, P. O. Box 309, Ridgewood, New Jersey
Mrs. cia J. Harley, Merry Point, Virginia
Mr. Paul C. Hutchison, Univ. of California Botanical Garden,
banat Ca
ote oe sida e/o Jonas Swartz, R. 1, Phoenixville, Penn-

ne ‘Sylvia B. Leatherman, 2637 North Lee Avenue, El Monte,
Cali

Mrs. Muriel Merrell, 823 North Laurel Ave., Los Angeles 46, Calif.
Mr. Frank X. Montoya, LaFleur Nurseries, 11373 Pico Blvd., West
Los Angeles 64, Calif.
Col. Allan M. Pope, Mount Holly Road, Katonah, New York
Mr. T. Y. Powell, 316 Pike Road, Benton, Arkansa
ue Joseph Reganse, 2379 32nd, Astoria, New Y: a
Otto C. Risch, 162-10 32nd Ave., Flushing 58, New
am Mary E. Schiferl, 3703 Fairland or sestimle sete
Mrs. Joseph R. Swan, Farmington, Conn
Mr. Marvin Tooley, 4830 Waltham ‘ae | Sa cp Christi, Texas
Miss Tommie Wathington, 1409 Seminole Drive, Greensboro, North
arolina

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

Dr. Karl L. Brooks, 341 East Third date Brooklyn 18, New York
Mr. Delzie Demaree, Townsend Hotel, Hot Springs, Arkansas
M eal W. Gi

if.
Dr. Robert H. McCauley, Jr., 906 Potomac Ave., Hagerstow?,
Maryland
Mr. Howard F. L. Rock, eceetiie of Botany, Harvard Univer-
sity, 22 Divinity Ave., Cam 38, Mass.
sees ae ard M., Shiel me 1429 Gone Basin Late, Sarasota, Florida
A. V. Smith, 5620 Colorado Ave, N. W., Was ge D.C.
wn Lucile E, Swendsen, 211 Illinois we Vallejo, Calif.

INDEX TO VOLUME 46

Index to Volume 46

Acrostichum, 123, 124; aureum,
26, 65; se ptentrionale, 124

Adiantum 48, 159, 162; Cap
lus-veneris, 124; ‘chilen: nse, 1b8

ex 169; | Jordanii, 168:
peda: intuns: 53, 56, 72, O77 10%,
Soe philippense, 65; sulphur-

Aileen, Benjamin R. Report of
New ee bags 51

Alsophila, 146; renata, 146,

Ampelopteris, 160

ile 30

An a

neropiy in 9
Arthropteris, 68
ae creas © ioe
iu ebenoides x platyneu-

no’
ron, a New Triploid Hybrid
Produced under Artificial "Con

itions, 75

Asplenium, ee 124, 154;
Adiantum-nigrum, 155, 165; au-
ritum, 2 arteri, 68; Reps
pdt 1%; Te
anum, 75, 76, x plat wearin.
75, 76; builbiferum,. 161; eryp-
e's 57, 152, eee ee
lum. Dre; regean 6:
eonides 75-81, 152, 13, x plat-
yneuron, 5-81; enat 160 ;
formosum, 65; Geppii, 68; Gra:
Vesii, 152, 153; hem um,
68; inexpectatum, 7 See

105; montanum, 47, 75, 94, 95,

152, x pinnatifidum, 3 obli-

Huan, , Var. sphenoides,

68: obovatum, 106, 155; pin-
75,

ty
; . 152, 153: ‘platyneu:
Ton, 15, 34, 75-81, 87, an “uit,

manes, 15, 32, 53, 57. 71, 8%,
ie 117, 155: Trudellii, 35, 75.
i" 81, 152, 153; viride, 53, 57,

55
154;
154;

ebenoi-
inexpectatus,

53, 56, 110,
Auxin and Psilotum, 36

173

Azolla, 168; caroliniana, 21;
mexicana, 21, 86

Benedict, Cc. Auxin and Psi-
lotum, 30; Chauncey Jackson
Newell, {Undistinguished —
Lover,” 169; A European
for North egy ore 134;
The First ris 6 ed mm ok,
121; ee t of Pre: co dent, 36;
Susan Fiche = 170; ie t
Borax Classed
Weeds ?, ua

Blechnum’ auriculatum, 169; chi-
lense, 168, 169; Gayanum, 168;
procerum, 168 * spicant, 123,
12: 68

Botrychium, 43: dissectum, 84,
116, 150, f. obliquum, 85, 150,
var. obliquum, 83, 116;

olatum ssp. angustisegmentum,
16; Lunaria, 123, ; matri-
cariifolium, 116, 148-151; mul-
tifidum, 116, 163, ssp. silai-
folium, 116: oneidense, 35, 116;
simplex, aig tenebrosum, 151;
pace gage 56, \ 117,

Hontion, Kathryn E. Report of
oe Exchange, 47
Report of

Preridophytes
Co’ , New York,

Camptosorus, 153, 155; _rhizo-
payee she 63, 59, 71, 72, 75,

Campyloneuron phyllitidis, 47
ee omg aha de’ olden ‘Disappears
om the Type Loc 131
Ceratopteris, 42, 3g I s9 : del-

oidea, 131— 133; thalictroides,
Bt

Ceropteris tartarea, 25
~~ rach, 32; officinarum,

Jackson Newell, “Un-
uished Fern Lover,” ad
Spar’ 168: Feei,
Janosa. 16:
Conmaieee. ie vestita, 17

i 146

= Fern

106,

na,
d. Spore Studies
27

34,
fumariifolia,
168 : Stelle ri, 48, 58, 59, 71, 72,
118, 120
Ctenopteris, 160

x
in pteris, III.
Crypto; gr ramma_ acrostichoide
spa,

174 AMERICAN

Cyathea, 146
Cyclosorus, 16

ae Te

tennesseéensis,

86, 137,
144

em

; tennesseensis, 35, 144, 145

Dennstaedtia, 168; glauca, 169;
punctilobula, 21, 110, 118

DeVol, Charles Ceratopteris
deteoidea. Disappears from the
Type Locality, 131

Dicksonia, 146

Diddell, Mary. The ve di of
Pityrogramma calomelan in
Florida, 22
tmer, H. J., F. Castetter

0. M. Clark. ene Ferns end

Fern aris of New Mexico (Re-
view
Drynaria Laurentii, 4

Dryopteris, 49, 93, 124, 159; ar-

, 168, 169; arguta, 127—

ca, 11 var. in-

n

a Pp.
semana

Thelypteris, 19, var.
96

n
pubescens.
57; viridescens,

Elaphoglossum, 69
Equisetaceae, 90

66, 168; arvense,
fluviatile, 120,
affine, 110,
164; scirpoides,
aati sylvaticum, 116; varie
aur opeas Fern for N
ioe te orthern Gar.
Family Names of the Lycosphens,
Faust, Mildred E. Report of Sec-
BNetoe ary,

First Popular Fern Book, 121

FERN JOURNAL

Foster, F. Gordon. Sai Micros-
copy of Fern Spores, 7
Goniopteris, 161
Griswold, Maud Mary. Models
for Spore Study, 1 é
Gymnocarpium, 124; Dryopteris,
34, 119, 163, 166
Gymnogra’ amme tartarea, 25
Hagenah, Dale J. More Hart’s-
Tongue in Michigan, 70
arley, Winifred. J. Ferns
of Liberia (Review), 65; Plants
of the Tree-trunks in ‘Liberia,
BY
Hartman, eats of

Em i 8,
Auditing Commatittee,
Hart’s-Tongue in At ee ge Again,
157
ee a 146;
Histiopteris, incisa, 65
Here. Ms Iter be Flora of Dom
ew
"ae - ape hal 169
ree net erns of Malaya
Re Fg
‘ Review), 18 Report of Auditing
. 42, 160;
26; rugosula,
var. Poeppigii, 168
89
4120; Butleri, 84;
” 420; macrospora,
melanopoda, g4, f. pal-
lida, 84; riparia, 120
Jones, G. N. and G. D. Fuller.
ae Plants of Illinois (Re-
w), 33

costaricensis,

,

Hypolepis * repens,
168,

Tsoétaceae,
Isoftales, 8
Isoétes, 88,
echinospora,
130;

Lakela, Olga. Lycopodium met
scurum var. dendroideu:
proliferum ay _Queticg Superior
Wilderness Minnesota,
155

vd lith Aus co, re port of

tar

Looser, 5 Los Helechos
de Chile Central: (Rev view), 167

obse de
oideum f. oliteram. “iD Qu he
tico-Superior Wilderness Area,
SO)

‘ essum, 107;
d Ha 88 ; woe carolink

110,
inundatum,

stac 115;
ssp. van ailitorme,
flabelliforme, 33;

INDEX TO VOLUME 46

164; lucidulum, 53, 111, 115;
obscurum, 111, 1 ar. den-
@roideum, 115,'155, 157, f. pro
liferum, 155-157; pordphilum,
164; sabinifolium, 1163 Art
tachyum, 115

Lycopsida, 88

Lygodium japonicum, 27,

palmatum, 163; scandens, 34

Marengo, Norman P. The Micro-
scopic prey of the Mature
Spores of the Sensitive Fern,
the Ostrich Fern, and the Royal
Fern, ad

Marsilea, 163; Drummondii, 108;
ponder rifolia, "90, 91

Mattcucela, 35; pensylvanica, 97,

04, 168; Struthiopteris,

Mei Ge regor, Ronald L. Report of

Treasurer, 4.
ae et Ronald L. and_ Emily
man, Notes on Kansas

gn
Sehr reticulatum, 26;
ratum,
Microscopie Structure of the Ma
Spores of the Sanaitive
i and

ser-

Models for §

Mohlenbrock, y hahee rgd The
Preridopny - a. “Faekson Goan.
Par? of bab i it bis an
Baten. o4 en cls pinna-

jobria,

2
So wd John A. Notes on Fern
- istribution in Poniatees, 82
ore Hart’s-Tongue in Michigan,

Morton, C. V. Hart's Tongue in
Michie Seg pe 157 ie New
152" e for an As splenium Hybrid,
Mex Tree eter Western
xico 146
Morton, ron Charles Nei-
oe The” Virginia Chaitifern,

Nara 108

Nevin epis, nal biserrata, 65
(Rocket ‘olor.

ew Cou nty

a quad-

ew Name f
neti pd or an Asplenium Hy-
Son Fern
wy Louis tana 82 Distribution in
oe on Kansas Ferns,
on the” "plerigephates of

Delaware County, New York,

175

Notholaena, 168

Observations on Som ulblet-
producing Pogaiatank a the
Cystopteris fragilis Complex,

Onoclea, 35, 162; sensibilis, 19,
pr 83, 97, 99, 100, 101, 104,

110, 119
pen sccmogen tenerum in Georgia,

Ophioglossum, 123; ke agen
ssp, cali fornicum, 168,
coriaceum, 168; tenerum, lor: ;
vulgatum, 85, 117, 124, 150

Osmunda, 49, 12 cinnamomea,
110, ES Claytoniana, 110,
17, 150; regalis, 57, 65, 85,
97, 102-104, 123, 163, var.
spectabilis, 1%

Pellaea andromedifolia, 47, 168;

atropurpurea, 16, 19, 56, 86,
var. Bushii, 19; glabella, 19,
573 myrtillifolia, 168 ; terni-
folia, 168

Phegopteris, 124; — connectilis,
hexagonoptera, 110, 119
Phys, 154, 155; Scol open-
drium, 53, 54, 56, 93, 155, 157,
a ar, americanum. , 70-74
Pilularia. 16.
Pityrogramma calom
a 65; tartarea, 25;

Plants ae Pa Tree-trunks in Li-
Leathe

Platyce: , 69, 95

Plearosoras: ” papverifolius, 168
Sc dat he * nuifolia, 28

Polypo 123,

melanos, 22—
triangula-

lyecopodioides, 68; olypod
ides, 83, var. Michauxianum,
20; Scolopendria, 69; villosis
si , 69; virginianum, 20,
53, 71, 110, 111, 119; vulgare,
10 oe gue a 5 6.
virginianum, he
Polystichu 724... 161, 62;
acrostichoides, 20, 35, 58, 86.
119; aculeatum, 126, 134;
3 ets 6, 4 Braunii,

Feira ia ae
itis, 35, mohr-
Suet Tee. tuttram, 186, 124
160

30, 31, 88; ag 65
Pteretis pensylvania,
ee 56, 65, 134,
ae var. lati me ulum, 20, 110, ok
pseudocan udatum, 33; lat

colum 33.
Blac peer ‘of Jackson County,
Illinois, 1

Pteris, 123, 126; argyraea, 47;
aspericaulis f. tricolor, 47;
chilensis, 168, 169; multifida,
3; tremula, 168

176

Pteropsida, 88

Reed, Clyde F. Family
Names Of the ivcuebeie: 88;
New County Records for Bot
rychium matriearinefolium cn

Report of Auditing Committee,
45; of Curator and Librarian,
of Field-tr: Ontario,

Secretary,

41; of re Hxchange, 47; of
Symposium on Fern Spores, 48;
of Treasurer, 43

Rossignol, Gilbert R. Ophioglos-
sum tenerum in Georgia, 107

Schizaea, 165; pusilla,

Beolupendesnn vulgare

Selaginella, 88, 130: a: 53,

16 ; Tupestris, 120

Selaginellace: 89

Selaginellales, “39

Sm ae Dale J. A bal > of

enium montanum Indi-
Sphenonsida,

Spore models,

Spore Studies = Dryopteris. III,

Status of Pityrogramma calo-
melanos in Florida, 22

Stenochlaena guineensis, 68

Stevenson, Gret: A Book of
Ferns (Review), 32

Stok J. The Observers

oe,
Book of British Ferns (Re-

n H. Thu urston, 170
Sw aie Douglas. Ferns in
Baake ts, 105

124, 159;
18; Pi lm
120; 5

pre ome
35 oreopteris, 3

opter:
19,

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

palustris, 19, 35, 134, var.

pubescens, 110, 120; panamen-
2 Phegopteris, 35
ME 8

2
Cn

Nardoo, 108

Tracheophyta, 88 5
ree-ferns in Western Mexico,
Trichomanes, 68, 123, 160; li
beriense, 68
Report of

Tryon, Rolla Migoday
Curator and Librarian, 46

Unusual Form of Asplenium pin-
natifidum, 91

Virginia Chain-fern, 28
Vittaria lineata, 26

Wagner, Warren H., Jr. Asple-
nium ehenuiien x platyneuron, a
New Triploid Hybrid Produced
under Artificial Co nian 75;
Cytotaxonomic Obse Add

th erican Ter Re-
nH os

and Dale
al Natural is" and
i

ew),
Wagner, Warre
J. Hagenah.

tistopteris
What eae alas. Be Classed as
Wiggi “s ees L. Letter from the
President-Elect, 60
Woodsia,
vensis, 163; obtusa, i7,
Woodwardia, 2 q02 sree nde 188:
japonica, radicans ;
virginica, 28-30, 58, 134, 163

Xiphopteris serrulata, 69

Ameriran Bern Journal

A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS

Published by the

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY

EDITORS
C. V. MORTON
R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS
A. 0. SMITH

VOLUME 47
9 527

BUSINESS PRESS, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Contents

VotuME 47, NuMBER 1, Pages 1-48, issuep Apri 11, 1957

The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary ....-.cccccmserene Alice F. Tryon 1
Observations on Cultivated Toles I. The Species of Pteris

oe V. Morton 7
Plastic Greenhouse . C. Benedict 14
The

Ferns and Tern. Allies at Chandler Lake, ae
Tra L. Wiggins 16

Bhortor Notes: A Further Note on Cystopteris; Dryopteris

n German seuabacinbiahe What is the Present Status of Our

Climbing mm?

Recent Fern Siteretare
Notes and - News :
American Fern Society: Report of President; Rep. of Secre-
tary; Rep. of Treasurer; Rep. of Auditing Committee; Rep.

p-
ing at New York eee Garden; Gaspé Field-trip .. 33

Votume 47, NumBer 2, Paces 49-88, issueD JuNE 18, 1957
Harold Goddard Rugg—1883—-1957 cesses R. C. Benedict 49
Observations on Cultivated Ferns, II. The Proper ee

Name of the Holly Fer C. V. Morton 52
In Search of the Rock- dave Hybrid Asplenium Grave

Thomas Dering 55
The Geographie Distribution of Ceratopteris ek
Ch

s E. DeVol 67

Frozen Fiddleheads "y C. Benedict 72
Notes on Hawaiian Terrestrial Species of esse

rold St. John 74

Shorter Notes: The Cut-leaf Fern Market, Be ; Ninety-one
d Trips

Notes an ews ke
American Fern Society: Report on the Gaspé Field-trip ......- 84

Vouumr 47, NumBer 3, Paces 89-128, ISSUED eibane 16, 1957
OTA WRLC osecccsssccspanendSraesensonnnsscorstesongecennnerenerecrntpecemnsvaentatit bert Cooper 89
The American Fern Usually Known as Dry Bees paleacea
A. H. G. Alston 91
Which Northeastern Ferns are rite eee
monte! T. Wherry 93
A Method of Preparing Spores for Fern pepe
Walter F. Rinna 95
Ferns of Oregon Caves ee onan t and Vicinity
William H. Baker and George C. Ruhle 98
Observations on Shee Te III. The Species
HOC OE ieee eerie ee Vs
The Genus Ceterach in Madag: . Mm _ Tardieu- -Blot 108
Shorter Notes: Frozen Piddleheads “Apain’ eatcahale as a
Source of Medicine .......00-0 as

A
3S
aad
&
n
9
J
ro)

American Fern Society...

VoLtuME 47, Number 4, Paces 129- 168, ISSUED DECEMBER 26, 1957
The Problem of ed eiag virginianum 06 Irene Manton 129
Gibberellic Acid and Ferns «0.0.00 Irving W. Knobloch 134
Asplenium adiantum-nigrum in Mexico ..... R

Fern Plantings in the Abraham piace apt Garden
r R. Lord 138
Adiantum in Peru: New Species and aes
Rolla Tryon 139

Observations on Cultivated Ferns, IV. The Species ee Davallia
C. V. Morton 143

Ferns and Fern-allies of the District of Columbia .... 8. F. Blake

Recent Fern Literatur
Notes and News: austen Growth Again; New Curator
and Librarian; International Botanical Congress; Exchange
Invited
oui Fern Society: Report on the New Eng
Tp

land Field-

January-March, 1957 _

American Sern Journal

A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS

ae Published by the eee
‘AMERICAN FERN SOCIET ~ ECEIy,
9 Bd che om = m ee : 3 cos ,
: ED : :
: CG Slee eae :

oe 3 pea es “TRAL. WIGG

ses . C. SMITH

= os

CONTENTS |
: The upssubs tos of Tartary .
er = cae Ferns.

—« Ohe American Hern Sorie:

- Council for 1557
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR

ba Le W Wisenss, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford eet Cali-

ornia

Harorp G. Ruaa, Box 187, Dartmouth, College, Hanover, N. bs
Vice-Pr ct

: I E. Faust, we of Botany, Syracuse Taive

eae previ New Y

‘Rona L. Mocabcon, “Department of Botany, sae e ee Kan-

; sas, Lawrence, Treasurer
Gs vin Morton, Beeitliseliises Institution, Solenae se” 5 Be Cc.

OFFICIAL ORGAN

ithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C.
um, 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N.Y.
udley Herbarium, Stanford University,
SS Hatioest Seistee ¥o undation, Washington = bee C.

American Fern Journal

Vou. 47 JANUARY—Marcu, 1957 No. 1

The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary !
AULIcE EF’, TRYON

“In the land of Tartary toward high Inde and Bach-
arye in the country of the Grand Can there groweth a
manner of plant that is strange and wonderful indeed.
This, which they call Barometz, meaning the lamb, grows
from the earth in the likeness of a real lamb having head,
eyes, feet and is attached at the navel to a root or stem.
Its covering is an exceedingly soft wool. In height it
is half a cubit and according to those who tell of this
wondrous thing its taste is agreeable and its blood is
Sweet. It lives as long as there is herbage within reach
of the stem to which it is tethered and from which it
derives its life

The story of this curious fable reveals something of
man’s views toward natural phenomena and of the
puzzles that arise in sorting fact from fancy as the tale
is embellished. It is not possible to discover the origin
but the story of the Vegetable Lamb, or Barometz, is de-
scribed in one of our earliest written records, the Tal-
mudical books. Rabbi Jochanan ‘‘in the year of salva-
tion 436”’ tells of this plant-animal having the form of
a lamb and attached like a gourd to the soil. It is re-
Ported as coming from the works of another personage
on the authority of still another. Thus the deseription

" Originally eee in the Missouri Haseniseh Garden Bulle-
Hin, vol. 43, no, 2 ecause this Bulletin is not available
to many Fern Soci oe members, and = vuse of its poets ul interest,
this article is Series here by courtesy of Mrs, Tryon. [ Ed.

| Volume bel No. 4, of the Sanh pp- 137-176, was issued
Januar ry 8, 7

aes

rs * a.
Pe, * oe wag!
aoe Meet

Il,
He
W's

nines
ae
Pea
ba
Aska,
hy
s ebaa
—e
Sere

TIVNUNOf NYGY NVOIINVY

LIOA.

J givig ‘LF IN

‘VEGETABLE LAMB 3

appears to have been told time and time again before
it entered the written record. In a commentator
wrote that this creature is the Jedoui mentioned in the
Scriptures, and that witchcraft is practiced with its
ones. No creature can approach within the tether for
it will devour them, but arrows carefully aimed will
rupture the stem whereupon the animal dies. The legend
was brought to England by Sir John Mandeville, some-
thing of an English Ulysses who journeyed far and wide
and returned after 34 years to record his adventures.
In the fair country of Caldilhe there grows a melon-like
fruit within which is a little beast ‘‘in Flesche, in Bon
and Blode, as though it were a lytylle Lomb with outen
Wolle.’’ At this same time a similar report came from
Italy. Odoricus, a Minorite friar, traveled out of Padua
among the Tartars of the East and tells of gourds in
which are found little lamb-like beasts growing in the
mountains of Capsius, in the province of Kalor. One of
the early accounts of plant curiosities, Histoire Admir-
able des Plantes, by Claude Duret, has a chapter on these
zoophytes that live as plants but are sensitive like ani-
mals, existing in Tartary—a place filled with heavy and
dense air.

By the 16th and 17th centuries the story reached the
academic circles and the doctors and professors began
their speculations, arguments, and investigations. Kir-
cher, a mathematics professor at Avignon, argued that it
Was a plant in spite of its quadruped form. Girolamo
Cardana of Pavia discussed the impossibility of the phe-
homenon, contending that if it had blood it must have a
heart and that the soil could not supply the heart with
GU
ATE I. From Histoire Admirable des Plantes, by Claude Duret,

“Of all the strange and marvellous trees, shrubs, and herbs
Nature, or rather, God himself, has produced, or ever will
Produee in this Universe, there will never be seen anything so
qvthy of admiration and contemplation as these Barometz of
heal buf Tartarie, plants which are also animals, and which

and eat as quadrupeds.’’

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 47, PuatE IT

Philes Trani A¢ 3go

Lomas Sipdicas eget
Mafer Orvgsions

Latin treatise titled Wl tersoh omens = o

Illustration from a
Agno Ve seetabst Bertie, Barometz vulgo dicto’’ written 1p
by Dr. Breyn of Danzi In - i Govthgena of the nglish bret
we arrived at Si cone fusing ¢ he rometz was made from the
ores aracteri precision and

{Big with oh a isti
sian tae coon ar) the

History. He ad on a tho si Ksehe search for pred idd
of Watite 1 0 bea nd the axiom that the works and produe-
tions of Nats should | * discovered, sot invented,

VEGETACLE LAMB 5
the proper movement or warmth. Dr. Kaempfer, a sur-
geon to the Dutch East India Company, journeyed to
Persia in search of the creature. Although he found
nothing but ordinary sheep, he observed the custom of
taking unborn lambs for their softer fur and he con-
sidered that these might be the source of the legend.

At last a specimen was found. In the pomp and
splendor of the Royal Society of London, the celebrated
physician and botanist Sir Hans Sloane laid the object
before the scientific world. It was about a foot long,
having a body covered with dark, yellowish hair much
asa lamb. The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, the Baro-
metz, was identified as a portion of a fern plant that
grows in southern China. The fern specimen exhibited
by Sir Hans Sloane was much like the one in the accom-
panying photograph recently sent to the Missouri Botan-
ical Garden from Formosa.

These are extraordinary ferns, not small woods or
rock plants but trees reaching the height of 15 feet, be-
longing to the genus Cibotium. The species of the lamb
is appropriately named (. Barometz; it bears a cluster
of handsomely cut fronds growing to a height of 14 feet
and the large stem, which does not develop into a trunk,
is covered with long, tawny hairs. In China these silken
hairs are placed on wounds to stop the flow of blood.

he floss of other Pacific species is called Pulw and has
been used to stuff cushions and mattresses. Cibotium
Barometz is native to southeast Asia and in southern
China and Formosa the lambs are prepared. A portion
of the stem with several fronds is removed and the latter
are cut leaving only the stubs to serve as appendages.
The eyes, made of seeds of Duranta repens, a plant of
the Vervain family, are affixed and the mouth is em-
broidered,

The € appeal of the legend was not lost after the scien-
tific explanation was presented for it was enshrined in

6 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

the verse of Erasmus Darwin. This Darwin was a phy-
sician and a keen student of nature who believed that
changes in evolution were due to internal desire—a
theory quite unlike that proposed by his famous grand-
son Charles. He was a philosopher and poet as well,
and in his fanciful verse titled The Botanic Garden he
perpetuated the legend of the lamb:

Cradled in snow, and fanned by Arctie air,

Shines, gentle Barometz, thy golden hair;

Rooted in earth, each cloven hoof descends,

And round and round her flexile neck she bends,

Crops the gray coral moss and hoary thyme,

Or laps with rosy tongue the melting rime;

Eyes with mute tenderness her distant dam,

And seems to bleat—a ‘‘vegetable lamb.’’

Vegetable Lambs made in Formosa from fern stems

Ding Hou, our Chinese student studying at the Mis-
sourl Botanical Garden Herbarium, relates that the fern.
Cibotium Barometz, is common in north and central For-

CULTIVATED FERNS 7

mosa. There the country folk gather the stems, add the
essential parts and fix the face preparing the lambs for
the city market. They are usually sold near the temples,
and he has seen some twenty vendors each having a
dozen or more of the ‘‘animals’’ along a roadside near the
Buddhist temple on a mountain south of Formosa’s
capital city, Taipei. The locality is selected not for any
religious implications but rather because this is a likely
place to sell the lambs to tourists who have come from
the China mainland to visit the temples.

By the end of the 19th century the influence of Sir
Hans Sloane’s explanation had lessened and the legend
was re-examined by another Englishman, Henry Lee.
With the object of reporting the history of cotton he
reviewed the story of the vegetable lamb in a delightful
little book titled The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a Cur-
tous Fable of the Cotton Plant. He claims the legend
for cotton with arguments based on philologic, geo-
graphic and botanical evidence. The prepared fern rhi-
zomes are relegated to toys made in the image of a small
rufous dog. His arguments seem sound but perhaps it
Was too late to dispel the confusion between the two, and
the fern long having the name Barometz is to this day
called the Vegetable Lamb.

Observations on Cultivated Ferns. I
C. V. Morton

It is with some trepidation that I start a series of pa-
pers on cultivated ferns. My interest in ferns is of long
Standing, but my experience has been largely with the
Wild species, especially those of the United States and
tropical America. Cultivated ferns present some dif-
ferent problems. Still, there is a widespread and grow-
ing interest in cultivated ferns, or perhaps I should say

8 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

more accurately in cultivating ferns, and the contribu-
tions that I shall make may be helpful.

The contributions mentioned above will be along
strictly botanical lines. Horticultural guidance will
have to be left to others more expert. Unfortunately, I
do not have a greenhouse available, and my personal
experience in cultivating ferns is thus extremely limited.
And I shall have to leave the ‘‘Ohs’’ and ‘‘Ahs’’
others too, which is not to say that I lack appreciation
of the beauty of ferns. Far from it! Still, I must con-
fess that, like many botanists, I prefer the symmetry
and grace of a specimen of a well-grown wild or ‘‘botani-
cal’’ fern to a moth-eaten-looking cut-leaved form of a
European Lady Fern or an unnaturally skeletonized
Male Fern

I shall begin with one of the difficult groups—the
genus Pteris, although this genus is not essentially diffi-
cult if one deals only with the ‘‘botanical’’ species. An
investigation into the origin and characteristics of the
numerous horticultural varieties would lead me too far
astray, although I shall be glad to receive communica-
tions regarding them.

KEY T0 THE CULTIVATED SPECIES OF PTERIS
Veins uniting (Section Litobrochia a).
Pinnae simple and unlobed, exeept the basal two- per pair
P. dei

deutete
Pinnae ms a Oe the basal pair very large, li aiande onee-
OF UWiCG fOrked oy es P. tripartita

Veins all (Section Pteris).
Pinnae all simple, not lobed or pinnatifid . P. vittata

Pinnae, or at least the lower ones, pinnatidd, ‘Wpbed:, or aad
ed.
abasic and upper stom all regularly pinnatifid, with many
pairs of segmen

Basal pair of pinnae once- forked; segments rounded.

P. quadriaurita

Basal pair of pinnae bipinnate; segments acute or acum
nate.

CULTIVATED FERNS 9

Segments mostly fertile to near the apex, bluntly toothed.

. tremula

Segments mostly fertile only in the lower half, Thi

oothe

Middle and upper pinnae simple, or sometimes with a dh
large lobes but not regularly pinnatifid.

Blade apex elongate, pinnatifid. Pinnae strongly asym-

metrical, see pinnatifid on the lower side fee with

several segm mipinnata
Blade eahater @ r less abraptly ina asl pinna

i nae.
Rachis essentially unwinged to near the apex, the lower

ne lobed; sterile segments much broader than the

fer mostly rounded or obtuse ............. P. ensiformis
Aigig euetaly winged upwardly, or sometimes to the
, most of the pinnae sessil nate, only the

Mebane ania lobed; sterile segments long-at-

m
ally the ites part of the rhachis unwin
ee ables
aaa a thinnish in texture, not cartilaginous-
ned, toothed but not sharply so; segments
various; pinnae strongly decurrent, the rhachis
moray winged between the two lower pairs of

pinnae
enc mostly slender, less than 2 mm. in diameter,
ong or less; pinnae narrow, age less
i han em. broad ultifida
Stipe stout, mostly 2.5-3 mm. in dia netor, fae 40
em. long or more; pinnae large, mostly more than
1 em broad P. umbros

Preris crerica L. The Cretan Brake is one of the
most widely distributed of all ferns, being almost pan-
tropic. It is also one of the commonest ferns in eulti-
vation, especially some of the horticultural variants.

he form with the leaves white- striped along the mid-
Veins is cultivar. albolineata; it is illustrated in Bailey’s

10 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, as is also one of
the crested forms, cultivar. Wilsonii. Some of the dis-
sected forms go under the names Wimsettii, Drinkwater,

and Childsii. In the literature, Pteris Ouvrardii (a
foneiterel rather than botanical species) is said to be
a form of multifida, but the specimens that I have seen
under this name are cretica, and pretty typical cretica
at that

Preris DeNTATA Forskal. The Toothed Brake’ is com-
mon in cultivation. I have received neipteente recently
from Mrs. Fay MacFadden and Dr. W. C. Drummond.
Apparently in the trade it is more commonly grown
under the later synonymous name Pteris flabellata, and
it has appeared also in cultivation under other synonyms,
such as Pteris elegans and P. luxuriosa. It is very much
like P. tremula in general.

Preris DENTICULATA Swartz. This species, a native
chiefly of Brazil, shows a habital resemblance to Lie:
cretica, being similar in coloration, texture, and general
form but obviously different in its areolate (anastomos-
ing) venation. It is probably very rare in cultivation.

PTERIS ENSIFORMIS Burmann. The Sword Brake, com-
mon in cutivation, is a native of Asia. In old lists it
appeared under the synonymous name Pteris crenata,
and may sometimes still be so listed. A form with white
banded pinnae is cultivar. Victoriae, often listed as
Pteris Victoriae. It is not known in the wi

a
oes not wish to, in contrast to Latin names, which do have 4 ©
tain standing and may not be changed without adequate reasons:

CULTIVATED F'ERNS dd

PTERIS MULTIFIDA Poiret. The common name applied
to this species—Spider Brake—is a well-known name
rather than an invented one, doubtless applied because
of the elongate slender divisions (‘‘spider legs’’) of the
blade. In the trade this is probably always known as
Pteris serrulata lL. f., which is an older, but illegitimate,
name for the same plant. Even commoner than the
species in cultivation are the numerous named monstrosi-
ties ; most of these are crested forms, which can be known
collectively as cultivar. cristata.

Preris QUADRIAURITA Retzius. So far as I know, this
Species has never received a ‘‘common’’ name; perhaps
a translation of the Latin name ‘‘Four-eared Brake’’
might at least be unusual and easily remembered, even
if somewhat obscure in meaning. The four ‘‘ears’’ are
presumably the four divisions of the lowest pair of pin-
nae, each of which is forked. The species itself is not
common in cultivation; Mrs. MacFadden has had it in
her lathhouse in Los Angeles for the last 18 years, but
She does not recall her source of supply. Much more
common is the Striped Brake, which is cultivar. argy-
raea; it is exactly like the typical form of the species
except for the white stripes along the pinnae, which
render it more ornamental in the opinion of some.

Preris semrpinnata L. This species, a native of Asia,
has a distinctive form—the pinnae are as though they
had been cut in half, for they are strongly lobed on the
basal side and entire on the upper side. It is probably
rare in cultivation, or perhaps restricted to botanical
gardens.

Preris rREMULA Robert Brown. The Australian Brake
1s the commonest species in cultivation, being widely
available in small pots in ten-cent stores throughout the

14 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

country, which probably indicates that it is easily propa-
gated. However, to reach its maximum size and beauty
it needs other conditions than those available in the
ordinary house, where it is apt to be too hot and dry.
Dobbie calls it the ‘‘Shaking Brake,’’ a name un-
doubtedly suggested by the Latin name, the application
of which is somewhat obscure. In New Zealand it grows
to a height of four or five feet, but is not long-lived.

Preris TRIPARTITA Swartz. This, one of the largest
and most beautiful species of ferns, can be grown out-of-
doors only in warm regions, and perhaps in the United
States only in Florida. A native of the Old World
tropies, it was probably first introduced into cultivation
by the Royal Palm Nurseries, Oneco, Florida. From a
letter on file in the U. S. National Museum dated De-
cember 30, 1935, from Mr. J. A. Combs, the manager of
the Royal Palm Nurseries at the time, it appears that
this species was first listed in the catalogs in 1896, where
it appeared, without specific name as a large sort reach-
ing a height of 6 feet, forming a magnificent specimen;
it was said to have been introduced from Hawaii, but
probably it was only from cultivation, for it is not
native in the Hawaiian Islands. From 1902 on, it was
listed in the catalog as Pteris marginata, a synonymous
name, until 1915, when it appeared as Pteris. tripartita.

he species escaped from cultivation in Florida, and by
1928 was common in various places, especially near
Pompano, sometimes in localities quite remote from
settlements. In general appearance, this species is
similar to the tropical American P. podophylla Swartz,
which may also be expected to appear in cultivation; the
two are both decompound ferns, with very large lower-
most pinnae, which are usually nearly as large as the
rest of the frond, and which are repeatedly forked some-
what after the manner of Adiantum pedatum. In the

CULTIVATED FERNS 13

Royal Palm Nurseries, the original plant grew very
large and was highly fertile; the method of propagation
was merely to pick out the young sporelings, which came
up throughout the greenhouses, often several hundred
yards from the parent plant. The original plant was lost
sometime around 1930.

PTERIS umpBrosa Robert Brown. The Forest Brake is
a native of Australia. It has been in cultivation, but it
may not be any longer. It is like a very large Pteris
multifida in its general appearance, and in technical
characters too.

Preris virrata L. The Chinese Brake is rather coarse
and not very ornamental. It usually passes among gar-
deners and nurserymen as Pteris longifolia L., an allied
species formerly confused with it.’ The true P. longi-
folia, a native of tropical America is probably not in
cultivation, although it is to be expected. It differs
from vittata in having the pinnae jointed (inconspicu-

2 As an instance of a confusion of the two in scien

tioned a paper by John R. Jackson ‘‘S
23:: 16

tifie literature
‘Syngamy i
2, 1936); voucher

hat th

material in a
cytological, or other
of the failure to do
ised W. N. Steil
ecies as Pteris

: vo
aber of plants used in morphological,
: : igations. A most unfortunate example

Thus n

our Reger study, even though it could make some contribution to

terial rae edge of apospory, is essentially valueless, since the ma-
eing studied is unknown.

14 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ously) to the rhachis, and in having them spreading
horizontally (rather than ascending at an angle), more
closely spaced, more numerous, generally narrower, and
more irregularly and not so finely toothed. The Chinese
Brake is easily distinguished from all other cultivated
species by its entirely simple pinnae, none of them being

orida, Alabama, and Louisiana, and it has been found
casually as far north as Washington, D. C., where it does
not persist.

Plastic Greenhouses

R. C. BENEDICT

For the people who may have wished at times for a
small greenhouse to extend their plant growing, the in-
troduction of small, reasonably priced plastic units, as
described below, may be the answer. The initial cost
and the maintenance seem likely to be much lower than
for similar-sized glass houses. Various magazines, in-
eluding Life, have recently carried stories of a small
greenhouse, made of a polyethylene plastic. From eir-
culars and correspondence, the following data have been
derived:

After some years of testing and after plastic houses
of larger size had been proved commercially practicable,
a company, Plastie Greenhouses Inc.’ has placed on the
market two small units for home use. Both are seveD
feet high, the smaller covering 6’ x 8’ of ground space,
the larger 12’x 16’. They are shipped as pre-cut kits,
with complete instructions for erection, at $89.95 and

129.95 respectively. In the circular, it is noted that

1520 Fifth Ave., New York 38, N. Y.

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLuME 47, Puate IIL

A PLASTIC GREENHOUSE

16 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

these list prices will be cut 10%, on an introductory
basis, ‘‘on any orders of two or more units obtained
through your organization’’—in this case, the American
Fern Society.

hese plastic greenhouses are stated to have been de-
veloped with Dr. Emmert of the University of Kentucky
as consultant. Several accessories are available at mod-
erate cost including a precut supply of additional plas-
tie by which a double surface can be obtained with the
consequent advantage of an air space insulation, and
heating units (a simple oil burner at $10.00, or thermo-
statically controlled propane gas burners at $40.00 and
$60.00). For further information, enquiries should be
addressed to the company.

2214 Beverty Roap, BrooKuyn, New York.

The Ferns and Fern-Allies at Chandler Lake,
aska

Ira L. Wiaatns

‘Chandler Lake’’ is actually a series of one large and
several small lakes, but only the large one, sometimes
ealled ‘‘ Big Chandler Lake,’’ is here under consideration,
and in this account the term ‘‘Chandler ie —
only to this one, the most southern of the series

Chandler Lake occupies a narrow valley running north-
northeast and south-southwest through the Brooks Range
a little over half way between Fairbanks and Point
Barrow. The lake is from one-half to nearly one mile
wide and just slightly under five miles long. It drains
northeast through the Chandler River into the Colville
River about ninety miles away, and eventually into the
Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. A number of small,
rushing streams drop from adjacent mountains into the
lake; the accompanying map shows the main outlines of
the deaigiace in the near vicinity of the lake. At the

FERNS AT CHANDLER LAKE 17

south end of Chandler Lake the floor of the valley
broadens to nearly twice the width of the lake, and rises
almost imperceptibly to the divide that separates the
arctic drainage from that of the waters flowing into the
Yukon River and thence into Norton Sound. The sur-
face of Chandler Lake is about 2,900 feet above sea level,
but mountain peaks rise steeply from its shores to heights
of over 7,300 feet above the sea.

Extensive talus slopes and dark, mucky soil separate
the shoreline from the more precipitous flanks of the
neighboring peaks, and it is on this fringe of moderately
sloping material that most of the vegetation around the
lake oceurs. About midway between the northern and
southern ends of the lake a stream enters from the east
through a slightly meandering channel cutting across
a flat delta that extends a little over one-fourth of the
way across the lake. This delta and the steeply sloping
talus abutting on the toes of the nearest peaks support
a dense carpet of typical tundra vegetation, consisting of
grasses, sedges, a few prostrate willows, mosses, lichens,
and an assortment of perennial herbaceous forbs. The
soil of these habitats, which contains considerable peaty
matter, is nearly or wholly saturated with water from
melting snow, summer rains, and the run-off from the
mountainsides during the summer growing season. In
August or early September it freezes solid. Numerous
small rills and shallow pools and ponds occur in the
flatter areas.

The margins of the pools, and often the entire area
of the small, shallower ones, support growths of such
Semi-aquatie species as Carex aquatilis, C. lugens, Eri-
ophorum angustifolium, E. vagans, Arctophila fulva,
and Ranunculus pallasii. Several other sedges and
Several forbs occur sporadically in these habitats. The
Wet soil adjacent, and the wet slopes too steep to permit
formation of pools, support attractive arrays of arctic

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VotuME 47, PLATE IV

152° 152°
50’ 35
~
ry
x
Little
Chandler
Lake
68°15" -— Big —68°/5
Chandler,
Loke
68°/0'}— —68*/0"
152” 152°
50" 35°
Siaaipecir Ge eae ae

DRAINAGE OF BIG CHANDLER LAKE, ALASKA

F’rRNS AT CHANDLER LAKE 19

flowering plants and extensive colonies of Equisetum
arvense. Among these flowering plants are Papaver
radicatum, Saxifraga cernua, S. foliolosa, S. rivularis,
ee asoulns nivalis, R. lapponica, Lagotis glauca, Vale-
riana capitata, Cardamine richardsonii, Parrya nudi-
caulis, Polemonium boreale, Dryas integrifolia, Cassiope
tetragona, Chrysosplenium wrightii, Corydalis pauciflora,
Aconitum delphinifolium var. paradoxum, four or five
caryophylls, and several species of Pedicularis. Half a
dozen grasses are well represented.

The northern shore of the delta is subjected to terrific
pressure from the ice during break-up when northerly
winds are of frequent occurrence. As a result a ridge of
sand, gravel and churned tundra peat rises to a height of
from three to twelve feet above the level of the lake and
has a base varying from six to thirty feet or more in
width. The high content of gravel and sand provides ex-
cellent drainage, so the substrata are relatively dry dur-
ing most of the growing season. Along the landward side
grow a number of species that would be incapable of
surviving the water-logged conditions on the flatter, wet
delta adjacent. The distances separating these plants on
the well-drained soil from the ones with their roots almost
constantly in water often is no more than a few deci-
meters. Among the species confined to the drier habitats
are Sazxifraga bronchialis var. funstoni, 8. tr icuspidata,
8. oppositifolia, Epilobium latifolium, Smelowskia caly-
cina var. media, Myosotis alpestris, Androsace septen-
trionalis, Lupinus arcticus, two species of Oxytropis,
Erysimum pallasii, and two species of Arnica. At least
two species of Poa, Arctagrostis latifolia, and an interest-
ing Hierchloé also occur along the lower margin of the
ridge.

Shallow ravines on the sides of the adjacent peaks
contain fairly dense stands of Dwarf Birch, whose stems
are usually procumbent and rarely rise more than a foot

20 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

above the soil. Intermingled with the birch are ocea-
sional patches of Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Cassiope tetra-
gona, and several perennial herbs. Annuals seem to be
wholly lacking. Mosses and lichens are abundant on all
substrata except those undergoing active movement or
erosion. Ferns and fern-allies are present in small num-
bers, but are not conspicuous, and with the exception of
Equisetum arvense are rare in the vicinity.

During the summer of 1955 Mr. Donald G. MaeVicar,
Jr., while studying the geology of the area, collected the
more abundant species of flowering plants and three
pteridophytes around the shores of Chandler Lake. It
was his intention to study the association of the plants
with the various geological formations and types of ter-
rain on which he was concentrating his attention. In
1956 he returned to Chandler Lake, accompanied by
three other young men, to complete the field work in
geology on which he hoped to base his dissertation lead-
ing to the Ph.D. degree at Yale University. The party
landed on the ice of the still frozen lake on May 30th,
made their camp on the delta mentioned above, and
carried on field operations until July 20th. During the
evening of that day Don MacVicar and one of his as-
sistants, Mike Holdaway, had their boat swamped while
crossing the lake in a squall and Donald MacVicar was
drowned.

As the one in charge of the Arctic Research Labora-
tory at Point Barrow, it was my duty to supervise opera-
tions at Chandler Lake while attempts were made to
recover the body of the drowned man. Consequently,
from July 22 through August 8 occasional opportunities
to make hurried collections were afforded me when high
winds made operations on the lake impossible. In making
such collections I found five genera of pteridophytes,
each represented by a single species, growing in the near
vicinity of the camp on the delta. Since few reports 0?

FERNS AT CHANDLER LAKE 21

the flora of arctic meadows in the Brooks Range have
been published it seems desirable to present some brief
notes on the immediate habitats occupied by these ferns
and close relatives.

CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS (L.) Bernh.

A small, delicate specimen of this species grew in
crevices in a rocky, north-facing wall of a narrow guleh
heading back into the main mountain on the eastern side
of the lake and about one-half mile north of the delta.
I collected it there on July 26, 1956, at an altitude of
about 3,100 feet above sea level. Mr. MacVicar had
found the species at two localities in 1955, neither one of
which was precisely indicated in his meager notes. He
- did indicate, however, that in each instance he found
the fern on soil, not on rocks, one plant on an alluvial
cutwash fan, and one on a steeply sloping solifluction
sheet, both sites facing in a southerly direction. All
specimens of (. fragilis seen in the vicinity of Chandler
Lake, whether on soil or in rock crevices, were small as
compared with plants of this species from more southerly
Stations. The fronds in our collections varied from 2.9
to 8 cm. in height. Sori were few and seattered, appear-
ing on the larger fronds only. The indusia were strongly
hooded and moderately fimbriate to nearly entire along
the free edge, but no sporangia were mature so it was
impossible to check spores to ascertain whether this
might be (. dickieana. The rocks where C. fragilis was
found in 1956 contained appreciable amounts of calcium
carbonate, and Mr. MacVicar thought this compound
was ‘‘probably present’’ in the soil of the outwash fan
Where he found the plant in 1955.

Specimens examined: Near north end of Chandler
Lake, MacVicar s. n., June 6, 1955; on rock walls of small
gulch leading eastward from Chandler Lake, about one-
half mile north of delta, alt. ca. 3,100 feet, July 26, 1956,

22 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL
Wiggins 13773.

DRYOPTERIS FRAGRANS (L.) Schott.

This fern occurs abundantly among the boulders and
slabs of shale on a moderately steep slope facing south-
west and situated along the easterly shore of Chandler
Lake, immediately north of the canyon leading to An-
aktuvuk Pass. A tuft of the fern was noticed first under
a slight overhang formed by a ledge of shale and par-
tially shaded by a low bush of Betula exilis var. nana, at
an elevation of 3,150 feet. Additional plants were found
seattered along the shallow ‘‘chute’’ at least 300 feet
farther up the mountain side. The plants were remark-
ably compact, with as many as fifteen to twenty fronds
in a tuft, the pinnules so closely crowded that they were
virtually imbricate. The upper surfaces of the leaves
were dark green, the lower sides abundantly clothed with
thin, pale-castaneous to grayish scales and masses of
rufous-brown sporangia. The fronds were 8 to 15 em.
tall.

Although most of the spores had been expelled from
the ripe sporangia, a tangled mixture of open sporangia,
scales, and an occasional spore was sent to Mrs. Boyd-
ston. She reported that a fine lot of prothallia was ob-
tained from the sowing she made on culture plates. Her
success in obtaining prothallia was unexpected, for the
plant press in which the specimens were dried was placed
over artificial heat at the Arctic Research Laboratory
for nearly twenty-four hours before the spores were Te
moved to be sent to Mrs. Boydston. Similar treatment
had been lethal to spores of Polystichum munitum col-
lected in the Coast Range of California several years ago-

Dryopteris fragrans was not seen by MacVicar, oF at
least it did not appear in his collections nor did he mem
tion it in his field notes. It is represented from the

FERNS AT CHANDLER LAKE 23
Chandler Lake area by Wiggins 13805,"

EQUISETUM ARVENSE L,

This is by far the commonest and most abundant
pteridophyte in the Alaskan arctic, ranging over many
different substrata and extending from well up in the
Brooks Range completely across the foothill and tundra
to the vicinity of Point Barrow, at Lat. 71° 20’ N. In
the Chandler Lake area it occurs on marshy flats, on
water-soaked alluvial fans, on solifluction sheets and
slumps, on stabilized talus slopes, and on old morainal
mounds and ridges. It frequently is a ‘‘pioneer’’ on-
relatively bare expanses where slides have occurred and
along margins of streams and lakes where ice and water
action partially denude a bank or deposit heavy burdens
of silt and sand. At the south end of Chandler Lake,
E. arvense occurs sparsely on the sandy beach along the
contact zone between the turf of the tundra and the
wave-worked material of the shore.

Many of the branches arising from the shallow rhiz-
omes and ascending rootstocks are decumbent, 1-1.8 mm.
in diameter, and from 1 to 10 em. tall. The ridges are
often only three or four in number on the stems, and the

1James W. Bee Knox Jones, Jr., camped on the shore of

the supery ision as Hall, the University of
Ka n a contract with the Office of Naval Researe

ead Ia f the aretic slope of the Brooks Range
During the sojourn at Chandler Lake, Bee took several age
that were reproduced in a book published in 1956 ni-
versity of Kansas under the title «Mammal s of Northern Alaska,??
by James W. Bee Raymond Hall. Three of the photographs
depict the general topography and some of the vegetation of the
5% g. 1, ws the broad, nearly flat y at the

0 -

ol aecie sa willow iota s, ad Plate 3, eo 7 depicts two plants of
pteris fragrans. Unfortu dately. Mr. Bee did not indicate the
precise moeuaity at which this photograph was taken

24 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

internal canals are very small. The fruiting branches
are few and often widely separated. In this northern
material the strobili are only 3-5 mm. long.

At Chandler Lake, Z. arvense grows most frequently
on south-facing slopes, but occasionally it faces west,
east, or north-west. It is always, apparently, on wet soil,
but seems to grow equally well on substrata with and
without lime in detectable quantities.

Specimens examined: At an elevation of 3,400 feet
gt! a north end of Chandler Lake, June 21, 1955,
Mac s. n.; mountainside east of delta, alt. 3,200
feet, ye 27, 1956, Wiggins 13809.

LycopopIuM SELAGO L. var. APPRESSUM Desv.

This club-moss occurs among rocks on a partially sta-
bilized talus slope along the easterly side of Chandler
Lake. It was seen on slopes facing southwest and north-
west, and probably grows at a number of spots around
the lake. It was found as a scarce element in the plant
cover just below the mouth of the small canyon in which
Cystopteris fragilis grew, at an elevation of 3,100 feet.
It is more plentiful, but hardly abundant, on both sides
of the larger canyon leading easterly toward Anaktuvuk
Pass from near the mid-point on the eastern shore of the
lake. In this vicinity it extends upward from about
3,100 feet to at least 3,500 feet above sea level, always
along partially stabilized talus slopes or about rocks in
the bottoms of narrow, shallow ‘‘chutes,’’ where melt-
water and rains keep the rocks wet most of the growing
season. The fruiting plants are usually bright green,
but scattered ones may be rusty red. The stems are
from 2 to 10 em. tall, and almost rigidly erect. Fruiting
strobili were present on most of the plants seen in late
July and early August of 1956. MacVicar apparently
did not collect the plant. It is represented from the
Chandler Lake area by two collections, July 26, 1956,

bo
or

SHORTER NOTES

Wiggins 13785, and July 29, 1956, Wiggins 13850.

SELAGINELLA sIBIRIcA (Milde) Hieron.

This species occurs in scattered patches, mostly on the
southerly sides of boulders and slabs of shale on the
southwestern flank of a peak immediately east of the
lake and north of the canyon through which the trail
leads to Anaktuvuk Pass. Some of the colonies were
several centimeters in diameter; others consisted of not
more than three or four ascending stems. The habit of
the plant resembles roughly that of S. bigelovii, but the
branches are more robust and with fewer holdfasts than
are displayed by the latter species.

The smaller patches were found in close association
with vigorous colonies of Dryopteris fragrans along a
‘‘chute’’? where a small slide had occurred. The slabs
and irregular blocks of shale and limestone in the im-
mediate vicinity were fairly well stabilized, heavily en-
crusted with lichens and mosses, and often fringed by
the semi-prostrate shrubs of the Dwarf Birch. Higher
on the mountainside, the plants of Selaginella occurred
on top of boulders as well as under protective overhang-
ing slabs and ledges. A few colonies grew in small
pockets of soil entrapped between rocks, but most of
them were on rocky subtrata. Fruiting branches were
present in the material, but not abundant.

Specimens examined: At the above localities, July 27,
1956, Wiggins 13815.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA.

Shorter Notes
A Furruer Note on Cysropreris.—In the last num-
ber of the Journal (p. 142), we described the bulblets of
Cystopteris bulbifera when mature as ‘‘usually almost
entirely naked, with a shiny epidermis.’’ Since writing
the above, two specimens from the Gray Herbarium
collection were detected that do show scales on the bulb-

26 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

lets, these however pale-brown to nearly colorless, in
contrast to the chestnut-brown ones of the ‘‘hybrids,”’
and relatively much less numerous. These specimens of
C. bulbifera were collected by J. J. Carter in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania, June 19, 1886.—W. H. WAGNER,
Jr. and Date J. HAGENAH.

Dryopreris IN GerMAN Horvicuurure.—No. 82 of a
German serial entitled Grundlagen und Fortschritte im
Garten- und Weinbau (Principles and advances in hor-
tieulture and viniculture) comprises an alphabetical list
of the genera found useful in outdoor gardening in Ger-
many, from B to Dr. This was written by Wilhelm
Schacht, of the Munich Botanical Garden, and contains
concise but informative discussions of over 100 genera
of ferns and flowering plants. His account of Dryopteris
proved so interesting that a review of it is here published.

e common name assigned is Nierenfarn, which
means Kidney Fern, manifestly connected with the once
popular genus epithet Nephrodium. Although Christen-
sen is followed in taking up Dryopteris instead, it is
pointed out that many horticulturists use other generic
names. The species list starts with D. cristata, recom-
mended for wet, boggy soils; then comes D. decurswe-
pinnata, an east-Asian fern little known in America.

For D. filiz-mas is given the common name Wurmfarn
(Worm Fern), a designation new to me, the origin of
which is mysterious.’ It grows up to 1.2 meters (4 feet)
tall, and a dozen of its variations are briefly treated. In
German gardens our American D. goldiana reaches 4
height of over 1.5 meters (5 feet). D. hirtipes from
tropical Asia has proved winter-hardy. D. linnaeana is
termed in Germany, as here, the Oak Fern. The Ameri-
can D. noveboracensis there ‘‘loves a very moist, indeed

1It is presumably connected with the use of the Male-fern 2°

an anthelmintic, a usage that it h to the
erat tae. Pina ge that it has maintained perhaps up

SHORTER NOTES 27

marshy habitat.’’ D. phegopteris, Beech Fern, favors a
porous, humus-rich soil, and D. rigida from central
Europe a rocky, limy situation.

Two common names are given for D. robertiana—
Storksbill or Ruprecht Fern—the significance of neither
being manifest?; a lime-loving shade plant, it is said
to be easily grown, especially in the rock garden, which
alas is not the case in America. D. spinulosa is termed
Dornfarn (Thorn Fern) ; a ‘‘var. glandulosa’ of it pre-
sumably represents either D. dilatata or D. intermedia.
Last comes D. thelypteris, as aggressive in Germany
as here—‘‘It may become a nuisance by its spreading all
around, and soon makes dense stands.’’—Epaar
WHERrRY.

WHAT IS THE PRESENT STATUS OF OUR CLIMBING FERN?
—The Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum) was for-
merly rather abundant in many localities, so much so
near Hartford, Connecticut, that it received the common
name of ‘‘Hartford Fern.’’ In an article in Rhodora*
I recently pointed out that it is no longer to be found in
Hartford nor in many other places in New England
where it formerly grew. Although it has been protected
by law in Connecticut since 1869, highways* and the ad-

se names are explained by Hegi (Flora der Mittel- Europa).
In Germany, Herb Robert (Geranium Robert “reg as ene

the name (although it is scarcely a true g pular n me) of ‘
rechtskraut,’’ i.e, eR Ruprecht’s ite rb.’’ It is also ailed retoreh:
nabel,’’ which is rt of generic comm ll species

2In Nee article in Rhodora I blamed the Connecticut State High-
Way Department for having destroyed a station of the fern by
spraying with weed-killer along a roadside. I have since learne
that the spraying was carried out by a utility comp

28 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

yance of real estate developments have all but extermi-
nated it. Mr. Karl Brooks has recently written to me
that there is a station in central New York known to a
few devotees of conservation, and there is a closely
guarded colony in the upper Hudson Valley. Dr. Sharp
has written me that the Climbing Fern is plentiful in
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North
Carolina, where it will probably be safe from depreda-
tions. I should be pleased to hear from members regard-
ing present and former localities known to them.—,J ESSE
F. Surru, 347 Main St., Suffield, Connecticut.

Recent Fern Literature

Cops’s Fre.p Guipe TO THE FERNS: SOME SUPPLE-
MENTARY COMMENTS.—The following notes were pre-
pared after a reading of the galley proof of Dr. Wherry ’s
review of Boughton Cobb’s Field Guide to the Ferns. I
should have been glad to have them appear in the same
issue with the review but was too late for such inclusion.
With all due respect to Dr. Wherry, whose knowledge
of ferns I hold in high esteem, I believe that his review
should have included some consideration of the Field
Guide from a positive, over-all viewpoint as well as an
analysis of details to which he takes exception. My
comments here are not a plea for the ignoring of errors
of any sort, and defects can be found in the Fern Guide.
When, however, the plan and objectives of the book are
taken into account, it is possible to recognize among the
specific points which Dr. Wherry criticizes several classes
or grades of items, and among these to find some which
do not deserve censure.

The first impression one gets of the book through @
general survey is that it is an execellent piece of book
production, well printed, copiously illustrated, and with
an interesting series of supplementary chapters. It is
obviously designed for amateurs, and, as Dr. Wherry

RECENT FERN LITERATURE 29

notes, the illustrations are unusually good. The keys
are completely picturized for the benefit of the novice.

In pursuit of his objective, to make the text matter
attractive for beginners, Mr. Cobb, who is an indefatig-
able enthusiast in the pursuit of ferns, has endeavored to
avoid some of the technical structural terms ordinarily
found in fern books. In my opinion, some of his usages
are entirely legitimate, e.g., ‘‘Leaflet,’’ instead of
‘‘pinna,’’? ‘‘Once-cut,’’ instead of ‘‘once pinnate.”’
However, when it comes to some of the terms used for the
lesser leaf divisions, such as ‘‘Subleaflet’’ for ‘‘ pinnules
and his use of ‘‘lobe’’ or ‘‘pinnulet,’’ I am not sure
these terms are well employed. My own botanical feel-
ing was somewhat disturbed by Mr. Cobb’s usage with
respect to the main parts of the leaf, e.g., equating
‘leaf’? and ‘‘frond’’ as synonymous with ‘‘blade’’ (the
more accurate term), and the further equating of
‘stipe’? and ‘‘stem’’ with ‘‘stalk’’—‘‘stalk’’ would have
been accurate and clear. It may be noted, however, that
the novice is not likely to be confused by these points of
structural nomenclature, thanks to the explicitly labelled
figures that accompany the many pages of keys and
species illustrations. To Mr. Cobb, also, should go the
credit for planning and selecting the material from
which the excellent illustrations were drawn. One ob-
jection of Dr. Wherry, that Mr. Cobb uses ‘“‘leaf w T8-
Stead of adopting ‘‘frond’’ throughout, seems sibedly
Without merit or botanical support. The term ‘‘frond”’
dates from the earlier period when stan were un-
certain whether these structures in ferns were really
leaves in the same sense as are the foliar organs of
apples, dandelions, ete.— R. C. BENEDICT.

‘THE IMPORTANCE OF FERNS TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF
THE THE BRITISH Fora’? is a short but important paper’ by

“iIn é “Species a, in the British Flora,’’ edited by J. F.
Lousley, pp. 90-98.

30 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Dr. Irene Manton reviewing the results of her work and
that of her students in the light of the larger question as
to the origin of the present British flora. A number of
common ferns that seem well adjusted to the British
climate are tetraploids, each of which is closely allied to
diploid forms-which are much rarer. The diploids are
of two types, those of Mediterranean distribution gen-
erally (Polypodium vulgare, Asplenium Adiantum-
nigrum) and those of boreal distribution, in Scandinavia
and elsewhere, e.g. Dryopteris dilatata, D. Filvx-mas,
Cystopteris fragilis, Asplenium Trichomanes. It is likely
from cytological evidence that the tetraploids are of
hybrid origin, one ancestor being the remaining diploid
and the other unknown. There are no British species
that could be the other ancestor, and probably no Euro-
pean species either. The conclusion is therefore to be
reached that these tetraploids, now so common, did not
originate in Europe, but are immigrants, probably from
Asia, where the other ihe ancestor may still be in
existence.—C. V. Morro

The chapter ‘‘ Pteridology’’ in ‘‘A Century of Progress
in the Natural Sciences, 1853-1953,’ is contributed by
Dr. Irene Manton, the distinguished British cytologist
and fern studetnt. It traces clearly and logically the
development of pteridology as a science from the time
of Hofmeister (1851) to the present time, and can be
highly recommended as a concise historical summary.—
C. V. Morton.

Notes and News
The early numbers of the Fern Journal contained a
section entitled ‘‘Notes and News,’’ which the editors
have decided to revive. It is intended to include news
worthy items regarding members and their activities,

1 Published = the California Academy of Sciences, San Fran-
cisco, California, 1955, in celebration of the centenary of the

Notes AND NEws St

including excerpts from letters. Members are urged to
send in material for this section, which, it is hoped, will
bring a little personal touch into the Journal.

Botany Department
The University
Leeds, England
Dear Dr. Faust,
Thank you very much for your letter of February Ist.
I am naturally very pleased as well as honoured by the
offer of Honorary Membership in the American Fern
Society, and I will accept it with great pleasure.
I would be glad if you would convey my thanks in
some form to the electors.
Yours sincerely,
Irene Manton

To tHe AmerIcAN Fern Socrery.—My election as
Honorary Member of the American Fern Society is a
deeply appreciated honor. I hope I may follow the ex-
ample of Campbell Easter Waters who, on a similar
occasion some twenty years ago, made a semi-serious
protest that he did not want to be considered ‘‘on the
shelf.’’ In fact, he continued in active correspondence
with fern friends for the nearly score of years that re-
mained to him. He wrote for the Fern Journal, and
also instituted an anonymous, annual generous contri-
bution after the Treasurer stopped sending him bills.

Sixty years of following ferns as a hobby—I believe
the start for me was during my first high school year
in 1897—have not lessened my interest either in the
“amateur’’ aspects of fern study or in the professional
phases. Someone has written that all hobbyists—except
epitaph collectors—like to get together with others of
like interest to follow their hobbies. I am grateful for
the opportunities which membership in the Fern So-
ciety has given me for friendly and stimulating asso-
ciations.—Ratpu C, BENEDICT.

32 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Members of the Council were shocked and grieved to
learn of the death of our newly elected Vice-President,
Harold G. Rugg on February 13. Those who knew him
will miss his quiet, kindly help in locating ferns in some
of the beauty-spots of New England and in making his
own garden available to groups. The rest of us count it
a loss not to have known him personally. An account of
his life will appear in another issue.—Ira L. Wiggins.

Proposep Fievp-rrie AND ANNUAL Meerine.—The An-
nual Meeting of the American Fern Society will take
place either August 26 or 27 in connection with the meet-
ing of the American Institute of Biological Sciences at
Stanford University, California. There will be a session
for the reading of contributed papers. Members are
urged to send immediately the titles of papers they will
present to Dr. Ira L. Wiggins, Natural History Museum,
Stanford University, California, who will act as program
chairman and local representative. Those who will be
unable to attend or whose attendance is uncertain are
asked to submit titles anyway, for the papers can be
read by others, if necessary.

Preceding the Annual Meeting there will be the annual
field-trip which will possibly be made with the American
Bryological Society. The start will be from Stanford
University, and the trip will probably be for about five
days, beginning August 20. Tentative plans call for
driving up the Redwood Highway to Eureka and re-
turning along the scenic coastal route of northern Cali-
fornia. Dr. Wiggins will make the arrangements for
the field-trip also. Dr. Benedict has suggested that pos-
sibly some members planning to drive from the East
may wish to join together for a combined trip across
the continent, possibly with some stops in the Rocky
Mountains. It is essential that Dr. Wiggins have a close
estimate of the number participating in the field-trip by
May 25, in order that arrangements for transportation,
meals, and housing may be made.—C. V.

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 33

Spores oR Pants Wantep:—In connection with his
study of the Appalachian spleenworts, Dr. W. H. Wag-
ner, Jr. (Dept. of Botany, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, Mich.) is in need of spores or plants of Asplenium
Stotleri. If any member has this in cultivation he would
appreciate hearing of it.

Spores ror Disrrisution.—Spores of a new fertile
form of Scott’s spleenwort, Asplenium ebenoides, are
available to interested growers. It is a highly fertile
fern differing from the well-known Alabama type which
has been so successful in culture work in having papery
texture, pale-green color, quite regular lobulation,
broader segments, broader leaf-blades, and more finely
toothed leaf margins. The prothallium differs in having
deeply lacerate margins. The plant was produced ex-
perimentally from wild, sterile plants collected with the
parents in Montgomery County, Maryland. There are
several of these plants growing currently at the Botan-
ical Gardens of the University of Michigan. If you are
interested in receiving the spores of this form for your
collection of living plants, write to Professor Warren H.
Vagner, Jr., Department of Botany, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

American Fern Society
Report of the President for 1956

Nineteen fifty-six was, in general, a successful year for
the American Fern Society. Our membership held
Steady, or gained slightly over that of 1955. The success
m this area is attributable largely to the enthusiasm of
members in enlisting the interest and support of their
friends, and to the effective personal missionary work
and heavy correspondence of our Editor-in-Chief. He
recruited a number of new members on a trip to the
Western states, and while attending meetings or par-

34 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ticipating in field forays. Our membership at the end
of December totaled 582 active members.

In connection with the ever-present problem of main-
taining a stable membership list, the president wrote
nearly forty letters to past members who had dropped
out during the preceding year and asked each one why
he or she had withdrawn from the Society. As one must
expect when sending out such letters, approximately one
in four replied. The answers were similar to those ob-
tained by Mr. Mann a few years ago when he attempted
a similar poll. They showed that some had found the
Fern Journal ‘‘too technical’’; one had decided that
ferns as a hobby were less attractive than another
activity; two had retired from active business and had
to ‘‘wateh all the corners’’; and a friend of one wrote
that the elderly lady had passed away but no one had
informed us of her death. On the basis of the small
sampling, it appears that we lose members for about the
same reasons as do other societies that depend on the
interest of their members to keep their organizations
alive. Obviously, we cannot relax for long from recruit-
ing activities if the Fern Society is to remain vigorous.

During 1956 the activities of various regional groups
have been numerous and rewarding. Reports about
meetings at the New York Botanical Garden, at the
Mistaire Laboratories, and about forays to favorite fern
localities and to beautiful gardens that feature ferns,
indicate that several groups have been active and
have enjoyed the fellowship such gatherings afford. The
Field trip into the Gaspé region, and the meetings at
Storrs immediately thereafter, were highlights in the
year’s activities that the president was extremely sorry
to miss. A tragic accident to a member of a field party
operating in the Alaskan arctic claimed his undivided
attention too far into August to permit participation
in either the Gaspé foray or the Storrs meetings.

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 35

The quality of papers submitted to the Editor-in-
Chief for publication in the Fern Journal was good, and
the number of pages printed during 1956 was approxi-
mately the same as in each of the past few years, in spite
of increased printing costs. Sincere thanks are extended
to those who devoted time, thought, and inspiration to
the preparation of these articles.

Incidentally, periodic increases in the cost of printing
bring up a subject holding painful potentialities. The
annual dues of the Fern Society are insufficient to meet
the annual cost of publishing the Journal. The Council
is reluctant to recommend an increase in dues, although
most organizations have been forced to do so. We have
met the ‘‘deficit’’ through the help of contributing mem-
bers who have added various sums to their annual dues,
and by using some of the accumulated proceeds from
Sale of back numbers and sets. The potential deficit can
be met in the future by any one of several methods, or
by a combination of two or more of them. For example,
we could: (a) increase the annual dues; (b) keep the
dues at their present level but work for an increase in
the number of contributing members; (c) hold the dues
where they are but carry on a vigorous, sustained drive
for a substantial inerease in our regular membership ;
(d) attempt to raise a substantial fund for a permanent
endowment of sufficient size to cushion the Society
against economic fluctuations. The method suggested
under (c) seems the most promising, for the cost of
printing 200 additional copies of the Journal is not as
great as the increased income from 200 additional mem-
berships.

_ That the Fern Journal is not without interest to botan-
ists in other countries is attested by the fact that during
1956 two foreign institutions requested that the Fern
Journal be made available to them on an exchange basis.
The Couneil approved their request and their names

36 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

have been added to the mailing list. The Fern Society
and its Journal continue to be viewed favorably by
botanists in a number of European and Latin American
countries.

The president wishes to thank those who generously
have given time and energy to serve as officers, aS mem-
bers of special committees, as leaders of field-trips and
chairmen of meetings, as curators of our herbarium,
library, and spore collections, and as members of the
Editorial Board. Hearty thanks are tendered our past
president, Dr. Ralph C. Benedict, for his numerous help-
ful suggestions while I was trying to learn the duties of
the president. Thanks are given also to those who sup-
ported the Fern Society by becoming, or continuing to
be, contributing members. Finally, ‘‘Thank you!’’ to
each individual member who has continued his or her
interest in ferns and has maintained membership in the
American Fern Society through another year. -

It is my great privilege to extend a special welcome
to two people who have long worked with ferns, studied,
grown, and written about them, and who, by the action
of the Council and with the voted approval of the mem-
bership, have been elected Honorary Members of the
Society. I extend best wishes to Dr. Irene Manton, of
the University of Leeds, England, and to Dr. Ralph ©:
Benedict. Their contributions to pteridology have been
a source of pleasure and inspiration to us all. May their
fruitful labors continue through many years.

I wish to conelude my report by voicing my apprecia-
tion for the privilege and honor of serving as president
through another year, and to express the sincere wish
that my services to the Society and to its members may
be greater in 1957 than they were in 1956!

Respectfully submitted,
Ira L, Wiaarns, President

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 37

Report of the Secretary for 1956

The membership of the American Fern Society at the
end of 1956 was the highest in the history of the Society
—582, as compared with 564 at the end of 1955, an in-
crease of 18 members. One new Life Member was added,
our President, Dr. Ira L. Wiggins, who first joined the
Society in 1932. There has been a definite increase in
the number of members in New York, Florida, and Cali-
fornia.

We regret to report the deaths of the following mem-
bers: Mr. Clarence Birdseye (1952), Mr. Clarence H.
Knowlton (1911), Mrs. Spencer S. Marsh (1927), Mrs.
N. J. Sidney Rich (1954), and Mrs. James M. Stifler
(1935), and Mrs. Edward Thurston (1940).

The annual summer field-trip was held in the Gaspé
Peninsula in August; a report will be published at a
later date.

The Annual Meeting of the Society was held at the
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, in con-
nection with the A. I. B. S. meeting, on Tuesday, August
28. The morning was devoted to contributed papers,
with C. V. Morton presiding. The exceptionally fine
program, mostly arranged by Dr. Warren H. Wagner,
Jr., consisted of the following papers: ‘“The Experi-
mental Hybridization of Ferns in an Artificial Environ-
ment,’’ by Robert S. Whitmire, reported methods of
creating artificial hybrids, particularly in Asplenium,
by micro-technique; ‘‘A New Intermediate Species of
Cheilanthes from California and its Probable Origin,”’
by Warren H. Wagner, Jr. and Elizabeth F’. Gilbert,
described a probable new hybrid between Cheilanthes
siliquosa and C. californica that was first studied by
Mrs. Carlotta C. Hall; ‘‘Morphological and Cytological
Studies of Synthetic and Wild Asplenium Gravesii,’’ by
Thomas Darling, Jr. and Warren H. Wagner, Jr., pre-
sented work that will soon be published elsewhere ;

38 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

‘“Cytotaxonomie Studies of Some American Species of
Dryopteris,’’ by Stanley Walker (read by Dr. Wagner),
an important paper on American Dryopteris, which will
be published in a coming number of the Journal; ** Mic-
roscopic Studies of Mistaire Dryopteris,’’ by Clara S.
Hires, described current work on the cell structure of the
indusia of Dryopteris, indicating that some species may
be distinguished by the indusial cells; ‘‘The Gameto-
phyte of Plagiogyria,’’ by Lenette Rogers Atkinson, re-
ported current work with the gametophytes of Plagw-
gyria that indicates that this genus occupies a relatively
primitive and isolated position among living ferns;
‘Studies in the Development of Leaf Primordia and
Buds in the Fern Acrostichum danaeifolium,’’ by Wil-
liam J. Crotty, reported some morphological investiga-
tions that are under way; ‘‘The Aquatic ‘Ferns’ 0
Georgia,’’ by Wilbur H. Duncan, contained fine color-
slides of some ferns of Georgia; ‘‘A Check-list of Ferns
of the Northeast, based on English Names,’’ by Ralph
C. Benedict, gave results of work on a checklist, mimeo-
graphed copies of which were distributed to those
present; ‘‘The Second Most Important Discovery about
Ferns,’”’ by Ralph C. Benedict, continued Dr. Benediet’s
studies of the history of our knowledge of ferns with
some account of the work of Jeffrey, Kidston and Lang,
and others; and ‘‘Conservative Species and the Problem
of Chromosome Numbers,’’ by Stanley J. Smith, dis-
cussed the emphasis that should be given to chromosome
numbers in discriminating species, both in flowering
plants and ferns. Unfortunately, the extremely full
program allowed little time for an adequate discussion
of the interesting papers. The session was well attended,
there being 40 members or more present at all times.
Following the formal session for papers, the Society
held a luncheon, presided over by Dr. Dwight Moore,
our Vice-President, which was attended by 30 members

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 39

vr more. Following the luncheon, a part of the group
met again in the room that had been provided for the
Fern Society as an exhibition room, where an additional,
unprogrammed paper was read by Mrs. Fern Ward
Crane on her spore studies in Dryopteris, with particular
reference to Dryopteris Filiz-mas. Several interesting
exhibits were laid out by Dr. Wagner, Miss Hires, and
others.

The Society is extremely grateful to Dr. Wendell H.
Camp, who arranged the Annual Meeting so compe-

tently.
ently Respectfully submitted,

Miuprep E. Faust, Secretary

Report of the Treasurer for 1956

The American Fern Society ended 1956 in good finan-
cial condition. Income amounted to $3,658.10—the high-
est on record for the Society. This was helped consider-
ably by the 82 individuals who are sustaining members,
by the brisk sale of back volumes and excess library
books, and by gifts. The publication costs increased
slightly over 1955.

Receipts
Amount Total

Cash on hand, Jan. 1, 1956 i... cisk ne eenemennnnnmmennnin $1,509.65

1956 sustaining members. ......n00ensemrnnnnemns

PPOGi mew members ence l ee deedenoe 90.20
1956 subscription renewals 50.20
1957 cbeaaeng yenowals |. 264.10
Life membersh ee a 50.00
Sale of back numbers ...ccccsoceorrceovenrernnvinrnnenm 216.22
Sale of reprints 145.88
Sale of surplus library books 50.00
vue G@vertigine ci) t) ft toe 20.00
Gifts 124.85

2,148.45

$3,658.10

40 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Disbursements

Amount Total
A. FB, dc VoL 45, No. 4 ........... 484.99
Dah Vlg A, NO gk etic csterte ctterstpntlnstoentbratenses 526.22
A. F. J. Vol. 46, No. 2 301.76
F. J. Vol. 46, No. 3 ... 403.60
Reprints 163.45

Expenses

A Sgt 0s 11 otra ei ea ain che tpells etapa aera hee Ae meee 40.50
Secretary 35.84
Treasurer 83.09
Editor 18.50

2,057.95

Cagh on hand, cannery 1, 10ST is cis caimicgeeanninreseet $1,600.15

STATEMENT DECEMBER 31, 1956

Assets Amount

Oude ron Nagi oink Cer or art at beers tn paces date pon oes $1,600.15

Bissell Herbarium Bequest Mis thte ieee 633.69

ife: Membersinp Pund i220 os; ee kee. ole 727.56

Reserve Fun

Qu
‘e
“4
veo
=
oO
ae

Hrventory AGE oy ae eh aban canta cade ic beers 3,103.91
AS LADERA aa Seid a eens 96

pment ai

$8,195.88

Liabilities Amount

Oapital Adit 6.5055 oe eee ape eae $6,127.00

—— eredit

AOGT wabweriphions oo ea aut atts 264.10

Distribatios: Vel, 46, No. 4A Bogs ea elie 443.53

a Herbarium Fund 633.69

e Membership Fund 727.56

eae

$8,195.88

ait ge? submitted,
Ronatp L. McGreeor, Treasurer

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 4]

Report of the Auditing Committee
We hereby certify that we have seen the books and
accounts of Dr. Ronald L. MeGregor, Treasurer of the
American Fern Society, and have obtained confirmation
of the correctness of the Society’s balances on hand as
set forth in detail in the accompanying report of the
Treasurer.
Emity L. HARTMAN
W. H. Horr
Auditing Committee

Report of the Librarian and Curator for 1956

The sale of duplicate books and loans from the Library
and Herbarium have continued as in the past few years.
In most cases, several requests were received for each
book advertised; it is regretted that some members were
disappointed. Members are urged to send their duplicate
books to the Librarian for sale, not only to help provide
additional income to the Society but also to make needed
books available to fellow members.

There have been few requests for the loan of herbar-
ium specimens; it seems that the collection could be used
to better advantage than it is. Members are encouraged
to ask for material, for their own study or to illustrate
fern talks. Most of the species of the United States are
represented, as well as a good many of those from other
parts of the world.

Respectfully submitted,
Routia Tryon, Curator and Librarian

Report of the Judge of Elections

The results of the balloting for officers of the American

Fern Society are as follows:
or President

PO Ts. Wig Gi8 cc can ae =
RO Benedet e ere 9
OV: Motion Oo :

BRollan Mi. Tryon, Ja. ence sence peeensreenesmennenmetnsnenrre

42 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

For Vice-President

Plaarolh Go. Revnge eannesessesssnssntscteseeteensensssint scenes nnn seenne 21

BENE A, sty bbc cdined ca he 2
For Secretary

Mildred Bh. Praast incccccsccscecssssiectcccissessseenseetenntsntqantbennecent 275
For Treasurer

Romald Li. McGregor -.......-.c--cecccseeecsseesseeeesceetecerettension 275

I therefore declare the following candidates elected
to the several offices: President, Ira L. Wiggins; Vice-
President, Harold G. Rugg; Secretary, Mildred E.
Faust; Treasurer, Ronald L. McGregor.

For Honorary Membership

Dr irene Manton 6.28 280, Yes; 4, No
Dr. Ralph C. Benedict ..............- 286, Yes; 1, No

I therefore declare Dr. Irene Manton and Dr. Ralph C.
Benedict elected to Honorary Membership in the Society.

Total number of ballots returned: 291.

Respectfully submitted,
Bengamin R. ALLison, Judge of Elections

Report of the Spore Exchange

In 1956, the mails carried well over one hundred
letters about fern spores to and from Fernwood, the
present seat of the Spore Exchange of the American
Fern Society, and this, we think, bespeaks considerable
interest for so new a venture. It was gratifying that
so many members and friends took the time and trouble
to send spores or fertile fronds. They would feel repaid
could they know the gratitude of those who used them.
A list of the spores available has been mimeographed
and will be sent to anyone requesting it. Besides the
more common Eastern ferns, the list includes some of
the rarer rock ferns, a few special forms of Dryopter's
and Polystichum, some tropicals for greenhouse use, an
some from the west coast, Florida and New Zealand.

Our thanks go to Dr. Wiggins for Dryopterts fragans

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 43

from Alaska, to Mr. A. R. Lord for sending fourteen
samples collected on the Gaspé trip of the Society, to Mr.
Harold Rugg for the many times he has remembered
the exchange in his travels, to Dr. Wherry, Dr. Wagner,
Mr. Morton and Mr. Tom Darling for some of the Appa-
lachian Aspleniums, to Mrs. Fern Crane and Mrs. Nor-
man Henry for some ferns especially requested, to Mrs.
Diddell and John Beckner for Florida ferns, and to all
others that sent material. Each packet is appreciated.

Though the number of contributors (24) has materi-
ally inereased this year, the number of those requesting
spores has dropped, and this seems too bad. With a

itchen oven, a few pots or dishes and some pieces of
glass for cover (or polyethylene bags) being readily
available to everyone, it seems that a lot of pleasure for
little trouble is being missed. Sometimes, one gets some-
thing quite unexpected in addition to or instead of what
he thought he planted, but this can be disappointing,
distressing or exciting according to the point of view.
It is a magic sort of business that can take place on your
windowsill, and should be tried by every person inter-
ested in ferns, whether professional botanist or amateur
hobbyist.

It would be fine if in 1957 the number of contributors
to the exchange would equal or outnumber those of
1956, and at the same time the number of users be
greatly increased! In either case, contact Mrs. KaTHRYN
E. Boypston, Fernwood, Route 3, Niles, M ichigan.

Report on the Massachusetts Meeting
The summer meeting of the New England section of
the Ameriean Fern Society was held at Bartholomew’s
Cobble, Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, on June 22nd and
23rd. Thirty members and guests of the Society at-
tended. The headquarters were at the Sheffield Inn,
three miles from Ashley Falls.

44 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Bartholomew’s Cobble has been described as ‘nature's
rock gardens at perfection.’’ It is a wooded hill with
numerous outeroppings of limestone rock, situated on
the Housatonic River, near its source. It is maintained
as one of the State of Massachusetts’ public reservations.
Over five hundred species of plants, including about
30 kinds of ferns, are found there.

Meeting at the Sheffield Inn at ten o’elock Saturday
morning, the party proceeded to the Cobble, where the
warden, Mr. Waldo Bailey, conducted us through the
reserve. Lime-loving ferns grew in abundance. Asplen-
ium platyneuron and trichomanes were very plentiful.
There were a few plants of Asplenium ebenoides (Seott’s
spleenwort) and Aspleniwm ruta-muraria. Several rocky
ledges were actually covered with Camptosorus rhizo-
phyllus and Pellaea atropurpurea. A fern which created
great interest was Ophioglossum vulgatum.

After a picnie lunch some of the group further ex-
plored the Cobble while others did independent ferning
down a nearby road.

Later in the afternoon two private gardens in Falls
Village, Connecticut, which is but a short distance away,
were visited. These gardens were of special interest,
both because of their content and charm and the fact
that their owners, Mr. Boughton Cobb and the Lincoln
Fosters were collaborators in the preparation of Mr.
Cobb’s book ‘‘Field Guide to the Ferns,’’ which has
just been published. Mrs. Foster did the exquisite draw-
ings for this book.

Among the unusual ferns seen in these gardens were:
Asplenium viride, Asplenium ebenoides, Asplenium
resiliens. Asplenium montanum, Cryptogramma stellert,
Cheilanthes lanosa, Woodsia glabella, Adiantum capillus-
veneris and Lygodium palmatum. There were also sev
eral plants of a form of Cystoperis bulbifera, discovered
near Falls Village and described by Mr. Foster in the

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 45

American Fern Journal (Volume 44, No. 3). Mr. Foster
also showed an interesting group of various forms of the
Christmas fern.

That evening at the Sheffield Inn an informal discus-
sion of the day’s finds took place. Dr. Benedict had pro-
vided check-lists which were used by many. Forty-
seven kinds were checked.

The next morning Miss Ruth Hardy’s fern and wild-
flower nurseries in Falls Village were visited. A large
variety of ferns and wildflowers grew along the paths
in her woods, many of them in their native state. Later
some of the group re-visited the Cobb and the Foster
gardens.

Everyone missed Dr. Benedict, who at the last moment
was unable to attend. It is a tribute to his training,
that without his experienced leadership, we were able
to carry on and have such a pleasant and profitable meet-
ing—Bensamin R. Auuison, M.D., Chairman of New
England Committee.

Meeting at the New York Botanical Garden

On December 1, 1956, the American Fern Society had
a most fruitful and profitable informal meeting at the
New York Botanical Garden. Twenty-eight members
were present from four states—New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. The meeting was spon-
sored by a committee consisting of Miss Clara S. Hires,
and Messrs. Allen, Allison, Benedict, and Graf. Dr.
Donald Rogers, of the staff of the New York Garden,
acted as host for the Botanical Garden, and set up in
advance some very interesting displays from the Gar-
den’s extensive library of fern books, and herbarium
specimens. Miss Hires and Dr. Allison spread the word
of the meeting through the distribution of a notice pre-
pared by Dr. Rogers.

Those attending had the opportunity of choosing dur-

46 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ing the morning whether they would visit the Garden
fern-house, the Library, or the Underwood Fern Herb-
arium. In the library (one of the largest botanical
ones), the Librarian pointed out rare and old books and
searched for special references for some of us. In the
fern herbarium, some did research of their own; others
were given a general survey by members of the Garden
staff. In the Members’ Room, Dr. Rogers had placed on
display an extensive series of popular fern books, in-
cluding the pioneer of all—that by James Bolton. One
special volume was ‘‘The Ferns of Great Britain and
Ireland’? by Thomas Moore, edited by John Lindley,
London. The life-sized illustrations in this volume had
been ‘‘nature-printed’’—whole fern leaves were first
impressed on lead plates under considerable pressure,
and then the plates were printed from the lead plates,
and beautifully colored. Other exhibits included a set
of 75 different living ferns, usable as house plants, eX
hibited by Mr. A. B. Graf, of Julius Roehrs Company,
Rutherford, New Jersey, an extensive showing of Charles
Neidorf’s beautiful enlargements, some developing spore
cultures in plastic dishes, shown by Ralph Benedict,
from which individual specimens were available. and
spore models shown by Miss Hires.

At noon, all gathered in the Members’ Room where
we were served coffee and cookies by the Botanical Gar-
den to supplement our sandwiches. This room was
especially appropriate since it was formerly the working
laboratory of Prof. Lucien M. Underwood, the leading
professional fern student for many years, with publi-
cations covering popular and technical phases of fern
study from 1880 for nearly 30 years. Here were dis-
played ‘also most of the exhibits mentioned above.

After lunch we remained in the same room where
Ralph Benedict led an informal discussion on ‘*Werns
as a hobby,’’ with distribution of his English name

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 47

check-list of northeastern ferns. Dr. Norman P. Mar-
engo gave a talk on his studies of the spore structure
of several species illustrated by lantern slides. Miss
Hires discussed spores and spore structure, showing
many photo-enlargements made for her by Mr. Gordon
Foster. Mr. Graf talked about some of the most inter-
esting of the collection of 75 living species.

For the Botanical Garden, Dr. Rogers had organized
the day’s activities so beautifully that, at first, one could
hardly realize how much time and energy must have
been used to attain the results. It is pleasant to report
that the Society now has a Botanical Garden member in
the person of Dr. Rogers. The following is a list of those
who signed the registry of the meeting: Benjamin Alli-
son, R. C. Benedict, Muriel Brown, Boughton Cobb, Mr.
& Mrs. Burton Dezendorf, Mr. & Mrs. H. F. Dunbar,
Mrs. F. G. Dunham, Ann Dunham, Mildred Faust, Thor-
leif Fliflet, Mr. & Mrs. F. Gordon Foster, A. B. Graf,
Clara Hires, Norman Marengo, Charles Neidorf, Eugene
G. Rhodes, Marion Rhodes, Donald Rogers, Eva Sobol,
Harry Trudell, Gunnar Weller, and Edgar T. Wherry.
—Miprep Faust, Secretary.

Gaspé Frevp-Trre.—Because of the number of other
reports in this number, a report on the field-trip last
summer to Gaspé will be published in the next issue.

New MEMBERS
Mrs. Mona Ayers, 6655 Bellefontaine, Kansas City 30, Mo.
Mr. James A. Bat teman, Box 114, Slidell, La.
Mr. William F. Blois, Jr., Route 6, Box 386, a 7, Florida
Mrs. O. S. Bryant, Jr., 3470 Afton Ave., Padue
Mr, Daniel H. H. Chavhear Box 4034, ‘Walker gaa Tulsa 9,
Okla,

Mr. Burton Dezendorf, 401 Hasbrouch Blvd., Oradell, New Jersey
Mr. Sidney K. Eastwoo : 526 Madison St., New Orleans 16, La.
r. Peter Enrietta, R. R., Coal City, Illinois
Miss Ruby C. Ferguson, pr een Tex
Mr. F, Gordon Foster, 10 North fue Maplewood, N. J.

48 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

s. J. O. Franklin, 107 Lawrence, Bruceton, Tenn.
Mrs George N. Gardiner, Pond Crossing, Lawrence, L. I., N. Y.
rs. George H. Gardner, 1724 As bury Avenue, Hvanstons Tllinois
re Jarl Hiltunen, c/o Biology Department, Wayne State Univ.
Detroit 2, Michigan
rA. E. n, 33-52 156th Street, Flushing 54, New ie. Bae
Mr Phil ae 5620 8. W. 67th Ave., Miami, Floric
. Thomas B. McGuire, 5th and Fairmount Street, Os

ie
Miss Barbara Monish, Chester Street, CREBYEE, New mene
Mrs. Annette Moore, 210 26th St., Old Hickory, Tennes
Miss Yolanda Orta, 74386 Bradock Drive, Culver r City, ‘Calida
Mr. ene Pisler, 157 Havelock Street, Toronto 4, Ontario, Can-

ee eee K. Roberts, Box 64, Guerneville, Calif
Dr. Donald P. Rogers, New York Botanical Bavhba, New York 58,

Ne
Dr. Ruegger, Tiefengrabenstrasse 1, Binningen ages Switzerland
Mrs. H. B. Showalter, 6 N. 28th St., Camden 5, N. J.

Mrs. E. E. Stowell, R. D. 1, Baileys Mill Rd., Baskin Ridge, N. J.
Mrs. C. G. Webb, 20 West Ave., Wellsboro, P

Mr. Stanford Young, 214 hiver> St., Hot bedinge Arkansas

Mr. John Zapp, 3443 Afton Ave., Paihdsats, wy.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

Mrs. Marion B. Brettle, El Rancho Mobile Village, Bradenton, Pla.
Mr, Lionel Cing-Mars, 13 Bouthillier, St. Jean, Quebee, Cana ada
Dr. Donovan 8. Correll, Texas Research Foundation, a Texas
Mr. Alvin B. Cutler, 7675 W. 128 St., Miami, Flori

Miss Gertrude E, Douglas, 32 Clinton Road, Me oO 6 Mass.

Mr. Neal W. Gilbert, 221 ef nden Ave., Ithaca, N. Y.

Mr. F. C. Greene, Forest Haven Apts., 2838 sible Ave., Kansas

City, Mo.
Miss Thos Hartsoe, 742 W. Court St., Piggett, ee
Mr. Ed Lee, 6427 iP micas Rd., Oakland 11, Cal
Dr. Robert H. Mohlenbroe ky Dept of Botany, sr
reer: Carbondale, Tilinoi
= and Mrs, ‘ape G. Oe shee: 635 Springfield Ave., Berk

Tlinois

eley
Heights, N.

Be Ruth Pe Ane Miss Ruth Rosa), 312 South Summit St.,

wling Green

6 avai M. rd Andes, New Yor
Mrs. L. A. Walters, 9422 Broadway, Piet City, Calif.

ay Sa deco lk Ul EN a,

DAE ON

PN, oe

April-June, 1957 No. 2 et

American Sern Journal

A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS
Published by the
AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY
Ad
EDITORS
Cc. V. MORTON
R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS
Aes

MITH
cd
i
es CONTENTS
‘ Harold Goddard Rugg—1883-1957 ...-- R. C. BENEDICT 49 oo
ations on Cultivated Ferns, II. The Proper Generic
Name of the Holly Fern Cc. V. i

A, In Search of the Rock-fern Hybrid Acpleniam Gra te
HOMAS ‘DARLING 65

. — Fiddleheads - ROC. aie -
Notes on Hawaiian Pecesitciel Species “al Ophioglossum

Harotp St. JouN 74 *
‘Shorter Notes: The Cut-leaf Fern Market, ean: bspiet
se one years of Botanical siete je
Recent Fern — Ss
s Notes and New

ae second clase m t tne post omee at F
| Under the Act" of March. 8 ay for at
ad vided February. ary

SY Se Baa 2 a of f00e,

The American Hern Society

Counril for 1957
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR

ika = a Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Cali-
re
Dr. an R. AuLison, 26 Ives Road, Hewlett, L. Bree |

York Vice-President
Mitpuep E. Faust, Department of Botany, Syracuse University,
Syracuse, New York eretary
——* 1 McGREGOR, eee of Botany, ee ot Kan-
awrence, Kans asurer

= ¥. ae, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. °C.
Editor-in-Chief

OFFICIAL ORGAN

American Hern Journal
EDITORS
-C. V. Moron ........... Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C.
RB. GC. BENEDICT oi. oeeencne 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Y.

Ika L. Wieans .... Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. —
Mir .. National Seience Foundation, Washington 20, D. ©.

An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of —_

1

Risiasied reprints, if o cone A advance, will be furnished authors

ateost. They should be ordered when proof is returned.
Back volumes $1.50 each, except vols. 1, 38, and 40, eg single
- baek numbers 50 cents each, ei vol. 38, no. 4 and vol. , no. 1,
$1.25; Cumulative Index to vols. 1-25, 25 cents. Ten = cent

diseount on orders of six aces or more.
Matter for publication should be addressed to ©. V. Morton,
Smith itution, Washington 25, D. C.
Orders for back numbers and other business communications —
should be addressed to the Treasurer of the Society.

LIBRARIAN AND CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM
i Botanical

mo page wer paying all postal or express charges. The
Pa ae tie SOA niet 05% Sos fo to members who wish to arrange
ness a oo toe list is ee ten at intervals, to

ater Flake 1a eee ae

Ampvrican Hern Journal

Vou. 47 APRIL—JUNE, 1957 No. 2

Harold Goddard Rugg—1883-1957
R. C. BENEDICT

“Ave atque Vale!’’ is a fitting salute to Harold
Goddard Ruge. Only shortly after being elected Vice-
President of the American Fern Society, he died on
February 13 after a short illness. But he had already
begun another year of working for the Fern Society by
aiding in the planning for a field meeting scheduled for
Vermont during July.

His cooperation with other fern students had extended
over a period of at least 50 years. A member of the
Society from 1906 onward, a posteard from him in 1907
carried the following: ‘‘Is there anything I ean collect
for you? Do you expect to be up Vermont or N. H. way
this summer? I found D. Boottii for the first time this
last week. I saw growing one plant of A. ebenoides.””
Ezra Brainerd, veteran Vermont botanist, reports in the
first volume of the Fern Journal’ that Rugg had found
one of the Dowell hybrids, D. Goldiana x marginalis, as
early as 1907, although he a not correctly identify it
till two years later. In this same period, he was raising
ferns from spores and attempting to produce hybrids by
mixing species in his spore cultures. Rugg went on to
find many rare ferns, in many parts of the United States
and to visit England and the European continent in his
fern hunting. As early as 1908 he writes of importing
Special ferns from an nae dealer—‘‘30 plants of
e—————____.

1This Journ. 1: 78, 7

oo 47, No. 1, of ae. Jordan; pp. 1-48, was issued April
» 1957 ]

VoLUME 47, PLATE V

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Penasco aan nas

HAROLD GODDARD RUGG

Harotp Ruee 51

hardy ferns native in Europe and Japan.’’ Not all his
fern expeditions were successful; one card carries the
query ‘‘What am I likely to find in the Dismal Swamp
region?’’ to be followed by another—‘‘In my Virginian
Rambles, the only fern I found was Pteris aquilina pseu-
docaudata.

But fern hunting and fern gardening were merely
Rugg’s hobby. To Dartmouth, he was a librarian, the
College expert on rare books, who gave a course on the
‘‘art of books.’’ His library service at Dartmouth, begun
part-time when a junior in 1905, became his full time
vocation immediately after his graduation in 1906. On
more than one oceasion, the College honored him for his
unremitting services; before his retirement in 1953, he
had been made Associate Librarian with the rank of full
professor. During his Dartmouth service, Rugg was one
of the earliest to recognize the genius of Robert Frost
and gave appreciated help in the struggling days of the
poet by arranging a lecture engagement at Dartmouth.
At his death, his personal library included a valuable
collection of the works of Frost.

In Vermont, Rugg’s birth-state, he was highly re-
garded as an expert on Vermont history and indeed he
had national recognition in this field. Long a mem-
ber of the Vermont Historical Society, and active as a
Director, he left a library of over 2300 volumes and over
3000 documents and manuscripts on the origins and de-
velopment of Vermont communities. A major literary
Project of his, which we may hope was ready for publica-
tion, was a detailed account of every village and other
community of the state of Vermont.

Rugg’s notable fern garden in Hanover was left to
Dartmouth College, which has decided that it will be
unable to maintain it. Negotiations are therefore under
Way to distribute the rare plants in the garden to in-
Stitutions where they will receive adequate care.

52 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Observations on Cultivated Ferns, Il... ‘The
Proper Generic Name of the Holly Fern

C. V. Morton

The Holly Ferns are among the most prized of culti-
vated ferns, for they are relatively easy of cultivation
and their thick, leathery, glossy leaves are ornamental.
They have long been universally known under the generic
name Cyrtomium, although doubtless some dealers list
them as species of Polystichwm, a not altogether un-
reasonable disposition. Convincing generic distinctions
from Polystichum are hard to find; still, if all slightly
tenuous genera of ferns were to be reduced to synonymy
the result would be having only a few very large genera,
not perhaps the most convenient treatment in practice.

The purpose of this note is, however, not to discuss the
relationship of Cyrtomium to Polystichum but to Phaner-
ophlebia, which is even more closely allied. Copeland,
in his Genera Filicum (1947), discussed these two, Cone
cluded that they were synonymous, and adopted the
name Phanerophlebia for the combined genus, reducing
Cyrtomium to synonymy. Copeland is not original in
deciding that these groups are not generically separable ;
the same conclusions and on the same grounds were
reached by Thomas Moore’ and John Smith. The only
original thing is the conclusion that the proper generic
name is Phanerophlebia, an erroneous conclusion, as it
turns out.

The two genera Phanerophlebia Presl and Cyrtomium
Pres] were described at the same time (1836) in Presl’s
Tentamen, the former on page 84 and the latter on page
86. This so-called ‘‘page priority’’ of Phanerophlebia
must be the reason for Dr. Copeland’s choice of name,
but this is not a valid reason. Page-priority has nothing
to do with it. The rule in the International Code 0

1 Index Filicum LXXXITI. 1857.
2 Historia Filicum 204, 1875.

Genertc Name or Houiy FERN 53

Botanical Nomenclature (1956 edition) regarding the
choice of names of the same date is in Article 57: ‘The
author who first unites taxa bearing names or epithets
of the same date has the right to choose one of them, and
his choice must be followed.’’ In this case, T. Moore,
in his Index Filieum (1857, p. UXXXII) united Phaner-
ophlebia and Cyrtomium, and chose the name Cyrtomium
for the combined genus. He must be followed. In order
for Phanerophlebia to be right, it will be necessary for
Copeland to show that between 1836 and 1857 some
author did the reverse of Moore’s action, ie. adopt
Phanerophlebia and reduce Cyrtomium to synonymy,
which in all probability can not be done, for it almost
certainly never happened.

As shown by the above technical discussion of the
nomenclature, the correct name for the Holly Fern
remains Cyrtomium, as it is usually known. The princi-
pal systematic account of this genus appeared in the
American Fern Journal in 1930.’ In all likelihood, only
three species of true Cyrtomium are in cultivation in the
United States. The following key to them is adapted
from that of Christensen cited above.

nae,

Pinnae 3 to 6 pairs, large (6-10 em. long and 3-5 em. wide),
mostly strongly auriculate, mostly toothed throughout, the
terminal pinna as large as the others or larger; stipe scaly
chiefly at the base, the rhachis only slightly fibrillose.
HE C. caryoti

Pinnae 10 pairs or more, rather small (rarely more than 6 cm.
long or 2 em. broad), rarely subauriculate, usually toothed
near the apex only, the terminal pinna smaller; stipe of
young fronds densely scaly with large scales, the rhachis
fibrillose with broader linear seales mixed with woolly, hair-
is Mhitlis: ca i Fortunei.

. ‘“‘The Genus Cyrtomium,’’ by Carl Christensen. This JOURN.
* 41-52. 1930.

54 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

The American species of Cyrtomium occur from the
southwestern United States south throughout Central
America to northern South America. They are probably
not in cultivation, except possibly in local gardens in
Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, where plants have been
brought in from the wild. The only systematic treat-
ment is that of L. M. Underwood,‘ and a good one it is.
No one has contributed anything of importance to our
knowledge of the genus since, except for the discovery
and description of a West Indian species. Only two of
the species, namely Cyrtomium juglandifolium (Humb.
& Bonpl.) Moore (Ind. Fil. LXXXIII. 1857)° and C.
nobile (Schlecht. & Cham.) Moore, loc. cit.,>5 have ever
been transferred formally to the genus Cyrtomium.
The others are:

CyrromiuM auriculatum (Underwood) Morton, comb. nov.

Phanerophlebia auriculata Underwood, Bull. Torrey Bot, Club

26: 212 lL. 3

: 0. 1899.
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Sonora, and Chihuahua.
CyrtoMIuM umbonatum (Underwood) Morton, comb, nov.
Phanerophlebia wmbonata Underwood, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club

Texas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Durango.

Cyrromium remotisporum (Fournier) Morton, comb. nov.
Phanerophlebia remotispora Fournier, Mex. Plant. 1: 100. 1872.
Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, J alisco, and

ichoae
CyrtoMiuM pumilum (Mart. & Gal.) Morton, comb. nov.
Aspidium pumilum Mart. & Gal. Mém. Aead. Brux. 15: 64.

Phanerophlebia pumila Fée, Gen. Fil. 282. 1852.

Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero, Veracruz, Michoacén. Probably 4
valid species, but its relationships to the others need to be
investigated.

4‘‘The Genus Phanerophlebia,’’ by L. M. Underwood. Bull.
Torrey Bot. Club 26; 205-216. 1899. :

ed range is: Veracruz, Chiapas, Guatemala, Nica

ragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela, with a doubtful recor

from Colombia

6 The reported
laxe

Puebla, Tins range is: Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo

e
ala, and Jalisco.

Hyprip ASPLENIUM GRAVESII 55

CyrToMIuM macrosorum (Baker) Morton, comb. nov.
Aspidium juglandifolium var. macrosorum Baker, Journ. Bot.
25: 25. 1887.
Phanerophlebia macrosora Underwood, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club.
26: 213. 1899

: 99.
Chiapas, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama.
CyrToMIuM guatemalense (Underwood) Morton, comb. nov.
Phanerophlebia guatemalensis Underwood, Bull, Torrey Bot.
Club. 26: 214. 1899.
Guatemala.
Cyrtomium haitiense (C. Chr.) Morton, comb. nov.
Phanerophlebia haitiensis C. Chr. Kungl. Svensk. Vet. Handl.
ser. 3, 16, no. 2: 41... 1987.
Haiti.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D. C.

In Search of the Rock-fern Hybrid Asplenium
Gravesii

THOMAS DARLING, JR.

In 1935 I first became interested in searching for rare
Species of the genus Asplenium. At that time I happened
to see herbarium specimens of A. Bradley: (Bradley’s
Spleenwort) and A. pinnatifidum (Lobed Spleenwort)
from the Susquehanna River ravines of Lancaster and
York Counties in Pennsylvania collected by the late
John K. Small, of the New York Botanical Garden. —

While temporarily located in Allentown, Pennsylvania,
in 1937, I wrote Dr. Small a letter asking whether these
ferns might still be found in the ravines. His reply
stated, in part, ‘Lancaster County is a very interesting
Place for ferns. The years I spent there at college
(Franklin and Marshall) resulted in the discovery of
many localities for both A. pinnatifidum and A. Bradleyt.
+hese ferns are plentiful at all the localities mentioned
In your letter and at others, and no doubt the plants are
just as numerous there today as they were in the past

56 AmerIcAN FERN JOURNAL

because little has been done to exterminate them where
they grow. Asplenium Bradleyi was not as widespread
as A. pinnatifidum, but the ravines along the Susque-
hanna below Safe Harbor, both on the Lancaster and
York County sides of the river yielded many beautiful
specimens of this fern (Bradleyi), once considered so
rare. In fact, it was one of the later discoveries, and
even after its discovery was slow showing up in the
various parts of its present known range.’

Unfortunately, I was to learn that Dr. Small’s opti-
mistic prediction that these ferns were still abundant
in the area did not prove true. The climate has been
getting warmer and drier during the past fifty years
and these rock-ferns, where once plentiful, have gradu-
ally been disappearing. Furthermore, the relocation of
the railroad line along the Susquehanna River led to
the extermination of many of the best known localities
for the rarer species, including the hybrids, while the
total disappearance of A. Bradleyi from the beautiful
Tucquan Ravine many years ago was caused primarily
by the ravages of thoughtless collectors. At one time,
according to Dr. E. T. Wherry, over a hundred plants
of this rare fern were to be found on a cliff at the end
of the road down this ravine.

In the summer of 1937, I chose this same Tucquan
Ravine for my first exploring trip in the area, on a rainy
weekend culminating in a series of cloudbursts. Despite
the unfavorable weather, I succeeded in finding the
Lobed Spleenwort (A. pinnatifidum) and also collected
my first hybrid, Trudell’s Spleenwort (A. Trudellr),
a cross between A. montanum and A. pinnatifidum. This
jnitial expedition was followed by others in the Susque
hanna ravines of Lancaster and York Counties, resulting
in the discovery of many more localities for the two
above-mentioned species, although A. Bradleyt eluded me
for some time; I did find it later at infrequent intervals

Hyprip ASPLENIUM GRAVESIL 57

in a number of different states, including one station in
Pennsylvania (Lancaster County.)

About this time I learned about the extremely rare
hybrid A. Gravesii, a cross between A. Bradleyi and A.
pinnatifidum. Few botanists have ever seen this fern,
although it had been found occasionally many years ago
in certain ravines of York and Lancaster Counties. The
reason for its extreme rarity lies primarily in the fact
that one parent, A. Bradleyi, is itself relatively un-
common.

Came World War II, and in 1942 I was inducted
into the Army. While stationed at various Southern
camps, I continued my search for ferns, particularly A.
Gravesii, on free week-ends. At Kings Mountain, South
Carolina, I found A. Bradleyi at the one spot where it is
locally frequent, but no A. pinnatifidum occurs in the
Vicinity. Near Macon, Georgia, I saw A. pinnatifidum
at its extreme southeastern limit, and at Stone Moun-
tain, near Atlanta, a local botanist showed me both A.
pinnatifidum and A. Bradleyi growing sparingly near
the summit, but there was no trace of a hybrid.

Not far from Gadsden, Alabama, lies a local beauty
spot known as Nocealula Falls, where Black Creek
plunges in a thunderous cascade over a picturesque am-
phitheatre of rock. I visited this botanist’s paradise
several times during the spring of 1944, finding numer-
ous plants of both A. Bradleyi and A. pinnatifidum in
the scenic gorge below the falls. Although I failed to
uncover A. Gravesii, which Dr. Wherry had found in
this locality many years before, I did manage to discover
Several specimens of A. Trudellii, a new station for this
plant.

After the war ended, I became established in Washing-
ton, D. C., in 1946, where I have remained up to the
Present time. During the past ten years, I have con-
centrated on visiting areas where the parent ferns exist

58 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

near one another, in the hope of finding A. Graves. In
this quest I was greatly aided by information given me
by Dr. Wherry, and also by Dr. Warren H. Wagner, de,
of the University of Michigan, who has been anxious for
some time to obtain living plants of this rare hybrid for
his studies of reticulate evolution in the Appalachian
Aspleniums.:' Even as late as June 1954 in the article
in Evolution quoted above, Dr. Wagner stated, with
reference to the two hybrids A. Gravesii and A. kentucki-
ense, ‘‘Both are exceedingly rare, and no living material
has been seen by the author or is expected in the near
future.”’

Among those places visited, but with no success, were
two formerly supposed (and previously published) sta-
tions for A. Gravesii—one near French Creek, Upshur
County, West Virginia,? the other near Chatham, Pitt-
sylvania County, Virginia.? In neither instance has A.
Bradleyi been found in the general area. A recent more
critical appraisal of existing herbarium specimens of the
French Creek hybrid by Dr. Wagner has led to its re-
identification as A. Trudellii. Both A. montanum and
A. pinnatifidum are in evidence at French Creek. In
September 1952 I here observed a luxuriant growth of
A. Trudellii (formerly believed to be A. Gravesii), with
some fronds attaining a length of eight inches or more.

My visit to the Pittsylvania County [Virginia] loca-
tion in November, 1951, resulted in failure to locate any
spleenworts other than the common A. platyneuron in
ms vicinity of Moses Mill Pond, where it was reporte

that A. Gravesii was discovered in 1939 by Dr. A. B.
Massey, of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. For a

1 Amer. Fern Journ, 43: 109-114. 1953; Evolution 8: 103-118.
st Rhodora. 57: 219-240. ee

r. Fern Journ. 16: 97, 1926; The Pteridophytes of
West Virginia, W. Va. Uni aeacalios Bull. August 1938, p.

rginia
3 Bull, Va. Polytech. Inst. 37, no. 7: 40. May, 1944; Amer. Fern
Journ. 34: 61-62. June, 1944.

Hyprw ASPLENIUM GRAVESII 59

critical recheck of Dr. Massey’s herbarium specimens,
one of the two sheets was recently forwarded to C. V.
Morton, who considered that it might represent A. ken-
tuckiense, and forwarded it to Dr. Wagner for verifica-
tion. It is now established that Dr. Massey’s discovery
is actually the extremely rare A. kentuckiense (A. pin-
natifidum x A. platyneuron), rather than A. Gravesit.

Misidentification of A. pinnatifidum ‘‘erosses’’ such
as this Virginia example and the previously mentioned
French Creek hybrid is easily possible, as Dr. Wagner
has pointed out, because of their very subtle differences.

By the end of 1953, I had become so convineed that I
would not find A. Gravesii in its natural state that I
decided to attempt hybridizing it artificially from spores
of the parent plants. Accordingly, in January, 1954, I
collected spore-bearing fronds of A. Bradleyi and A.
pinnatifidum along the Shenandoah River northeast of
Front Royal, Virginia, where there are thriving colonies
of both plants. Since, however, the cliffs where these
respective ferns grow are approximately eight miles
apart, there is little likelihood of discovering the hybrid,
nor, after considerable searching, have I ever succeeded
in so doing.

Immediately after collection, the spores of the parent
plants (some six or seven months old from date of ma-
turity) were mixed together and sown on the surface of
damp, unsterilized and well sifted peat moss in three
two-inch pots and placed in a covered glass bowl six
inches in diameter. Aside from the light of the morning
sun for a few hours each day, the pots remained for the
most part in relative shade.

No recognizable prothallia appeared for at least sev-
eral months, and the development of sporophytes was
surprisingly slow. About midsummer the first tiny sporo-
Phytes became visible, but it was not until autumn that

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VotuME 47, PuatTe VI

SYN TIC rR rT £ ] ; Ts
SYNTHETIC HYBRID NO. 2 PRIOR TO SHIPMENT TO UNIVERSITY OF MI HIGAN

Hyprip ASPLENIUM GRAVESII 61

they were large enough for removal from the peat moss.
In September, 1954, the sporophytes were transplanted
to a soil mixture of gravelly loam affording good drain-
age, and two months later the small ferns were trans-
ferred to individual two-inch pots. Shortly thereafter,
a sufficient number of plants had developed from the
original ‘‘culture’’ to warrant placing thirty-seven pots
(each containing a single plant) in a glass window box,
or terrarium, about thirty inches long, twelve inches wide
and fifteen inches deep. Three removable glass panes
in sections at the top provided convenient access to the
interior. The box was placed on a table close to an east-
facing window, where the rays of the morning sun
created a humid jungle-like atmosphere promoting the
speediest possible growth. A sheet of tissue on the sunny
side protected the young tender plants from the direct
sunlight. Throughout the entire experiment only dis-
tilled or rain water was used, since city tap water is
often injurious.

By February, 1955, it became fairly obvious that, of
the above-mentioned 37 plants, 17 of the young Spore-
phytes were A. pinnatifidum, 17 A. Bradleyi, and three
intermediates represented the hybrid A. Gravesii, com-
bining the characteristics of the parents. This inter-
mediate form is apparent by (1) the stalked effect of
the lower pinnae (which are frequently paired) and by
the chestnut brown color of the stipes extending well
into the rachis, indicating the Bradley? influence; and
(2) by the heavier texture and caudate apex of the
fronds, as well as the rounded lobes of the pinnae, ™-
8 the pinnatifidum influence (See Plates I, and

I).

In May, 1955, the three putative A. Gravesti specimens
Were transplanted from two-inch to two and one-hal
‘ch individual pots in gravelly loam, and at this warm

saxetd

DEVELOPMENT

OF

TURITY NoTE THE

PINNAE Le

FRONDS OF SYN oe Hy

*

BRID No. 4, SHOWING EVOLUTION FROM EARLIEST PERIOD TO

MA-
TRIANGULAR SHAPE YOUNG FRONDS AND FREQUENT PAIRED EFFECT OF STALKED BASAL

TVNUOOL NUTT NvOININVY

IIA Sivig ‘LF ANAIOA

Hyprip ASPLENIUM GRAVESII 63

season of the year one plant in particular grew to rapid
maturity. This fern (which I have called Synthetic
Gravesii +£1) reached maturity long before the others,
and from the very beginning was outstanding in ap-
pearance as a typical specimen of the hybrid. In August,
1955, the entire potted plant, with many fertile fronds,
was sent to Dr. Wagner at the University of Michigan
to serve as living material for his studies. Considerably
later, synthetic hybrids #2 and #3 developed to ma-
turity, and in June, 1956, were similarly sent on to Ann
Arbor for study. Three more hybrids have since been
formed, two of which have presently reached maturity.

In August, 1956, Dr. Wagner read at the Annual Meet-
ing of the American Fern Society at Storrs, Connecticut,
our joint paper ‘‘ Morphological and Cytological Studies
of Synthetic and Wild Asplenium Gravesii.’’ The re-
sults of Dr. Wagner’s conclusions are presently being
incorporated in final form, and will soon be published
‘under the revised title, ‘‘Synthetic and Wild Asplenium
Gravesii.’’

Some mention may be made of the difficulties I en-
countered in raising ferns from spores. At one point
during the experiment an over-moist condition in the
terrarium led to the development of a destructive slime-
mold that killed several of the parent plants almost over-
night, but fortunately spared the hybrids. Later a
colony of plant lice, or aphids, spread rapidly through
the enclosure, devouring in particular the young unfold-
ing crosiers. These aphids were eliminated by spraying
With a weak solution of ‘‘Black Leaf 40”, a nicotine
sulphate solution. Finally, some of the organisms, re-
lated to the bacteria, known as Actinomycetes formed
cottony patches on the pinnae, again due to an over-
Moist condition, which was soon remedied.

In November, 1954, nearly a year after I started my

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoutuME 47, PuatE VIII

LEFT AND RIGHT—A, PINNATIFIDUM AND A. BRADLEYI Mag ete
TIVELY), FROM FRONT ROYAL, VIRGINIA; CENTER—X A. GRAVESII
FROM SAND MOUNTAIN, @EORGIA.

Hysrip ASPLENIUM GRAVESII 65

experiment, but prior to the time that any of the young
sporophytes could be recognized definitely as hybrids, I
made a trip to Sand Mountain, Collier County, Georgia,
2% miles west of Trenton, the type locality for A.
Gravesii, where E. W. Graves in 1917 first discovered
the hybrid which was named for him.*

Prior to visiting Sand Mountain itself, I revisited
Nocealula Falls near Gadsden, Alabama, that botanist’s
paradise which I had explored some ten years previously.
The return trip proved a nightmare! Due to recent
droughts, not a drop of water flowed over the rock am-
phitheatre and severe forest fires had ravaged the entire
gorge, once so beautiful. No A. Bradleyi at all was in
evidence, and only a few singed and withered plants of
A. pinnatifidum were to be seen, high enough on the cliff
to have escaped total destruction.

Continuing northward to Sand Mountain, below Look-
out Mountain and Chattanooga, I spent considerable
time exploring with care the crevices in the sandstone
cliffs of this region near the boundary line between
Georgia and Alabama. Much to my relief, the parent
Plants at Sand Mountain had survived the drought sur-
prisingly well. After observing nothing but these two
Species at frequent intervals, towards the end of the day
I discovered two relatively immature plants, in different
locations, that actually appeared to be the long-sought
A. Gravesii. One was growing in the same erevice with
A. Bradleyi and only a short distance above A. pinnatifi-
dum. I chiseled it out of the rock carefully, to preserve
8&8 much of the root structure as possible. The other
Specimen was collected accidentally, together. with <A.
Bradleyi, some distance away. The exact details of its
location with respect to both parent plants thus remains
unrecorded.

‘Amer, Fern Journ. 8: 1-3. 1918.

66 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

These two ferns (including root structures) were kept
alive by placing them in a glass jar with moistened
Kleenex. Upon my return to Washington, they were
both mailed immediately to the University of Michigan
for identification. Dr. Wagner’s prompt reply brought
the encouraging news that they did actually appear to
be specimens of the rare A. Gravesti, but also disclosed
the unfortunate fact that both plants were badly
damaged en route. The moist Kleenex had formed into
a heavy ball which banged around loosely in the jar and
practically annihilated them. One plant, the weaker of
the two, died shortly thereafter. The other Sand Moun-
tain hybrid, having received the greatest possible care by
Mr. Kleinschmidt at Ann Arbor, survived the ordeal
in miraculous fashion, and later grew into a normal
mature A. Gravesii with fruiting fronds attaining (by
the summer of 1956) a length of nearly six inches.

The University of Michigan was then in the unique
position of having available for study, side by side, ma-
ture living specimens of not only the wild hybrid from
Georgia, but also three synthetic hybrids. Although Dr.
Wagner’s final conclusions have not yet been published,
his latest reports indicate that his studies have proved
scientifically the genetic nature of A. Gravesii as a hy-
brid, which previously had been merely a hypothesis.
Since these experiments, involving an accurate counting
of the chromosomes at the time of meiosis, can be con
ducted only with living material, I consider myself for-
tunate in having finally discovered A. Gravesii in its
natural state after a search extending over a period of
some 17 years, and also in being able to raise six indi-
vidual hybrids from spores of the parent plants, since
there is always the probability under such conditions of
obtaining all progeny like the parents and no hybrids.

382 377TH Puace, S.E., WasHineToN, D. C.

"
:

CERATOPTERIS THALICTROIDES 67

The Geographic Distribution of
Ceratopteris pteridoides

CHARLES E. DEVOL

Ceratopteris pteridoides (Hook.) Hieron. has long
been considered a New World fern, being listed in the
1913 Supplement of Christensen’s Index Filicum as from
Florida, Brazil, and Ecuador. It was described by
Hooker from plants collected in British Guiana in 1825
and placed in the genus Parkeria. John Smith trans-
ferred it to Ceratopteris in 1841, as C. Parkert J. Smith.
This fern has not been reported nearly as often as it has
been collected, since it has been confused with C. thalic-
troides by many.

Some authors have considered Ceratopteris a mono-
typie genus, as, for example, Christensen, who, in the
Index Filicum, reduced all taxa to C. thalictroides. R.
C. Benedict recognized four species and possibly others
in his monograph of the genus in 1909.

Ceratopteris pteridoides differs from C. thalictroides
in the habit of growth, in the form of the leaves, and
the kind of stipe. The accompanying illustration is of a
plant from Florida. It has a short fleshy stipe which is
widest at the base of the leaf and tapers downward; in
some plants the stipe is decidedly swollen. The leaves
are broadly deltoid in outline. The sterile leaf is usually
simple and has broad basal lobes, the transitional leaves
are deeply pinnatifid, and the fertile leaf is finely dis-
Sected into long narrow ultimate segments. This species
is usually a floating fern, although it grows equally >
well or better when rooted in mud. Plants growing m
our laboratory that root in the mud do not differ in form
from those that float in water.

Ceratopteris thalictroides, which was described first,
and which grows in many parts of the world, is much

Vouume 47, Pate IX

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

}
| j ieteadd }
Ceratepteris thalle iraides, Bt

CERATOPTERIS THALICTROIDES FROM St. JOHNS RIVER, FLORIDA.

CERATOPTERIS THALICTROIDES 69

better known. It has a long slender stipe; its sterile
leaves are pinnately divided, narrowly oblong or ovate
in outline, the ultimate lobes being narrow. This spe-
cies often grows submersed, in which ease the sporo-
phylls usually stand above the water, or it may grow
in wet mud with the whole plant emersed. It is never
a floating fern except in its juvenile stage. The leaves
vary considerably in degree of cutting, size, and rela-
tive length of stipe but are never like those of C. pteri-
doides.

The northern limit of C. pteridoides in the New World
is about 30° N. where it grows in northeastern Florida
in the St. John’s River, where it was collected by A.
Curtiss. Rapp and Uhler collected it in central Florida,
near Sanford, R. P. St. John in western Florida, in
Citrus County, and McFarlin in Sarasota County. It
is common in the McKee Jungle Gardens, Vero Beach.

In the West Indies, Charles Wright collected it in
Cuba in 1865.

In Central America it has been collected by Paul
Weatherwax at least twice in Guatemala in a swamp
at Quirigué. N. ©. Fassett collected it in three locali-
ties in El Salvador. Many collectors have found it in
Panama, especially in the Canal Zone, among these
Standley, Aviles, Shattuck, Dunn, Woodson, Allen, and
Seibert.

In South America, it was collected in Colombia by
E. P. Killip and Albert C. Smith, in Venezuela by A. 5.
Hitchcock, and in Surinam and British and French
Guiana by a large number of collectors, ¢.g., Leprieur,
Jenman, Lanjouw, and Hitchcock.

It has been found in eastern Brazil by Lindman and
by Luetzelburg in Bahia, and in southern Brazil by
Brade in Sad Paulo. The two southernmost localities
from which it is known are Paraguay, where Hassler col-
lected it, and in the Chaco territory of northern Argen-

70 AmerIcAN FERN JOURNAL

tina, where it was collected by Meyer and by Schulz.
The known southern limit of the range is about 27° S.

This same fern was collected in eastern Asia by
French botanists as early as 1891, but since it was always
identified as C. thalictroides, it was never reported. I
first saw it growing in Central China in the reed marshes
along the north bank of the Yangtze River near Pukow,

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF CERATOPTERIS THALICTROIDES.

which is the city across from Nanking. Not being ac-
quainted with this fern, I called it C. thalictroides and
never questioned its identity for several years until W.
H. Wagner, Jr., and one or two other botanists said my
drawing and description did not fit C. thalictroides.
The first time I saw these ferns floating in the shallow
water they looked like lettuce plants, for at that time
they only had the sterile leaves. Later in the season
when I came past the reed marshes again, the sporophylls

CERATOPTERIS THALICTROIDES 71

had developed and the sterile leaves had nearly all died.

Mme. Tardieu-Blot, in volume 7 of Flore Générale de
l’Indo-Chine, cites over twenty localities where Ceratop-
teris has been collected in Indo-China. I have not seen
all these collections, but duplicates of most are to be
found in the Gray Herbarium, Copeland’s Herbarium
(now placed in the University of California Herbarium),
or in the Herbarium of the New York Botanical Gar-
den. Mme. Tardieu-Blot does not distinguish between
(. thalictroides and C. pteridoides and calls them both C.
thalictroides. Her illustration on page 195 is of a fertile
leaf of C. pteridoides. Balansa collected this fern in
Tonkin in 1891; one of his specimens is in the Gray
Herbarium, and another is in Copeland’s Herbarium.
Mouret collected this fern in Tonkin in 1906, and his
collections are in the Herbarium of the Museum in Paris
and the Gray Herbarium. However, many of the ferns
Mme. Tardieu-Blot cites as C. thalictroides are correctly
so named, as I have seen at least eleven of the collections
she mentions from Tonkin, Annam, Cochin-China, and
Cambodia that are clearly C. thalictrovdes.

While checking over the Ceratopteris collection at the
Chicago Natural History Museum, I found a specimen
of C. pteridoides (labelled C. thalictroides) collected by
Sidney in 1944 in Dacca, Bengal, India (which is now a
part of Eastern Pakistan).

It has been frequently noted that some plants from
eastern Asia are identical with those from the eastern
United States, among the better known being Dryop-
teris fragrans var. remotiuscula, D. spinulosa, D. cristata,
Polypodium virginianum, Adiantum pedatum, Asplenium

richomanes, Osmunda regalis, Equisetum arvense,
Lycopodium clavatum, L. lucidulum, L. obscurum, and
Botrychium virginianum. This is another fern to be
added to that list. The accompanying map shows its
range,

1 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

One reason why C. pteridoides has been confused with
(©. thalictroides is that many have assumed that the dis-
tinguishing character of C. pteridoides is its lack of a
well-developed annulus. Lowe says, ‘©. Parkeri only
differs in regard to the elastic spring of the spore ease.”’
Actually this is not a reliable character. Thompson,
Bower, and others have pointed out how much these
ferns vary in this character. We have had specimens
erowing in our laboratory that showed a wide range on
the same leaf; some have had sporangia that lacked an
annulus and others had a well-developed annulus. All
specimens examined from eastern Asia have the annulus,
whereas most specimens from Florida and South Amer-
ica lack the well-developed annulus ; however, some speci-
mens do have an annulus. Bauer’s drawings for
Hooker’s Genera Filicum (1842) Plate 50 shows some of
the sporangia with an annulus. There is no reason to
consider the plants from the Orient as belonging to 4
new species, nor even a distinct variety.

Marion Couuece, Marion, Indiana.

Frozen Fiddleheads
R. C. BENEDICT

The coiled beginnings of ostrich fern leaves are highly
prized by the down-easter, cooked fresh in the spring,
laid down in salt for later months, or canned (the canned
form is even obtainable in specialty food stores). So
far as I know, the quick-freezing industry has not as
yet turned out packages of frozen fiddleheads.

The present note, however, is not concerned with the
use of fern croziers as comestibles but with the damage
done to a plot of ostrich fern plants by unusually low
temperatures in the May of 1956. So far as I know, it
represents the first observation of cold injury to one of
our hardy species. It is offered with the thought that

FROZEN FIDDLEHEADS i3

others may be able to report similar injuries to this or
other fern species.

It was mid-June before my annual trek to Pilot Knob,
New York, could take place last year. Within a day or
two I was out on a hurried inspection trip to see how
some new installations had fared over winter. A plant
of Goldie’s fern, a transplant from the latitude of New
Jersey, was found to have suffered some sort of injury
that resulted in partially deformed and browned leaves.
The first thought was that a fungus infection was in-
volved, but soon neighboring plants of ostrich ferns
were found even worse affected; in fact, every plant in
a colony of about 200 growing near a small brook had
suffered complete blasting of its first Top of leaves,
which were represented by fleshy stumps a foot or more
in height with the tips completely blasted. Whatever
had caused the trouble had not been systemic, since each
plant had thereafter developed healthy crowns of new
leaves, one to two feet high, bright green, and still un-
rolling.

The recollection of some unusually low temperatures
during the previous month, and of news notes reporting
cold injury to the new shoots of hardy native trees, led
to enquiry as to the date of the May cold spells and the
temperatures recorded. When I asked about heavy
frosts in May, I was told there had been more than
frosts—heavy ‘‘freezes’’ was the report, with lows in the
lower twenties on May 4 and May 26. Considering the
size of the second growth leaves, it seemed probable that
the injury had been incurred during the earlier of the
‘freezes.’

Two or three other points may
interrupted and cinnamon ferns,
area, showed no sign of cold injury.
second crop of foliage leaves cannot be stated—whether
transformations of otherwise dormant ordinary leaves,

be noted. Plants of

74 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

or what would normally have appeared two months later
as the specialized fruiting leaves—but it can be stated
that the new leaves all appeared symmetrical, and of
typical foliage type.

Brookiyn, New York.

Notes on Hawaiian Terrestrial Species of
Ophioglossum !

HAROLD St. JOHN

The Hawaiian species of Ophioglossum have received
close attention by R. T. Clausen in his monograph (1938),
and in a recent special paper (1954). The present
writer has studied them in the field and in the herbarium,
where he has seen a large number of the specimens
studied by Clausen. The present notes are offered as a
further dontibtrion to the understanding of the Hawai-
lan species

Ovuiodpoaivis NUDICAULE L, f. Clausen (1954: 49%)
keys O. nudicaule as having the rootstocks subglobose,
3.5-6.4 mm. in diameter; . . . common stalk of leaves
usually less than 20 mm. long. Of the numerous speci-
mens at hand, only about one in 30 has the rootstocks
subglobose ; rather the rootstocks are typically ellipsoid
or narrowly so. Also the common stalk may be as muc
as 25 mm. long.

1 Hawaiian Plant Studies 26. The preceding papers of this
series, designe od cn ae inure revision = and records
of gig 8 cme ished in Bernice P. Bishop
Mus 10(4 19 33, T0t12), 19843 11(14), 1935; 12(8),
1936; 14(8), 1938; 15(1), 1939; 15 (2), 1939; 15(22), 19403 or
: 5 (16

4(4): 339-345, 1950; Bernice P fauban Mus. ic ers 20(6),
1950; Pacif. Sei. 6(1): 30-34, 1952; aoe: 313-255, 1952; 8(2):
eo 1954; Polynes. Soc., Journ. 63(1): 27-34, 1954; Bernice

Bishop Mus., Oce. Papers 21(15), 1955; (No. 95 is in press)-

HAWAIIAN OPHIOGLOSSUM 75

OPHIOGLOSSUM NUDICAULE L. f. var. MINUS Clausen,
Torrey Bot. Club, Mem. 19(2) : 148, fig. 29, 1938. Three
recent collections from the Island of Hawaii, at Hawaii
National Park have been made. They were found in and
around steam vents near Alae Crater, 3,100 feet altitude,
Chain of Craters Road, Puna District, December 18, 1954,
C. Lamoureux 365, and consist of 13 plants. Of these 12
have unbranched fertile spikes; the one that is branched
has the larger terminal spike damaged and not well
developed, and a small normal lateral spike. The second
collection at the same time and place is Earl T. Ozaki
1150. The third collection from the same steam vents
near Alae Crater (Nov. 10, 1956, St. John 25978) con-
sists of 35 plants bearing 53 fertile spikes, all of which
are simple and whbranched. The specimen of this in
the Bishop Museum tallies well with the account given
by Clausen (1954: 496) except that none of the 19 fruit-
ing plants shows any branching of the fertile segments.
The numerous fertile segments are all simple. All of the
plants but one conform to the small stature, narrow
sterile blade shape, and all but one to the small size of
the blade. This one has the blade 20x12 mm. and
obovate-oblanceolate. None of them has the blades
ovate-orbicular to orbicular as described (p. 143-144)
for O. nudicaule var. nudicaule (var. typicum Clausen )
by Clausen in his earlier monograph. There he divides
the species into seven varieties, none of which is men-
tioned in his 1954 paper. Since the University of Hawaii
botanical expedition in December 1954 observed dozens
of fruiting specimens in the hot steam cracks along the
Chain of Craters, Hawaii National Park, and numerous
mature fruiting plants were collected by Lamoureux,
and by Ozaki, and two years later by St. John, and as
all of them had the blades from elliptic to broadly ob-
lanceolate, it is concluded that these are not in a juvenile
state, but are fully mature. Hence, the var. minus seems

76 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

to be a worthy taxon and the one in which this Hawaiian
plant should be classed.

OPHIOGLOssUM PETIOLATUM Hook. A specimen from
Waiehu, Lahainaluna, West Maui, W. Hillebrand & J.
M. Lydgate, is listed somewhat doubtfully by Clausen
(1954: 496) as O. nudicaule L. f. This collection, now
in the Bishop Museum, is of numerous specimens but all
lack the rootstock which Clausen made diagnostic. These
specimens are small, but not unusually so, and there
seems no apparent reason for separating them from 0.
petiolatum Hook., which is well known on Maui, as well
as on Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, and Hawaii.

OPHIOGLOSsUM CONCINNUM Brack. Clausen (1954:
495) determined a specimen from Lanai, Kamoku,
Munro 167, as O. concinnum. It is here redetermined as
O. petiolatum Hook.

Because of different interpretations of the three small,
terrestrial species, the following key to them is offered.

Key to Hawaiian Terrestrial Ophioglossum
Venation of sterile blades sagen eae with numerous smaller vein
within the major reticulatio 0. concinnum Brack.
Wali of sterile blades simply reti pee te.
Spikes de; common sealk less than 2.5 em. long;

bie ‘lite: ips mm. long.

O. nudicaule L. var. minus Clausen.

, 2-4 mm. wide; common stalk 2-9 cm. long; sterile blade
—60 mm. long. O. petiolatum Hook.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLAUSEN, RoBERT T.
1938. A Bek rahe of the Ophioglossaceae. Torrey Bot. Club,
Mem. 19(2): 3-177, fig. 1-33
1954. Shecie of the Gacwien Islands. Amer. Journ.
Bot. 41: 493-50 1-2

University or Hawau, Honolulu 14, T.H.

SHorteR NovTes 17

Shorter Notes

THe Cur-LEAF FerN Market, 1957:—Two enquiries
regarding the cut-leaf fern industry which have come to
my attention recently led to a little fact-finding investiga-
tion. One enquirer wanted to know about the possibility
of growing ferns for the market on a hundred-acre island
in Puget Sound. The other, also from Washington
State, was a shipper of leaves he referred to as ‘“western
sword fern’’; he asked about possible chemical methods
of treating the leaves at collection or packing time to
avoid spoilage.

My enquiries led to a call on the Kervan Company,
one of the wholesale dealers in many kinds of foliage, lo-
cated in the wholesale florists’ area in W. 28th Street,
New York. The first item learned was that the Wash-
ington fern, Polystichum munitum, is known in the New
York trade as ‘‘ western dagger fern,’’ not ‘‘sword fern,”’
and that this has entirely replaced any use of the Christ-
mas fern (‘‘eastern dagger fern’’). On the second
point I learned that no trouble is experienced with
spoilage; the western polystichum and two others men-
tioned below are shipped in cold storage and kept for
weeks or months. For shipment and storage, the leaves
are arranged in neat bundles, 25 to 50 in each, and
packed rather loosely in slatted crates that permit air
circulation.

Four fern species were found in stock at Kervan’s,
the eastern ‘‘fancy fern’? (Dryopteris intermedia), the
Western sword fern, a specially grown species in Florida,
known as ‘“‘leather fern’? (Polystichum adiantiforme,
also known as Rumohra adiantiformis), and a fourth
from California, known as ‘‘ woodwardia’’ (Woodwardia
Chamissoi), which is shipped by air and sold by the
individual leaf. While specific wholesale prices are not
reported, enough was learned to indicate that retail
Prices per leaf might well range from a few eents per

78 AmericAN FERN JOURNAL

leaf for the dryopteris to 30 or 40 cents a leaf for the
woodwardia, each about four feet long. Enough was also
learned to indicate that the business of collecting and
shipping fern leaves was not one to be entered into

lightly —R. C. BENEDICT.

Nivery-oNE YEARS oF Boranical FIELD Trips :—The
Field Trip Schedule of the Torrey Botanical Club,
announcing its 91st season, carries on the cover page 4
characteristic picture of the curly grass, Schizaea pusilla
Pursh. Inside, its first printed page is devoted to a most
interesting account of this fern by David E. Fairbrothers.
First found in 1805 by a group of four botanists, of
whom Pursh was one, it has been the object of many
special forays in the years since that time, although the
second report of it was not made until 1818 when John
Torrey, after whom the Torrey Club was named, foun
it.

The Torrey Botanical Club is worth a news note for
its own sake. The oldest botanical society in the country,
its Bulletin being in its 84th volume this year, the Club is
devoted to two distinet phases of activity. Through its
several grades of regular members ($7.50 and higher),
it has a world-wide membership among technical bota-
nists. The Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, with
six issues per year, provides a medium for the publica-
tion of many pages of botanical research.

The second phase of its activities centers around its
field trip program, which is devoted chiefly to the study
of the flora within 100 miles of New York City.
printed schedule of these trips is published annually ;
this year the trips started on April 8th and will con-
tinue until Nov. 3. Most of the trips are one-day affairs
but a few are for longer periods. Frequently, for a given
trip, some other organization may be associated, @.8+
bird study groups. In the past the Fern Society has

)

ReceENtT FERN LITERATURE 79

often been a cooperating organization. For each trip, a
competent leader is assigned. Non-members of the
Torrey Club are welcome to attend, but the field work is
promoted primarily for a class of ‘‘associate members,”’
who pay $2.00 per year. Anyone interested may address
the Secretary of the Club, Dr. Frank G. Lier, Depart-
ment of Botany, Columbia University, New York.—R. C.
BENEDICT.

Recent Fern Literature

‘““FeRNS AND Fern Axiins or Texas,’ issued under
a 1956 copyright by the Texas Research Foundation, is
a reprinting of the text of Volume 1, part 1, of the
“Flora of Texas,’’ published in 1955 by the Southern
Methodist University Press in Dallas. There are some
additions and changes involved in the 1956 publication
as compared with the 1955 issue. An author’s preface
and an introductory chapter 15 pages long have been
added, and changes in makeup effected. The introduc-
tory chapter is partially adapted from Brown and Cor-
rell’s ‘‘Ferns and Fern Allies of Louisiana,”’ published
in 1942, and so indicated by Dr. Correll in his preface
to the new book. The textual material of the systematic
treatment of the ferns and fern allies involved is identi-
cal in the 1956 publication with that of the book appear-
ing as part of the ‘‘ Flora of Texas’’ a year earlier.

The new issue incorporates several changes in the
physical makeup of the book as compared with Vol,
part 1, of the ‘‘Flora of Texas.’’ The new book is bound
in sturdy boards and blue buckram instead of in paper,
and has gold lettering on the front and spine. A dedi-
cation appears on page V, a pen and ink sketch of fern
fronds forms a panel across the top of page VII, a table
of contents and a list of illustrations have been added.

1By Donovan 8. Correll. pp. XII + 188. frontispiece and 38 pls.
$ figs. 1956, Texas Reseeireh’ Foundation, Renner, Texas. $5.50.

80 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Three text figures not in the 1955 publication occur in
the introductory chapter, one showing the plant zones
and counties of Texas, one shows leaf outlines and types
of marginal serrations and toothing together with other
parts of plant structures, and the third is a schematic
representation of the life cycle of Pellaea atropurpurea.

In the ‘‘Flora of Texas’’ issue, there were 39 plates
bound at the end of the text, with explanations of the
figures printed on the facing pages. In contrast, the
new book has plate 13 of the earlier work, depicting
Adiantum capillus-veneris and A. tricholepis, shifted to
the frontispiece, and the other plates (38 in all) distrib-
uted conveniently through the text. Plate 1 appears on
page 19 and is one of the four plates devoted exclusively
to a single species. Each of the remaining 34 plates
represents two or more species among its figures. All
of the drawings are well executed and, with the exception
of text-figure 2, are the work of Miss Jane W. Roller, of
the U. S. Forest Service.

The keys and descriptions have been written earefully,
references to the original publication of each accepted
species and to much of the synonymy have been pro-
vided, and additional references to works in which the
accepted binomial has been used subsequent to its first
publication serve as a guide to other literature dealing
with the species. Habitat requirements of the species
and a general statement of the range within and outside
Texas, and citation of specimens are given. Comments
dealing with various, and often important, features of
the plant, its distribution, taxonomic status, or miscon-
ceptions about it are appended in a large majority of the
species accounts. These comments add considerably to
the interest and general usefulness of the book.

This re-issue provides fern lovers with an attractive
book, and the author’s introductory chapter furnishes
interesting and valuable information about the floristic

REcENT FERN LITERATURE 81

regions of Texas, a glance at the botanical history of the
Lone Star State, a brief introduction to the ecology
of ferns in Texas, some notes regarding the horticulture
of certain species, and a few paragraphs about the eco-
nomic uses of ferns.

The retail price of Vol. 1, part 1, of the ‘‘Flora of
Texas”’ is $5.00, that of the ‘‘Ferns and Fern Allies of
Texas’’ $5.50. At such reasonable prices one probably
should not feel piqued if, after purchasing the 1956
book, he learns that he already had the first issue of the
text in his library! One or the other of these books
should be in the possession of anyone interested in the
ferns of the southwestern United States—Ira L. Wic-
ains, Stanford University.

‘“Tig MORPHOLOGICAL AND CYTOLOGICAL DISTINCTNESS
or BoTRYCHIUM MINGANENSE AND B. LUNARIA IN MICHI-
GAN,’’ by W. H. Wagner, Jr., and Lois P. Lord,’ presents
convincing evidence that B. minganense ought to be con-
sidered a species distinct from B. Lunaria rather than a
variety or merely a form, as it has sometimes been thought
to be. The differences extend throughout the morphology
of the plant, but are rather subtle and are more easily
seen in living than in herbarium material. It is perhaps
desirable that these distinctions be summarized here for
the benefit of those to whom the original paper is not
available. In color, B. minganense is yellowish green and
B. Lunaria is a true light green, a difference that persists
somewhat even in dried material. The sterile blade of
minganense is somewhat persistently trough-shaped, the
pinnae being folded together and embracing the base of
the fertile segment, whereas in Lunaria the segments are
flat except in the earliest part of the growing season.
The angle between the upper and lower margins of the
Pinnae is broad in Lunaria (100°-190°, aver. 150°) and
narrower in minganense (40°-150°, aver. 90°), we. the

4 Bull. Tor 1956
1 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 83: 261-280. fig. 1-5. 1990.

82 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

pinnae of minganense are more narrowly cuneate at base.
In Lunaria the lower margin of the lower pinnae is de-
scending, and in minganense it is spreading or ascending.
The sterile blades are rather gradually reduced at the
apex in minganense and abruptly reduced in Lunaria.
Some slight differences in the leaf-primordia are illus-
trated by Wagner (fig. 5). As has been known pre-
viously, the spores of minganense are measurably larger,
averaging 36, in diameter, compared with 29.8 » in
Lunaria. Wagner has shown that although minganense
is a tetraploid (n = 90) (Lunaria n = 45) there is no clear
evidence of hybrid origin. The range of minganense is
Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Vermont, New York, Michi-
gan, Wisconsin, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Alberta, British
Columbia, and Alaska; California records appear to refer
to forms that are best referred tentatively to B. Lunaria,
although they may represent a recognizable geographic
subspecies. Wagner also shows that although B. onon-
dagense Underw., originally described as a species and
subsequently considered as a variety or form of B. Lun-
aria, approaches minganense in some respects it is really
only an edaphic form of Lunaria, a shade-form. An inci-
dental record in this paper is a report of the chromosome
number of B. matricariifolium in Emmet County, Michi-
gan, which is also tetraploid (n = 90) —C. V. Morton.

Notes and News

Our New Vicz-PResiENT.—The vacancy in the Coun-
cil of the American Fern Society caused by the death of
the Vice-President, Harold G. Rugg, has been filled by
action of the Council. Dr. Benjamin R. Allison, 26 Ives
Road, Hewlett, Long Island, New York, has been ap-
pointed to fill out the unexpired term. Dr. Allison, who
has been a member since 1950, has been active in OF
ganizing meetings and field-trips in the New England
area. We welcome him to the Council.

Notes AND NEWS 83

AAAS RepreseNTATIve.—The American Association
for the Advancement of Science has recently changed
the status of the American Fern Society from that of
‘Associated Society’’ to ‘‘ Affiliated Society,’’ which en-
titles the American Fern Society to appoint one Repre-
sentative to the Council of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. Our Council has ap-
pointed Dr. A. C. Smith, National Science Foundation,
Washington 25, D. C., to serve as the Representative.
The AAAS has done good work in organizing American
scientists.

Vermont Frevp-Tr.-—A midsummer outing is
planned for the neighborhood of Rutland, Vermont, on
July 12, 13, and 14. Areas to be visited include Ludlow,
Sugar Hollow, and Lake Dunmore. Arrangements are
being made by Dr. Benjamin R. Allison, Hewlett, ee
New York.

ANNUAL MEETING AND FIELD-TRIP IN CattrorNiA.—The
Annual Meeting will be August 96 or 27, at Stanford
University. The preceding field-trip will begin at Stan-
ford University on August 21, according to present plans,
and will be up the Redwood Highway into the northern
Coast Ranges and the northern California coast. Ar-
rangements are being made by Dr. Ira L. Wiggins, Dud-
ley Herbarium, Stanford University, California.

Our new member Miss Eva Alexander (900 Graymont
Avenue West, Birmingham, Alabama) has recently re-
ceived spores of Adiantum aethiopicum, which must be
rare in cultivation. She will perhaps be able to supply
a few to those interested.—C. V. M.

A picture of Mount Fujiyama on @ Christmas card
brought the thought that fern hunting on its slopes
would be intriguing. It came from Tomitaro Namegata,
of the ‘‘Japanese Fernist Club.”’ Our greetings go to
our fellow Japanese fern hobbyists.—R. C. B.

84 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

American Fern Society

Report oN THE Gaspé Frevp-rrip.—Fern Society mem-
bers attending the annual field-trip met at the Chateau
Frontenac, Quebec, on Sunday, Aug. 19, 1956. The for-
mal start was made the next morning from the Quebec
Bridge. There were eight cars in the caravan, and we
spent the day in a leisurely drive through the picturesque
Quebec countryside to Rimouski, a distance of 187 miles,
passing en route the famous collecting locality of Bie.

Tuesday, August 21, we proceeded to the lodge at the
foot of Mount Albert, in Gaspé National Park. The
center of the Gaspé Peninsula is dominated by a moun-
tain range, in which Mount Albert (3775 feet) and
Mount Jacques Cartier (4230 feet) are the principal
summits. These mountains, although not high by ordin-
ary standards, are especially interesting botanically. The
lower slopes are covered densely by evergreen forests of
black and white spruces and balsam fir, and arbor-vitae
is sometimes prominent. The forest floors are covered
thickly by a dense carpet of mosses of the feathered type-
The commonest ferns are Dryopteris austriaca, Thelyp-
teris Phegopteris, Cystopteris fragilis, Gymnocarpium
Dryopteris, Athyrium Filix-femina var. Michauxn, and
Osmunda Claytoniana, with Polypodium vulgare var.
virginianum abundant on the rocks, and Asplenium
viride not uncommon. Ordinarily, Equisetum pratense
is a rarity, but here it was common along the banks of
the St. Anne River.

Wednesday, August 22, was devoted to a climb of
Mount Albert, which is not difficult as mountains go. It
is the kind of mountain that is called a ‘‘tabletop,’’ or @
‘‘mesa’’ in the West—steep slopes all around and a large,
flat area at the top. In spite of the relatively low eleva-
tion one rises above timberline about a thousand feet
below the summit of Mount Albert, an indication of the

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 85

rigorous climatic conditions that prevail. The top of
Mount Albert is perhaps the southernmost outpost of the
truly Arctic flora. Due to poor drainage, frost action is
intense in late fall and early spring, and conditions are
identical to those found in the Arctic tundra. The sum-
mit is thus a remarkable refuge for those plants that can
adapt themselves to the adverse conditions. At first
sight, it appears devoid of vegetation, but a careful ex-
amination shows an abundance of species, mostly minute
cushion-plants and trailing shrubs. Near the summit,
the members of the Fern Society foray were particularly
pleased to find Adiantum pedatum var. aleuticum, the
rare, Arctic variant of the maidenhair fern; it was

fern that we all knew so well from lowland woods.
Transplant experiments with this Arctic form would be
interesting, to see if it would maintain its character
under different climatic conditions. Most of the plants
from the Pacific States that have been ealled var. aleut?-
cum are only more or less typical pedatum, but the true
aleuticum does occur there sparingly on some of the
higher mountains.

Thursday, August 23, was spent in the scenic drive
along the northern coast of the Gaspé Peninsula from
Mount Albert to Pereé, a distance of 177 miles over a
very fine new highway. This north coast is rugged and
highly picturesque, and cameras were in full use during
the day; the climate is rigorous and Arctic elements
the flora are present even at sea-level.

Friday, August 24, was devoted to a
ing to Bonaventure Island, a bird sanctuary famous for
the large numbers of sea-birds, especially the graceful,
gull-like gannets, which were present by the thousands.
The afternoon was spent in a climb of Mont Sainte Anne,

trip in the morn-

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLuME 47, PLATE X

SOME OF THE _MEMBERS or GASPé FIeLp-TRIP: LOWER ROW, LE
TO RIGHT: SmitH, Dorcas Brown, Doris McCuLIntTock, G
V. Mor wal WILLIAM Coox, MURIEL BROWN , MARCEL GOUGEON

N

MIDDLE JEWEL Moore, Bae sn Brown, LAURA . Base, [ASTER
RHODES, ge WALKER; TOP HELEN JOHNSON, Inez HARrtT-
SOE, AMANDA Ww ILLIAMSON, raphe Scupper, Rospert GLASG
Mrs. Lorp, Mrs. Guascow, ARTHUR LorD, MARION RHODES.

223 SASS aaa

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 87

near Percé. A picturesque little grotto with a waterfall
had beautiful specimens of bulblet-fern and some Crypto-
gramma Stelleri, and the little rivulet nearby had large
clumbs of ostrich fern and male fern, the latter rare in
this part of the world. The summit is the habitat of
Botrychium Lunaria, and a careful search on hands and
knees by numerous members of the party turned up a
few plants.

Saturday, August 25, the party officially broke up.
Some remained at Pereé for a longer stay, others re-
turned to Quebec, and most travelled southwestward
along the southern coast of Gaspé, on the road back to
the United States. This southern coast is quite different
from the northern, being flat and sandy. At the south
is the Baie des Chaleurs, and as the name indicates the
general climate here is decidedly warmer than elsewhere
in Gaspé. Some southern plants reach their northern
limit here.

Altogether, there were about 31 m the party, among
them Dr. and Mrs. Clair Brown, Muriel Brown, Dr. and
Mrs. William 8. Cook, Laura East, Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Glasgow, Inez Hartsoe, Helen Johnson, Charlotte
Learned, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lord, Jewel Moore, C.
V. Morton, Marion Rhodes, Hester Rusk, Dr. a. YY.
Smith, Anna Scudder, Eva Sobol, Mary Walker, Elsie
Whitney, and Amanda Williamson. The party was led
most capably by Marcel Raymond and James Kucyniak,
of the Montreal Botanical Garden. Raymond and

Botanical Garden for sponsoring the trip.—C.
ORTON

88 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

New MEMBERS

ean Mrs. Stewart P., Barrett Road, Cedarhurst, L. I., New

Cook, “Prof. William i wee of Botany, Louisiana State Univer-
sity, Baton Rouge,
Fisher, Mrs. Morris, nue 1, Worden, Monta
Fuchs, Hans Peter, Héhe 810, Kélliken (AG. , Switzerland
N.

,M es,
Heinen Raward G., 267 Southern Ave., Chillicothe, Ohio
um, Dr. R. E., 80 "Mortiake Road, Kew Gardens, Richmond,
be esis ngland
Lengel, Miss Patricia A., Dept. of Biology, College of Wooster,
Ohio

Logemann, Mrs. Hugo, 17 Heath’s Bridge Rd., Concord, Mass
Manton, Dr. Irene, Botany Dept., The aivernity, Leeds, England
fee Mrs. William P., 2 Beekman Place, New York 22, New

ork
Micke, John T., 1047 Martin Place, Ann Arbor, Michigan
, Mrs. Alfred H., 1315 Tower Ave., Raymond pages
Zs ‘hare L. R., 1409 Lincoln Ave., Proapect Par
aes a Se Head, Dept. of Botany, Patna igh i, "Patna,

India
Root, Winthr ey H., 128 Main St., Williamstown, Mas
Steere, Prof. William C., Dept of Biological uae Stanford
University, ae me
nscow, Dr. V., Everley, London Road, Knebworth,
ertfordshire, yikes and
Woodson, Allen E., 191 Tivoli Way, Sacramento 19, Calif.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS
Collette, Dr. Alfred T., Dept. og Smt! and Botany, Syracuse
University, genes 10,
Cotton, Mrs. Edw , Sr., a ‘pasts St., Northampton, Mass.
Douglas, Miss pi RE, Dice Bush, Albany County, New York
Greene, i ank C., Forest Hates Apt., 2838 Forest Avenue, Kansas

Cit
Harsh, ie “Gents a pore al Road, Memphis 17, Ten
Hegwood, Miss Muriel P., 402 Randolph St., ee virgata
Liteh, C. M., 94 uae 'St., wed burg, Mas
Moon, Mrs. aye S., 25 Edgewater Lane, ager 17, N. ¥.
dgwick, Dr. Paul J., Dept. of Bacteriology and Botany, Syracuse
University, yee: 10, NX.

Pee PE a ee eS ee ee

July-September, 1957 No.3

American Hern Journal

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY
if
EDITORS Coe 4
Cc. V. MORTON pee Coes

Pn OS coed IRA L. wiceme
. C. SMITH

unas gta ee ROBERT ‘CooPER a9
‘The Rachean ta usually | known as Dryoptecis
_ paleacea gn . G. ALSTON 91
Which
Sogn Northeastern Ferns are c Evergreen! Doan 7. Waraey ‘oo
oi | of Preparing ae im; re betel oEetscme 05
of 0 Ce Natio oe
0 Vicinity — ILLIA va a. "AND Xp GBOnce C. RuBLE 98
_ Observations on Calivated Ferne a5, 1 of
a Microle

, Morton” 102

Hicrolepia . eae
"The Genus Ceterach in Madagascar _. Moe, Tanpieu-Bior 108
Shorter No Notes: Frozen Fidaleheads Agains es =
_ | as a Source of a?
~ Recent F ‘ern Litera

Notes”

cat New
Peetican Fern Sune

intered as second se matter at ‘eve pout ofc ath
ee of raise om As a by
graph a yBection S440 P. eee

The American Hern Society

Council for 1957
< OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR eee
Yea L. Wiaains, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford Uae Cie
‘ _ fornia esident
BENJAMIN R. AuLison, 26 Ives Road, Hewlett, L. L,. New ®
Vice- Preeidont
MI ) E. Faust, —e of Botany, Syracuse tae =
Sy : reti
RONALD L. McGrecor, “Department of Botany, University of Kaa Be

s, Lawrence, Kansa
ey; Morton, Seitisonian: Institution, Washington 24,

Editor- Ps Chief
OFFICIAL ORGAN Ae
American Fern Journal
= Cc v. dikes ee eatitution, Washington 25, D. G ae
R. C. BENEDICT _ 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Coe,

‘Tra L. Wicains .... —piuaiey. Herbarium, Stanford University, Calf. =
nek ee Sxare .. .. National Seience Foundation, Washington 25,D.C.

beeription; #2 35 per year, fore reign, 10 cents ae vent fr e
ee e yo of the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY (annual dues,
wed sustaining membership, $5.00; life membership, $50.00).
= aeted reprints, if Sedpced 3 in advance, will be fu Seni sushoge
at phn They s should be ordered when proof is returned. —
Back: volumes $1 50 each, except vols. 1, ns = - $2. 255 sn =
num t vol,
$125; Cumulative Index to vols. 1-25, $5 ¢ sats Pen per ;
~ discount: i r more fe
Matter for ‘publication should be addressed to C. V. Morton,
‘Smithsonian Institution, Wa shington 25, D. C. me
Orders for back numbers and other ae communicati
ould ie addressed to the ‘Treasurer of the Socie ety.

_ LIBRARIAN AND CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM
ARREN H. ey JR. Departnent | of Botany, a
Ann ——

sere nang specimens trom differe

,

American Fern Journal

VOLUME 47 JULY-SEPTEMBER No. 3

Ponga Ware’
RoBeRT COOPER

e cover photograph shows a short length of the stem of a
New Zealand tree fern, Cyathea medullaris Sw. The trunk of the
tree fern is usually covered with matted fibers in the lower part,
and marked higher up with the sears of fallen fronds and the
bases of old fronds. In the specimen illustrated the fibers have

en cut away exposing the vascular supply to the leaves an
roots, and the central pith has been removed. The specimen was
sent to the Missouri Botanical Garden by Mr. H. J. Dentzman
of St. Louis, who received it from Mr. G. L. Miller of Te Awa-
mutu, New Zealand.
Quite handsome pots and garden ornaments are made from the
whole trunk which may attain a diameter of two feet or more a
base. Turning these is dirty work, however, and very hard on
the tools. e broken fibers are very popular in orchid culture.
The whole trunks are used for garden paths, holding banks, garden
drain-pipes, ornamental fences and fern-houses. New shoots may

Vases, powder-bowls, and ash-trays. One of my associates on mak-
ing inquiries found that Cyathea medullaris is the species used.
Turning must be done while the trunk is still green. The soft
central pith is then scraped out and the article is left to cure (the
hite ground tissue shrinks away from the hard black masses of
fib r

i d
is polished and varnished, and the finished vase, ash-tray, or
powder-bowl sells for two to three dollars or more. Unfortunately,
there seems to be only one manufacturer, and as he had not been
to town for some time my associate was unable to send me any
Specimens of his wares.

1 Reprinted from the Bulletin of the Missouri Botanical Garden,
Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 29, 30. ‘ taeead J

[Volume 47, No. 2, of the JOURNAL, pp- 49-88, was issued June
18, 1957.]

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLuME 47, Puatse KI

PonGA WARE VASE MADE FROM’ TREE-FERN TRUNK

AMERICAN DRYOPTERIS PALEACEA 91

Cyathea medullaris, better known perhaps as the Black Tree
Fern, Black Ponga, or Mamaku, is one of the largest and most
imposing of the tree ferns. Its trunk reaches 50 or more feet in
i t Pie as much

0
glistening black stalks. Dobbie, an ardent New Zealand pitta
and author of a very popular book on New Zealand ferns,
found the average daily growth of the fronds to be 2 inches, and
the greatest daily growth to be 4 inehes. He considered that
the stems did not grow more than a foot in height each year.

The first European botanists to collect specimens of this tree
fern were John Reinhold wanuter and his son George Forster, who

accompanied Captain James Cook 0 :
South Seas in the years oe The plant was described in

s quite palatable, after being cooked in an
oven, and spe took the place of potatoes when roasted slave
or enemy was served as the main dish. The aborigines of southeast
Australia sa used the pith of C. medullaris for food, and the
natives of New Caledonia ate the pith of an allied species, C.
Vieillardii Mett.

The American fern usually known as
Dryopteris paleacea
A. H. G. ALsTon

The name Dryopteris paleacea (Swartz) C. Chr.
(1911) based on a Peruvian plant is illegitimate, being a
later homonym of Dryopteris paleacea (D. Don and.-
Mazz. (1908), which is based on a plant from Nepal. The
Asiatic plant, for which the correct specific name is
Dryopteris Wallichiana (Spreng.) Hyl. (2), differs from
the American by having black, not reddish- brown, scales.
The American plant is, therefore, left without a valid
Specific name. The correct name should be:

92 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL
Dryopreris parallelogramma (Kunze) Alston, comb.

nov.

Aspidium paleaceum Swartz, Syn. Fil. 52. 1806.

Aspidium parallelogrammum Kunze, Linnaea 13: 146.
1839.

Dryopteris paleacea C. Chr. Amer. Fern Journ. 1: 94.
1911, non Hand.-Mazz. (1908). Nom. illegit.

The species ranges from Mexico to Argentina. Roth-
maler (3) has recently separated from it D. pseudo-filix-
mas (Fée) Rothm. and D.xchrysocarpa (Fée) Rothm.
This latter is regarded as a hybrid between the two fore-
going species; both are from Mexico. The European
plant is nearer to the American than the Asiatic, but the
name D. Borreri Newm., which applies to it, dates only
from 1854 and it would accordingly have to take the
name D. parallelogramma if the two were united.

The synonymy of the Asiatic species is as follows:
Dryopteris Wallichiana (Spreng.) Hyl. in Bot. Notiser

1953: 352; Alston & Bonner, Candollea 15: 216.
1956.

Aspidium paleaceum D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 4.
1825, non Swartz (1806).

Aspidium Wallichianwm Spreng. Syst. Veg. 4: 104.
1827.

Aspidium Donianum Spreng. op. cit. 4: Suppl. 320.
1827.

Dryopteris paleacea Hand.-Mazz., Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges.
Wien 58: 100. 1908, nom. illegit.
D. Doniana (Spreng.) Ching in Sunyatsenia 6: 3.
1941.
LITERATURE CITED
(1) Alston, A. H. G. & Bonner, C. E. B. Résultats des expéditions

scientifiques genevoises au Népal en 1952 et 1954 (Pteridophyta).
Candollea 15: 216.

(2) Hylander N. Taxa et nomina nova Botaniska Notiser 1953:
2~359,

(3) Rothmaler, W. Der Formenkreis von Dryopteris paleacea
(Swartz) Hand.-Mazz. Candollea 10: 95, 96. 1945.
British Museum, Lonpon, ENGLAND.

Wuich NORTHEASTERN FERNS ARE EVERGREEN? 93

Which Northeastern Ferns are Evergreen?
Epe@ar T. WHERRY

Horticulturists who are planning fern gardens for
winter effect or considering the use of ferns for retarding
erosion on shaded slopes need authentic information as
to which species are evergreen and which are not. Find-
ing that a number of statements in several recent ‘‘popu-
lar’’ fern books are at variance with my own observations
over the past 40 years, I have compiled the following
lists. However, it seems that correct statements never
quite catch up with erroneous ones, and for years to come
writers who merely copy uncritically will probably list
deciduous species as evergreen or the reverse, because

“it says so in such and such a book.”’

Anyway, here are my data for latitudes 39° to 43°.
The 115 species included are arranged alphabetically
under widely used technical epithets. For simplicity,
assignment of any of them to varietal status under an-
other is avoided. Hybrids are not covered. Reports of
experiences of others that do not agree with mine will
be welcome.

I. SwerRILE AND FERTILE hopin or LEAVES
ESSENTIALLY ALI
1. Born SreRILe AND FERTILE FRONDS OR LEAVES EVERGREEN
Asplenium bradleyi Isoétes spp-
eryptolepis Lycopodium lucidulum
montanum selago
pinnatifidum Phyllitis scolopendrium
panama Poly {seas polypodioides

hon irgini ‘nih
Gait ears onigllis Potystiehum acrostichoides
celsa

Dryopteris braunii
fragrans lon fa
intermedia seopulin

P
aan a
marginalis Trichomanes as

94 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

2. STERILE FRONDS EVERGREEN, FERTILE DECIDUOUS OR MARCESCENT

Adiantum eapillus-veneris Dryopteris elintoniana
Asplenium platyneuron cristata
viride lix-
Cheilanthes alabamensis pinulosa
feei Pellaea atropurpurea
lanosa glabella
tomentosa Woodsia obtusa

Il. STERILE AND FERTILE FRONDS OR SEGMENTS DISSIMILAR
3. STERILE FRONDS, STEMS, OR SEGMENTS EVERGREEN, FERTILE Not

Botrychium dissectum Lycopodium flabelliforme
multifidum obscurum
obliquum sabinaefolium
Equisetum hyemale s.1.1 sitchense
scirpoides clams um
variegatum Lygodium palmatum
Lycopodium alpinum Senge oy
annotinum
tum SEpae ye
complanatum

4. FERTILE FRONDS MARCESCENT-PERSISTENT, STERILE DECIDUOUS

Matteuccia pensylvanica Schizaea pusi
Onoelea sensibilis (sterile secon

Ill. Au Fronps, Leaves, ok SEGMENTS DECIDUOUS

Adiantum pedatum Lycopodium adpressum
Athyrium alpestr alopec
lix-fe s.1 carolinianum
pyen ndatum
elypterioides Marsilea mu a
Azolla carol Notholaena dealbat
Botryechium lanceolatum s.l. Ophioglossum inipetianct
lunaria vulgatum
matricariaefolium Osmunda cinnamomea
minganense elaytoniana
simplex s.l. regalis
virginianum Pteridium latiuseulum
Cheilanthes siliquosa Thelypteris dryopteris
Cryptogramma acrostichoides hexagonoptera

+ ** 2) am : : :
s.l.’’= sensu lato, that is, in a comprehensive sense.

PREPARING SPORES FOR FERN CULTURES 95

Cryptogramma stelleri Thelypteris noveboracensis
Cystopteris bulbifera palustris
fragilis s.l. phegopteris
montana robertiana
Dennstaedtia punctilobula simulata
ryopteris campyloptera Woodsia alpina
oldiana appalachiana
Equisetum arvense catheartiana
uviatile glabella
um ilvensis
laevigatum oregana
palustre scopulina
ate Woodwardia areolata
sylvaticum virginica

BoraNicaL LABORATORIES, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYL-
ANIA.

A Method of Preparing Spores for Fern Cultures
WaALrter F’. KLEINSCHMIDT

In growing ferns from spores, it is desirable, and in
experimental work essential, to be able to obtain pure
cultures of one species. For example, much time might
be wasted in carefully growing plants which later turn
out to be contaminants. For controlled experiments,
contaminating spores of other species may give uncertain
results and threaten the validity of the work. Not only
are mixtures of spores of other fern species an incon-
venience, but spores of mosses, algae, and fungi are like-
Wise troublesome. Often cultures become overgrown
With the filamentous protonemata of mosses that shade
out the desired fern prothallia. Algae, especially the
green and blue-green types, may often ‘‘take over,” en-
veloping the fern material, killing both prothallia and
young sporophytes. Mold fungi also are serious pests
that handicap culture work.

o allay such contamination, man
spores are careful to sterilize their culture medium,
whether it be soil, nutrient agar, or liquid solution, as

y who grow fern

96 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

well as to sterilize the containers. In my own work I
have always tried to do this. But recently it occurred
to me that much of our contamination probably arises
from the original source of spores, the leaf and the sori
from which the spores are originally obtained. How
many of the contaminating spores enter the cultures from
the surfaces of the leaves we use as our spore sources?
If all the vessels and media used are sterilized, then the
contaminants must be carried with the spores when they
are first removed from the sori. This is especially true
of plants collected in the field where several species of
ferns, mosses, algae, and fungi all grow together in a
locality, or if they are placed together in the same con-
tainer when collected. It would be no less true, how-
ever, of ferns grown together in a greenhouse where
spores may be discharged from a variety of plants simul-
taneously. How, then, can contamination be eliminated
at the time of removing the spores from a fern leaf? The
method I-wish to deseribe here essentially involves re-
moving and/or killing the contaminating spores before
the desired spores are discharged.

In selecting the fertile leaf or pinnae, whether in the
field or in the greenhouse, the suggestions I made earlier
should be followed.’ It is best to choose a leaf blade on
which at least some of the sporangia are still young and
undeveloped and the sori appear tan in color (rather
than whitish or dark-brown). Even though a leaf may
appear very fruitful, it may be that the fully mature
sporangia which ‘‘fill wp’’ the sori have actually opened
and discharged their spores. If specimens which have
been already dried and pressed are used, the same ge?
eral principles apply.

For decontaminating a specimen, a sterilizing solution
of commercial ‘‘Chlorox’’ (sodium hypochlorite) is used.
The concentration should be approximately 5-10%

1 Kleinschmidt, W. F. 1952. Growing ferns from spores. This
JOURNAL 42 (no, 4): 117-124.

PREPARING SPORES FOR FERN CULTURES 97

Chlorox in water. This solution alone is not adequate,
however; the problem of wetting the surfaces (whether
of living or already dried leaves) is also involved, and
unless the surfaces in their entirety are covered by the
sterilizing agent, the effectiveness of treatment is greatly
diminished. For this reason, I have found it desirable
to add a wetting agent. In my experiments I have found
the commercial product ‘‘Tween 20,”’ to be entirely suit-
able. I make it up at approximately the ratio of 1 part
wetting agent to 2000 parts ‘‘Chlorox’’ solution.

The leaf or leaflet from which spores are to be removed
is immersed in the sterilizing solution for 5 to 10 seconds.
At the same time it is important to remove all the air
bubbles. One can aceomplish this by actively rubbing
both sides of the blade with a small brush. As soon as
the specimen has been exposed to the ‘‘Chlorox’’ solution
for sufficient time, it can be taken out and put directly
in a fresh envelope in a clean paper tablet. (The en-
velopes and tablet may be dry-sterilized by heating be-
forehand in a box in a dry, hot oven.) The cheaper the
tablet the better for this purpose: coarse papers tend to
act like a towel or blotter. I put the envelopes in the
tablet at intervals of 5 or 6 pages, and put a weight
on top.

The simple treatment which I have described seems to
kill all the free spores attached to the leaf surfaces.
Those spores that remained in unopened sporangia dur-
ing the treatment are unaffected, however, and when the
material is dried in the envelopes, these unopened sporan-
gia will now expand and release their spores. The actual
drying of the specimen after ‘‘Chlorox’’ treatment re-
quires no more than two or three days at most, and, if
necessary, the envelopes containing the specimens may
be transferred to other pre-dried tablets to hasten their
drying. The spore-producing leaves themselves, how-
ever, should never be exposed to artificial heat directly

98 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

or the spores will be killed.

After the specimens are thoroughly dried, they may be
kept this way in the covering envelopes until time for use.
The spores, now scattered in the envelopes, may also be
sown directly by tapping them on the medium in a room
where there is no air circulation. <A sterile teasing needle
(flamed over an alcohol lamp and cooled) or narrow
scalpel is helpful to broadcast the spores from the en-
velope into the culture dishes.

I believe this technique may be of value to those at-
tempting to prepare pure cultures of fern spores. By
using this method, there is far greater assurance of
purity of spores from the beginning. I have tried the
technique on a number of fern genera (Cyclosorus,
Woodsia, Cyrtomium, Pteris, and others), sowing the
uncontaminated spores on nutrient agar in test tubes.
So far as it has been possible to determine, the cultures
which resulted by this method were entirely pure.

BoraNicaL GARDENS, UNIveRSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN
Arpor, MICHIGAN.

Ferns of Oregon Caves National Monument
and Vicinity

Wituiam H. Baker AND GrorGEe C. RUHLE

Oregon Caves National Monument and vicinity com-
prise an area of approximately 6,000 acres, in the Sis-
kiyou Mountains, in or near T40S8, R6W, Josephine
County, Oregon. The monument includes about 480
acres and the balance of the acreage is within the Oregon
Caves Game Refuge. This locality is situated from 15 to
20 miles south of Grants Pass and 6 to 11 miles north of
the Oregon-California boundary in southwestern Oregon.
It consists of the entire Lake Creek-Cave Creek drainage
basin and embraces Sandstone Ridge to the summit of
Grayback Mountain at 7,043 feet, the Limestone Creek-
Sucker Creek trail to the mouth of Cave Creek at 1,800

FERNS OF OREGON Caves NationNaAL MonuMENT 99

feet, and the trail eastward along Grayback Creek. All
of the streams flow into the Illinois-Rogue River drainage
system.

The area is part of the Siskiyou Mountains, a complex
geological region, which in turn is a part of the Klamath-
Siskiyou province. It extends inland from the Pacific
Ocean 100 miles and in a north and south direction from
the Coquille River to the Mad River in California. This
is the oldest landmass in the coastal region, existing since
Paleozoic time mostly as an island and possibly at times
as a peninsula connected by a narrow neck to the main-
land. The system has undergone a long complicated his-
tory of mountain building, peneplanation, igneous in-
trusion, and glaciation. As a result of this complexity
with concomitant extensive dissection, the country is ex-
tremely broken, presenting a confusion of sharp ridges
with steep stony slopes averaging more than 30 degrees.

The rocks of the area are metamorphosed sedimentaries
and voleanies of Jurassic age or older. In general, they
have a steep dip and a northerly or northeasterly strike.
The eastern more elevated portion of the area studied is
a small part of a great batholithic stock of quartz-diorite
that probably underlies a large territory. This stock
shows marked and extensive contact metamorphism along
its edges. The meta-sedimentary rocks consist of altered
tuffaceous sediments, argillites, limestones and quartzites.
The meta-voleanics west of the contact aureoles are al-
tered lava flows and pyroclastics with some intrusives
and are in part injected with serpentines. Jurassic and
older sediments and voleanies occur at lower elevations
along Cave and Sucker Creeks. They include dark-col-
ored slates and altered andesitic flows.

Soils that support a singularly ch
flora which is made up of quite a number of endemic spe-
cies. Most of the soil is residual, seanty and markedly

100 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

pervious to moisture. The region above 5,000 feet is
sculptured by glaciation. Due to its antiquity, the entire
province is biologically significant. Vegetation zones
range from humid to arid transition and at the higher
altitudes the boreal zones are all represented.

Although the rainfall averages over 40 inches a year,
most of the precipitation occurs outside the regular grow-
ing season. The summer months are hot and dry. This
fact, coupled with a scanty pervious soil, produces xero-
phytic conditions which do not generally contribute to a
luxuriant growth of ferns. However, there are mesic and
even hydric local habitats present which provide favor-
able sites for ferns to grow, such as deep cool coniferous
forests, the shores of lakes, streamsides, edges of springs,
and rocky cliffs and talus slopes below snowbanks that do
not melt until late in the season.

Specimens were collected during the seasons of 1949
and 1950. All of the numbers cited in the text were col-
lected by the authors. Duplicates have been deposited in
the Herbarium of the University of Idaho and in the Her-
barium at Crater Lake National Park Headquarters.

Probably the most complete collection of plants previ-
ously obtained at Oregon Caves was made by the late
Elmer C. Applegate, while a ranger-naturalist at Crater
Lake National Park. His specimens are deposited in the
Dudley Herbarium at Stanford University. Among
other botanists who have collected in the area are Dr.
Morton E. Peck of Willamette University, Dr. Leroy E.
Detling of the University of Oregon, and Dr. Robert Hi
Whitaker, who has deposited his collection at the Her-
barium of the State College of Washington. Without
doubt, a number of other persons have made collections
here, as the region is one of considerable interest in that
it harbors a rich and varied flora containing numerous
endemics.

OPHIOGLOSSACEAE

BorrycHiuM MULTIFIDUM (Gmel.) Rupr. ssp- SILAIFOLIUM

FERNS OF OREGON Caves NATIONAL MONUMENT 101

(Presl.) Clausen. Leathery grape-fern, Small mossy flat at the
outlet of Upper Biglow Lake, along the shore line (nos. 668, 719) ;
rare. Duplicate identified by Dr. Robert T. Clausen.

POLYPODIACEAE

CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS (L.) Bernh. Bladder-fern. Dry open
woods on Sand Ridge (nos. 29, 39) ; open woods on Lake Mountain
(no, 348); growing on rock slides at Lower Biglow Lake (no.
425); fairly common.

PoLysticnum Loncuimis (L.) Roth. Holly-fern. Abundant
on rock ledges above Upper Biglow Lake (no. 706).

PoLtysticHuM MuUNITUM (Kaulf.) Presl. Common sword-fern.
Growing along the Big Tree trail at Cave Creek (nos. 513, 519) ;
one of the commonest ferns in the area.

PotysticHuM MUNITUM (Kaulf.) Presl var. rpricans (D. C.
Eaton) Maxon. Imbrieated sword-fern. Along the No. Name
trail (no. 456); growing on a moist cliff at the Caves, edge of
Cave Creek (no. 555); fairly common.

PoLysticHuM scopuLINuM (D. C. Eaton) Maxon. Eaton’s
shield-fern. On dry rocky cliffs, Sand Ridge (no. 38); also in
rock crevices at the summit of Lake Mountain (no, 352); not
common

Dryopreris pinarata (Hoffm.) A. Gray. Spreading wood-fern.
Along the Big Tree trail at Cave Creek (no. 521); growing on a
rocky hillside at Lower Biglow Lake (no. 592); not commen

mHyRIuM Fruix-remina (L.) Roth. Lady-fern. De ae
slide at Lower Biglow Lake (no. 425); along the Big Tree trail
at Cave Creek (nos, 520, 549) ; along the Grayback trail (no. 682) ;
common along trailsides and streams.

ADIANTUM PEDATUM L. Western maidenhair. Fairly common

0

PTERIDIUM AQUILINUM (L.) Kuhi
Western bracken, Along the Big Tree tr
522) ; open meadow, east slope of Lake Mo
common,

untain (no. 898); very

ILANTHES GRACILLIMA D. C, Eaton. Lace-fern. Summit of

CHE
Lake Mountain (nos. 175, 333) ; common.

HEILANTHES SILIQUOSA Maxon. Oregon cliff-brake. Rocky
crevices along the Grayback trail, uppeT ridges (no. 144) ; sum-
mit of Mt. Elija (no. 579); oceasional.

CryprogramMa Acrosticuorpes R. Br. American parsley-fern.
ain and on the rock slides above

Common on summit of Lake Mount
935, 414, 487, 614).

Upper and Lower Biglow Lakes (nos.

102 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

EQUISETACEAE

EQUISETUM HYEMALE L. Scouring rush. Growing along the
edge of lower Cave Creek (no. 853).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1, Abrams, Leroy. An Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States.
Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, Calif., Vol. 1, 1923.

2. Jepson, W. L. A Manual of the Flowering Plants of California.
Associated Students Book Store, Berkeley, Calif., 1923-1925.
3. Peck, Morton E. A Manual of the Higher Plants of Oregon.

infor n

re., 1941.
4. Piper, C. V. and R. K. Beattie. Flora of the Northwest Coast.
New Era Printing Co., Lancaster, Pa., 1915.
Untversiry or Ipano, Moscow, Ipano, and Hawall
NaTIoNAL Park, Hawan, T. H.

Observations on Cultivated Ferns, III. The
Species of Microlepia

C. V. Morton

The genus Microlepia is not common in cultivation in
the United States generally, because all the species are
tropical or subtropical, and consequently are strictly
greenhouse plants except in southern California and
Florida. They are ornamental plants, large and leafy,
resembling other large ferns such as Dryopteris, Poly-
stichum and Athyrium, but they are not really at all al-
lied to these. One obvious distinction is that these genera
mentioned, of the dryopteroid type, all have conspicuous
flattened chaffy scales on the rhizomes and usually also
on the stipes and rhachises. There are no scales in Micro-
lepia, only abundant septate hairs. The most closely al-
lied is genus is Dennstaedtia, which has similar hairs and
differs chiefly in the technical character of the sorus,
which is strictly marginal in Dennstaedtia and infra-
marginal in Microlepia; this causes a corresponding dif-
ference in the shape of the indusium, which is cup-shaped
in Dennstaedtia and half-cup-shaped in M icrole pia.

Tue Species oF MICROLEPIA 103

The following key will separate the species that are
known to be in cultivation.
KeryY TO THE SPECIES
Plants it and coarse, pinnate-pinnatifid or bipinnate at base,
the mate segments lanceolate, acuminate; rhachis and
vse glabrous at maturity; indusium whitish, opaque,
5 mm.

wide; receptable transversely elongate, about 1 mm. wide
M. latyphylla
Plants smaller or more delicate, bipinnate to quadripinnate, the
ultimate segments shorter, blunter; rhac his and segments
hairy beneath; indusium yellowish-hyaline, shang ot
about 0.75 mm. wide; receptacle subspherieal, about 0
wide.

Veins (at least in dried material) not raised above the surface
beneath; hairs of rhachises and midribs fine, horizontally
spreading ; blades tripinnate to quadripinnate.

M. speluncae
Veins (at least in dried material) aaa eed raised on the
lower surface; hairs of rhac ises and midribs coarse, mostly

the surfaces opposite from the sori) ;
iebaicniae the lower pinnae usually 8 em. broad or more.
M. firma

Rhachises and midribs glabrous or glabrescent above, the
hairs on the segments above, if any , confined to the veins ;
blades mostly bipinnate or bipinnate- -pinnatifid, the
pinnae mostly 5 em, wide 0 r less.

Fronds relatively srt: reaching about 25 cm. n width,
isually widest at the middle, the basal pinnae ine
or smaller than ites above, acutish, usually not spats
BE EMS CTU ses snensencornrscerpnnereteennsersesserternnnrne M. osa

Fronds larger, reaching 50 em. in width, usually ae at
the base, the basal pinnae equalling or longer than those

above, acuminate, usually drooping at the ends.
M. substrigosa

Microtepta puatypayiua (D. Don) J. Smith, London

Journ. Bot. 1: 427. 1842.

Davallia platyphylla D. Don, Prodr, Flor. Nepal. 10.
1825.

104 AmerICAN FERN JOURNAL

Perhaps the most widespread species in cultivation.
(It is the only one listed in Hortus II.) In Mrs. Fay
MacFadden’s lathhouse in Los Angeles, this sometimes
grows to nine feet in height. Mrs. MacF adden notes that
its yellow-green fronds provide a nice color note in con-
trast to the normally darker green leaves of other ferns.
She says that it needs shade and protection from the
wind.

MicroLeria sPELUNCAE (L.) Moore, Ind. Fil, XCIII.
857

dj

Polypodium speluncae Li. Sp. Pl. 1093. 1753.

In its broadest sense, M. speluncae is one of the most
widespread species of ferns, being essentially pantropical.
It occurs abundantly in India, China, the Philippine Is-
lands, the East Indian islands, Polynesia, Africa, and
South America. Even so, it is a little doubtful if it is in
cultivation in the United States at the present time. I
the specimens that I have seen so determined are in real-
ity M. strigosa. The characters given in the key should
serve to distinguish these two.

Micro.erta FIRMA Mettenius ex Kuhn, Linnaea 36: 146.

There is a plant growing in the grounds of the Univer-
sity High School, Los Angeles, California, that I identify
as this species, although with a little doubt. The spect-
men that I saw was collected by Mr. A. W. Roberts on
April 16, 1952, and is, I believe, deposited in the herbar-
ium of the University of California at Los Angeles. I
reported the name at first as Microlepia pilosula (Wal-
lich) Presl, following the current application of that
name. However, recently Dr. W. A. Sledge, of the Bot-
any Department, University of Leeds, England, has pub-
lished a paper’ in which he shows that the name pilosula
has been misapplied and that the species usually s°
named is really M. firma, a species of India that has uP

1 Sledge, W. A. Microlepia speluncae, M. trapeziformis, and M.
firma. Kew Bulletin Miscellaneous Information 1956: 523-531.

Tuer SPECIES OF MICROLEPIA 105

till now been little known or essentially unknown. The
real type of pilosula is only a very pubescent variant of
M. speluncae, that described as M. speluncae var. villosis-
sima C. Christensen, which should now be called var.
pubescens (Hooker) Sledge, an earlier varietal name than
villosissima. Additional cultivated material of M. firma
is desirable to verify the determination.

Micro.epra stricosa (Thunberg) Presl, Epimel. Bot. 95.

1849

In southern California Microlepia strigosa is becom-
ing common; I have seen specimens in the garden of Mrs.
MacFadden, in Griffith’s Park, in the garden of Dr.
W. C. Drummond, in A. W. Roberts’ greenhouses, from
the Huntington Botanical Garden, and elsewhere. It has
mostly passed erroneously as M. speluncae. As noted
above, the true M. speluncae is a different species, that
may not be in cultivation in the United States at all. It
is a much larger plant than strigosa (being mostly quad-
ripinnate), with a thinner, more herbaceous texture.
The veins, at least in dried specimens, are inconspicuous
and not raised, and the hairs of the rhachises are more
slender and spreading.

Microuepta srricosA forma MacFaddeniae Morton, £.
nov.

A f. typica pinnis plerisque reductis, subrotundis, seg-
mentis paucis, imbricatis sterilibus differt.

Type in the U. 8. National Herbarium, no 2.202,671,
collected in the garden of Mrs. Fay MacFadden, 5450
Carlin Street, Los Angeles, California (MacFadden
26828).

This peculiar form hardly looks like a Microlepra at
all—I have seen specimens identified as Nephrolepis
Duffii and Lindsaea cultrata, both plants absolutely and
completely different. The relationship to Microlepia,
and to M. strigosa in particular, is shown by the pubes-
cence of septate hairs on the rhachises and lower surfaces

Votume 47, Puate XII

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

5 Sy
x q) AN
os S

NY
=F)

j
a

—e

MICROLEPIA STRIGOSA F. MACF'ADDENIAE

Tue Species oF MICROLEPIA 107

of the leaves. Such hairs are unknown in Nephrolepis
or in Lindsaea. Nephrolepis Duffii has the ordinary
broad chaffy scales on the rhizome just as do all other
kinds of Nephrolepis. The somewhat hairlike rhizome
seales of Lindsaea cultrata are different from the soft
hairs of Microlepia. In all its characters Lindsaea cul-
trata is a typical Lindsaea, with trapeziform pinnae,
angled rhachis, and so on.

This new plant, which I am naming in honor of Mrs.
Fay MacFadden in recognition of her services in intro-
ducing new ferns to cultivation, has pinnae of a peculiar
shape. They are condensed, so to speak, the several pairs
of fan-shaped segments being curved and imbricated so
that the whole pinna is not plane but somewhat cup-
shaped. However, sometimes, as on the type specimen,
the lower pair or lower two pairs of pinnae are elongate
and more or less plane, in which case the segments are
much more numerous, fan-shaped or once-lobed.?

It seems possible to me that this plant is a hybrid be-
tween M. strigosa and some other species, possibly not
even a Microlepia at all. All the known plants of Mac-
Faddeniae are completely sterile, not even producing
sterile sporangia. However, it can pass as a form of M.
strigosa in order to give it a name. The origin is un-
known. Mrs. MacFadden believes that her plant came -
from Morgan’s Nursery, Pasadena; Mr. Morgan stated
that he had brought it from Ceylon under the name
Lindsaca cultrata. I have seen other collections from the
gardens of Mrs. Dorothy Behrends, Mr. A. W. Roberts,
and Mrs. J. Chenny, all of Los Angeles.

Microtepta suUBSTRIGOSA Tagawa, Acta Phytotax. Bot. 5:
189. 1936.
The large plant that is passing as M. strigosa in South-

: ca

2In general form, the pinnae suggest those of a fern prizec
in British gardens "as Athyrium Filix-femina t, Frizelliae, as
illustrated in Druery’s British Ferns and Their Varieties fig. 79.

108 American Fern JOURNAL

ern California is apparently to be identified as M. sub-
strigosa, a plant that has never been reported in cultiva-
tion2 It was described from wild plants collected in
Formosa and Japan (Kyushu). The characters given
in the key above are those observed in living plants by
Mrs. Barbara Joe Hoshizaki, and communicated to me
in a letter dated June 24, 1957. Her observations were
made in the garden of Mrs. MacF adden.

This species is represented in the U. S. National
Herbarium by Mrs. MacFadden’s no. 26732. It remains
to be determined if it is truly different from M. strigosa,
or if it might not more properly be classed as a variety
or subspecies.

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.

The Genus Ceterach in Madagascar
Mme. TarpiEv-BLOT

The genus Ceterach has not up until now been reported
from Madagascar, so far as I am aware. The genus is
composed of a very small number of more or less well-
differentiated species. Ceterach officinarum DC., which
has the broadest geographic range, is known in Europe,
Asia, and North Africa. Up to the present, C. cordatum
_ (Thunb.) Desv. has been considered South African, al-
though it is known also from St. Helena. Sim? described
two varieties, var. namaquense (Pappe & Rawson) Sim
and var. pinnatifidum Sim. Ceterach aureum is a spe-
cies of the Atlantic Islands. Kiimmerle’ described a
fourth species, C. Phillipsianum, from Socotra and Abys-
sinia. These species, sometimes rather similar in aspect,
are distinguished principally by the scales and the spores.

In the herbarium of the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle

3 As mentioned above, the true M. strigosa has been erroneously
e ;

; fr. 176. 1915.
2 Botan. Kozl, 6: 287. 1909 [1910].

SHORTER NOTES 109

I have found a Ceterach collected in Marovato, on Mont
Morahahiva, in the vicinity of Isomono, on the right side
of the Valley of Manambolo, Madagascar, at an elevation
of 1,100 meters by H. Humbert (no. 13,273). It was
growing on gneissic rocks in a sclerophyllous forest with
a western exposure. The plant is altogether identical with
C. cordatum var. capense (Sprengel) Hieron. ex Kum-
merle? which is characterized by having the fronds
slightly dimorphic, the fertile the larger (ca. 13 em.) and
pinnate, the sterile smaller (4-5 em. long) and pin-
uatifid, subsessile, the segments obtuse, the scales fer-
rugineous, lanceolate, more or less cordate at the base,
the margins bearing some prolongations, the tips more
or less dentate, the cell walls being reddish and slightly
thickened, and the lumen not colored. The spores are
anisopolar, bilateral, monolete, oblong, and rugulose.
Muséum p’Hisrorre NaTuRELLE, Paris, FRANCE.

Shorter Notes

Frozen FippLeHEAps AGAIN:—A report of the com-
plete blasting of all the leaves in a colony of ostrich fern
was made in the first issue of the Journal this year. All
the unrolling croziers were noted as killed, and the blame
was put on one of two unusually low temperatures in
May, 1956. Something of the same sort appears to have
happened again this year but with less complete killing
of the leaves—the leaves seem to have been some that
further developed and now show only partial areas
browned in a way that suggests that the unrolling leaf
and pinna tips were the sensitive parts.

Goldie’s fern, which was also reported injured in the
spring of 1956, came through unscathed this year, but
humerous sensitive ferns nearby appeared to have justi-
fied their name by dying back completely. Presumably
the leaves of this species suffered similarly during 1956

3 Op. cit. 288. 1910, based on Gymnogramma capensis Sprengel
ex Kaulf. Linnaea 6: 183, 1831.

110 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

but were overlooked in the more conspicuous injury to
the ostrich ferns.

One other casualty, presumably of winter origin, may
be reported. A few years ago, @ plant of the narrow-
leaved chain-fern was transplanted from Dr. Allison’s
neighborhood of Hewlett, Long Island. The situation
for its growth proved entirely favorable for several
years. Last summer, it sent up several tall, fruiting
leaves. But this year no signs of growth are detectable.
Presumably the absence of a protective snow-cover may
be blamed.—R. C. Benxvict, Pilot Knob, N.Y.

Mawenuair As 4 Source or MEDICINE -—In 1712, an
English translation of a French work on drugs was pub-
lished.t A hurried scanning of the pages and pictures,
which were crudely done and included some caricatures
of various animal sources, disclosed two pages on ‘«Maid-
enhair,’’ referring to the ‘‘syrup capillaire’’ that is still
cited as used in Europe. Two ferns were pictured as
‘“maidenhair,’’ one the ‘‘Common Maidenhair,’’ whic
could well be Asplenium Trichomanes, and the other the
‘¢Golden Maidenhair,’’ which is surely Asplenium Adian-
tum-nigrum. The text refers to several other ‘ ‘varieties’’
of syrup of Maidenhair which were prepared from other
ferns, among them the Venus’ Hair [ Adiantum Capillus-
veneris|, Scolopendrium, and Ceterach. The highest
qualities were ascribed to syrups prepared from the
Maidenhair of Canada [Adiantum pedatum] and the
Maidenhair of Montpellier [from the illustration, a spe
cies of Asplenium]. Among other ferns mentioned were
Polypody, and ‘‘Salvia vitae’’ [Asplenium Ruta-mura-
ria], but surprisingly the male fern is not noted any-
where in the text. The above information is translated

1 Pomet, Pierre. A Complete history of drugs, written in French,
to which is added what is further observable on the same subjects

emery and Tournefort. London, 1712. This is 4

{70M 68
translation, with additions, of Pierre Pomet, Histoire génerale des
rogues. Paris, 1 :

:
E
: :
:
:

REcENT FERN LITERATURE 111

from Pomet.

One of the interesting bits of text? has to do with the
then current knowledge of fern reproduction [translated
from Lemery]: ‘‘This Plant bears no Flowers; its Fruit,
according to M. Tournefort’s Observations, is produced
in a Folding of the End of one of the Leaves, which, after
it is stretched out, it encloses several spherical Coverings
which are caked to the said Folding, and can not be dis-
covered but by the Assistance of a Microscope. These
Capsules, or Coverings, are furnish’d with, as it were,
a Purse-String, which by its Contraction opens it; they
contain some little Seeds in ’em that are almost round.”’
—R. C. Benepicr, 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn, New
York.

Recent Fern Literature
Ferns or THe Orrawa District!—This manual is
unique in that it does not cover a State, Provinee, or
phytogeographic region, but an area with a thirty-mile
radius, centered at Ottawa and covering parts of the

provinces of Ottawa and Quebec. This limited area has

a rich fern flora of 36 species, one hybrid, and several
varieties and forms. The fern allies are not included.
The frontispiece is a detailed map of the district showing
the locations of the ten counties covered, the streams,
lakes, and towns. There is a concise description of each
species (perhaps too brief), mention of the habitats, and
of the seasons in which the species will be found in fertile
condition. The illustrations are photographs of her-
barium specimens; each particular specimen was care-
fully prepared and is better than the average run of
herbarium specimens. The illustrations show the gross
morphological features by which each species can be

—_—

2 Op. cit. 1: 87. :

1Cody, W. J., Ferns of the Ottawa District. Canada Depart-
ment of Agriculture Publication 974, pp 1-94. 42 illustrations
and distribution maps. 1956. Price $1.00.

112 AwerIcaN FERN JOURNAL

recognized. There is no attempt to show the details
of the sori or indusia. The book is complete with keys
to the families, genera, species, a glossary, and index.
The text, typed on a varityper with the result that cer-
tain letter combinations are spaced unevenly, is printed
by photo-offset and bound in an attractive green buck-
ram, lettered in gold. The nomenclature is essentially
that used in the 8th edition of Gray’s Manual of Botany,
except that the generic name Matteuccia is used in place
of Pteretis for the Ostrich-fern. All of the entities de-
seribed are backed by voucher specimens in herbaria of
The Botany and Plant Pathology Division, Canada De-
partment of Agriculture, The National Museum of Can-
ada, and The Botanical Institute of the University of
Montreal. A few species that have been reported from
this area are excluded in the absence of confirming
specimens. One of these is Botrychium lunaria. Mem-
bers of the American Fern Society who were on the foray
around the Gaspé Peninsula last summer will recall
shivering in the fog-shrouded summit of Mount Ste.
Anne, above Pereé, in search of this elusive species. This
exclusion is a challenge to collectors to look for it, and
someone who is in the proper place at the proper time
will find it in the Ottawa District for it is known to
oceur in adjacent areas in Quebec and northern Michi-
gan. The absence of the spinulose fern, Dryopteris spin-
ulosa, raises the question of what local ecological con-
ditions are responsible for its absence here while it is 80
abundant in the surrounding areas.

Aside from the technical aspects, the book is @ record
of a keen interest in ferns, of many hours spent tramp-
ing through the fields and woods in search for them, not
only by the author but also by the other members of the
Ottawa Field Naturalists Club. As I leaf through this
book, I find familiar ferns—old friends—that bring #
flood of memories of places where I collected a particular

RECENT FERN LITERATURE 113

species, the circumstances, and the people who were my
companions at the time. Many of these ferns are wide-
spread in Canada and the United States. I feel certain
that this book will be very helpful to our Canadian
friends with botanical interests—Cuair A. Brown,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 3, Louisiana.

‘* A Narurau Hyprip, x ApiANTUM Tracyt C. C. Hatu,”’
by W. H. Wagner, Jr.,! describes a naturally occurring
hybrid between Adiantum Jordanii and A. pedatum that
has been found in California several times. It was first
found in 1895 by J. P. Tracy as a single plant growing
among redwoods along the Eel River, near the town of
Pepperwood, Humboldt County; this was transplanted
and propagated by Mr. Tracy, and descendants are now
growing in the Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco,
and elsewhere. A plant found near Guerneville, on the
Russian River, Sonoma County, was eultivated by Mr.
Carl Purdy, and introduced by him into cultivation in
England, where it was misidentified as the Asiatic species
A. flabellulatum. It has persisted in cultivation in Eng-
land and has proved to be moderately hardy. Other wild
plants have been found near Bear Valley, Marin County,
and Garberville, Humboldt County. Since this plant 1s
a potentially valuable addition to the cultivated ferns,
at least in warm regions like California, it is worth while
to give its distinguishing characteristics, quoting from
Dr. Wagner:

Adiantum x Tracyi ‘‘may be distinguished from A.
pedatum by the overall shape of its frond: in mature
blades of A. pedatum there are normally 5-9 major divi-
sions of the blade and the blade is broadly fan-shaped ; in
A. x Tracyi there are usually only three major divisions,
the two lateral pinnae and the somewhat longer central
pinna, and the blade is more nearly triangular. Also
the sori of the hybrid average two to three times as long

1Madrofio 13: 195-205. figs. 1-3. 1956.

114 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

as those of A. pedatum. From A. Jordani the hybrid is
most readily separated by the form of the blade also:
in A. Jordanii the leaf is broadly lanceolate and pinnate
in construction and the pinnae are gradually reduced in
size from base to apex; in A. x Tracyi the blade is rela-
tively much broader at the base and it usually shows a
rather sudden reduction in pinna length from the basal
pinnae to those above. The pinnae of A. Jordanu are
almost perfectly flabellate while those of the intermediate
have a strongly developed lower margin about twice as
long as the inner margin.”’

Unlike its parents, the hybrid appears to be evergreen,
a decided advantage for a garden plant, and also quite
resistant to injury—C. V. Morton.

ANUAL OF THE Spores OF New ZEALAND PTERIDO-
puytTa—Although this technical publication' may be of
interest primarily to palynologists, it presents informa-
tion the professional fern taxonomist cannot ignore. The
book is divided into three main parts—spore morphology
spore descriptions, and palynological aspects. The mor-
phology of the fern spore is explained in detail and fol-
lows in general the terminology of Professor G. Erdtman.
However, Professor Harris has given different meanings
to some of the terms in eierenee to creating new termi-
nology. He uses ‘‘laevigate’’ in place of ‘‘psilate’’ for
smooth spores; ‘‘scabrate’’? means flecked with minute
pits or elongations—the ‘‘psilate’’ in part of Erdtman
and ‘‘scabrous’’ as used by Fageri and Iversen.

orders, 19 families, 51 genera, and 170 species. The
systematic arrangement is similar to that of Holttum;
the nomenclature is mainly that used by Crookes. How-
ever, Harris recognizes only the genera Hymenophyllum
and Trichomanes in the family Hymenophyllaceae.

Harris, W. ba A Manual of the Spores of New Zealand
hae 20 parle w Zealand Department of Scientific and In-

trial fey “Bulletin 116, 1-186. 1955. Price 23 sh.
($3.22). PP. :

RECENT FERN LITERATURE 115

Detailed descriptions and drawings of the spores of
each species, along with the habitat and distribution, are
given. One important feature is a cross reference to the
appendix, where the voucher specimens from which the
spores were obtained are cited and a statement of the
method by which the spores were prepared for study.

Under the heading ‘‘Comparisons,’’ Harris not only
discusses similar spores and methods of distinguishing
them but also gives other pertinent data, such as their
occurrence as sub-fossils or fossils in peat and lignites.
He has a detailed key to the genera, with the inclusion of
occasional family or sub-family categories. This key is
not entirely dichotomous and, in many places, two to
four genera are included under one arm. He includes
also a key to the genera under each family, and addi-
tional keys to the species under each genus that has two
or more species. The excellent detailed drawings of the
Spores of 170 species are arranged on ten plates. There
are three photographic illustrations of fern spores.

Bilateral spores tend to lose their perispore under cer-
tain conditions of preservation and also many reagents
used in the preparation of spores for study or the isola-
tion of spores from peats and lignites destroy the peri-
Spore. The resulting smooth, monolete structures have
been considered unidentifiable. Professor Harris has
presented a classification of these which, although not
perfect, is an excellent attempt. It must be emphasized
that careful measurements in quantity are needed to
identify these structures.

The fern taxonomist will be interested in the fact that
Spore morphology supports the removal of Loxsoma from
the Hymenophyllaceae. The reviewer anticipates that
other adjustments in classification or the recognition of
genera will be correlated with spore morphology in the
future. A fern description in the future will not be
considered complete until the spores have been ade-

116 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

quately described. Fifty-four per cent of the New Zea-
land pteridophytes have a trilete aperture and 46 per
cent a monolete aperture.

The third part—Palynological Aspects—deals with the
various phases of the geographical and ecological distri-
bution of ferns. Thirty-six per cent of the fern flora is
endemic to New Zealand. Although fair percentages eX-
tend to the islands northward and southward, there is a
marked affinity to the Australian flora in that 76 species
or 45 per cent are common to both regions. It is signifi-
cant that nine of the species also occur in South America.

One of the major objects of the present study is to
determine the possible value of fern spores as index
fossils; thus considerable attention was given to condi-
tions favoring aerial transportation and establishment.
Strong evidence is presented that fern spores can blow
at least 500 miles. It is this reviewer’s experience that
certain fern spores are good index fossils.

This publication adds materially to our information
about pteridophyte spores. A palynologist should be
able to identify them to the genus, perhaps to the species,
easier than he can much of the wind-blown pollen. Also,
once the spores have been identified, it may be possible
to give an interpretation of paleoclimates and paleoeco-
logical conditions. Professor Harris is to be congratu-
lated for his excellent study of this difficult phase of fern
research.—CLair A. Brown, Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge, La.

Ferns or Onto, by Harry H. Vannorsdall,? is an-
other in the growing list of state fern floras. Mr. Van-
norsdall is obviously an Ohio lover, a nature lover, and
a fern lover, and he manages to communicate a good
deal of his enthusiasm to the reader. The book is written

1 ‘ : 915.
se ae to be. ae Kennan PB stsatie Of th

Curtis Book Store, Wilmington, Ohio, $3.00 (postage included )
plus 9¢ Ohio Sales Tax.

:

ReEcENT FERN LITERATURE 117
not only with the intention of stimulating the interest
of amateurs but also of serving as a textbook for instruc-
tion in secondary schools. (A series of questions to be
answered by the student is appended to many of the dis-
cussions. Surely these questions are rather superfluous
in a work of this kind; they give an air of naiveté to
the whole.) All the species of ferns treated (the fern
allies are not included), and some of the varieties and
forms, are illustrated by photographs, often by several
pictures showing habitats, whole fronds, and enlarged
details. These photographs are considered by the author
as sufficiently diagnostic to allow plants to be identified
by them without a formal key, which may or may not be
true. As usual, correct identifications will depend not
on a key or on photographs but on the accuracy of ob-
servation of the student. The book is produced by
lithoprinting and is quite similar in format and style to
Reed’s Ferns and Fern-allies of Maryland and Dela-
ware. Some of the photographs are not altogether satis-
factory (for instance, figure 15 showing a prothallium ),
but many are outstanding, as figure 17 (southern maid-
enhair-fern), 26 (wall-rue spleenwort), 41 (ebony spleen-
wort), 66 (narrow-leaved spleenwort), 133 (marginal
wood-fern), and 209 (showing the venation of Wood-
wardia areolata). Particularly noteworthy are the ex-
cellent pictures of the excessively rare Asplenium ken-
tuckiense, a plant that has been illustrated only once
before, as far as I know. Naturally, it is vitally impor-
tant in a work of this kind that the plants illustrated
be correctly identified and typical of the species repre-
sented, and this seems to be the case generally. Figures
111 and 112, which are intended to show the crested
wood-fern, seem to me to be really Clinton ’s wood-fern
(Mr. Vannorsdall will not be the first to have confused
the two), and I have vague doubts eoncerning one or two
others (it seems possible that figures 102 and 103 repre-

118 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

sent Cystopteris fragilis var. protrusa rather than var.
Mackayi as they are labelled. )*

The treatment in the text is accurate in general, and
skillfully steers a course between the strictly popular
and the technical. The nomenclature follows Fernald
(in Gray’s Manual, 8th edition). The genera are in
alphabetical order, an unusual arrangement but perhaps
not without merit in a work of this sort. The magnifica-
tion of the photographs is indicated in the accompanying
legends, but it would have been helpful to have actually
ineluded a ruler in the picture, which would more readily

engage ri by Mr. vargas) ob abet back yy and

others. a terminal ‘‘y’ nsidered a vowel in the

‘P names an is nth d by a

ome ‘9? Jt is entirely justifiable to consider the original

spelling “ Mackayii” an orthographic error and to correct it to
milar j m

of the en
i is added (thus pi aera from “Glasion, bureau i from au),
except when the name ends in a, when ¢ added (thus batansae

b) When the name ends in . consonant, the letters i are
added (ramondii from Ramond), except when the name ends in
—er, when i is added (thus kerneri ‘trum Kerner

Thus ‘‘Trudelli’’ with a single ‘‘i’’ should be considered an
orthographie error. According to the new Code (Article | 73),
e original spelling of a name or epithet must be retained,

yp

si
f we are going to = llow 4 recom eet rg of the Code. I

have gone into this matter in some detail not as a criticism of
Mr. Vannorsdall for his use of Trudelli thor which he has ample
precedent ) t to point up a rather 0 isunderstanding

bu 0 comm :
ere is an evident value in following the Code consistently 1
this respect, as an editor like myself is the first to appreciate,
for one ean determine the correct ee automatically. _ Bu
such names in i or ti are le egion and past usage gone been highly
inconsistent, an: nd if one is to allow the “original sage to be @
guide it involves endless checking, many times in publications that
are not readily available, and the advantage gaine any;
incommensurable with the expenditure of time involved.

idan

Recent FERN LITERATURE 119

show the scale of enlargement or reduction, as the case
may be.

A few specific comments may be in order. The dis-
cussion of Ophioglossum vulgatum shows some confusion.

he author seems to indicate that typical vulgatum and
its variety pycnostichum oceur in Ohio. Actually, if
one is going to segregate vulgatum into varieties, follow-
ing Fernald, then typical vulgatum does not grow in the
United States at all; the two kinds growing in Ohio are
var. pycnostichum and var. pseudopodum. The author
seems to have misunderstood the common name ‘*bulblet-
fern,’’ for this is consistently misspelled ‘“bulbet fern”’
throughout. Exception can be taken also to the recom-
mendation for mounting herbarium specimens with
scotch tape; this material has not proved an acceptable
substitute for the gummed linen used for mounting in
most large herbaria. Of especial interest is the account
and illustration of the peculiar gametophytes that have
been found in Pike County and which have been identi-
fied as belonging to the genus Hymenophyllum. This
is apparently an instance of the perpetual persistence of
a juvenile stage; these gametophytes never develop
Sporophytes, as far as is known. If I recall correctly,
Dr. W. H. Wagner has attempted to stimulate them
artificially in the greenhouse to develop sex organs and
Sporophytes, but without success thus far. The genus
Hymenophyllum has been known in the United States
only from South Carolina, where it is represented by a
Species that is still not adequately known, but which
has been identified as H. tunbridgense. Is it not likely
that the Ohio gametophyte will prove to be of the same
Species? If so, it will indicate a more widespread dis-
tribution in the United States than we know at present.’

1 Dr. Wherry writes me that he considers that the illustration
labeled <‘Clinton’s Wood Fern’? really represents Dryopteris Slos-
sonae (D. cristata x marginalis), and that the forms of the North-
ern Lady Fern are misunderstood.

120 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

The book contains sections on ferns as a hobby, the life
eycle of ferns, collecting, transplanting, and photograph-
ing ferns, and a discussion of nature study in schools
and colleges, as well as a section devoted to picturesque
collecting localities, which will be of special interest to
residents of Ohio, for the author gives a list of the inter-
esting ferns to be found in each place. Taken all in all,
Ferns of Ohio is a fine job. It is reeommended.—C. V.
Morton.

‘DISTRIBUTIONAL, ECOLOGICAL AND PHYTOGEOGRAPHI-
CAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE FeErNs or SourH WEST
Aprrica,’”’ by Dr. E. A. C. L. E. Schelpe’ gives an account
of the fern flora of South West Africa (located on the
western side of Africa between Angola and the Union of
South Africa), a region of desert thorn-serub and arid
rocky mountains that has been regarded as being devoid
of ferns. However, recent collections, including those of
Dr. Schelpe during an expedition in 1954, have revealed
a limited number of ferns, twenty species actually, many
of them of restricted occurrence. Most are found in rock
crevices or around boulder bases (Actiniopteris australis,
Adiantum caudatum, Ceterach cordatum, Cheilanthes
Dinteri, C. hirta, C. multifida, C. parviloba, Doryopteris
concolor var. Kirkii, Notholaena Eckloniana, N. Mar-
lothii, N. Rawsonii, Pellaea calomelanos, P. deltoidea, i
Goudotii, P. robusta, and P. viridis). It will be noted
that these genera, most of them familiar to collectors
in the southwestern United States, all belong to the
Pteridoideae, except for Ceterach. In only one loeality
do moisture-loving species occur, at the base of cliffs 0
the Great Waterberg, where three mesophytes are found
—Microlepia speluncae, Dryopteris aff. pseudoguent2t-
ana, and D. Thelypteris var. squamigera. The latter is
a South African representative of our common easter?
marsh fern. In open parts of the country only Ophio-

1 Journ, So. Afr. Bot. 22: 1-22. 1956.

Norres AND NEws. 221

glossum polyphyllum oceurs. For the rest, only seasonal
aquatic ferns occur—four species of Marsilea and one of
Azolla. Dr. Schelpe concludes that all the rock ferns
have drought-resistant rhizomes and also probably
prothallia capable of withstanding prolonged dry
periods.—C. V. Morton.

Notes and News

REFLECTIONS ON SOME ITEMS IN Vou. 47, No. 1—Edi-
tor Morton’s treatment of the cultivated sorts of Pteris
brought to mind two memorable Florida trips. In 1923,
the late Dr. John K. Small offered to guide me to a *‘F lor-
ida tree-fern.’’ Very early one morning we drove along
a road newly cut through a seemingly otherwise undis-
turbed jungle near the then small settlement of Pompano.
There we came on vast clumps of a magnificent massive
fern, fully 6 feet tall, shining in the rays of the rising sun.
Small called it Litobrochia tripartita, but to others it is a
Pteris. What seemed remarkable was the presence of a
tropical Old World fern in this remote wilderness; but-
there are winds in Florida that can blow spores great
distances, and so it no doubt came from the Royal Palm
Nurseries cultures.

Some years later, the St. John brothers took me to a
damp woods near Brooksville, and there scattered among
the limestone rocks were scores of plants of Pteris cretica;
the surprising point was that every plant had its seg-
ments medially white-striped—which would make them
the so-called cultivar albolineata. The mainfest ability
of this plant to come true from spores suggests that it is
more than a mere freak.

On page 29, my friend Benedict indicates his dislike of
the term frond; but on page 8, Tryon, and page 21 & 22,
Wiggins seem not to share this attitude. At any rate, er-
rors in statements of dimensions and mode of cutting are
just as serious whether made under the terms frond, leaf,
blade, lamina, ete.

é * re
le aN. J ‘.

PTERIS TRIPART

ITA, PoMPANO, FLORIDA, 1923

TIVNUO0f Naaq NVOIINVY

TITX Sivid ‘L$ ANATOA

Notes AND NEWS 123

As a conservationist interested in saving vanishing spe-
cies in wild garden sanctuaries, I always regret to find
(as on page 44) Bartholomew’s Cobble referred to as hav-
ing only ‘‘outecroppings of limestone,’’ without reference
to the presence there of far more silica rock and the cor-
respondingly acid soils. While it is, of course, true that
the rare ferns for which this locality is famous do grow
chiefly on limestone, this is certainly not the case with
allof them. Asplenium platyneuron grows larger in non-
limy habitats, and is to be classed as lime-tolerant; fern
gardeners often poison it by dosing it with excess lime.
And the northern Ophioglossum (like the Selaginella
about which I wrote in a previous issue of this Journal)
is a lime-shunning, acid-soil plant. If wild-flower gar-
deners proceed to assume that all the 500 species native
to the Cobble need lime, they are going to perpetrate a
lot of wild-flower destruction.

Mr. Carl Starker, whose advertisement appears on the
inner back-cover, usually sends out superior, accurately
named plants. In his recent catalog supplement I was
puzzled by the listing of a Polypodium sempervivoides.
On inquiring about this, I was advised that it was a slip
for P. polypodioides, which seems worth calling to the
attention of our members——Epear T. Waerry, Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

Dryopreris AS AN ANTHELMINTIC.

May 12, 1957
Dear Mr. Morton:

I was surprised about your statement that the usage of
Dryopteris Filiz-mas as an anthelmintic is ‘‘maintained
perhaps up to the present time.’” In some parts of
Europe it is still extensively used for this purpose and
there can be no doubt that the name ‘*Wurmfarn’’ is
derived from that use. Recently, a Dutch pharmacist
who lives in Ziirich asked me about the identity of several

eee
1This JourNAL 47: 26. 1957 (footnote).

124 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

rhizomes he had obtained as D. Filiz-mas from Swiss
pharmacies. He told me he was investigating a poison-
ous compound, by the name of aspidine, if I remember
correctly, present in the rhizomes of D. austriaca, which
makes them unfit for use as an anthelmintic. He was
much distressed when almost all his rhizomes turned out
to belong to D. austriaca. (Dryopteris Filix-mas is also
yery poisonous and its use is therefore gradually being
abandoned. )

With regard to the source of the name Dryopteris
Robertiana, in addition to the leaves being similar in
shape I believe its scent is also supposed to resemble that
of Geranium Robertianum.

Very sincerely yours,
Karl Kramer
Botanisch Museum
Utrecht, The Netherlands

INDEX oF UnusuaL FERNS?

April 30, 1957
Dear Mr. Morton:

Has it ever been the custom in the American Fern
Society to keep a reference list or index of the locations
of unusual ferns? The question came to mind following
the death of Harold Rugg, who knew so much about
ferns, especially in Vermont and New Hampshire. When
a member dies or for some reason loses interest, there is
often no record of his knowledge of fern stations. On
various oceasions Professor Rugg has given me detailed
instruction as to how to find certain ferns. One has to
have these locations pin-pointed. Such general direc-
tions as ‘‘on cliffs on the western shore of Lake Sunapee”’
are not a very helpful guide.

Naturally an index such as mentioned would have to
be confidential or else the station might soon disappear:
The information however could be used by the Society

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 125
in various ways and be available in planning field trips.
Botanical gardens interested in ferns might be a good
place to preserve some of the rarer species and the So-
ciety could be helpful if they knew where the ferns grew.

When a contributor to the journal reports the discoy-
ery of a new station, he could include for the fern index
detailed directions as to its location. Such directions
would not be for publication.

Perhaps such an index exists. Does it?"

Sincerely,
Benjamin R. Allison

CONSERVATION IN FLORIDA?

October, 1956
Dear Mr. Morton:

I was much dismayed to note that Pineola, Florida,
was being overrun by cattle, and that the famous ‘*Buz-
zard’s Roost’’ property was up for sale. Can you get
anyone interested in reporting on these fine fern localities
and their probable future? If they are in danger
enough maybe we can get someone interested in preserv-
ing them.

Sincerely,
Irving Knobloch
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

American Fern Society

Report or tHe New Jersey Meetina.—An informal
meeting of Fern Society members living in New Jersey
and in the metropolitan New York area was held in the
garden of Mr. Thorlief Fliflet, Mountain Lakes, New
Jersey, on June 22, 1957. It was attended by some thirty
members and guests. In the regular garden, large native
ferns have been used as accents in formal designs wher-
ever afternoon shade is available, and they have also been

1No, [Ed.]

126 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

used silhouetted against dark backgrounds. English and
other horticultural varieties have been planted here in
the shade of small trees and shrubs. The fern garden
proper, behind a wall of the regular garden, forms a part
of a woodland that includes a picnic ground with a fire-
place. Here native ferns are arranged along paths, with
the large-growing species set in groups well apart at dif-
ferent levels.

In the house a display of books on ferns was on view,
including Thomas Moore’s ‘‘The Ferns of Great Britain
and Ireland,’’ nature printed, 1857. Spore cultures in
a.Wardian case of plastic cloth placed in a window were
also exhibited. Our Vice-President, Dr. Allison, was
present and addressed some appreciative remarks to the
audience. Later in the day, the group visited the lake-
front garden of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Grunden, where a
variety of ferns and wild flowers have been set out
against a background of great natural beauty.

The species now in cultivation in the Fliflet garden
are the following:

Native AMERICAN SPECIES

Adiantum pedatum
Asplenium platyneuron

otrychium virginianum
Camptosorus rhizophyllus
Cystopteris bulbifera
fragilis
Cryptogramma crispa
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
Dryopteris campyloptera
clintoniana

goldiana
intermedia

Dryopteris marginalis

inulosa

Lygodium palmatum

Matteuecia struthiopteris

Onoelea sensibilis

Osmunda cinnamomea
claytoniana

regalis
Pellaea atropurpurea
Phegopteris connectilis
ryopteri

Polystichum acrostichoides
d erested form
andersonii

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY a2¢

Polystichum braunii Thelypteris palustris
munitum and crested form
Pteridium latiusculum mulata
Thelypteris noveboracensis Woodsia ilvensis
obtusa

Exotic SPECIES AND HORTICULTURAL VARIANTS

Athyrium filix-femina var. corymbiferum
ibid. var. coronatum

ibid. var. pictum
Dryopteris erythrosora
pseudo-mas f. cristata

T. Furwer, Mountain Lakes, N. J.

Growrn or THE AMERICAN Fern Socrmry:—The So-
ciety has continued to grow at an amazing rate, consid-
ering that there has not been any special promotional
campaign for new members. It took 25 years—from 1
to 1946—to get from 300 to 400 members, seven years
more—to 1953—to get from 400 to 500 members, and
now only three and a half years to get from 500 to 615,
the total as of July, 1957. We hope that the new mem-
bers recently enrolled will remain in the Society, for the
largest loss is from new members dropping out after a
It may well be that some numbers of the
ting than others, but this is inevi-
ditors. How-
something of

year or two.
Journal are less interes
table, a matter beyond the control of the e
ever, during a year there is certain to be
interest to all—C. V. M.

New MEMBERS
Mr, Lloyd M. Allen, 9601 Occidental Road, Sebastopol, Calif.

Mrs, Peter Antonelli, 1950 Encina Drive, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Mr, Glenn W. Blaydes, 214 Westwood Road, Columbus 14, Ohio

128 AmeERICAN FERN JOURNAL
Mrs. Okra J. Breindenbaugh, 99 Weber Street South, Waterloo,

Canada

Mr. Bernard Bridgers, 1809 G Street, N. W., eee rete 6, D. C.
rs, R. J. Cronkhite, R. 2, Wap ato, Washingto

Mr. Gilbert R. Weave, 3379 26th Street, San rchiibines 10, Calif.
Mrs. Gordon H. Glidden, Hanover, New Hampshire
Miss Bessie V. Hall, Route 2, Box 837, Exeter, Calif.
Mrs A. Hanlon, 1032 North Main, Gresham, Orego!

_E. Harris, 2162 33rd Street, Sacramento Cc Calif.
fire: tis Harris, Route 3, Box 161, Middletown, Ohio
Dr. S. H. Johnson, 1549 N. Ww. 68th Gtieer. Miami 47, Florida
Mrs. Neoma I. Jost, 4217 Fair Avenue , North Holly wood, Calif.
Mr. Marcel E. Juilly, 86 W. Blithe, 3 Mill Valley, Calif.
Mrs. Henry E. Kineaid, 416 Barry Aven e, Mamaroneck, New York
Mr. William C. Lerche, 383 50th mil, aporeiae’ 9, Calif.
Mrs. Marie Walsh McKennon, P. O. B 155, Morro Bay, Calif.
Miss Joan Muckenthaler, es North Saat Santa Ana, Calif.
Mr. Robert J. Noyes, P. O. Box 559, Marion, North Carolina
Mrs. Raymond B, Plass, 90 Woodland ciel ah 11, Cali

Mrs. Carlos C. Warner, 101 Yale Road, Menlo Park, Cal
Mrs. Ora M. Wilson, 4544 Kensington Drive, San ica - Calif.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

Mr. O. J. Byers, Jr., 45 Via Lucas, San Lorenzo, Calif.

Mrs. Arthur C. Brettle, 159 Pleasant Ave., Hamburg, ©

Mr. Tom ais eo recat of Botany, State Univ ad of
Towa, Iowa City,

Dr. Flora A, Haas, RE. r. D. 2, Apopka, Florida

Mrs. Witstred J. Harley, Ganta Mission, Ganta, L

Miss Emily L. Hartman, Department of Biology, ses State
Polytechnic College, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Miss Isabelle Miller, 3500 Fairview Avenue, Catonsville 28, Md.

Miss Yolanda Orta, 12312 Braddock Drive, Culver City, Calif.

Mr. Howard F. L. Rock, Department of Botany, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.

Mr. Robert Safferman, Box 6, Argyle Road, — 38, New York

Mr. Roy Schreiter, Box 441, Syracuse 1, New Yor

Mr. ioe Truffin, Villa Mercedes, Calle 72, No. ac Marianao,

ay bia L. Wertman, 1201 Whitehead Drive, Monterey Park,

Calif
Mr. Stanford Young, 234 N. Thomas Street, Apt. 4, Arlington, Va.

October-December, 1957 No. 4

American Hern Journal

A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS

Published by the

_ AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY

ie
EDITORS
c. V. MORTON
: R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS
me A. C. SMITH
SF
| CONTENTS ae
le Problem of Polypodium virginianum . IRENE Manton 129_
bberellic Acid and Ferns ~~» om Irvine W. Knosioce 134 oe
plenum adiantum-nigrum in Mexico Rocers McVaueH 16:

n Plantings in the Abraham Lincoln —, oon 138 : S 3 ae

Adi ahtum i ; Co Seite
liantum in Peru: New Species and bination, ies Lie
tations om Cultivated Faime, TV. The Scares Sik
> and Fern-allies of the District of Columbia, ‘Bua a oS
t Fern Literature een 155
and News: Memba ship > Growth Again; New Hew ere ces
Librarian; Inte rnational —- cance ere
— Society: Report « on the ‘New Engin 150

ANNUAL ICRI 3% oR ees

ioc nd-class matter t the. oe

Oe oo et of March, mater at ecept

om BEN ie sid serie ke hak 25, 1920, em
—— ee woe ee

Che American Hern Houciety

Counril for 1957
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR
Ike . Wisemss, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford sata 72 eos

= Sti aac R. ALLISON, 26 Ives Road, Hewlett, L. so. New "York

residen
_ Mitprep E. Faust, Department of Botany, Byam Univer :

a Pema _ Syracuse, New York Secretary

ee ne tae — toaimoetas nn of Botany, University of Kan-
y= ae asurer

: qe v. Maat Ean Smithsonian. Institution, Washington 24,

oe Mastor im Chief

OFFICIAL ORGAN

© Amrieun Ber Sour

fe eee eg SESS Seif
ig ©. V. Morton ... sprint Smithsonian Tnstitution, Washington 25, D. Gee
eo oR ©. Bunzpicr . ae . 2214 Beverly os Brooklyn 26, N. Y. —
‘Tra L. Wicearns .... Day Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. —

- en Sure... National. penne Powiahien, Washington 25, D. C.

ie illustrated guartety devoted to the general study of ferns.
_. Subscription, $2.35 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra; sent si i

_ to members of. ie AMERICA CAN FERN SOCIETY (annual dues,

_ $2.00; sustaining membership, $5.00; life anealieeeeDs $50.00). ee

_ Ext racted 1 oe if ordered in advance, will be f ap
at cost. T meee be ered w Sel ge es rue. ee)

: : Orders ‘for | back numbers and other business communications
Soe agen _“ Treasurer of the Soci iety.

Ampriran Fern Journal

Vou. 47 OcTOBER-DECEMBER, 1957 No. 4

The Problem of Polypodium virginianum'
IRENE Manton

Polypodium virginianum L. can searcely fail to be fa-
miliar to members of the American Fern Society since,
except in the southern United States where its range over-
laps that of a very distinct species (the small sub-
tropical epiphyte P. polypodioides), in the wide sense it
is the only representative of the genus over a large area of
the eastern seaboard of North America from the Caro-
linas to Nova Scotia and Canada. It is perhaps less com-
monly known that it is distinguished from all other temp-
erate species of Polypodium by the presence of very
peculiar glandular organs (paraphyses) among its spo-
rangia. These can be detected with a hand-lens, though
they require the low power of a microscope for details
to be properly seen, since each paraphysis is about the
size of a sporangium but with a number of glandular
hairs on its head (pl. XIV). The function of these curious
organs is not well understood, but they were discovered
to be of very constant oceurrence of Martens’ and his
collaborators who have not only used them for taxonomic
purposes but have also plotted their geographical dis-
tribution. Besides eastern North America, where they
are always to be found, populations of Polypodium with
similiar paraphyses oceur again in China, providing a

1 Prepared for delivery at the annual meeting of the —

Fern Society at Stanford University, August 26, 1957, but unfor-
tunately received too late to be read. [ Ed.]

2 Martens, P. Bull. Jard. Bot. Brux., 17(1). 1943; Martens, P.,
and Pirard, N., La Cellule 49: 385. 1943; Pirard, N., La Cellule 51:
155. 1947.

[ Volume 47, No. 3, of the JOURNAL pP- 89-1
ber 16, 1957.]

28, was issued Octo-

130 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

nice example of a familiar type of disjunct geographical
range (cf. C. DeVol in a recent number of this Journal).

Nevertheless, as one of the troublesome facts which
cytologists discover, we are insufficiently informed as
to what P. virginianum L. actually is. In 1953, we
drew attention to the presence in Canada of two cyto-
types, both of which possessed the characteristic paraphy-

XIV. SPORANGIA AND PARAPHYSES FROM A WILD TRIP LOID
ie :TWEEN TWO CYTOTYPES OF POLYPODIUM VIRGINIANUM
). PLANT FROM ROCKS BELOW GREAT FALLS, VIRGIN

ses though in slightly different frequency.
some numbers were n=37 and n=74 respectively but
since we had no field observations and only one sample of
3 Mantc on, I., and Shivas, M. Two cytological forms of poe
ee virginianum in Ez astern North America. Nature 172: '
95¢

The chromo-

POLYPODIUM VIRGINIANUM 131

each type to study, it was not possible at that time to pur-
sue the matter further.

In the summer of 1955, however, I visited the United
States to attend a scientific conference at Amherst, Mass.,
and I naturally used the oceasion to collect Polypodium
as opportunity offered. I collected and sent to England
one sample from a wood near Amherst. Immediately
after the conference, I attended the June field-meeting of
the Torrey Botanical Club and posted another sample
from a rock near the roadside at the foot of Smuggler’s
Notch in the Green Mountains in Vermont. Later in
July I sent a third sample from a rock near a stream in
the neighbourhood of Durham, North Carolina.

These plants survived the journey well, but the shock
of being transplanted in midsummer prevented the pro-
duction of sporangia till 1957 when they have all been
normally fertile. They have now been examined cytolog-
ically and the results are surprising. The plant from
Smuggler’s Notch is diploid (n = 37) ; that from Amherst
is tetraploid (n = 74), and the plant from North Carolina
is a triploid hybrid.

The detection of a triploid hybrid as far south as Dur-
ham, North Carolina, is a fact of the greatest interest.
It means for one thing that both parental cytotypes must
be present in the State although one or both may be near
the southern limit of its climatic tolerance. Then the
mere existence of spontaneous hybridization tells us some-
thing about the affinities of the two eytotypes, and the
details of chromosome pairing in the hybrid tell us more.
This was very clearly seen in 1957 in many sporangia and
it is of the familiar pattern of pairs and ” univalents
(n in this case being 37). This indicates that though
closely related and indeed in the particular relationship
of parent and descendant (the diploid being the ances-
tral and older type) the tetraploid is nevertheless also re-
lated in equal degree to some other diploid species which

132 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

we have not yet indentified. In other words, the tetra-
ploid is of that particular form of hybrid known as an
allopolyploid or amphidiploid, and it cannot therefore be
regarded as a local mutant or variety of the i ani It
is, genetically speaking, a separate species.

This conclusion is only a theoretical one at present,
since no normal field or herbarium botanist can reason-
ably be expected to handle a species as such as long as it
is only known by its chromosomes. My field notes sug-
gest, however, that this limitation is perhaps only tem-
porary. I believe that morphological and ecological dif-
ferences will be found when more observations can be
made. My very limited personal experience suggests for
example that tetraploids are, sometimes at any rate, char-
acterized by having shorter stipes, a more prostrate
habit, and a tendency to ovate leaf-outline. We also
found evidence of a greatly reduced frequency of para-
physes and larger cells. There might be other characters.
The diploids seem, sometimes at any rate, to have a longer
stipe, a narrower leaf-outline and a more erect habit.
When grown side by side in pot-eulture there is a definite
seasonal difference, the diploids throwing up new fertile
fronds about a fortnight earlier than the tetraploids but
a fortnight later than the triploids, which display ex-
treme hybrid vigour in this and other characters. It is
possible also that the tetraploid is more at home in low-
lying or southern districts while the diploid is almost
montane ; perhaps, differential resistance to summer heat
is involved here

These are, NS ty at present only suggestions based
on far too little evidence. What is now required is con-
certed action to assemble records on a large enough scale
to be significant. Only when this has been done will it
be necessary to consider what they should both be called.
In the Linnaean herbarium in London there is unfortu-
nately no specimen of P. virginianum, so that we may per-
haps never be able to ascertain directly what Linnaeus

POLYPODIUM VIRGINIANUM 133

himself saw, though we have his statement that it came
from the state of Virginia.t Two living plants have ac-
tually been received from Virginia in response to a re-
quest by my former colleague Miss M. Shivas. These have
been fertile this year (1957), though they do not solve the
problem. The first plant proved to be another triploid
and the second a tetraploid. It is possible that the tetra-
ploid is actually more numerous than the diploid in both
the southern states in which triploids have been found,
though both cytotypes must actually be present. The
geographical evidence may therefore perhaps have to be
used to decide where to allocate the Linnean name. This
is an additional reason for needing to assemble fuller data.

This problem is therefore now very definitely at the
stage in which co-operation from local field-botanists
would be of the greatest value. What is needed is in the
first place a collection of Polypodium samples from well-
characterised ecological stations about which notes are
taken. A herbarium specimen to show the original ap-
pearance of the plant in each case (complete with rhi-
zome, leaf, and sporangia, if possible) should also be
taken together with a live piece to be cultivated for a cyto-
logical cheek. If any would-be collector is unable to deal
with the cytology, I will gladly be responsible for it if the
living plant can be posted to me. This is very easy to
do if a few inches of rhizome carrying a leaf or two are
tightly wrapped (perhaps together with some moss to pre-
vent crushing) in a small plastic bag of the type com-
monly sold for use in domestic refrigerators. It may
then be put into a stout envelope and transmitted by letter
or small-sample post, preferably by air. Large parcels
should never be sent. It is also unwise to label the out-
side in a way likely to attract the attention of the British
Customs authorities, who object to “‘live plants’’ but will
generally tolerate without looking at anything that is
called ‘scientific sample of no commercial value.”? In

4 Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1085. 1753.

134 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

every case, the exact place of origin should be clearly
written in pencil with the plant, to avoid mistakes in
labelling.

I would be very grateful to any members of the Fern
Society who would care to contribute plants or informa-
tion or both from any part of the total range of the two
species and I look forward to being able to report prog-
ress in a later number of the Journal.

DEPARTMENT oF Botany, THE University, LEEDS,
ENGLAND.
Gibberellic Acid and Ferns!
Irving W. KNoBLOcH

One of the greatest of all the growth-promoting sub-
stances discovered is gibberellic acid It is prepared from
Fusarium moniliforme and, when properly used, has
a number of startling effects such as speeding up the
growth of plants, the elimination of dwarfism and bien-
nialism, and the changing of the photoperiod of some
plants from long to short day.

Growing ferns from spores demands a great deal of
patience and with this thought in mind, the writer de-
cided to try the above acid on fern spores. Two flower
pots of soil were sterilized. A quantity of fresh spores of
the male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas) were sowed on the
soil of the control pot. An equal quantity of spores from
the same plant were soaked for two hours in an aqueous
solution of gibberellic acid, 10 parts per million, and
sowed upon the soil of another pot.

Unfortunately molds contaminated the control pot and
this has made evaluation of the experiment difficult.
However, the prothallia on the experimental pot were 80
much more numerous and more vigorous than those on the
control pot that it seems safe to conclude that the acid did
have an accelerating effect. It is planned to repeat the

1 Contribution number 95 from the Department of Natural Sei-
ence, Michigan State University.

ASPLENIUM ADIANTUM-NIGRUM 135

experiment upon my return from a sabbatical leave,
using Mexican species as the subjects.

I also experimented with the acid on several plants of
Camptosorus rhizophyllus that I had grown from spores.
The sporelings had, however, stayed in their
cent’’ stage for many weary months. Spraying the
plants with the acid speeded up the growth to a marked
degree,

More detailed and precise experiments will be needed
to assay fully the use of this acid in fern culture. The
acid is still a tool of professional researchers, but I am
aware that it is available for retail sale. Some of our
members may care to experiment with it.*

MicHIGAN State University, East LAnsrne, MICHIGAN.

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum in Mexico
Rogers McVaucH

Tn 1888, C. W. Hope, who was familiar with Asplenium
exiguum Bedd., a common fern of northwestern India,
pointed out to fern specialists at Kew that this species
was indistinguishable from A. glenniei Baker, of Mexico.
This identification was accepted by these specialists with
some reluctance, partly because ‘‘there was a wide inter-
val between Mexico and the western Himalaya.’”* Mod-
ern students of floristies and plant-geography now admit
without hesitation the existence of similarly disjunct
Species-ranges, but it is still an open question how the
plants have become so widely distributed.

"1 Suppleme ere account, I may say t
ies ope chr reg a large variety of trade ames,
% e

Charles Pfizer & Co., 630 Flush ing aa: Brooklyn 6
$4.00 a ; gui, equalling — 000 doses at 10 ppm. Six "months on
the price w

1 Hope,

“Notes on e Aspleniuith Glenniei Baker in Sy wy
Filieum, 2d ‘na: p. 488. Bull. Torr. :

Bot. Club 26: 58-62.

136 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

The anomalous distribution of Aspleniwm exiguum and
several other species of Aspleniwm has been considered
by Ewan as perhaps having resulted from the dispersal
of spores in air-currents in the stratosphere.” At the
time of publication of Ewan’s paper in 1945, three spe-
cies, Asplenium exiguum, A. dalhousiae, and A. adian-
tum-nigrum, were known to him from limited areas in the
southwestern United States but had their principal areas
of distribution in Asia or Eurasia. Only A. exiguum was
known to Ewan to extend its American range southward
into Mexico. A few years later, however, the same writer
reported the discovery of A. dalhousiae at a locality in
Sinaloa.*

It is now possible to report the finding of the third spe-
cies, A. adiantum-nigrum L., in southwestern Chihuahua.
On March 18, 1951, I collected (my no. 11508) a small
species of Asplenium that was growing in tufts on north-
facing rocky slopes in the pine forest about 18.5 miles east
of Guachéchie, Chihuahua (Lat. approximately 26°50’ N.,
Long., 106°56’ W.). The elevation above sea level at this
point was approximately 2500 meters. I submitted the
specimen to my colleague, Dr. W. H. Wagner, Jr., who
identified it provisionally as Aspleniwm adiantum-ni-
grum. I subsequently confirmed this identification by
comparison at the United States National Herbarium
with specimens from both the Old and New World. Mr.
C. V. Morton kindly made the specimens available to me
and aided in the comparisons. The Mexican specimens
are smaller than the average for the species (the fronds
being only 3 to 10 em. long), but plants of comparable
size are not uncommon at the other American localities
from which the plant is known. In other respects the
plant from Chihuahua agrees precisely with normal speci-
mens of A. adiantum-nigrum. Especially characteristic

2 Ewan, Joseph. Sources of the Fern Flora of Colorado. Amer.
Fern Journ. 35: 114-128. 1945.

_ 8Ewan, Joseph. The discovery of Ceterach Dalhousiae in Mex-
ico. Amer. Fern Journ. 38: 65-68. 1948.

ASPLENIUM ADIANTUM-NIGRUM Ey

are the scales of the lower stipe; these are attenuate into
long filiform tips with conspicuous but very narrow
hyaline margins and a single somewhat zigzag row of
dark thickened inner cell-walls. Equally characteristic
are the strong sharp ascending teeth of the pinnules and
their lobes.

It is of interest to note that the same species was col-
lected by OC. G. Pringle (No. 1444) at Arroyo Ancho, Chi-
huahua, on October 15, 1887. This locality (spelled Ar-
royo Aucho on the printed label distributed with Prin-
gle’s specimens) is near ©. Guerrero, about 200 kilome-
ters northwest of the locality at which I found the plant.’
Pringle’s plants were distributed under the name of As-
plenium pumilum Swartz. His collection was made the
type of a new species, A. chihuahuense, by Baker, and was
described again as new, under the provisional name A.
dubiosum, by Davenport. Apparently no one has sug-
gested, heretofore, that Pringle’s specimens belong to A.
adiantum-nigrum.

The nomenclatural history of the American representa-
tives of the latter species may be summarized as follows:
ASPLENIUM ADIANTUM-NIGRUM L. Sp. PI. 1081. 1753.

Asplenium chihuahuense J. G. Baker, Ann. Bot. 5: 305.
Aug. 1891. Type from Chihuahua, Mexico, Pringle
1444 (cited erroneously as 144), presumably in herb.
Kew [K]

Asplenium dubiosum Davenport, Garden & Forest 4:

Oct. 14, 1891, nom. prov. Type from Chihua-
hua, Mexico, Pringle 1444, in herb. Davenport, pre-
sumably now in herb. Gray [GH].

Asplenium andrewsii A. Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soe. Wash-
ington 17: 174. 1904. Type from Colorado, D. M.
Andrews, in the Rocky Mountain Herbarium [RM].

Univursiry or Micutean, ANN Arsor, MICHIGAN.

4 Davis, Helen Burns. Life and Work of Cyrus Guernsey Prin-
gle. pp. 42-44. Burlington, 1936.

138 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Fern Plantings in the Abraham Lincoln
Memorial Garden

ARTHUR R. Lorp

Extending for over a mile along the south shore of
Lake Springfield, within a few miles of the Lincoln Home
and the Lincoln Tomb and of reconstructed New Salem,
is the most uniquely beautiful and enduring of all Lin-
coln memorials, the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden.
It is a memorial in which all who reverence the memory
of our great Civil War president may participate per-
sonally.

This garden, first conceived by the Springfield Civic
Garden Club, was sponsored by the Garden Club of
Illinois in 1932. Sixty acres were assigned to the project
and Jens Jensen, internationally famous landscape archi-
tect, prepared detailed plans, which have been faithfully
carried out for more than twenty years. Hundreds of
garden clubs (local and state), many Lincoln organiza-
tions, and individuals have provided planting materials
and most of the work to date.

The site was farm land with only a handful of trees.
The initial plantings, starting in 1936, were of trees and
shrubs. These are now well grown, so that the under-
planting of the wooded areas can now be undertaken. A
small, statewide committee has been designated for this
underplanting. The undersigned, as the member most
keenly interested in ferns, has that planting particularly
in mind. The first planting of ferns—650 plants of 11
species—took place April 17 to 19, 1957. Many thou-
sands of ferns should find a congenial home in this garden
in the next few years.

The ferns planted in April were purchased rootstalks,
mostly dormant, and, while first class material of its
kind, not nearly so good as freshly collected or home
grown material would have been. Members of the Amer-

ADIANTUM IN PERU 139

ican Fern Society that have fern plantings of their own
or that are able to collect ferns in the wild properly may
wish to make a personal donation to this great memorial
during the next few years. Such contributions should
be forwarded (transportation charges prepaid, please !)
during the Spring or Fall planting seasons to Mrs. T. J.
Knudson, ‘‘Gladacres,’’ Springfield, Illinois, the presi-
dent of the Lincoln Garden Foundation, who devotes
most of her waking hours to the garden.

In selecting plants to send, remember that the garden
has no rock outerops and that the soil, while reasonably
deep and rich in humus, contains almost no rock frag-
ments. Aside from this, the garden affords suitable
habitat for most of the ferns that grow in American
woods and fields in this latitude. There are low, wet
places, sloping banks of ravines, level areas, and rounded
hill crests, wooded and open. Freak ferns and foreign
importations are not desired—just native American ferns
in their wide diversity of form and foliage.

Route 1, Box 113, Patos Park, ILLINOIS.

Adiantum in Peru: New Species
and Combinations

Routua TRYON

In the course of preparation of a manual on the ferns of
Peru,! studies of the genus Adiantum have made neces-
sary two new combinations and the description of two
new species.

Aptantum Poretmu Wikstr. var. sulphureum (Kaulf. )
Tryon, comb. nov.
Adiantum sulphureum Kaulf. Enum. Fil. 207. 1824.
Adiantum chilense Kaulf. var. sulphureum (Kaulf.)
Hicken, Rev. Mus. La Plata 15: 261.

m the National Science Foundation

1 Supported by a grant fro
(NSF G1064).

i
Yfyyy7 LLL EE ——— =
! LSS ————

ABOVE: ADIANTUM SCALARE, A CENTRAL PINNA, THE PUBESCENCE ON THE UNDER SUR-
FACE NOT SHOWN (FROM MEXIA 6162); BELOW: ADIANTUM IMBRICATUM, OUTLINE OF AN
UPPER PINNA AND A BASAL PINNULE ENLARGED (BOTH FROM Bus 1305)

IVNYNOP NYG NvoOIMay

AX Bivig ‘LF ANNA

ADIANTUM IN PERU 141

Apiantum Potreti Wikstr. var. hirsutum (Hook.)

Tryon, comb. nov.

Adiantum hirsutum Hook. in Hook. & Grey. Ie. Fil. t.
173. 1830.

Adiantum chilense Kaulf. var. hirsutum (Hook.) Hi-
eron. Bot. Jahrb. Engler 22: 396. 6

Adiantum Poiretii Wikstr. f. hirsutum (Hook.)
Hicken, Rev. Mus. La Plata 15: 261. 1908.

Adiantum Poiretii var. Poiretui frequently has yellow
wax among the sporangia and this condition grades into
the extreme of var. sulphureum in which the under sur-
face of the segments is densely covered with yellow wax.
Var. sulphureum may also have short to moderately long,
gland-tipped trichomes, in addition to the wax, and there
is a transition from this indument mixture to the extreme
of var. hirsutum with an abundance of long, gland-tipped
trichomes and no wax. For these reasons, as well as the
fact that the two varieties are similar in characters other
than those of the indument to Adiantum Povretii, it seems
appropriate to place them under that species. Probably
Adiantum scabrum Kaulf. also belongs there but I have
not studied it. Although the two variants with indument
might be considered to be merely forms, in Peru the few
collections indicate that they may have ranges of their
own and so represent proper varieties. The relation of
A, Poiretii and its varieties to A. chilense is not entirely
clear, but the latter seems sufficiently distinct on the basis
of its entire rhizome scales. Those of A. Poiretii are
freely to rather sparingly ciliate.

ADIANTUM scalare Tryon, spec nov.

Rhizoma breviter repens. Frondes usque ad 60-75 em.
altas, stipitibus nigrescentibus plus minusve paleaceis
rhachidibus similibus paleaceis. Lamina ovata vel ob-
longo-ovata unipinnata. Pinnae usque ad 8-13 em.
longae elongato-triangulares simplices plerumque auric-
ulatae subtus trichomatibus longis brunneis praeditae,
utroque latere sorum unicum ferentes.

142 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Typus: Rio Santiago, Department of Loreto, Peru,
Mexia 6162 (UC). Isotypes are in the Gray Herbarium,
the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Academy of Nat-
ural Sciences, Philadelphia.

This is a distinctive species without evident relation-
ships, although it is probably to be placed in the A. lucz-
dum-A. Poeppigianum alliance. Other collections that
I have seen, both from Peru, are: Rio Pichis, Dept. Junin,
Killip & Smith 26741 (F, GH, NY), and Mouth of Rio
Santiago, Dept. Amazonas, Tessmann 4276 (NY).
ADIANTUM imbricatum Tryon, spec. nov.

Rhizoma ignotum. Frondes usque ad 12-30 cm. altas,
stipitibus atropurpureis pubescentibus brunneis vel glab-
ratis, rhachidibus axibusque similibus pubescentibus.
Lamina elongato-oblonga vel elongato-triangularis bi-
pinnata. Segmenta late cuneato-flabellata vel suborbic-
ulata plus minusve symmetrica_ plerumque imbricata
subtus pubescentia; sori rotundi vel opbiealnies reni-
formes plerumque adjacentes.

Typus: Rio Mapillo, La Tranca, Department of Cuzco,
Peru, Biies 1377 (US). Isotypes at the University of
Cuzco (Herb. Vargas), Chicago Natural History
Museum, and the Gray Herbarium.

This species is evidently related to A. Ruizianum KI.
(A. Veitchianum Moore, A. Steerei Harr., A. microsorum
C.Chr.) and to A. sessilifolium. From the former it differs
in the pubescent segments and axes of the lamina, and the
more or less imbricate segments with rather short stalks;
the stalk color stops abruptly at the base of the segment.
In A. Ruizianum, the lamina is glabrous, the segments
spaced, with rather long stalks, and the color enters the
base of the segment. From <A. sessilifolium the present
species differs in its roundish sori, stalked segments, and
glabrous indusia. In A. sessilifoliwm the sori are lunate,
many segments are nearly sessile, and the indusia are
pubescent.

I am indebted to Dr. César Vargas for the privilege of

SPECIES OF DAVALLIA 143

examining the ferns in his herbarium, including a large
set of the Christian Biies collections, and for making the
duplicate specimens of this new species, now at the Gray
Herbarium and the Chicago Natural History Museum,
available. Other collections that I have seen, also from
the Department of Cuzco, Peru, are: La Tranea, Biies
1305 (US), and Puenta Collopafi, Biies 1303 (US).
Missouri BoranicaL GARDEN, St. Louis, Missouri.

Observations on Cultivated Ferns, IV.
The Species of Davallia

C. V. Morton

The genus Davallia has no true ‘‘popular’’ name, al-
though various species are reputed to be called ‘‘Squir-
rels-foot-fern,’’ ‘‘Hare’s-foot-fern,’’ and ‘‘Ball-fern.”’
The scientific name Davallia may very well serve, for it is
euphonius and easily remembered. The number of spe-
cies in cultivation in the United States is uncertain ; thir-
teen are listed in L. H. Bailey’s Standard Cyclopedia of
Horticulture, but it is doubtful that so many are really
being grown currently, except perhaps in a few botanical
gardens.

The plants of this genus are epiphytes (or “‘air-
plants’’) as they grow naturally in the wild, and conse-
quently they are best cultivated in hanging baskets.
They are not difficult in warm regions or in greenhouses,
and are to be highly recommended for their graceful form
and (usually) evergreen habit, and for their ease of prop-
agation. The elongate, creeping rhizomes, densely cov-
ered with brown or whitish ornamental scales, can be
broken apart, and the sections will form new plants
readily.

Botanically, the species of Davallia are not well known.
About 80 species are currently recognized in the Index
Filicum, but there are surely not that many that are
really distinguishable. We are grateful to Dr. R. E.

144 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Holttum for pointing outt a character of the rhizome
scales that will divide the species into two groups. In
many species, such as Davallia denticulata, the margins
of the scales are toothed, the teeth being composed of the
marginal cells themselves, each tooth formed from two
adjacent cells. Thus the tooth is, so to speak, two-celled
at base and has a cell wall for a midrib. Toward the apex
of the tooth the dividing wall becomes thinner and is not
obvious. Such teeth are mostly a little curved or hooked
toward the apex; however, sometimes they are nearly
straight, and fairly long—perhaps up to about 0.3 mm.
long. The other group of species, as typified by D. solida,
has entire or subentire scales that are pilose on the mar-
gins. The hairs are long, often 1 mm. long or more, and
are borne as an outgrowth from a single marginal cell.
They are multicellular and have many obvious cross-walls.
In dried material at least, they are usually curled and
erinkly. These hairs are borne mostly above the middle
of the scale, and especially near the apex; they are often
deciduous, and are not to be found on old or abraded
scales. In fact, in this group of species the whole apex of
the scale is apt to fall, leaving only the dark-colored pel-
tate bases along the old rhizomes. Sometimes, the pilose-
margined scales also have a few two-celled teeth similar to
those of the denticulate-margined scales.

The most ornamental species are probably D. canari-
ensis and D. fejeensis, both of which have finely divided
fronds and pilose scales. The Australian D. pyaxidata is
another species of the same alliance. Perhaps these spe-
cies are not common in cultivation. At least, all the spec-
imens that I have seen from plants sold or cultivated in
southern California as canariensis or pyxidata are D. trt-
chomanoides, which is easily distinguished by its much
slenderer rhizome, with persistent, brown or whitish,
spreading, denticulate scales which are not at all pilose at

1In his Ferns of Malaya, in the discussion under Davallia and
Humata.

1S as ea ea ea ee

’ SpEcIES OF DAVALLIA 145

apex. In scale characters, D. trichomanoides is close to
Humata Tyermannii, which is also in cultivation in the
Los Angeles area, perhaps sometimes under the name Dav-
allia Griffithiana.22. Humata tyermanniz is extremely sim-
ilar in vegetative form and perhaps difficult to distinguish
in sterile condition. Fertile plants are readily distin-
guishable by the indusia, which are euplike in Davallia,
and merely roundish flaps, attached only at the base, in
umata,

Key To THE CoMMONER SPECIES

Seales of ote rhizome toothed and not pe the teeth short, each
mposed of two exeurrent marginal
Indusium a ideas ee flap attached only at the base
Hu ‘ada Tyermannii
Indusium ecuplike or tubular.
Stipe less than 1 mm. in diameter ; blade and veo @ ee
aeute but not ginal ide ten ca BP eR ene D. iesii
Stipe 1-1.5 mm. in diam
Leaf tissue with ak oe false veins’’) cage the true
TVOLTIG, sessctissoctsesssscsiectccecnnncscculnandevansqreeeunsdcetynsoesmenregondlesegors . denticulata
Leaf tissue without false veins.
hizome scales broad (1 mm. wide or more) and gradually
tapering to the apex ._D, divaricata.
bauer scales narrow, ar aheansle. narrowed above the
..D, trichomanoides
Seales of the Sdaee poneing ‘fone. “multiseptate pore on the
argins near the apex, and sometimes a few teeth a
2

Rhizome 8-1 thick, covered with persistent, large ‘aanibe.
these with brown bases and centers, and broad pale margins.
. canariensis

Rhizome thinner, mostly 5-7 mm. in diameter, the scales with a
ackish base, which is persistent after the fall of the rest
of the scale.

Blades ee divided, the ultimate segments aagts and one-
nerve . fejeensis
Blades coarser, the “ultimate pee ‘povoral- ees

Indusium cuplike, barely longer than broad ....... D. le tag

Indusium ‘abate, much longer than broad... ..D. solida

2 The true D. Grifithiana, or Humata Griffithiana, i is a species,
similar to Humata Tyermannii, that may not be in cultivation.

146 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Davauuia Marrestt Moore ex Baker, Ann. Bot 5: 201.
1891.

This species, a native of Japan, has been known in culti-
vation for many years, but is only just now becoming com-
mon. Currently, large numbers of the rhizomes are being
imported from Japan, bound up by wires into the form of
a monkey, which is intended to be hung up in a green-
house or porch. They are provided with a small porce-
lain monkey’s head. As they are imported, the rhizomes
are barren of leaves, but these appear later, after water-
ing is begun.

DAVALLIA DENTICULATA (Burm.) Mettenius ex Kuhn, Fil.
Deck. 27. 1867; Fil. Afr. 27. 1868.
This is one of the larger and more graceful species. I
have seen a cultivated specimen distributed from the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, under the name D. elegans.

Davatu1a pivaricata Blume, Enum. Plant. Jav. 237.
1828.

Another large and elegant species. The cultivated ma-
terial that I have seen is from the New York Botanical
Garden (Everett 134 and 135). It is quite possible that
the plants that are listed in Bailey’s Cyclopedia and in
Hortus II as D. pallida Mettenius are really D. divaricata.
The true pallida, from Borneo and Aneityum, must be an
extremely rare species; there are no specimens in the
U.S. National Herbarium.

DAVALLIA TRICHOMANOIDES Blume, Enum. Plant. Jav. 238.
1828.

Davallia bullata Wallich ex Hooker, Sp. Fil. 1: 169.
pl. 50

As mentioned above, this species has been passing ¢T-
roneously in cultivation as D. canariensis; the differences

SPEectIES OF DAVALLIA 147

have already been mentioned. Davallia bullata has us-
ually been considered as a distinct species, but it is re-
duced to a mere form by Backer and Posthumus® as forma
barbata(v. A. v. R.) Backer & Posthumus. Typical tricho-
manoides is said to have light yellow-brown rhizome
scales, strongly incised lobes, and sori facing upwardly on
distinctly upwardly dilated segments, and f. barbata red-
brown scales, less strongly incised lobes, and sori on short
segments that are only slightly or not at all upwardly di-
lated, or the sori placed along the margins of larger lobes.
The significance of these characters is open to doubt. I
have seen specimens from the gardens in Los Angeles of
Mrs. Fay MacFadden (MacFadden 26870), Lawndale
Greenhouses (B. Joe 554), A. W. Roberts (B. Joe 571),
Turner’s Shade Gardens (B. Joe 509), D. Behrends, and
Dr. W. C. Drummond (Drummond 42).

DaAVALLIA CANARIENSIS (L.) J. E. Smith, Mem. Acad.
Turin 5: 414.

This, the type species of Davallia, and the longest
known, has the typical ‘‘Atlantic’’ distribution, being
found naturally in Grand Canary Island, Teneriffe, Ma-
deira, and Portugal. It is perhaps not common in eultiva-
tion except in botanical gardens. I have seen specimens
cultivated in the Botanical Garden, Berlin-Dahlem, and
in Tangier, Morocco.

DAVALLIA FEJEENSIS Hooker, Sp. Fil. 1: 166. pl. 55d.
1846.

This common and ornamental species is found natur-
ally only in the Fiji Islands, where it is apparently not
uncommon. It is probably a local development from the
widespread D. solida, but appears to me to be a valid
species at the present time. I have seen specimens from
the New York Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park, San

3 Varenflora voor Java 101. 1939.

148 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Francisco, the Lake Charm Nursery, Oviedo, Florida,
from the gardens of St. Mary’s College, Port of Spain,
Trinidad, and from the gardens of Mr. L. Graner and Mr.
Alfred Roberts, both of Los Angeles, California.

DaVALLIA PYxIDATA Cavanilles, Descr. 278. 1802.

This Australian endemic is perhaps not common. The
only cultivated specimen that I have seen is from the Bo-
tanical Garden, Bonn, Germany.

DaVALLia souipa (Forster) Swartz in Schrad. Journ. Bot.
1800, pt. 2: 87. 1801.

The lobes of the fronds of this species are broader than
any other species, and the whole aspect is coarse. Conse-
quently, this is not an especially desirable plant for small
greenhouses. <As it occurs naturally in Polynesia, it is ex-
tremely variable, and there are perhaps several distin-
guishable segregates that could be recognized conven-
iently. In Los Angeles, it is cultivated by Mr. Alfred
Roberts and Mrs. Yolanda Orta, and doubtless by many
others.*

SMITHSONIAN INstTITUTION, WasHINeTON, D. C.

* From ei eis of about 60 years, the sale of the “ball-
fern,” D. sii, may be reported as of long standin do

Riverton, N. J., long
mended it highly as a house - ant. Despite its native a bre
habit, it was suece fully grown in a humus soil mixture in pots.
The most disti srt species D. Ht phon tole is probably still in
botanic garden collections.—R.C.B

FERNS OF District oF COLUMBIA 149

Ferns and Fern-allies of the District of Columbia
S. F. Buake

Although the pteridophytes of the District of Columbia
have been included in three local or regional fern floras
published within the last 30-odd years, it is still not
possible to draw up from the literature a precise cata-
log of the species that have actually been found within
District limits. W. R. Maxon’s list! of 1919, despite its
title, was essentially identical (except for the omission of
Marsilea) with the treatment he prepared for Hitchcock
and Standley’s ‘‘Flora of the District of Columbia and
vicinity,’’ published in the same year, which covered a
radius of about 15 miles around the Capitol and took in
adjacent bits of Maryland and Virginia that include
some ecological habitats not duplicated in the District.
These lists included ‘‘56 species’’ (actually, besides 2
recognized hybrids with specific names, 54 species as
interpreted by Maxon, 53 species and 1 variety according
to Broun’s Index, or 52 species and 2 varieties as here
interpreted), as well as two additional hybrids not pro-
vided with specific names and (in the D. C. Flora) a
single adventive species, Marsilea quadrifolia, which was
no longer known to occur. However, at least eleven spe-
cies and three of the hybrids were cited only from named
localities outside of the District, and some other species
for which the occurrence was less definitely stated also be-
long in this category. An interesting account of the
varied habitats of the District of Columbia region and
their characteristic ferns may be found in Maxon’s paper
in the Fern Journal.

C. F. Reed’s ‘‘County distribution of the ferns and
fern-allies in Maryland, Delaware and District of Colum-

1 Ferns of the District of Columbia. Amer. Fern Journ. 9: 38-48.
919

150 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

bia’ definitely lists for the District only 16 species.
In the same author’s ‘‘The ferns and fern-allies of Mary-
land and Delaware including District of Columbia”’
(1953, p. 14) the statement is made that the number ‘‘is
perhaps nearer twenty,’’ but dots indicating definite
records for over 30 species are shown on his distribution
maps, and in some other cases, where the dot is not
clearly indicated as inside the District, there is substan-
tiating material in the U. 8. National Herbarium, so that
the number of species in the District on the basis essen-
tially of the data given in his own work should be about
40. Dr. Reed informs me that he had in mind only the
present or recent occurrence of species in the District,
but even so his figure of 20 is much too low. However,
I have not been able to verify the local occurrence of
two species (Botrychium matricariaefolium, Dryopteris
goldiana) that he indicates by dots.

In view of the indefiniteness of the available lists, it
seems worth while to present a catalog restricted to those
pteridophytes actually known to have occurred within
the present limits of the District of Columbia. This area
of 69.24 square miles (about 61 being land) is for the
most part thickly settled, and favorable habitats for
ferns are few. Although park areas of one sort oF
another occupy about 15% of the total acreage of the
region, the only large area that is still in a fairly thickly
wooded condition, affording appropriate habitats for a
variety of ferns, is Rock Creek Park. The upper stretch
of this park, really the only territory inside District
limits that is suitable for many ferns, is about 2.5 miles
long and 0.8 mile wide, varying from about 60 to 340
feet above sea level, and is extensively cut up by Rock
Creek and the little gullies carved by its occasional trib-
utaries. Unfortunately much of its surface is oceupied

? Bull. Nat. Hist. Soc. Maryland 13: 47-54. 1 fig. (map). 1943.
(Mimeographed.)

Ferns or District or COLUMBIA 151

to a continually increasing extent by that worst pest
among eastern weeds, the Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera
japonica, which quickly smothers practically all herbs and
eventually even much of the woody vegetation. Of the
40 native species (31 Filicineae and 9 allies, plus 1
hybrid and 4 adventive species) here reported from the
District, over three-quarters have been found in Rock
Creek Park, although some of them (Athyrium pycno-
carpon, Camptosorus rhizophyllus, Dryopteris clinton-
jana, Woodwardia areolata, and perhaps others) are
probably now extinct there. The absence of most of the
8 species that are lacking—these being Lycopodium
inundatum, L. tristachyum, Isoétes riparia, Ophioglos-
sum vulgatum, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Pellaea atro-
purpurea, Pteridium aquilinum, and Woodwardia vir-
ginica—can be attributed to the lack of suitable habitats,
but some of them (at least Pteridium, possibly Ophio-
glossum and Lycopodium tristachyum) may yet be found
in the Park.

The following 14 species (plus 2 hybrids) not known
from the District itself have been found in the District
of Columbia region, the circle 15 miles in radius with
the Capitol as a center: Lycopodium alopecuroides L.,
L. carolinianum L., L. clavatum L. ; Selaginella rupestris
(L.) Spring; Isoétes engelmannn A. Br. (var. valida
Engelm.) ; Botrychium matricariaefolium A. Br.; Lygo-
dium palmatum (Bernh.) Swartz; Asplenium montanum
Willd., A. pinnatifidum Nutt., x Asplenosorus ebenoides
(R. R. Scott) Wherry, Cheilanthes lanosa (Michx.) D. C.
Eaton, Cystopteris bulbifera (L.) Bernh., x Dryopteris
boottii (Tuckerm.) Underw., D. goldiana (Hook.) Gray,
D. simulata Davenp., Polypodium polypodioides (L.)
Watt (var. michauxianum Weatherby).

For assistance in the preparation of this paper I am
indebted to James E. Benedict, Jr., R. F. Blasdell, W.
Drew Chick, Dr. R. T. Clausen, Dr. G. R. Fessenden,

152 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Dr. F. J. Hermann, Dr. James Kezer, C. V. Morton,
P. L. Ricker, Dr. C. F. Reed, Dr. W. H. Wagner, Jr.,
and Dr. E. T. Wherry.

Pteridophytes of the District of Columbia
EQUISETACEAE

EQUISETUM ARVENSE L.
EQvUISETUM HYEMALE L. var. PSEUDOHYEMALE (Farw.) Morton.

LYCOPODIACEAE

LYCOPODIUM COMPLANATUM IL, var, FLABELLIFORME Fer
LYCoPoDIUM INUNDATUM L. var. BIGELOVII Tuckerm. (including
L. adpressum (Chapm.) Lloyd & Underw.). Kenilworth and Dean

YCOPODIUM TRISTACHYUM Pur sh. Sandy soil on edge of pine-
woods, eet gton i exact locality not recorded), 1926, Blake
9312 (U. 8. oe Herb.). This is the sterile, nearly non-glaucous
form occurring in woods.

SELAGINELLACEAE

SELAGINELLA APODA (L.) Fern.

ISOETACEAE

Isoires RIPARIA Engelm. var. PALMERI (A. A. Eaton) Proctor
f. SAccHARATA (Engelm.) Proctor. Shore of Anacostia River
opposite Navy Yard, 1900, E. 8. Steele. (Identified by Proctor.)

OPHIOGLOSSACEAE

BorTrYCcHIUM er ithe Spreng. Typical form, also var.

coraiees oe Clu
TRYCHIUM MATRICARIAEFOLIUM A. Br. Collected in Rock
ona Pak a the Army Medical Center, Bethesda, Mont-
gomery Co., Md., about a mile = nd D, C. Boundaries, 13 June
1943, by Dr. James Kezer (Wiegan a. Herbarium, Cornell Univ.) 5
and by others in nearby Maryland but somewhat farther from the
District line. May yet be found serene Re limits in the Park.]
OTRYCHIUM VIRGINIANUM (L.) S
OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM L. var. Leceushionbe Fern.

Ferns or District oF COLUMBIA 153

OSMUNDACEAE
OSMUNDA CINNAMOMEA L. Typical form, also var. glandulosa
Water
Oatiosens CLAYTONIANA L,
OSMUNDA REGALIS L. var. SPECTABILIS (Willd.) Gray.

PoOLYPODIACEAE

ADIANTUM PEDATUM

ASPLENIUM PLATYNEURON uit Oakes.

ASPLENIUM TRICHOMA

ATHYRIUM FILIX-FEMINA Re ) Roth var. ASPLENIOIDES (Michx.)
Farw. Common. Var. michauaxii (Spreng.) Farw. [A. angustum
aes ) Pratt was once collected aay in Suey Chase, D. C., at

and MeKinley Sts., as a volunteer ae near a house (G. 8S.
. Herb.)

ns amieson and E. T. bid ry, in’ U, erb.).
ATHYRIUM PYCNOCARPON (Spreng.) se
ATHYRIUM THELYPTERIOIDES (Michx.) Desv.

U Link.

CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS (L.) Ber * R. F. Blasdell, who is study-
ing the variations of ot pgeene: reports that one iene ieee
by Wherry (Gray Herb.) in shington in 1927 belongs to
mackayi Lawson, and that hes ‘in other sheet available, aniiseen
by D. L. Topping (U. 8. Nat. Herb.) in 1895 in the Zoological
Park (Rock Creek Park) Lek rhizome hs agrees with var.
protrusa Weatherby in aspect and spore size.

DENNSTAEDTIA PUNCTILOBULA (Michx.) Moore.

DRYOPTERIS AUSTRIACA (Jacq.) Woynar var, INTERMEDIA ( Willd.)

Nat. Herb.) labeled District of
SW: Henkinw, Var. spinulosa (Miill.) Fiori
is 2 spinulosa). Rock Creek Park, near Piney Branch, 1899, Maxon
ioe bebkeh CLINTONIANA (D. C. Eaton) Dowell. Formerly at
one station in Rock Creek Park, where last observed by
a Jr., in 1949 (specimen ‘collected by him in 1924, U. 8.
. Her

pee cristata (L.) @
DRYOPTERIS HEXAGONOPTERA ( Michi ) Christ
x DRYOPTERIS LEEDS Wherry (D. goldiana ak. Valley
of Rock Creek near west end of Calvert St. Bridge, 1926, Wherry.

DRYOPTERIS NOVEBORACENSIS (L.) Gray.
DRYOPTERIS THELYPTERIS (L.) Gray var. PUBESCENS (Lawson)

Nakai.

154 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

MATTEUCCIA STRUTHIOPTERIS (L.) Tod. var. PENSYLVANICA
(Willd.) Morton. Known as a native only from Theodore Roosevelt
(formerly Analostan) Island in the Potomac at Georgetown, where
collected in 1955 by Guy L. Michener of the National Park Service
(U. S. Nat. Herb.). Has been introduced at Dumbarton Oaks,
I am informed.

.. SENSIBILIS L,

oleae TROPURPUREA (L.) Link. Typical form and f. cristata
(Trel.) C

ened VULGARE L, var. VIRGINIANUM (L.) E

POLYSTICHUM ACROSTICHOIDES (Michx.) Schoth. fA form
and f. inciswm (Gray) Gilbert

ERIDIUM AQUILINUM (L.) Kuhn var. LaTIUSCULUM (Desv.)
Underw.

(PTERIS MULTIFIDA Poir. Small clumps of the non-cristate form

in two openings covered with gratings in the sidewalk on 2nd St.,
E., near East Capitol Lon geieg 1956 and 1957, F. .

(Preris virtata L. F, N. Irving (Amer. Fern Journ, 33: 28.
1943) reports this cultivated Chinese species as surviving for
several years outdoors from spores that germinated on the brick
foundation of a government greenhouse in Washington.)

Woopsia optusa (Spreng.) Torr.

WoopwarDIA AREOLATA (L.) Moore.

WoopwarDIA ViIRGINICA (L.) Smith.

MARSILEACEAE

(MARSILEA QUADRIFOLIA L, According to car in Hitchcock
and Standley (Flora of bd District of ones bia and vicinity,
Contr. U. 58. 19

written in 1886 and preserve the National Herbarium along

ith specimens of the species collected by an in the
same year, gives the history of the rs engi The nt was
first noticed in 1880, about May, in mds in whic

received a couple of months before from Munich packed in moss,
and he suspected that the conceptacles of quadrifolia had been in
the same package. By August it had spread over 10 or 12 square

REecENT Fern LITERATURE 155

feet in the Idus pond, at which time he received more of the same
species from the Harvard Botanical Garden. The “M. salontrix”
disappeared in the cold winter of 1880-81 but the quadrifolia per-
sisted and became so harmful to other vegetation that he attempted
to destroy it. ‘‘The west pond 6 years ago was an open water and
there came some conceptaculas perhaps through the drain pipe
of the Idus pond, when this pond was cleaned out from there farther
out to the Potomac, where they were found lately from [sic] the
botanists.’? The last statement is evidently the basis for the
suggestion in the District Flora that ‘‘it has perhaps escaped to
the river,’’ but there is no specimen to support it in the National

rbar
knowing, but it has been extinct for many years. The fact that
it was unintentionally introduced and persisted and spread to
some extent for at least half a dozen years entitles it to mention
as an adventive plant, but it is of course not a countable element
in the D ra.)

SALVINIACEAE

(AZOLLA CAROLINIANA Willd. Established at Kenilworth
Aquatic Gardens, 1950 (F. J. Hermann 11659; U. 8. Nat. Herb.,
U. S. Nat. Arb

Pianr InpustRY STATION, BELTSVILLE, MARYLAND.

Recent Fern Literature

Lenr, J. Harry. AN ANNOTATED PRELIMINARY CaTA-
LOGUE OF THE VascuLAR FLorA oF RocKLAND COUNTY,
New Yorx.—In a first installment of this Catalogue,’ Mr.
Lehr deals with the ferns of Rockland County, the County
across the Hudson River from Westchester County. It
has some 1700 square miles, and is undergoing rapid
‘“suburbanization’’ due to its nearness to New York City.
The main objective of this Catalogue is to set down accu-
rate records of the plant species of the county before fur-
ther destruction of the original native flora has taken
place. Besides the changes that advancing civilization
is bringing about, Mr. Lehr reports that the County flora
has had relatively little earlier floristic study; plant col-
lections and records are scanty.

1 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 83: 435-438. 1956.

156 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

From the standpoint of fern students, the list offers
several points that seem worth noting. Out of the total
of 44 named species (excluding subspecific taxa) listed,
it is stated that for more than one third this is ‘‘the first
definite record.’’ The total of 44 is of interest when
compared with the list of 78 species reported for the ad-
joining state of New Jersey by Chrysler and Edwards.’
Although much of this disparity can be accounted for by
the much larger area of the state and its much greater di-
versity in topographic features and habitats, there is still
a wide difference in numbers of fern types when only the
areas of New Jersey contiguous to Rockland County are
considered. Mr. Lehr lists four species and two varieties
of Botrychium in Rockland but does not include two of
the little species, simplex and lanceolatum, for which
there are numerous reports for the adjacent New Jersey
counties. Of the species listed for the polypody family,
broadly interpreted, several for which frequent collec-
tions are indicated in nearby New Jersey do not appear
in the Rockland list, e.g., three spleenworts, Pellaea gla-
bella, and Cystopteris bulbifera. The greater extent of
limestone areas in New Jersey may account for the fre-
quency of the five preceding species, but it would not ex-
plain the absence of Woodsia ilvensis in Rockland County.
Unless the natural wild areas of Rockland have become
too extensively “‘civilized,’’ it seems likely that the more
extensive study Mr. Lehr proposes will turn up a fair
number of the missing species. From my own field expe-
rience in northern New Jersey and in the parallel areas of
western Connecticut, I should expect that the present lone
collection of Dryopteris Boottii may be multiplied several
times. In this connection, however, neighboring areas of
New Jersey may offer a precedent for what is taking place
in Rockland County: Some of the formerly most prolific
stations for several Dryopteris hybrids—West Engle-

2Ferns of New Jersey. 1947.

RECENT FERN LITERATURE 157

wood, for example—no longer harbor even the parent
species.

One other point: In an attempt to promote standard-
ization of English names for the fern species, Mr. Lehr
has adopted one such name for each type. I am heartily
in favor of the objective, although I differ with respect to
a few of the names chosen. The use of ‘‘shield fern’’ for
Dryopteris seems to me much less desirable than the name
‘‘wood fern,’’ which has in its favor the eclassie D. C.
Eaton volumes, and the more recent usage of Standard-
ized Plant Names in which it was supported by a com-
mittee consisting of W. R. Maxon, C. A. Weatherby, and

rton. All but the fragrant fern of our species of
this genus are wood denizens. The term ‘‘shield’’ refers
to the indusium which is not really shield- shaped but

[‘‘kidney-fern’’] for Dryopteris.s An added point is
found in the British use of ‘‘shield fern’’ for Polystichum.
—R. C. BENEDICT.

‘“A Manual of Aquatic Plants,’ is available again in
a revised edition that the author unfortunately did not
live to complete. The area covered is from the Gulf of St.
Lawrence south to Virginia and west to Minnesota and
Missouri, approximately the Gray’s Manual range. Aqua-
tie ferns are few and far between, consisting chiefly of
Marsilea, Azolla, and Salvinia. However, the fern- allies
Equisetum and Isoétes contain a number of aquatic spe-
cies, and these are treated and illustrated by Dr. Fassett.
The enlarged drawings of the quillwort spores will be use-
ful in the identification of material —C. V.
as it seems from Hegi, in Germany also the name
Schildarn (hel Paste is Revised edition, + | eo
jiceens Cc. “Ogd en. pp. 1-405. sop jee ity of Wisconsin Press,
Madison, Wisconsin. 1957 ($6.50

158 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Notes and News

MempersHip GrowtH AGAIN.—The rapid growth of the
American Fern Society was noted in the last number of
the Journal, and now, as will be noted on the last pages of
this number, we have the largest number of new members
yet—55 in the last three months. These new members
were largely gained through an article on growing ferns
from spores in the August issue of Sunset Magazine. We
welcome these new members and trust that they will find
material of interest in the Fern Journal and valuable con-
tacts among the other members of the Society. The next
number of the Journal will contain a non-technical article
on growing ferns from spores; and the new membership
list now in preparation should assist members in making
new contacts.—C. V. M.

New Curator AND LiprariAN.—Because of his move
from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Dr. Rolla M. Tryon,
Jr., felt obliged to resign as Curator and Librarian.
The Society is exceedingly grateful to Dr. Tryon for his
services during the last ten years. The Council has ap-
pointed Dr. Warren H. Wagner, Jr., Department of
Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
as the new Curator and Librarian. Members wishing
to borrow specimens from the herbarium or books from
the library should correspond with Dr. Wagner.

INTERNATIONAL BotanicaL Conaress, First Notice.—
The Ninth International Botanical Congress will be held
in Montreal, Canada, from August 19 to 29, 1959, at Me-
Gill University and the University of Montreal. The pro-
gram will include papers and symposia related to all
branches of pure and applied botany. It is not too early
for Fern Society members to make plans to attend, and
especially to begin to prepare papers for delivery at the
meetings. There will undoubtedly be several meetings for
fern papers, and several field-trips, probably to the Hud-
son’s Bay area, Labrador, and other parts of Canada. A
first circular giving information on program, accommo-

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 159

dation, excursions, and other details will be available
early in 1958. This circular and subsequent circulars,
including application forms, will be sent only to those
who write to the Secretary-General asking to be placed on
the Congress mailing list: Dr. C. Frankton, Secretary-
General, [X International Botanical Congress, Science
Service Building, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Mareh 11, 1957
Dear Mr. Morton:

Your name and address were given to me by Mrs. Gee
of the American Begonia Society. I also note you are like
myself a member of the British Pteridological Society,
being the reason for this letter. Although I am a keen
grower of hardy ferns, I have a deeper interest in the
greenhouse species, which have disappeared from all
erowers’ lists and have become very rare over here.
Could you put me in touch with anyone in the United
States who is a grower of these, with a view to exchanging
seeds and so forth. Unfortunately we have very little
in the way of fern spores, but I can supply seeds of dou-
ble begonias, carnations, and other seeds. I am endeav-
oring to get together a collection of Adiantums, including
the pink-tinted varieties, ferns coated with farinaceous
powder, and Selaginellas. Of these I have only a few.
I am erecting a new section to my greenhouse for the
purpose of housing my ferns. Hoping you can assist me,

I remain,
Yours faithfully
G. French, 28 Saleot Crescent, New
Addington, Croyden, Surrey, England

American Fern Society
Report on the New England Field-trip
The New England Committee of the American Fern
Society planned and carried out a very enjoyable field-
trip in the vicinity of Rutland, Vermont, on July 12 and

160 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

13, 1957. Aside from the work of the New England Com-
mittee, the success of the meetings was due to the expert
guidance of Mr. Henry Potter, a local farmer-naturalist,
whose accession as a new member was a welcome event.
The headquarters for the trip was the Wallingford Inn,
Wallingford, Vermont, and from there the group as a
whole or parties took off to explore the following areas:

On Friday, July 12, we went to Proctorsville Gulf
where a profusion of ferns on both sides of the road
yielded 27 species, including Polystichum Braunii and
Athyrium pycnocarpon, rare in this region. Lunch at
the White Rocks Pienie Area added one thrill for Mrs.
Perey Adams, who arrived ahead of the group and saw
a black bear walk across the road in front of her car and
through the picnic area.

In the afternoon Pitcher Mountain in Clarendon was
explored by 24 of the group, and eight species of ferns
were added to the morning’s count. High up on a cliff
a few hardy climbers located Pellaea atropurpurea and
Asplenium Ruta-muraria, while others on hands and
knees found many specimens of five small grape ferns
(Botrychium dissectum, B. lanceolatum, B. matricarii-
folium, B. multifidum and B. obliquum) as well as the
larger B. virginianum.

The evening was spent marvelling at Charlie Neidorf’s
beautifully mounted and expertly photographed ferns
(displayed in the hotel lobby) and in viewing some of
Maurice Broun’s color slides of ferns as shown by Miss
Helen Bristow.

On July 13, 31 people, a pet fox, and a boxer tramped
for an hour through mossy woods and by a mountain
brook in Sugar Hollow for a sight of a remarkably south-
ern station of Dryopteris Filix-mas. This was found at
the entrance of cool, moist caves opening into an old silver
mine. Dryopteris austriaca was growing in the area also
at the low altitude of 1000 feet, and on the ledge above

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 161

was found Cryptogramma Stelleri.

- In the afternoon the group split into two parties, one
party searching rocky mountain areas and adding noth-
ing new to the list, while the rest explored a quaking bog
near Wallingford and found more than 19 types of bog-
plants including Lycopodium inundatum and three or-
chids—Calopogon, Rose Pogonia, and one of the Haben-
arias.

The scheduled activities of the group were concluded
with an informal meeting Saturday evening in which Dr.
Benjamin Allison, as Master of Ceremonies, called on sev-
eral members to speak briefly to the group on their fern
experiences here and abroad. Dr. Ralph Benedict, for-
mer President and long-time member of the Fern Society,
gave glimpses from the activities of the Fern Society over
the past 60 years. Mr. Boughton Cobb, author of the re-
cent book ‘‘A Field Guide to the Ferns’’ spoke briefly on
a comparison between American and British ferns. He
said, ‘‘We saw as many species yesterday as in the whole
of Britain.’’ Dr. Edward Chapin, formerly of the Na-
tional Museum in Washington, spoke on tropical lycopo-
diums. Ours, here in the northeast, are all terrestrial,
but the tropics have many more species, most of which are
epiphytes. Mr. George Peters gave as his most exciting
fern experience the finding of Cryptogramma crispa
(Parsley Fern) on a mountain at an elevation of 13,000
feet.

Forty-four members and friends attended for part or
all of the two days and a total of 43 species of ferns, five
species of Lycopodium and three species of Equisetum
(see attached list) were located by various members of the
group. The group consisted of several experts, many
ferners with some experience, and a number of beginners,
all of whom seemed to feel well repaid for the time spent,
since 43 of the possible 73 species of ferns to be found in
the northeast is a good percentage for two days of ex-

162 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

ploration in a limited area.

The following persons were present: Mrs. Perey W.
Adams, Dr. Fred Allen, Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin R. Alli-
son, Miss Katherine Bacon, Dr. Baggs, Dr. Ralph C. Bene-
dict, Miss Brewster, Miss Alice Bristow, Miss Helen Bris-
tow, Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Broun, Mrs. Muriel Brown,
Dr. and Mrs. Edward Chapin, Mr. Boughton Cobb, Mrs.
Stewart Coleman, Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Darling, Mrs. E. J.
Dorn, Dr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Doubleday, Mr. and Mrs.
Burton Duzendorf, Miss Laura East, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon
Foster, Mrs. John Gallagher, Mrs. George M. Gardner,
Mrs. Henry Kincaid, Mr. and Mrs. George Peters, Mr.
Henry Potter, Mrs. S. G. Prentiss, Mrs. Marion Rhodes,
Skippy Rhodes, Miss Anna E. Seudder, Mr. and Mrs.
White, Mr. Grover Wright, Mrs. Grace Zelley and party
of three. A total of 10 new members joined the Fern
Society as a result of the work of Dr. Allison’s Committee.

The following ferns and fern-allies were seen on the
trip: Adiantum pedatum, Asplenium platyneuron, A.
Ruta-muraria, A. Trichomanes, Athyrium angustum, A.
angustum var. rubellum, A. pycnocarpon, A. thelypteri-
oides, Botrychium dissectum, B. lanceolatum, B. matri-
cariifolium, B. multifidum, B. obliquum, B. virginianum,
Camptosorus rhizophyllus, Cryptogramma Stelleri,
Cystopteris bulbifera, C. fragilis, Dennstaedtia puncti-
lobula, Dryopteris austriaca, D. Clintoniana, D. cristata,
D. Filiz-mas, D. Goldiana, D. intermedia, D. marginalis,
D. spinulosa, Matteuccia Struthiopteris, Onoclea sen-
stbilis, Osmunda cinnamomea, O. Claytoniana, O. regalis,

[43] is a high percentage (about 80%) of all those known from
the state. [C.V.M.]

AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 163

Pellaea atropurpurea, Polypodium vulgare, Polystichum
acrostichoides, P. Brawnii, Pteridium aquilinum, Thelyp-
teris Dryopteris, T. noveboracensis, T. palustris, T. Phe-
gopteris, Woodsia ilvensis, W. obtusa, Equisetum ar-
vense, E. hyemale, E. sylvaticum, Lycopodium clavatum,
L. complanatum var. flabelliforme, L. imundatum,
lucidulum, L. obscurum.—ANNA E. SCUDDER.

New MEMBERS

Mrs. Esther Abbott, Route 2, Box 2127 A, Red Bluff, Calif.
Mrs. Elisabeth Aeschliman, 77 Myrtle ‘Apaitod; Montelair, New
Jers

sey
Mrs. Beryl Allen, 7006 Nebraska Avenue, Tampa 4, Florida
Mr. Lloyd Allen, 9601 Occidental Road, page Calif.
Mr. Ralph R. Barton, 517 East Alder St., Brea, Ca
Mrs. Maleolm Brown, P. O. Box 127, Biteraood, bei
Mrs. Ruth Busfield, Monroe, Washington
Mr. O. R. Cedarholm, Jr., 2344 Hanover St., Palo Alto, Calif.
Mrs. Kenneth L. Clarke, 261 North Orange St., Orange, Calif.
Mrs. Teresa F. Coen, 1908 Grandview Drive, Faccnn 66, Washing

Mr. George A. Connell, 630 Shatto arr Los Angeles 5, Calif.
Mrs. Dorothy Darneille, Route 3, Box 408, Grants Pass, Oregon
= pris ge DeVaul, 1110 Harritt +o Salem, Oregon

e F. Elkins, 1803 13th St., Lubbock, Texas
Mr. mcle| E. Emery, 2005¢ Alameda Padre Serra, Santa Barbara,

Calif.

Mrs. Dewey H. Ewers, 2615 Ocean Beach Drive; Longview, Wash
ington

Mr. Thomas V. Farrell, 633 Barneson, San Mateo, Calif.

Mr, Franklin Field, Richmond Hill Road, Greenwich, wy

Mr. George E. Freeman, 1675 Garnet Lane, Concord, Cali

Mr. Charles A. Gibson, 732 Lee merce San Leandro, Gtk

Mr. Alfred H. Gilbert, Dorset, Ver

Mrs. Inez ona daae Oakdale Drive, ek 82 B, Austin, Texas

St., Tampa 3, Florida

Calif.
2444 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Mrs. Henry Ketel, 783 South Shore Drive, Ho

Mr. Joseph H. Kinney, 2230 Middlesex Drive,
Capt. Fred K. Klebingat, 873 22nd St., San Pedro,

Toledo 6, Ohio
Calif.

164 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

a ae Koshal McGuire, 2901 Channing Way, Berkeley 4,
Miss =e McElhaney, 117 East Morton St., Dennison, Texas
Mrs. Hilda 8. Nunan, 1105 Eighth St. aivelea, Calif.
Miss se Oppel, P. O. Box 145, Rio Nido, Calif.
Mrs. Mamie M. ganas 1247 Castro St., Hayward, Calif.
Mr. R. : Pfau, Lazy Z Ranch, Pala, California
Mrs. Tina Prather, 590 Temple Hills Drive, Laguna Beach, Calif,
Miss Winona M. Richmond, 324 River St., Santa Cruz, Calif.

Ca ‘

ry n, 720% Ocean View, Monrovia, Cal

Mr. John B. ‘see’ 4316 Stewart Ave., Los Angeles 66, cat

Mrs. Clifford Rudine, 39 San Carlos Ave., Sausalito, Cal

Mr. Manford L. Samuelsen, 25 Mariposa “Arent: Los cits: Calif.

Mr. William E, Schmidt, 355 Lambert Avenue, Palo Alto, Calif.
T. As

Mrs. Marie Zachau, 603 East Kelso St., Inglewood, Calif.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

Mrs. Okra J. Breidenbaugh, R. R. 3, Bright, roy gs

Mr. R. M. Giesey, 2707 Chaning Road, Columbus 21, Ohio

Mr. E. M. eo 1249 South Basin Lane, aia Florida

Mrs. Alice F, Tryon fe Sehr of ona University of Cali-
fornia, Herkelsy 4, Califor

Dr. R. M. Tryon, Jr. , Departmen of Botany, University of Cali-
fornia, Berkeley 4, ’ Californ

INDEX TO VOLUME 47 165

Index to Volume 47

Acrostichum danaeifolium, 38 Azolla, 121, 157; caroliniana, 94,
Actiniopteris australis, 120 155
Adiantum, 159; aethiopicum, 83;
capiiius veneris, 44, 94, 110,
117; caudatum, 120; chilense, Baker, William H. and George Ae
141, v. hirsutum, 141, v. sul- Ruhle. Ferns of Oregon oe
phureum, 139; flabellulatum, Nationa 1 Monument and Vic
113; hirsutum, 141; imbricatum, ity,
140, 142; Jordanii, 113, 114; lu- Benedict, R. C. The Cut-Leaf
42: microsorum, 142; Fern Market 2 oT; iGeon
pedatum, 12, 71, 94, 101, 110, Fiddleheads, 72; Frozen Fiddle-
113, 114, 126, 153, 162, v. aleuti- hea gain, 109; Harold d
m, 85; ppigianum, 142; dard Hn | 1957, 49; Maid-
Poiretii, 141, f. hirsutum, 141, nhair as urce of Medicine,
hirsut 141, v. sulph m, 110; Ninety-one Years of otan-
39, 141; Ruizianum, 142; . sca- ical Field rips, 78; Plastic
brum 14 sealare, 140, 141; Greenhouses, 14
sessilifolium, 142; Steerei 142; Blake, S. F. Ferns and
sulphureum, 139; x Tracyi, 1 113, allies of the District of connor.
114; tricholepis, 80; Veitc hia- bia, 14
nu estan spicant, 126
Adiantum in Peru: New Species Botrychium, 156; dissectum, 94,
and Com Dinations, 139 152, 160, 162, v. obliquum, 152 ;
Allison, Benjamin R ey es lanceolatum, 94, 156, 160, 162;
Judge of Blections, 41; Rep. Lunaria, 81, 82, 87, 94, 112;
Massachuse “sar Meeting, 43 matricariifolium, 82, 94, 150-152,
Alston, G. The American 160, 162; minganense, 81, 82, 94;
Fern ally Known as Dryop- ltifidum, 94, 160, 162, ssp.
teris paleacea, 91 silaifolium, 100; liquum, 94,
American Fern Usually Known as ae 162; quenda genes, 82; sim-
Dryopteris paleacea, 91 ‘ Virginian, 71,
Aspidium Donianum, 92; jug- = 26, is 160,
paleateum: oe: cries Boydston, Kathryn B ee
ayers OF: 54: Walli- Spore Exchange, +
chianum,
Asplenium, 55; antum-nigrum, Camptosorus rhizophyllus, 44, 93,
30, 1 peatrer vAndrewsil as 126, 135, 151, iy —
Bra hey 55-65, c Ceratopteris, a2
huense, 137; cryptolepis, 93; pteridoides, O-r2: vernetroides,
Dalhousiae, 136; dubio sum, 137 5 67, 70-72
ebenoides, 33, 44; nae 135, Ceterach, 108-110, 120; aureum,
136; Gravesii, 37, § ; _ cordatum, "108, 120, v. ca-
kentuckiense, 5B 59, 117; 109, namaquense, 108,
tanum, 44, , 93. “bi: ‘pine innatifidam , 108; officinarum,
ort dum, 565, iety wanton ay Phillipsianum, an at
yneuron, ; platyneuron, Cheilanthes alabamensis : eali
, 58, 94, 117, 123, 126, 153, 162 ; fornica x siliquosa, 37: Dinter
umilum, 137; resiliens, 44, 93} 120; Peck of “gracilis, 101
“eae py 44, 110, 117, 160, hirta, 120; lan 94,
162; Stotleri i Trichomanes, ultifida, 1205 “parviloba, 120:
30, 44, 71, 93, 110, 126, 153, Loos siliquosa, 94, mentosa, 94
Trude llii, 56-58, 118 ; viride, 44, Cibotium, 5; irom the 5,
i jeld Guide to
Asplenium Adiantum- -nigrum in se, Soha -
Mexico, 135 ; ody, W. Ferns of the Ottawa
x Asplenosorus ebenoi District (Rev.),

€ des, 151 .
sap hry poy 1 eee: ot Mt Cooper, Robert. ems Ware, 89
So Se I, Dono she - A eee. a
"4 i i llies 0 Lane ev
v. asplenioides, 153, v. corona Giyp pia sc cariioldas, 0
101
44,

t v. corymbiferum, 1 fe :
f. Frizelliae, 107, v. randiceps, ; ore tel, 126, 161; Stelleri,
, v. Michauxii, 3 -

Victoriae, 127; ‘Goeringianium, Cut- ‘leat Fern Market. 1957, 77
Zt... ¥. ca pyecnocar- Cyathea medullaris, 89, 91; Viel-
pon, 94, 16. "Bt. 153, 162; lardii, 91

Cyclosorus, 98

pon. Savigides. 94, 126, 153, 162

166 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Cyrtomium, 98; auriculatum, 54;
caryotideum, 53: Pee eae So;
Fortunei : guat ;

oe 54; vameee sulci, 54;

Gyan e pulbifera, 25, 26, 44,
> 126, 151, 156, 162; Dickieana,
21: frag ilis, 21, 24, 30, 84, 95,
101, 16 1 162, Mackavi.
118, 153, Vv. ey itt Tis: 158 :
montana, 95

Darling, Thomas, Jr. In Search
4 the co oe “Sint Asplen-

aTav'

Davallia, weeny bullata, 146,
147; canariensis, 144-147; den
ticulata, 1 46; aia ricat,
145, 146; fejeensis, 144, 145, 147;
Griffithiana, 145; luci da, 148:
pepo 18, iis dedi 146;

03 5 x
lida, 144, 145, 147, 148 trie
se apr iy 144-147, bata,

Dennstaedtia, 102; punctilobula,
95, 126, 153, baa

DeVol. Charle The Geo-
graphic Distribution of Cera-
fopteris pteridoides, 67

ni ainsi concolor vy. Kirkii,

Dryopteris, 26, 38. 39, 42, 102, 156,
157; austriaca, 84, 124, 160, 162,
v. intermedia, "153. Vv. spinulosa,
153; io an 40. i51, 156;

reri, 92; loptera, 95, a96:

i : ih ysocarpa,. 92;

Ciintoniana, 94, 117, 126, 151;
sta

lelogram ;

27; pseudo-Filix-mas, 92; pseu-
doguentziana, 120; Bseuit- mrs
| ristata, ae rigid Oe
Roberti tiana, 2, ate lata,
151; x Slossonae. 119: spinulosa,
Bly: ah, 04> 1S: 126, 162,
glandulosa, et Thelypteris, 27.
Me ae ns, 153, v. squami-

120; Wallichiana, 91, 92

Drvopieris in German Hortieul-

Equisetum, 157, 161; arvense, 20,
ed Brick 95, 152, 4 avinttle,. do"

ratense, 84, 95: scirpoides, 94;
a a 95, 163; variegatum,

assett, Norm A Manual of
noun Plants (Rev 157

Faust. Mildred Report of

eeting at New Vork Botanical

Garden. 45; Report of Secre-

Fern Plantings in the Abraham
Lincoln Memorial Garden, 138

Ferns ne hee ate at Gian d-
ler Lake, Ala 16

Fern and ‘Fer A nitions of the Dis-
trict of Galen bia: 14

Ferns of Oregon Caves Nationa!
Monument and Vicinity, 98

Frozen Fiddleheads,

aS wa Fiddleheads Again, 109

urther Note on Cystopteris, 25

eye Ceterach in Madagascar,

Geographic Distribution of Cera-
topteris ee wre 67
HL eerie and Ferns, 134
ocappittit Pirgopteriey 84
Gymnoeel ie capensis, 109

Harold Goddard Rugg, 1883-1957,

Harr Bide A Manual of the
Spo ie Zealand Pteri-
Sophytn« (heey. 114

Ha ae Emily L. Report of
Auditing Committee, 41

Horr, We H. Report of Auditing
Committee. 41

Humata, 144, 145; Griffithiana
145; Tyermannii, 145

Hymenophyllum, 114, 119; tun-
bridgense, 119

In Search of the Rock- ig Hy-

Isoétes, 93. 157; Engelmannii v;
alida, 151; riparia, 151, v. Pal-
i f. sacchar ata, 152

Kleinschmidt, Wal
Method of hecyarine. ie fet Be
Fern Cultures, 95

Knobloch, gh W. Gibberellic
Acid and F 134

Lehr, J. Harr An Annotated
Preliminary ‘Gutalogee of the
Vascular Flora of Rockland
County, New York aor 155

Lindsaea cultrata, 105, 107

Pires ae tripartita, 121

Lo Sos ome Bes Fern Plantings

aye: rah am Lincoln Memo
tal gies: Hoy

Hixson, 115,

Lycopodium, 161; adpressum,

INDEX TO VOLUME 47

94; alopecuroides, 94, 151; al-
pina, 94; annotinum, 94; caro-
linianum, 94, 151; pene a1;
1 63 ; complanatum , 94, V.
flabelliforme, ow 163 ; oflabel-
lifor we in ndatum 4, 151,
161, 163, Vv. ‘Bigclovil, Ty "luci-
aol, yim oe” ie 168 ; obseu
2, 168; sabini-

151,
Ly godium palmatum, 27, 44, 94,
126, 151

Maidenhair as a Source of Medi-

nton, Irene be Importance
of Ferns to an Understanding
of the British Wore (Rev.), 29;
et Prot of Po lypodium
virginian

Mattouesta,” 112: pensylvanica, 94;
Str uthiopteris, 126, 151, 162, v.

qua adrifolia,

vatrix
MeGregon, Ronald L, Report of
McVaugh, S eawer rs: Bore lenium
Adiantum-nigrum exico
Method of Preparing Spores for

Fern Cultures,
we tele 102, 103, 105, 107;
103-105 ; pilosula, 104,

105; “platyphytia, 1038 ; spelun-
e, 05, 120, °*v. pubescens,
105° ¥. witibetenthlas 105; aid

gosa, 103-105, 107, ce
Faddeniae, 105-107 ; Suietacbe:
103, 107, 108
Morton, (. V. Observations on
Cultivated Ferns. L "The species
ot Pteris, 7; II. The Proper
Name of the re _
Fern, 52; III. The Spe
Microlepia, 1 102° TY. The Me pecies
of Davallia, 143; Report on the
Gaspé Field- trip, 84

ms

Nephrodium, 26
Nephrolepis Duffii, 105, 107
Ninet Years of Botanical
Field dy 78
Hawaiian ‘Terrestrial
Species of Op yhioglossum, 74
Notholaena destbate. 94; Ee klo-
bose ‘ion’ Marlothii, 120; Raw

bg A ae on Culti ot Ferns,
Bead id ay Gs ee
e

ossum,
ane 76; En one's ‘oa: nu a
caule, 74-76, vy. minus, 15, 76;

167

Ce igh co 76; polyphyllum,
Ilgatum, 44, 94, are oad

Bent 126,
153, 162: Gayiontans 94,
126, 153, 162; ee ‘a on 126,
162, v. specta abilis, 153

Parker 67
Tella artes urea, 44, 80, 94,
126, 151, 154, 160 163, f. ‘erista ta,

0 ;
Phanerophlebia , D2, 53; auricu
5: gu temalensis, 55; haitiensis,
“ mcroeora. 5D; pumila, 54;
Dp , O43 umbonata, 54
Phegopteris connectilis, 126; y-
pteris, 126; hex agonoptera, ODe
phyitis Scolo ont rium, 93, 126
Plagiogyria,
ofa :

Stic Greenhouses,
Polypodium, 129; riedullare, ol
polypodioides, 93, 128, ire
Michauxianum, 151; s eaeevi.
voides, 123; speluncae, 104; vir-
ginianum, 71, 93, 126, 29-133,
cambricoides, 126; vulgare,

30, 110, 163, v. virginianum, 84,

Polystichum, 42; 52, ET ADT ;
acrostichoides, "93, 126, 163.
£. im um, 154; pst daaeg
Cee poh ; Braunii
93, 127, Lonchitis,
101 munitin, 30, 73;.101, AZ,

imbricans, 101; scopulinuin,
101

93,
Ponga Ware, 89
Shel 2 of *polypodium virgini-

Dinpe otis, 112
Pteridium aquilinum, 151, 163,
pubescens, 101; latiusculum, 94,

aquilina

Pteris, 7, 8 98, 121;
ar a “a

folia, 13; luxuriosa, 10; margi-
ta, 12; multifida, 9-11,
ey. cristata;

10; vittata, 8 13,

Report of Auditing Committee,
1: on Gaspé Field- trip, 84; of
Judge of f
Librarian an
Massachusetts Meeti ing, 43; 0

mh

168

Meeting at New York Botanical
Garden, had of President, 33; of
Secretary, 37; 0 ore Ex-

Ramonra adiantiformis, 77

St. John, Harold. Notes
Hawaiian Fetrcateta? Species Of
Ophioglossum, 74

pactbeted) a
chelpe, E. Cc. L. E. Distribi-
Gort: Wecloeibal and Phytogeo-
grap phic re ee en on the
ter ns of uth West Africa

Schinaes sg hy 94
r)

mer ge 133, 150;

ee 25; Hapoenin

1: selaginoi ides, 94; sibirica,

Smith, Jesse F. is the
Present Braj of ae Climbing

goth ae Blot, M. The Genus Ceter-

miclypteris Dryopteris, 94, 1
hexagonoptera, 94; ovebora-
ens 95, = 1 63 5 palustris,
'Phegopteris, 84,

95, 127, 163;
95, 163; Robertia na, 95; simu-

AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL

Rolla. Adiantum in Per
w Species and Combinations,
1307 lied of Librarian and
Curator, 41

tg on,

Vannorsdall, Harry H. Ferns of
Ohio (Rev.), 116
Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, 1

Wa Ww. H., Jr. A Natural
antum Tracyi C.
Dale J.
A "Further Note on

i nd Loi
Lo The Mo eo ‘ad
Cytoiogical 1 acasmbien ess of Bo-

Wherry, Edg: "Dryopteris in
German Honien iture, ai je th
Northeastern Fer re Ever-

reen ?, 93
ich Northeastern Ferns Are
n?

Ferns and Fern-

lata, 95; scopu rane 95
Trichomanes, 114; Boschianum, 93 Wabdoardin areolata, 9 110, 117,
Ro Alice F. The Vegetable ae 154; aoe ae virgin-

amb of Tartary, 1 + eee SE 154
ERRATA

Page 9, line 4: For

“P. arguta,” read “P. dentata.”

Page 65, line 3: For “Collier County,” read Dade

Cover Vol.

pteridoides.”

unning heli at top of page:

Cou nty. ”
47, no. 2, Table of Contents, line 6: For “thalictroides,”

For “thalictroides” read

Page 68, legend for plate: For “thalictroides,” read “pteridoides.”

Page
“pteric

69, running head at top of page: For “thalictroides,” read
idoides.”

Page 70, legend for figure: For “thalictroides,” read “pter idoides.”!

1 These unfortunate errors = ins poretg ve instead of

pteridoides — an editorial m

fault of Dr.

Su ethers, pe the rr
the indicated eorrections in order to avoid fatare eonfusion.
[C.

take, no means the
ae re urged to make

V.M.]