es a ee American Hern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY EDITORS C. V. MORTON R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS A. C. SMITH VOLUME 48 — +4.4 i 9.5 6 \oS4 BUSINESS PRESS, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA MrssoOuUR! BOTANICAL GARDEN LIBRARY Contents VoLuME 48, NUMBER 1, Paces 1-64, ISsuED ApRIL 17, 1958 An Amateur Plants Fern Spores ................... athryn Boydston 1 Onnervations on tivated rerhs, V. The ach and Forms of Nephrolepis C. V. Morton 18 Diplazium japonicum omens in poses ida C. on and R. K. Godfrey 28 Seca of Some New ee atiied ions ...... pees erases Blot 31 s on panama Pteridophyta; Ilo. . Fosberg 35 oles on the Distribution of Asplenium kentains : Wagner, dr 39 4 Recent Fern Literatur Notes and New ye Charter Member Honored; Annual Meeting, apc "Annual Summer Field-trip, 1958; Letter Regarding Micka American Porn aS eockrs: Cae ai of President ; fants} of Curator and Librarian; Rep. of Treasurer; Rep. of Auditing Com- mittee; Rep. of Rents Rep. of p Eee % Elections; Rep. of California Field-trip VotuME 48, NuMBER 2, Pages 65-96, IssuED JUNE 19, 1958 Ferns as a Hobby in Southern California ........... . C. Benedict 65 Is oy not um a ir gt Che hans meres “ ‘Ha ke 68 ] Fern in Cultiv Barbara Joe 72 The Identity of > oly oat ‘cide Gilbert pila: of V. Morton 75 Ophioglossum vulgatum in Missouri ..... Julian A, Steyermark 77 ome Critical and New Geuteal ‘Kikerldad Species of Uro- stachys WwW. rter 81 Shorter Notes: The Holly-fern, Cyrtomium faledtant, Outdoors in Ohio Soc pata Adiantum-nigrum Again oc ncen Recent Pern Literatu Notes and N are a Plans for a 1959 Field-trip; Organ- oe of de roe Angeles Fern Society; Member Honored ; w Membership List; Spore amet Invited; Exchange favticd British Dealer in Fern BOUTUE oe alae een American Fern Society: Report of the Sian Exchange ............ 94 VoLUME 48, NuMBER 3, Paces 97-128, IssuzD OcTOBER 13, 1958 Isoétes in paps Canada 8 H. Soper and Sathyanarayana Rao 97 Physiological SM va wit Azolla under hag Conditions, I. Isolation and Preliminary Growth Stud Louis G. Nickell 103 New Jamaican Species of Ctenitis .......... George H. Proctor 108 The Taxonomic Position of Saccoloma Wercklei . U. Kramer 111 An Unusual Hawaiian Population of Opleplosum pendulum Eugene Horner 118 Shorter Notes: Dryopteris eatlcnging in Illinois; A New alif ntum Tracyi .... seeuitntmnemernsennenene LB VoLUME 48, NuMBER 4, Paces 129-176, IssuED DecEMBER 31, 1958 ina Roster, Weatherby 2 Alice F. Tryon 129 The Californian Species of Thelypteris 0.03. C. V. Morton 136 The Correct Name of the Mountain Fern ... Hans Peter Fuchs 142 A New Hybrid Spleenwort from Artificial Culture at du wood and its Relationship to a Peculiar Plant fro Virginia ........... . H, Wagner, Jr., and Kathryn E. INO: 146 An Unusual Form of Asplenium Bradleyi allace R. Weber and Robert H. Mohlenbrock 159 rings iad the Sowing of Spores of Ferns for Arti- HOARE OMY O's a Bernard T. Bridgers 161 Is It a aie OF @ Bpeciee? ut Fern Ward Crane 164 Shorter Notes: A Rare sans Ot the Deet-feia go 165 Recent Fern Literatur Notes and News ........... merican Fern Society Index to Volume 48 Vol. 48 January—March, 1958 No. 1 American Hern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY se EDITORS Cc. V. MORTON R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS A. C. SMITH CONTENTS An Amateur Plants Fern Spores ......... KATHRYN Boypston” 1 ations on Cultivated Ferns, VY. The ene and Forms of Nephrolepis . V. Morton 18 Diplazium icum Netecolnes in Flori nig = C. V. Morton anp R. K. Goprrey 28 Validation of Some New cae, . Mg. Tarprgeu-Bior 31 Pies on Micronesian Pisidlpplcria, Ul. “RR. Pome 8h. Notes on the Distribution of a. ccmekhons We 3, Waces. JR. 39 44 Recent Fern Literatare Notes and News: Our Charter Member Ho nored; Annu Meeting 1958; Annual Summer Field-trip, 1958; Laer: : Wirsah pia 45 ‘ ng es Fern Society: Grove: of President; Rep. of oa ee oe and Librarian; eed of Treasurer; Cs Auditi Committee; | Seeretary; — Bre EME He's i p. of California Fic ield-trip nn Che American Heru Society Connril for 1955 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Ira L. oe Dudley Herbarium, Stanford iectage _ forni President saree E. "BENEDICT, JR., 945 Pennsylvania Ave., ~ ah , Washing. President ecees E. cae Department of Botany, syiccus Uaive ersity, use, New or. see Watter 8S. PHILLIPS Schaar of Botany, eee. of Ari zona, Tueson , Ari asurer C. V. Morton, Sicithaeatadi Institution, Washington 25, 5 Edi we -in- bier OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITOR C. V. Morton ............ Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. RB. C. BEenepict ....... ~-- 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Y. Tra L. Wicarns .... Dudley Her erbarium, Stanford University, Calif. A. C. SMITH .... National Science Foundation, Washington 25, D. C. An Slivatrwted quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns. Subseription, $2.35 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra: 3 sent free to members of the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY (annual dues, - 3} Sustaining membership, $5.00; i 0.00) Extracted reprints, if ordered in advance, will be Ldap authors at cost. They should be ordered when n proof is __ Back volumes $1.50 each, except vols. = 38, and 40, gs —— back numbers 50 cents each 1, except vol. 38, no. 4 and vol. -25; Cumulative Index to vols. 1-85, 25 eents. Ten ee gee diseount on orders of six volumes or more Matter for publication should be nddveesiid to C. V. Morton, D, C. = _ Smithsonian Institution, Wash ashington 25, Orders for back numbers and and other business eommunications ee = = caer to the Treasurer of the Society. SS Ss een STs LIBRARIAN AND: CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM R M. Tryon, te i i ,M S rs Ampriran Bern Journal Vou. 48 JANUARY-MarcH, 1958 No. 1 An Amateur Plants Fern Spores! KATHRYN BoypstTon To plant infinitesimal spores and then (eventually) to watch the unfolding ferns of many forms and sizes has been an absorbing interest, a fascinating hobby, a thrill- ing and rewarding experience of the past three years. Many others have done the same thing and probably the only reason I have been asked to write of my experiments is to show that it is an easy possibility open to anyone with a window-sill or a few square feet of space. If your in- terest isn’t keen at planting time, I assure you it will be aroused by those first tiny pricks of green, will mount when these green points turn into lovely ruffled prothallia, and will reach fever-pitch when these give rise to the tiny sporophytes (usually like very small clover or violet leaves at first) which are the beginnings of the true fern. At every stage, such a lively green! There have been some failures and disappointments, but surprisingly so many more successes. In a few particu- lars, I have had to do things a bit differently from meth- ods described in the American Fern Journal, and these will be mentioned, but the main fact of interest to those who have seen my ferns is the large number I have been able to grow in a very small space. The little porch shown in the accompanying picture is smaller even than it looks, scarcely 6 x 8 feet in all, and what is there now was not really planned. Like Topsy, 1 A paper delivered at the Annual poe e the American Fern Society, ee d University, Augus 7olum , No. 4, of the Jou ol at 16 was issued De- cember 36, eer cy AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 48, PLATE 1 BELOW SPORE PLANTINGS I ADTANTUMS N DISHES A rHES, AND BROUGHT IN FOR WINTE ND SPORELINGS IN CASE: ABOV ,» CHEILAN’ VE PHYLLITIS, AND NEPHROLEPIS POTTED R; PHOTOGRAPH JANUARY 15, 1957 AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN Spores 3 “it Just grew,’’ and it might never have come about at all except for my fortunate meeting with our late treasurer Mr. Matt Mann on the Vermont-New York Fern Society field trip in 1952. SvTart OF INTEREST For many years, I had been torn between two compul- sions, an insatiable interest in ferns and a deep belief in conservation. There was a strong urge in me to see or to have every fern I heard or read about. The more I had, the more I wanted, whether they were in a con- noisseurs’ catalogue, in a lovely woods, or just beyond a barbed-wire fence. Especially did I crave the smaller rock-loving ferns, and the rarer they were, the more I desired them! My urge to conserve kept me within bounds, and though I am quite sure I’d never have de- nuded a rock of its rare Aspleniums or touched a rarer hart’s-tongue, this did not in the least lessen my wanting them. Mr. Matthew Mann claimed to be an amateur, vet he was successfully growing many ferns in a roughly made propagating box in his basement. His methods were de- scribed and his propagator pictured later in the Jour- nal.” As he gathered a few bits of fertile fronds on the trip, or shook spores into an envelope, he generously answered my many questions and added his assurance that if he could do it, I could too. He gave me a bit of each kind he gathered and thus opened up a whole new world to me as I realized that perhaps some of these long-wanted, nearly-gone, or extremely rare ferns might be grown right here, and this as a help to conservation rather than a hindrance! INSTALLATION OF EQUIPMENT Instead of the basement for propagation, I began to * Benedict, R. C., Aids to Spore Culture. This JournaL 45: 60-64. 1955 4 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL think of this small back porch which had little or no use except to serve as a catchall for galoshes, coke bottles, and grocery boxes. Off the too-small kitchen, it was an eyesore to everyone yet a propagating box such as Mr. Mann described would not be welcome here either, as it would be in full view of everyone coming in the front door, Instead of being closed up in a box with the fluorescent light, why not enclose and cover the spore plantings with glass and have the fluorescent light out- side the glass? Little by little this idea was worked out, but only after many and devious dealings with many and different men. First the carpenter who moved the permanent outside door of the kitchen to the west side of the porch, built a new flight of steps to it, added a second series of windows to match those already there, insulated floor and ceiling and the wall below the win- dows and built two U-shaped shelves around the outside wall. Next, an electrician who installed the lights just below the top shelf, a double-tube 48” fluorescent light with shade reflector for the center part and a matching 24” double-tube light for each end section. Happily, the top of these reflectors was painted light gray. An inexpen- sive chicken-brooder timer was installed inside the broom closet to automatically turn the lights on and off at ap- pointed times. We chose an 18 hour light day (for no particular reason except that some advice was for 16 hours, some for 20-24) and they come on at 5:00 a.m. and go off at 11:00 p.m. Now a part of the kitchen, the floors, had to be made to match, and all the new wood had to be painted a creamy light yellow like the kitchen walls. Then the search began for someone to make large pans to hold the pots of plants and drip therefrom. From their quoted prices, some of those we talked to I’m sure thought we wanted platinum rather than aluminum. Finally, they were made in Chicago, these two large U-shaped pans i ae ae i - AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN Spores 5 each of them all in one piece with 2” sides and when they arrived in their heavy large crates, had to be met at the Station with a borrowed truck. The top one fell into place a perfect fit. The bottom one could in no way be made to fit. Unable to be tipped because of the broom closet at one end and the house wall on the other, it fin- ally had to be taken again by truck to South Bend to be cut in two and new sides welded on. Next, brackets and glass shelves. The carpenter had through a misunder- standing put a 6” wooden shelf all around, half way be- tween the two shelves. Though this would keep light from reaching the lower area, it gave me the idea of a glass shelf in the same position to hold many dishes of planted spores—to save space and add interest at the Same time. Up to this time I had intended to use many ivies or scented geraniums or other house plants on the top shelf, the fern plantings to be only below the lights. At first there were some, but I blamed them for an infesta- tion of thrips that later attacked hart’s-tongue and other tender fern morsels below. Since then, no house plant has found room. The ferns have taken over and have proved a surprisingly magnetic attraction to all who enter the front door and see them for the first time. That first fall I tried planting spores gathered here and on the 1952 and 1953 Fern Society trips. All the recommended ways were tried. In fact I planted spores of Pellaea atropurpurea and of Asplenium platyneuron in six ways each. On the same day, spores from the same fronds were planted: (1) on sterilized soil, (2) on porous brick set in water, (3) on tuffa pieces set in water, (4) on an inverted sphagnum-filled clay flower pot, (5) on pure peat, and (6) on finely-sieved sphagnum. Each was glass-covered. With both species the soil was so far superior in amount as well as promptness of germina- AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 48, PLATE 2 CLOSE-UP OF PART OF LOWER © ASE IN PL, 1, SHOWING SPORELINGS IN ROWS: CHEILANTHES LANOSA, ( AMPTOSORUS RHIZOPHYLLUS, PoLy- PODIUM VU LGARE, AND CAMPTOSORUS SIBERICUS AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN SporES 7 tion, it has been used in all later work since then. This first planting was fairly successful, but there was something so untidy about all these glass-covered pots of varying size and condition that it was far from satisfy- ing and was the cause of Rule No. 1 being set up for all future plans or decisions concerning this room: That concern for congenial conditions for the ferns must be equalled or overruled by eye-appeal and convenience to the humans occupying or visiting this home. This diec- tated the answer to our present problem. Clay pots would be banished in favor of glass dishes for planting of spores. These would be pyrex, which could be boiled, baked or steamed. A row of them looked very perky on the glass shelves. These were 18 round pyrex dishes 5” in diameter, which were already on hand and just the right number to fill the long shelf. So round pieces of glass to fit were ordered and purchased. No more like these could be found anywhere, all pyrex casseroles having meantime grown ear-like handles on each side and a knob on their covers. The smallest size of these was chosen and 13 bought (for 15¢ each) for use on the two side shelves. The intention was to transplant later into other pans or pyrex dishes perhaps, which could be glass-covered. When the time came, however, there were so many little ferns, half would have to be thrown out if this method were to be followed. Of necessity, then, was born the idea of planting these in rows directly in the soil of a large terrarium-like case. So again we started our trek from one man to another to find someone to make three frames of one-inch metal, 7 inches high (no bottoms— just side-braces) to hold pieces of glass. These frames are light, easy to set into the big pan, and the metal we painted light gray to match the aluminum. The four pieces of glass in each one are slipped in and held tem- porarily to the sides with scotch tape until the layers of 8 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL crushed stone and soil are put in, which later hold the glass in place. When not in use, the glass can be cleaned and stored in flat pieces and the frames hung on the tool-house wall. One, two, or three may be used at one time. At times, these large terrarium cases must be glass- covered. There is one piece to fit each of the two end cases. The center case has two pieces of such size that there are all together four different lengths (all the same width). When the glass is to be removed, they can be shifted around to let in gradually more air without shock to the ferns. By this time, Dr. Benedict had conceived of the Fern Society Spore Exchange and knowing of my enthusiasm for my newest venture asked me to take charge of it. This was a challenge and an opportunity. As I began to receive spores and also to gather more kinds myself, it was soon apparent that more dishes were called for: 27 were bought for the upper shelves (intended for pots of ivies, etc.), and Hang-a-pot holders were put up, three on the window frames and three on the side of the broom closet. The seven two-year-old Nephrolepis’ on the summer porch must come in soon but were too large to rest on the shelf. So, we found a man to make some simple pot stands that would raise their pots 11” above shelf level. These were painted the same light gray of the frames below. They added considerable interest by varying the heights. Additions last year included the two gray pottery hanging baskets seen in Plate 3, a second complete row of window shelves, and 27 more dishes! As the spring was cold and late, the ferns in the lower cases shown in Plate 1 had outgrown their quarters. More el- bow room and root room were needed. So three ‘‘col- lars’’ of the same heavy aluminum were made to fit the AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN SPORES 9 top pan. (Like the sides of a box they were, with no bot- tom.) This allows 33” of soil and space for many more rows of plants. They too may be used one, two, or three at a time as need dictates and are easily stored when not in use. So now, at long last, I finally must agree with my hus- band that there can be no more expansion of this small space! What started as a minor alteration in deference to an untried new hobby had turned into a major project over a space of three years. The result is a neat, com- pact place of soft yellow background where, aside from green ferns, only glass and aluminum and aluminum- colored paint are seen. The soft lights enhance the beauty of the green plants, especially at night, bidding a cheerful welcome at all times and continuing to be a con- stant source of interest to all. Only one more thing is needed. Some kind of shade to protect dishes and plants above the lights from the win- ter sun. In summer there are enough shade trees out- side, but when the winter sun does shine through the glass, it has been necessary to shade the dishes with a strip of paper or cheesecloth. I plan now to weave some matchstick push-back shades. Instead of the bright col- ors usually used, these will have only the same light gray and soft yellow already in the room, so as not to detract attention from the ferns There are all told 14 feet of 6” shelf under lights ¢ to ac- comodate 31 dishes and 20 feet more above (with just window light) for 54 dishes. In all then, 85 dishes for planted spores and the gametophyte stage (the begin- nings of life) of as many ferns, each in its own humid, sterilized space. In the lower cases, there are about 14 square feet of soil space where row upon row of the ‘‘patches’’ of tiny ferns grow from glass-covered ‘‘babyhood’’ to uncovered ‘‘childhood’’ under the lights; and above, the shelves are AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 48, PLATE 3 vo g ' LARGER PLANTS MADE BY ADDITION FROM LOWER CASE MOVED TO WINDOW HEIGHT BENCH THE OF ALUMINUM May 25, 19: “COLLARS”; PHOTOGRAPH ‘ AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN SPORES 41 2” wider, offering about 164 square feet for rows of larger ferns in their ‘‘youth.’’ GENERAL PROCEDURE So much for the background, the existing physical set- up, and the future of ferns raised therein. Now a little about actual procedures, many of which, in order to con- form to Rule No. 1 as set forth above, have been contrary to written and spoken advice. All activities have been ‘‘strictly amateur’? and have not gone on long enough or extensively enough to draw any definite ‘‘conclu- sions.’’ ‘‘Observations’’ would be a better word, and a few are offered here with the idea that some others of no botanical or laboratory experience may have been de- terred, as I was, from embarking on this adventure by such mysterious-sounding phrases and directions as ‘‘sterile petri dishes,’’ ‘‘stock solutions of mineral nu- trient,’’ ‘‘a liter of diluted solution,’’ ‘‘store spores in gelatin capsules,’’ or ‘‘sow spores through an atomizer,’’ ‘“‘agar must be sterilized, cooled and jelled,’’ ete. ete. Here there is no agar, no nutrient solutions, and no labor- atory equipment. All of it is easy, except for the trans- planting and general shifting about that takes place about four times a year and which does require a good deal of time in carrying soil in and out and in washing dishes. At all other times there is very little time spent compared to the pleasure received. Sorts My soil mixture is unmeasured, but roughly the usual 1/3 leaf-mould, 1/3 sand, and 1/3 soil. If leaf-mould is scarce, peat is substituted. Each ingredient is put through a 1/4” mesh sieve, then well mixed. Some of this mixture, which should have a ‘wood feel’’ (if it doesn’t, add more leaf-mould or peat), is then sifted through the fine mesh of an ordinary window screen. Both mixtures are then sterilized in roasting pans in the iz AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL kitchen oven set at 350° for 2 or 3 hours. Quite a bit of water is added to each roaster in order to create steam in the oven. Meanwhile, the dishes are washed and sterilized in a hot-water-bath canner. The first time, I followed some- one’s directions to put the soil in the dishes and steril- ize all at one time. But the water evaporated, leaving the soil to harden onto the sides of the dish in an un- sightly and unremovable ring. Since then they have al- ways been sterilized separately. When the soil has cooled sufficiently the finer mixture is spooned into the dishes, or used as the top layer in the cases where the tiny patches will be planted. The coarser mixture is all right for the under-layer and for anywhere that larger ferns will be planted. A mistake of my first planting was in filling in the soil too near the top of the dish as I was accustomed to doing in planting seeds, only to find later there was no space for the prothallia and tiny ferns to grow, yet these still have to be glass-covered. I realized that very little soil is needed at this beginning stage, so now leave at least 3/4 inch of space between soil and glass. It is gently tamped into a smooth flat surface with any flat-bottomed glass or tamper. If it seems too dry, some distilled water is added and the cover put on. One other point which seems unlikely but true: The type of soil seems to be unimportant in influencing ger- mination. Acid and lime-loving alike germinate on the same soil mixture. For later growth, one of the side cases above and one below are filled with an acid soil for those species that require it. PLANTING When all dishes to be planted are thus prepared, they are taken, one at a time, into another room to be planted. Here only one envelope of one kind of spore is opened, a few spores are shaken or scraped with the back of a table AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN SPORES i3 knife onto a white clean paper, and then put through the finest tea-strainer I could find onto a second white paper, and then examined with a hand-lens or magnifying glass to be sure the microscopic spores are really there. They are then planted by tapping the paper over the dish. Even with this care in planting one kind at a time and using clean paper, there are still spores in the air and later on in many cases surprising additions to those planted sometimes appear in the rows. PARASITES AND PEsts In spite of oven sterilizations of the soil (which of course is not a laboratory-sure-proof method) oceasion- ally a dish shows spots of a gray mould. If seen and acted on quickly, the rapid spread of the mould over the whole dish can sometimes, though not always, be stopped by following the advice I received from Mrs. Diddell— to remove the affected spot and drop a few drops of cop- per sulphate solution on the soil and edges. Even worse, but fortunately less common, is a black alga which quickly turns the lovely green to slimy black! In theory, with 85 dishes planted, the loss of one or a few should not be cause for discouragement or sorrow, but in fact, it always seems to be the most-wanted or rarest one or the one of which the supply is exhausted that is affected! TRANSPLANTING For first transplanting the little patches from the dishes, the tool I find to be unintended but perfectly adapted for the job is an apple-corer. The shape of the Sharp point is just right for digging around and lifting a small patch, the rounded back presses it into the soil, and then is neatly withdrawn, and the point again used to gently tamp bits of soil around the edge of the little circle of green and to smooth out the row. The job is done without ever a touch by fingers or thumbs; though ‘‘man’s best tools’’, they are far too clumsy for this fairy-sized task. 14 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL WATERING Depending on weather and temperature, these dishes need watering only every 10-20 days. The logic of ‘‘con- stant moisture’’ of clay pots standing in water is reason- able, but as pointed out, untidy. In order to have the neatness of the pyrex dishes I preferred to gamble on the correct amount of moisture. Sometimes, due to my ab- sence or the pressure of duties some have become too dry but if watered in time the plants seem to recover, Al- though frequent advice is to keep them ‘“very moist and humid’’ my experience and the advice from the Univer- sity of Michigan is that to err on the dry side is much better than keeping them too wet. While in the dishes, watering is done with bottled distilled water; when first in the cases, with boiled water, and later, when they have reached the ‘‘uncovered’’ or ‘“‘upstairs’’ stage, they are able to cope with water from the faucet. At the present time I am experimenting by completely sealing several dishes. At planting time a small roll of floral clay was put around the rim of the dish and the cover pressed tightly onto it. These dishes show daily droplets of moisture on the cover. Other unsealed dishes planted at the same time have been watered three times. This planting in rows, all in the same container rather than in separate pots or pans, seemed at first to be taking a desperate chance, Fungus or pest trouble of other sorts might destroy them all. But this has never hap- pened—yet.. Any such thing is promptly removed, as is most of the moss appearing while the ferns are small. Again, the watering is a guess and gamble but the layer of crushed stone at the bottom assures good drainage and with even fair judgment and a little planting experience there seems to be little danger of over-watering. When the plants are large enough, watering is quickly AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN Spores 15 done with a bulb sprinkler. Before that it is done with a hand sprayer which gives a fog-mist spray. FERTILIZING As the ferns grow and the rows become crowded, it Seenis reasonable and right to give them an occasional lift with a weaker-than-usual solution of Rapid Gro or other safe fertilizer. This is done every 3 to 4 weeks. LABELLING Each planted dish is labelled, by printing in very small letters on a strip of paper, a strip narrow enough for scotch tape to cover it on all sides, to hold it securely on the dish and protect it from water. At first, it was the intention to mark each row with small green plastic markers bought for the purpose. But finding these were impractical due to the difficulty of keeping them straight-up and to their illegibility through moisture and glass, there are no name markers to detract from the ferns. Instead, a written record is kept. A list of names of ferns in each row in each section is made and thumb-tacked to the inside of the handy broom-closet oor. These dated lists must of course be changed each time there is an exodus or entrance of new plantings, but the old ones are kept, and form a good back-check when needed. Quite unscientific, the lists nevertheless quickly Show the species planted, date of planting, source of the Spores and (sometimes) the date of first germination and first transplanting. They show, for instance, that spores having 18 hours of artificial light germinate in 2 to 4 weeks, whereas those planted at the same time having only window daylight take a week to a month longer. In one year one planting kept under lights saved three to four months growing time, that is, ferns under lights were ready for transplanting at the same time as others planted four months earlier with no time spent under artificial lights. 16 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL KInDs oF FERNS GROWN Never at one time, even with 85 dishes, is there room for all the kinds of ferns that I would like to grow. In some dishes there are spores from England and Europe, and others come from New Zealand ; these are to be tested for hardiness if they reach maturity. In others are some from California and from the tropics, known to be un- able to survive here without a greenhouse. And always in some dishes are hardy eastern ferns, more of which are wanted for the outdoor plantings at Fernwood. With considerable satisfaction I can look at my dish of promising prothallia and two rows of small-sized As- plenium pinnatifidum and remember the time a few years ago that I paid $2.50 for one small specimen just ‘‘so I could see it,’’ and later lose it too! Last fall a friend sent a frond of the rare Hart’s- tongue from a recently discovered station in Upper Mich- igan. Her husband had seen it while hunting and had wondered what it was. That it was picked was too bad, but that it was loaded with spores was wonderful. Right. now, there is a whole crowded row of Hart’s-tongue fronds about 2” tall, There is a little patch of a dwarf Adiantum pedatum found in the Olympic Mountains, in Washington, and not yet scientifically described, I believe. Spores from purchased plants produced prothallia and then plants which retained the dwarf size and proved to be hardy through our Michigan winters, Just two plants of a crested Maidenhair spleenwort (Asplenium Trichomanes) developed from a sowing made from a bit of a frond sent me by Mr. Rugg along with many other kinds from England. But now there are several fronds heavy with sporangia, which will as- sure future plantings. And I might go on mentioning others as rare or as long-wanted. Quite by accident, a rare back-cross hybrid of an As- AN AMATEUR PLANTS FERN Spores pee plenium appeared in one of the rows and was discovered by Dr. Wagner; it is soon to be described in the Journal. This gave rise to the hope of developing other hybrids. About 20 dishes have been planted with two species each in the hope of creating Asplenium, Dryopteris, or other hybrids that have rarely or never been found wild. ULTIMATE DISPOSITION It is not always easy to introduce these ‘‘greenhouse”’ ferns to the big world of the out-of-doors. This is usually done by carefully choosing the time (weather-wise), and planting them (in rows, again) in nursery beds or cold- frames, where they stay for the first winter. Here at- tention can easily be given to providing lath and cheese- cloth shade and to frequent watering at first and to win- ter-covering later. If they survive this ordeal, limestone rock-ferns can go into the steps and wall, and crested and frilled English ferns and others not native to the eastern woods can be added to those already planted by the steps. Wood ferns are added to the many already along our paths or stream edges. There is another place at Fernwood to be wrested from nature’s weeds and briars, where there will be room for an almost unlimited number of rock ferns (still my fa- vorites) and others. When it materializes, there will be no ferns planted here except those raised from spores in the little back porch. It is going to be great fun to see how many there will be there, say in five years’ time. Spore EXCHANGE As mentioned above, the Spore Exchange of the Ameri- can Fern Society was established only a few years ago, but in this short interval of time a creditable list of avail- able kinds has been built-up. Officers and members of the Fern Society have been generous with time and effort to make contributions. Many friends not even members of the Society or knowing one fern from another have 18 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL sent fronds ‘‘with brown dots’’ from near and far vaca- tion trips. However, in order to keep a supply of fresh Spores of a number of species on hand this must be re- peated year after year. We ask the continued coopera- tion of all in sending spores or fertile fronds to our Ex- change, and also urge more members to request spores in order to grow them and thus to get some of the same pleasure that I have from cooperating with nature in her mysterious and magic plans as shown by the life-cycle of growing ferns. FrrNwoop, Route 3, Niues, MIcHigan. Observations on Cultivated Ferns. V. The Species and Forms of Nephrolepis C. V. Morton Perhaps the commonest of all ferns on our porches and in our living rooms are the Sword-ferns or Boston Ferns, which belong botanically in the genus V ephrolepis. The wild plants of this genus occur naturally on the forest floors and as epiphytes on the trees in tropical forests, both in the Old World and the New. Like most tropical ferns they do not take kindly to cultivation in modern which is discussed below. Naturally, even the Boston Fern makes better specimen plants when grown in green- houses or out-of-doors in moist, mild climates. Key To THE SPECIES Indusia round, or nearly so, with a narrow or closed sinus at the base, the sporangia spreading out beneath in all directions. CULTIVATED NEPHROLEPIS 19 Blades attenuate to the base, the lower pinnae less than half as ong as the middle, and rounded at apex rather than acute; largest pinnae rarely more than 5 em. lon N. rivularis Blades -_ slightly or not at all narrowed to the td the low pinnae only a little shorter than one middle, and ssi or lo lower surfaces of the pinnae; pinnae always auriculate upper base, usually rounded at lower base N. hirsutula Rhachis and pinnae sparsely scaly or glabr rate; pinnae mostly not auriculate, or if slightly auriculate at upper base then auriculate at lower base also .............. 3. N. biserrata pats mostly reniform, with an open sinus at base, the spor- angia mostly coming out facing the margins. Fertile pinnae lobed, the sori borne on the lobes 4, N. acuminata Fertile pinnae ie tothed, or variously divided, if lobed, the sori not borne on the lobes. Plants Seehisind small, scaly tubers on the stolons. Pinnae oblong to linear . 5. N. cordifolia Pinnae orbicular, often paired, always sterile. Blades often . cordifolia ev. ‘Duffii’ forking Plants without tubers. Pinnae 2, mostly 1-1.5 em. long, decidedly See RNS at base, the superior base broad, auriculat base narrow and cuneate; blades always once- depen . N. pectinata Pinnae much larger, 3.5-8 em. long or more, subequal at ase, the lower base rounded, not cuneate; blades 1-5- pinnate, often highly irregular .................. 7. N. exaltata 1. NEPHROLEPIS RIVULARIS (Vahl) Mettenius. Vahl’s Sword-fern. This tropical American species is little known in culti- vation; in fact, the only specimen that I have seen is from the New York Botanical Garden. It is similar to N. exaltata and probably has no advantage over that species as an ornamental plant. I know no cultivated variants. 20 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 2. NEPHROLEPIS HIRSUTULA (Forster) Presl. Rough Sword-fern. In Standardized Plant Names, this species is called ““Seurfy Sword-fern,’’ which is also appropriate, al- though perhaps less likely to gain popular acceptance. The names are suggested by the abundance of brown scales on the axes and lower surfaces of the blades, these scales being much more abundant than in other species of Nephrolepis. Strangely enough, although this species is not at all uncommon in cultivation, it is not mentioned at all in Bailey’s Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, in Bail- ery’s Manual of Cultivated Plants, or in Hortus II. Some of its varieties have been grouped erroneously among the varieties of the Boston Fern. It has passed in eulti- vation under various names, among them N. floccigera (Blume) Moore (a dubious species from Java and the Celebes Islands), N. Zollingeriana de Vriese, and various horticultural names, among them N. Mayi,’ N. Westonii, and N. superba. The commonest variant, with close-set overlapping pinnatifid pinnae, is cy. ‘Superba’ (which has often been called forma monstruosa). The variant with forked pinnae is ev. ‘Weston.’ 3. NEPHROLEPIS BISERRATA (Swartz) Schott. Broad Sword-fern. The common name ‘Broad sword-fern’’ has perhaps not beeen used before, but it seems appropriate, for this is the largest Species and the one with the broadest blades, which are normally six inches broad or more, and may reach as much as a foot in width in wild plants al- characterized by a conspicuous covering of white scales. The plant was no good as a house plant. CULTIVATED NEPHROLEPIS 21 though probably not often in cultivated ones. The name ‘‘Purplestalk sword-fern’’ proposed by Dr. Benedict in “Standardized Plant Names’’ is not appropriate, for the stalks are by no means purple, being mostly a rather dull brownish color and sometimes essentially stramin- eous. This is perhaps one of the most widely distributed of all ferns, as it is usually interpreted. The original col- lection was from the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, but plants have been found throughout much of Attion, Asia, and tropical America. Although forming an obviously related group of plants, they are by no means uniform in general appearance or in minute char- acters, and it is likely that a monographie study would Show that several species could be segregated. The plants from Florida and the West Indies in particular seem to diverge from the Mauritius type. The only variation of N. biserrata known in cultiva- tion s the Fishtail Sword-fern, which is called ey. ‘Fur- cans,’ in which the tips of the pinnae are forked, and often tines the two branches of the two forks are again forked. This is a desirable plant in cultivation. There appear to be two forms, a fertile one and one that ap- pears to be always sterile; they have perhaps had a dif- ferent origin. The Suet form often goes under the er- roneous name N. davallioides ev. ‘Furecans.’ Formerly, this species was known as Nephrolepis acuta, and it may still be found so listed in the cata- logues of some nurseries. 4. NEPHROLEPIS ACUMINATA (Houttuyn) Kuhn. Java Sword-fern. I have never had the pleasure of seeing this species growing, but it must make a beautiful display. In na- ture, it is an epiphyte growing on tree- trunks, with drooping fronds six or even eight feet long. Fertile specimens are easily identified by the position of the 22 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL sori—borne actually out on conspicuous lobes of the pin- nae. Sterile specimens can be told by the blackish scales that are conspicuous along the rhachis; the rhachis-scales in other species are brown or pale. In cultivation, this species has often passed under the Synonymous name N. davallioides. Specimens with forked pinnae identified as this species have all turned out to be forms of N. biserrata rather than N. acuminata, going by the character of the scales mentioned above. 5. NEPHROLEPIS CORDIFOLIA (L.) Presl. Erect Sword- ern. The common name proposed above is suggested by the erect habit of this plant, the fronds of which stand up like soldiers at attention, in contrast with the gracefully arching and spreading fronds of the Boston fern. The name “‘Tuber Sword-fern,”’ suggested in Standardized Plant Names, is appropriate also, because this is the only species that bears “‘tubers,’’ small potato-like growths that appear on the stolons some distance from the crown, and which serve as water-storing organs.” The tubers are eaten to some extent in tropical Amer- ica, or so I was told in Honduras, but the supply must be extremely limited. Because of the known poisonous qualities of many ferns, I should hesitate to reeommend that anyone try them for lunch. In the Los Angeles, California, area the Erect sword- fern is common in gardens, mostly in its typical form, but it can not be expected to thrive out-of-doors in most of the United States. The most distinctive variant is ev. ‘Duffii,’ so different that one would hesitate to associate it with cordifolia at all, except that it produces the characteristic tubers. The pinnae are small, rounded at apex, and often prac- GB Dr, Benedict tells me that the form grown as ‘Philippinensis’ 1s indistinguishable from cordifolia except that it apparently does not produce tubers. : CULTIVATED NEPHROLEPIS 23 tically circular in outline; they are rarely more than a half-inch long. The fronds are almost always forking at apex, and are always sterile. It is a desirable plant for cultivation. It is common in tropical gardens through- out the world, and may sometimes have escaped from eul- tivation ; at least, some herbarium specimens are labelled as though they had been collected in the wild. This species has been known under the synonymous names Nephrolepis tuberosa and N. cordata, the latter probably just a misspelling. A desirable, but probably rare, form is ev. ‘Tessellata’ with the pinnae pinnately divided above the middle, a synonym of which is probably ev. ‘Plumosa,’* 6. NEPHROLEPIS PECTINATA (Willdenow) Schott. Bas- ket-fern. The name ‘‘Basket-fern’’ appears in Hortus II. It does not appear to me to be particularly appropriate, for this species is not as good for growing in baskets as the Boston Fern or some other species, such as N. biser- rata, that grow naturally as epiphytes. Nephrolepis pectinata is naturally a terrestrial plant, and is the stiffest species of all. It was formerly thought to be only a variety of N. cordifolia, but it is definitely different. The most obvious character is found in the bases of the pinnae, which are acute at the lower side in pectinata and rounded or cordate in N. cordifolia. There are no tubers produced in N. pectinata. This species, because of its rarity in cultivation, has not given rise to any cultivars. 8 According to a letter from Dr. Benedict, ev. ‘Tessellata’ was introduced by the H. B. May Company, Edmonton, England. e Says that it seems to retain always its bipinnate division, unlike B was common with dealers in years past, but was too slow rowing to compete with the Boston Fern. It has spreading leaves, rather than stiffly erect ones like the type. The name ‘Plumosa’ was given by W. A. Manda. 24 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 7. NEPHROLEPIS ExALTATA (L.) Schott. Common Sword- ern. The Common sword-fern is ascribed a world-wide dis- tribution by most authorities although its actual range is perhaps more restricted. In cultivation, it is not com- mon, being almost or entirely replaced by the following: 7a. NEPHROLEPIS EXALTATA var. BOSTONIENSIS Hort. Bos- ton fern. The origin of this, the commonest of all house ferns, is unknown. Its early history is discussed by Dr. R. C Benedict.’ Around 1896, it suddenly appeared among nurserymen’s stock in Boston and Cambridge, where it was first identified as NV. davallioides (i.e. NV. acuminata), but was shortly thereafter referred to N. exaltata as a variety, where it has remained since. It is very like wild exaltata, except that it is not so stiff but laxer and more graceful and with somewhat broader fronds, but it be- haves differently—it is sterile® and it is highly variable; natural populations of N. exaltata are uniform, at least locally, and are normally fertile from spores. The be- havior of the Boston Fern Suggests that it is possibly a hybrid, a sterile triploid, between exaltata and a second unknown parent. Still, hybridity alone would not quite explain the peculiar variations (sports) that have arisen from the Boston Fern. So far as I know, the cytology has not been carefully studied; it is a promising field for work, one not without difficulty however. Cytological studies in the ferns are mostly made with the spore- BRR iin SBN Saal * The Origin of New Varieties of Nephrolepis by Orthogenetic Saltation, I. Progressive Variations, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 43: 207-234. 1916, * Dy. Benedict deseribed a “var. fertilis” of the Boston Fern, the origin of which was unknown and also the cytology. It did pro- duce many viable spores, but it was not a reversion to the wild form, because its progeny were highly variable, being variously cut, ruf- er i ther investigation. Apparently, this fertile form was never in commercial cultivation ; it may no longer exist or it may still be grown in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. CULTIVATED NEPHROLEPIS 25 mother cells, but most Boston Ferns are completely sterile and consequently some method for study of the somatic chromosomes would have to be devised. The small size and large numbers of the fern chromosomes render them difficult to study for technical reasons. Over a hundred named cultivars of the Boston Fern have appeared within the last fifty years, most of them between the years 1900 and 1920. Interest in developing new kinds has waned in recent years, and but few of the older sorts are still widely grown. The typical Boston Fern is still the commonest, because it is the one that does best under conditions in the ordinary house or apart- ment; it will stand a good deal of abuse and neglect. The delicate, finely divided forms are more strictly green- house plants. The principal authority on the Boston Fern and its variations is Dr, R. C. Benedict, who published a num- ber of papers describing the variations, including the only systematic account that has been published (in Bailey’s Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture). These cultivars combine variation in several respects—division (from simply pinnate through pinnatifid, to bipinnate and on to 5-pinnate, sometimes with several kinds of di- vision on one plant or even one frond), ruffling of the pinnae, forking of the blades and pinnae (sometimes Several times), dwarfing (including diminution of the rhachis, with consequent imbrication of the pinnae), and others. Perhaps the most striking end-product is the form that has been called ev. *Trevillian,’ in which the division of the blade is so extreme, the shortening of the rhachis so pronounced, and the ruffling so accentuated that a single leaf appears to be just a green ball. Al- though this extreme form is not ornamental, it is still in cultivation. It developed a further peculiarity, unknown elsewhere in the genus Nephrolepis, of becoming proli- ferous, that is, of bearing vegetative buds on the rha- chises, which serve to produce new plants. Strangely 26 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL enough, the plants arising from these buds (or gemmae) are not like the parent at all, but are simply pinnate and not ruffled, and represent a reversion to a more or less typical form of bostoniensis. Such reversions of the cut- leaved variants are not infrequent, and several types were described by Dr. Benedict. Some reversions are temporary and apparently seasonal, and others are per- manent.® Boston Ferns produce runners (stolons) from the bases of the leaves, which take root and form new plants. This is the standard method of propagation. After the new plants take root they are cut off from the runner and potted. A single Boston Fern can thus produce hun- dreds of progeny, most of which are quite like the parent plants, but occasionally one will be decidedly different, representing a mutation and a new cultivar, most of which are not improvements and which are discarded by growers. A Kry nud Lies PRINCIPAL CULTIVARS OFFERED PRESENT? Blades simply pinnate, or at most with irregular lobes or forking pinnae. Leaves of well-grown plants three feet long or more. r. Benedict fe eit ong 0 following note: Boston Fern vari- heir m ns, e.g., the ‘Scottii,’ the ruffling o rs. T. Roos evelty | the ‘‘plumy’’ characteristics of ‘Elegantissima- -compact and ‘ Norwoodii.’ Also, the most typical features of some pated may be obscured in . . c he divided forms (but not the s raight dwarfed or ru types) to sapien reverted leaves, ranging from more or less eeaie divided = Mak kh wi ner may be thus produced a mongrel sort plant that is incapable of n t h cl eh Peal p giving rise to specimens of the typi- 7 Contributed by D . R. C. Benedict. Additional cultivars that are currently offered a dealers are fe a ‘Colorado,’ ‘Spring- field,’ and ‘Hana’ (an error for ‘Nan fa CULTIVATED NEPHROLEPIS 27 Pinnae not lobed, Sep Hldnel access. var. bostoniensis Pinnae lobed or forked. Pinnae ruffled: aie some lobing ......... ev. ‘Mrs. T. Roosevelt’ Pinnae forking at tips ev. ‘Gretnae’ Leaves less than three feet long. innae 5m OP NEATLY: BUS aacii.cniane coe ev. ‘Dwarf Boston’ Pinnae ed ev. ‘Teddy Jr.’ Pinnae haiti: the upper surface conveX ............ ev. ‘Seottii’ Blades two or more times pinnate, at least on most leaves. Leaves over three feet long, essentially bipinnate. Leaf tips and pinnae not forking 00... en ev. ‘Piersonii’ Leaf tips and pinnae forking ey. ‘Splendida’ Leaves less than three feet long. Leaves vasgeareel bipinnate-pinnatifid when well page aay L s and pinnae forking Wicheri Leaf os and pinnae not forking. Leaves 12-18 inches long. Leaves mostly less than 15 ~s long. . ‘Elegantissima-compacta’s ev. ‘Nor Leaves somewhat taller, fu ler oetinien woodii’ Leaves less than 12 inches long; rhachis thartened. with CONGESTEA PIUMMAC 6nee.censcsecssersceneeoren ev. ‘Fluffy Ruffles’? Leaves eos or A RH with small segments. Leaves neo up rs os inches long; pinnate and paper often ‘Whi tmanii’ crowded Leaves less than 18 inches long; ree and eit. pe ents Verona’ ually open Leaves ‘pind opatae usually less than 12 cits long. ey. ‘Smithii’l? U.S. Narionat Museum, WasHineTon, D. C. ae in ee wee as ev. ‘Compacta,’ she is Rice the best n ‘Elegantissima-com is well formed; De Be bedikt ‘forms me that this Tina | is aot a pont tive of ev. ‘Elegantis ® Close to the olaar a ev, ‘Muscosa’ but apparently not the same. “10 Sometimes known in the trade as “Lace-fern.” 28 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Diplazium japonicum Naturalized in Florida C. V. Morton anv R. K. Goprrey In January, 1957, the junior author, in company with Mr. Paul L. Redfearn, Jr., visited the region of Lake Talquin, in Gadsden County, Florida, and collected a fern that was not recognized at the time. It was growing abundantly in a narrow ravine in hardwood forest on a steep slope north of the lake. Specimens were submitted to the senior author, who identified it as Diplazium ja- ponicum (Thunberg) Beddome, a species not previously known naturalized in the United States, although it is fairly well known in cultivation, especially in southern California. Mrs. Fay MacFadden has it growing in her fern garden in Los Angeles. The only other Diplazium from the United States that is at all similar is D. lonchophyllum Kunze, which is known from a single locality in Louisiana: It is a Mex- ican species, doubtless introduced in Louisiana, although Dr. Maxon did not reject entirely the possibility that it might be native. In the case of D. japonicum, there is no doubt but that it is introduced, even though it is growing in Florida in a distinctly rural area, isolated from any present-day farmhouses and eight to ten miles from the nearest town. It is distant about 200 yards across a for- ested area from a country road. Its abundance and lux- uriance suggest a natural propagation regardless of how it might have come to be here in the first place. In general appearance and cutting D. lonchophyllum is not dissimilar to D. japonicum, but it differs in numer- ous particulars. It can be distinguished immediately by its stalked rather than sessile lower pinnae, and by the smooth rather than scaly stipes and rhachises. The only other true Diplazium known from the United States is f. Maxon, William R. Diplazium lonchophyllum in Louisiana. This JOURNAL 34: 21-24. 1944, m tonchophylium in Louisiana AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 48, PLATE 4 DIPLAZIUM JAPONICUM. ADAPTED FROM M. OGaTA, IconEs FILICUM JAPONIAE, VOLUME 3, PLATE 115, 193 30 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL D. esculentum, also an introduction,? which is utterly different; it is distinguished fundamentally by its anas- tomosing veins and its bipinnate division. Of native species, D. japonicum most nearly resembles the Silvery Spleenwort, Athyrium thelypterioides, al- though the similarity is not close. The Silvery Spleen- wort has many more pairs of pinnae, is much more deli- cate in general, and has smooth, rather than scaly rha- chises. The pinnae are deeply pinnatifid nearly to the costa, whereas those of D. japonicum are less deeply obed. E. B. Copeland, and some other modern fern students, have followed Milde in uniting the genera Diplazium and Athyrium under the latter name. Although it ap- pears that there are no fundamental morphological dif- ferences between the two, most species can be readily placed in one or the other, and it seems advisable to re- tain the traditional division until a monographie study has been made. It seems as though true Athyrium has a different basic chromosome number (n = 40) from Di- plazium (n= 41), but not enough species have been in- vestigated from this point of view. Dr. Manton has in- dicated that D. japonicum has the number n = 82 (a tetraploid number). Athyrium thelypterioides is one of the species that is intermediate between Athyrium and Diplazium ; apparently, a chromosome count has not been made. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION AND FLorma State UNI- VERSITY. * Cf. Diddell, Mary W. Diplazium esculentum in Florida. This JOURNAL 38: 16-19. 1948. New ComBINATIONS ol Validation of Some New Combinations Mme. Tarpieu-Bior Article 32 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (1956 edition) specifies that ‘‘A new transfer or combination published on or after 1 Jan. 1953 is not validly published unless the basionym (name- bringing or epithet-bringing Synonym) is eclearly indi- cated with a full reference to its author and original publication.’’ Since 1953 I have proposed several new combinations without having properly cited the basi- onyms, in accordance with the above Rule. The present paper citing the basionyms will serve to validate these combinations. SPLENIUM AFFINE Swartz var. Gilpinae (Baker) soe comb. nov. (Tardieu, in Mém. Inst. Sci. Madagascar, Sér. B, 19. 1955; op. cit. 7: 48. 1956, sine basion.) pr Gilpinae Baker, Journ. Linn. Soe. [London] 16: 200. 1877. ASPLENIUM HERPETOPTERIS Baker var. acutipinnatum (Bonap.) oe » comb nov, (Tardieu, in Mém. Inst. Sei. Madagascar, Sér. B, 4! 1956, sine basion.) enium ribs pagar Bonap., Not. Pterid 4: 69. 1917 fae. acutipinnata) ASPLENIUM HERPETOPTERIS Baker var. masoulae (Bonap.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit. 50, sine basion Asplenium masoulae Bonap., Not. Pterid. 10: 182. 1920. ASPLENIUM PELLUCIDUM Lamarck var. Sis (Bory) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion.) Asplenium dareifolium Bory ex wind. Sp. Plant. 5: 335. 1810. ASPLENIUM VIVIPARUM (L.f.) Presl var. saps sce (Lamarck ) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardi leu, op. cit. 47, sine basion.) Asplenium daucifolium Lamarck, Enecyel. Meth. ¢ 310. 1786. ASPLENIUM VIVIPARUM (L.f.) Presl var. inaequale (Willd.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit. 48, sine basion.) Darea inaequalis Willd. , Sp. Plant. 5: 298. 1810. ASPLENIUM VIVIPARUM (L.f.) Presl var. lineatum (Swartz) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit. 47, sine basion.) Asplenium lineatum Swartz, Journ, Bot. Schrader 18002: 51. ) 32 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL CorNopTEeRIS Boryana (Willd.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit. 30, sine basion. Aspidium Boryanum Willd. Sp. Plant. 5: 285. 1810. CorNopTeRIS Forsythii-majoris (C. Chr.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion.) Dryopteris ay a spent C. Chr. Dansk. Bot. Ark. [Pterid. Madagascar] 7: 63. pl. 16, figs. 1-3. 1932. CORNOPTERIS paticchs (Beddome) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion.) Asplenium Macdonellii Beddome, Journ. Bot. Brit. & For. 27: 73. 1889, CORNOPTERIS oosora (Baker) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion.) ephrodiwm oosorum Baker, Kew Bull. 1896: 41. 1896. CORNOPTERIS parvisora (C. Chr.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion.) Dryopteris parvisora C. Chr., Ark. fér Bot. 14, pte Ido. pled, fig. 5. 1916. CorNopreris pterorachis (Christ) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion Athyriy um pietehichts Christ, Bull. Herb. Boiss. 4: 668. 1896. CoRNOPTERIS sulcinervia (Hieron.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion. Aapiium suleinervium Hieron. in Engl. Pflanzenw. Ost. Afr. C: 1895. obulieieailg tenuisecta (Blume) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit. 32, sine basion. Aspidium tenuisectum Blume, Enum, Pl. Jav. 170. 1828. CORNOPTERIS Viridifrons (Makino) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit. 30, sine basion. Athyrium viridifrons Makino, Bot. Mag. Tokyo 13: 15. 1899. CTENITIS arthrothrix (Hooker) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, Notul. Syst. 15: 89. 1954, sine basion. ) Polypodium. arthrothriz Hooker, Sp. Fil. 5: 14. 1864, ae Boivinii (Baker) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit. 6: 1955, sine basion.) paca Boivinii Baker, in Hook. & Bak. Syn. Fil. ed. 2: 501. 1874. rane Warburii (C. Chr.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, Notul. Syst. 15: 89. 1954, sine basion.) NEw COMBINATIONS 33 Dryopteris Warburii C. Chr. Dansk. Bot. Ark. 7: 58. pl. 14. 932. CycLosorus silvaticus (Pappe & Raws.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, Mém. Inst. Sci. Madagascar, Sér. B, 6: 220. 1955, sine basion.) Goniopteris silvatica Pappe & Raws. Syn. Fil. Afr. Aust. 39. 1858. : CYCLOSORUS SUBPENNIGERUS (C. Chr.) teabied comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basion. et cum. auct. ‘*Bak.’ Dipentevte subpennigera ©. Chr. Dansk. Bot. Ark. 7: 52, pl. 12, figs. 1, 2. 1932. DAVALLIA CHAEROPHYLLOIDES (Poir.) Steud. var. mauritiana (Hooker) Tard., comb. nov. vole i Notul. Syst. 15: 178. 1956, sine cit. et cwm. auct. ‘*C. Chr. Davallia tuairendi Hooker, Sp. Fil. 1: 164. pl. 55B. 1845. HETEROGONIUM cyatheifolium (Desv.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, Notul. Syst. 15: 89. 1954, sine basion.) oe odontolabia (Baker) ant comb. nov. foun’ Mém. Inst. Sci. Madaga ascar, Sér. B, 7 1956, sine basion Davallia peauttives Baker, Journ. a Brit. & For. 22: “140. 1884, POLYStTICHoPsts bella (C. Chr.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, Notul. Syst. 15: 270. 1956, sine basion.) Dryopteris bella C. Chr, in Bonap, Not. Pterid. 16: 164. pl. 8. 1925. PSEUDOTECTARIA crinigera a (C. Chr.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, Notul. Syst. 15: 86. 1954, sine basion.) Aspidium crinigerum ©, Chr. in Bonap. Not. Pterid. 16: 34. 25. PSEUDOTECTARIA si gry (C. Chr.) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loc. cit., sine basi mn.) Tectaria Decry Chr. Dansk. Bot. Ark. 7: 66. pl. 19. 1932. SAMBIRANIA Decaryana (C. Chr.) Sieg pees nov. (Tardieu, Mém. Inst. Sci, alntcgaisat Sér. B, 7: 36. 1956, sine basion.) Schizoloma Decaryanum ©. Chr. siting a. Ark. 12:79... pl 23, figs. 1, 2, 1932. SAMBIRANIA ‘Plicata (Baker) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit. 34, sine basion.) 34 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Lindsaea plicata Baker, Journ. Linn, Soe. [London] 25: 350. 1889. ScuizoLoma Chienii (Ching) igh = comb. nov, aye Mém. nst. Sci. Madagascar, Sér. B, 7: 1956, sine basion.) Lindsaea Chienii Ching, ilanads 1: 4. SCHIZOLEGNIA leptophylla (Baker) Tard., comb. nov Lindsaea leptophylla Baker, Journ, Bot. Brit. & Por. 22: 141. 1884, ee leptophyllum Tard. Mém. Inst. Sci. Madagascar, Sér. B, 7: 37. 1956, non rite edit., i.e. sine basio rer oxyphylla (Baker) Tard., comb. nov. Lindsaea oxyphylla Baker, Journ, Bot. Brit. & For. 29: 3. 1891. seme tr oa beara Tard. Mem. Inst. Sci. Madagascar, Sér. i 1956, non rite edit., gia on jeer ab eran pen S segregation of the new genus Schizolegnia ane sieicieiaks lite Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, m. Inst. Sei. Madagascar, Sér. B, 7: 37. 1956, sine basion.) | deeds campylophylla Fourn. Fl Sci. Nat. [Paris] 18: 335. 1873. SPHENOMERIS emirnensis (Hooker) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, op. cit, 36, sine basion.) Davallia emirnensis Hooker, Sp. Fil. 1: 189. 1845, SPHENOMERIS Goudotiana (Kunze) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu, loe. cit., sine basion.) Thseaties Goudotiana Kunze, Analect. 35. t. 22, f. 2. 1837. SPHENOMERIS madagascariensis (Baker) Tard., comb. nov. (Tard- ieu, loc. cit., sine basion.) Lindsaea "adagsias Baker, Journ. Linn. Soe. [London] 46:\198. 1877, SPHENOMERIS microphylla (Swartz) Tard., comb. nov. (Tardieu op. cit. 37, sine basion.) Lindsaea microphylla Swartz, Journ, Bot. Schrader 18002: 79. 1801. ? Museum NatIonaLe p’HISTOIRE NATURELLE, 57 RUE Cuvirr, Paris, FRANCE. MICRONESIAN PTERIDOPHYTA 35 Notes on Micronesian Pteridophyta, II. F. R. Fosspere This series started in 1950' is continued in the present paper with observations on the genus Ceratopteris Brongn. (Parkeriaceae), of which two species have been found in Micronesia, one of them generally regarded as a local endemic in Guam. CERATOPTERIS THALICTROIDES (L.) Brongn. Bull Soe. Philom. Paris (1821): 186. 1821. This widely distributed species, usually found growing rooted in the muddy bottoms of rice and taro pits, has been known from Micronesia since Volkens reported it from Yap in 1901. Both Kanehira and Hosokawa added reports from Palau in 1935, with Hosokawa mentioning also Guam, probably basing this record on Safford’s re- port in 1905. Hosokawa’s specimen, no. 6858 (Fo), from Palau represents a very slender plant, with fertile fronds only, but is in all probability correctly referred to this species. Guam specimens from either Safford or Hoso- kawa have not been seen, but probably belong with the plants discussed as C. gaudichaudii below. To the ree- ords of true C. thalictroides may be added Fosberg & Wong 25488 (US, BISH, Fo)? and Lessa 97 (BISH), both from Mogmog Islet, Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands. This is a large robust plant, with fronds up to 45 em. tall, which was growing in the water of a taro pit. The ver- nacular name recorded by Lessa is ‘*walbwong. CERATOPTERIS GAUDICHAUDI Brongn. Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris (1821): 187. 1821. 1 Fosberg, F. R. Notes on Micronesian Pteridophyta. Amer. Fern Journ, 40: 132-147, 1950. * Herbarium abbreviations: US: United States National Her- barium; BISH: Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu; Fo: Still in author’s hands. 36 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL This species was first collected in 1819 by Gaudichaud who wrote (translated) about it as follows :° “It is at the edge of these humid gardens [irrigated rice, Sugar-cane, and taro fields] and in the bottom of in- undated plains that grows spontaneously Ceratopteris gaudichaudti, Ad. Brong. (oumoug-soussounian), an an- nual fern, tender, usefully employed as asalad...’’? And on p. 394: ‘This fern, which we believe to be annual, like its relatives, bears in Guam the name oumoug (hou- moug) soussouniann (souzouniann) ; it grows abundantly in the marshy grounds where the river of Agana has its springs. A field of black soil, compact, recently plowed, was then [May 1819] almost entirely covered with young Specimens, still without fructifications, the state in which people search for this plant to eat it as a salad. ‘Its leaves are fasciculate, of a tender meadow-green, very delicately herbaceous in texture, bipinnatifid, with linear lobes, in the axils of which can be seen small pale- yellow, bulbiform, glandular bodies, the flattened peti- oles bearing a few leafy, membranaceous, concave, cellu- lar, diaphanous scales, “Tn this plant, the veins or vascular bundles are eapil- lary, 3 or 4 in number; they divide at the summit of the petioles and in the leaflets become reticulate after suc- cessive dichotomies. The branches of the frond give rise to ribbon-like Segments or buds. The cellular tissue has a very large mesh.’’ From Gaudichaud’s manuscript notebook, p. 159: ‘83. Oumoug soussounian. This singular fern with leaves 3 times pinnatifid offers as characteristic its fertile leaves with a rolled edge, joined beneath, bearing a brown membrane containing globular fructifications which di- vide into an infinity of other globules equally round. Pteris? Base of pinnules of different order bearing * Bot. Voyage Uranie 74, 1826. MIcRONESIAN PTERIDOPHYTA 37 plant, brittle, meadow-green. In all the humid fields that surround the springs of the river of Agafia.’’* Safford® gives the native name as ‘‘umug sensonyan’”’ and probably knew the plant, but no collection of his has been seen. It was collected near the mouth of the Talofofo River in 1946 by Grether and again in 1954 by Fosberg. Gaudichaud collected fairly abundant material [his no. 83] of which four sheets have been examined, two in Paris, one in Geneva, and one in Florence. The plant represented by these is clearly a rooted plant, small and delicate, the longest fertile frond being 18 em. long. There is a complete transition from sterile fronds that are ovate with broad oblong somewhat dentate segments, through sterile fronds with much narrower, broadly lin- ear segments, to narrowly triangular fertile ones with narrowly linear-acuminate segments. The longest frond is a fertile one 18 em. long and 7 em. wide, with a stipe 6 em. long, and alternate pinnae, 4 on aside. The sterile fronds are smaller, up to 10 em. long and half as wide, with 5 or 6 subopposite pinnae on a side, and stipes 2 to 3 em. long. The type collection shows at most tripinnatifid fronds. The Fosberg collection (35454 US, BISH, Fo), also rooted, is similar to the type, but shows some signs of a proliferation of small plants on the sterile fronds. The cutting of the fronds of these rooted collections is not es- sentially dissimilar to that of C. thalictroides, though more delicate than most material of that species. The Grether collection (4326 US) is of floating plants, with fronds (up to 25 em. long) conspicuously finely dissected (4-6 times divided), the segments being narrow and al- most perpendicular to the rachises. This pattern is ap- proached only by one collection of C. thalictroides exam- 38 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL ined, Priest in 1930 (US), from Hawaii. Taro pits are few in Guam these days, as are rice fields. Wherever an opportunity was presented these were searched for Ceratopteris in 1950 and 1953-54, but with no success. The Grether collection was found floating in the estuary of the Talofofo River, several hundred meters above the mouth where the plants were said to be common. No plants were evident floating in this river in 1950 or 1953-54, though the river was examined for quite a dis- tance. The plants of the Fosberg collection were found on the south bank of the Talofofo River about 300 meters above the mouth, growing sparsely on a small mud flat at the water’s edge. The presence of a few plantlets on the fronds suggested that plants growing along muddy banks may be the source of the floating populations such as that collected by Grether. These must be swept out to sea dur- ing heavy rains such as those in December 1953, which cause a great rise in the river. The ecology of this species merits more careful study, preferably by those in a posi- tion to make repeated observations. The existence of an endemic species of this genus on Guam must inevitably raise questions. It is apparently the only species in the genus with such a local distribu- tion. This was considered so unlikely that Safford, fol- lowed by Merrill and Bryan, considered it identical with C. thalictroides. Christensen, in the Index Filicum, re- duced all species of this genus, including C. gaudichaudii, to C. thalictroides. Wagner regarded it as distinct. There is no doubt that it is usually a smaller more delicate plant, with a slightly different range in cutting of the fronds. The sporangia are similar to those of C. thalic- troides with many very narrow transversely elongate an- nular cells. The spores are similar, and have the same curious rugosity resembling the human epidermal ridges that make fingerprints. The differences are not impres- Sive, and since the ancient Chamorros brought both rice ASPLENIUM KENTUCKIENSE 39 and taro with them from wherever they came they may well have brought Ceratopteris either deliberately or accidentally. It is conceivable that only a very small pop- ation was thus introduced, perhaps as small as one plant. This would drastically limit the potential vari- ability of the descendants, and if the original stock were a dwarfed biotype this might account for the present characteristics of the plants under discussion. It seems rather improbable that one would describe such a form as a species unless he found other correlated characters. However, since studies of the genus Ceratop- teris are under way by Dr. Charles DeVol, it seems best to defer decision on the status of (. gaudichaudii until publication of his work. U.S. GeoLoaicaL Survey, WASHINGTON, D. C. Notes on the Distribution of Asplenium kentuckiense W. H. Waener, Jr. The so-called ‘Kentucky spleenwort,’’ Asplenium kentuckiense, is one of the rarest North American ferns. It is also one of the most interesting, because it now seems possible that it is composed of the germplasms of three entirely different species. On evidence from mor- phology and anatomy, it seems likely that this fern is a ‘“‘ecompound,”’ a blend of equal parts of A. montanum, A. platyneuron, and A. rhizophyllum... Almost all plants of A. kentuckiense will probably be found to be sterile; but on theoretical grounds, at least, there is a definite pos- sibility that a fertile population may sometime arise in nature, in which the chromosome number of the original Sterile form (predicted to be 108) has become doubled (1.e., 2n=216). In his original deseription of A. ken- SS _ ' Wagner, W. H., Reticulate Evolution in Appalachian Asplen- lums, Evolution 8: 103-118, 1954. AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 48, PLATE 5 ASPLENIUM KENTUCKIENSE, A. B, MASSEY 2922, FROM NEAR CHAT- HAM, PITTSYLVANIA County, VIRGINIA, May 6, ASPLENIUM KENTUCKIENSE 41 tuckiense, T. N. McCoy? listed several places where it had been collected, all of these in the state of Kentucky (Keyser Creek, Boyd Co.; Buzzard Roost, Calloway Co. ; Rowan Co.). The purpose of this paper is to give data on the localities in states outside Kentucky. Probably the finest and largest specimen of A. ken- tuckiense ever found was that of Mr. Floyd Bartley from the state of Ohio. It is in Mr. Bartley’s private herbar- ium, but fortunately, Vannorsdall, in his recent book, ‘‘Ferns of Ohio,’’* chose it for his illustration of the spe- cies, and published three plates (figs. 51-53) of the spec- imen at different magnifications. The specimen was.dis- covered in 1946, growing near the base of a large sand- stone cliff in Hay Hollow, Jackson Township, Pike County, Ohio. Asplenium pinnatifidum is abundant at this locality, and there are frequent plants of A. platy- - neuron, In Illinois, the single known collection of A. kentuc- kiense was made by Franklin Sumner Earle, probably around 1880. It is represented by two detached but com- plete and readily identifiable leaves, mounted on a her- barium sheet with A. pinnatifidum. A tracing of one of these leaves and the veins and sori of a pinna from this collection are depicted in my article on Appalachian As- pleniums.* The data that appear on the specimen are all too typical of many plant collections made before the turn of the century, before higher standards of labelling became the custom. The label on the mixed sheet is woe- fully unhelpful: It is an old-fashioned printed label of ‘Illinois Flora,’’ with the annotations ‘‘Asplenium pin- natifidum Nutt. Locality S. Ill. Collector Earle.’’ That is all. The two leaves of this collection, incidentally, represent probably the first find of this species anywhere. ~@ A new Asplenium from Kentucky. This JouRNAL, 26: 104-105. 1936, 3 Curtis Book Store. Wilmington, Ohio. 1956. 4 Op. cit. 42 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The specimens are in the Chicago Natural History Mu- seum. For the single Arkansas discovery of A. kentuckiense, we are indebted to Professor Dwight M. Moore, of the University of Arkansas, who found it some five or six miles south of the Missouri line in the northern part of Benton County. The habitat was sandstone ledges along Pea Ridge. Dr. Moore had gone to the locality to search for A. pinnatifidum in 1949. He has written (letter, October 9, 1953) that ‘‘It was while looking around at this time that I found on one of the ledges between plants of A. pinnatifidum and A. platyneuron a few plants that seemed to have characters of both of the species.”’? A representative specimen from this locality is on deposit in the Herbarium of the University of Arkansas. The single collection of Kentucky spleenwort known from Virginia was reported as A. gravesii by A. B. Mas- sey.” The confusion of this species with A. gravesii is understandable because of their very subtle differences. The Virginia kentuckiense was taken in May, 1939 ‘2 miles west of Chatham, on a boulder in open woods near south shore of Moses Mill Pond on Cherrystone Creek,’’ Pittsylvania Co. It was associated with A. pin- natifidum, and Mr. Thomas Darling, who visited the lo- cality in 1951, reports ‘a little platyneuron in the local- ity.’’ The specimen, which though small is complete Conrad V. Morton for calling my attention to this col- lection. e ferns and fe ° Th rn allies of Virgini Bull. $7: (no, 7): 40. 1944 of Virginia. Va. Polytechnic Inst. ASPLENIUM KENTUCKIENSE 43 Asplenium kentuckiense is thus known from five states —Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, and Virginia. I am probably presumptuous in advising my colleagues on how to find new stations for this plant, since I have never succeeded in finding it myself. However, from the facts known at present and by analogy with other hybrids in this group, there are several pointers that may be of help. The first is that the best or optimum habitat for either parent (ie., A. pinnatifidum or A. platyneuron) is probably less likely for A. kentuckiense than a habitat which lies between these extremes. Asplenium pinnati- fidum is a strictly rock-inhabiting plant and it reaches its maximum development and abundance on rock cliffs ; A. platyneuron, on the contrary, in spite of its common occurrence in rock crevices, tends to achieve its maxi- mum development in soil. Where the two species are likely to grow close together or side-by-side will usually be the best habitat. An ideal situation, for example, might be a series of ledges in which A. platyneuron grows in soil at different levels, with A. pinnatifidum on the rock faces between. I believe that disturbed situa- tions are especially good—where major disturbances by rock-slides, fires over the preceding decade, or a certain amount of cattle or sheep activities have produced a weedy and more or less barren condition. Here the plants of A. pinnatifidum may be ‘‘skimpy’’ and even the A. platyneuron, which commonly thrives under such disturbed conditions, may be somewhat dwarfed. In the field I have frequently heard such statements as ‘‘Not much point in looking for hybrids there among the weeds and briars. That slope is all weedy and broken up, and there are only a few plants [of whatever the participat- ing parents are].’’ The fact is that such a spot might be exactly the best place to find the hybrid A. kentuckiense. These are only suggestions, but they may be helpful to field-workers looking for new localities. Universiry or Micntaan, ANN Arsor, MICHIGAN. 44 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Recent Fern Literature ‘‘Plant Classification’”! is a new textbook of systematic botany that can be highly recommended. All the families of ferns and flowering plants are discussed and _ illus- trated in some detail, and there are instructive sections on the historical development and general principles of classification and nomenclature, on technical terminol- ogy, the use of keys and the general process of identifica- tion, and on methods of collecting and preserving plants. The special section on ferns and fern-allies occupies about 40 pages. Two new names are proposed as Divisions of the Plant Kingdom—Sphenophyta to contain the horse- tails and Lycophyta to contain the club-mosses and quill- worts. Although the work is designed for a beginner’s course in college botany, the average amateur will find it readily usable-—C. V. Morton A KEY TO Ferns In WesteRN NATIONAL ParKs.2— Keys to the eight families, 24 genera, and 106 species and varieties of ferns and fern-allies known to occur in the 16 western National Parks appeared in the July, 1954, issue of the American Midland Naturalist but have not as yet been noted in the Fern Journal. The keys are constructed carefully, and for the most part contain sufficient information about specific charac- teristics to permit prompt identification of the species involved. In a few instances the key utilizes geographic localities instead of morphological characters to separate species. For example, the authors separate Botrychium matricariifolium from B. boreale with ‘‘Found in nor- thern and central Colorado’’ in contrast with ‘‘Found in Alaska and the northern Rocky Mountains,’’ respee- tively. Again, the leg of the key to Cheilanthes parryi * Plant Classification, by Lyman Benson, pp. 1-688, illus. 1957. D.C Heath and Co., Boston, Mass. ($9. 4 PP oma 5 —— re ane Harold E. Bailey, “A Guide to the g Plants and Ferns of the West i ks.” Amer. Midl. Nat. 54: 1-32, 1954. eae) re RECENT FERN LITERATURE 45 reads ‘‘Grand Canyon National Park,’’ while that to the paired species, C. cooperae, is ‘‘Sequoia National Park.”’ No descriptions are provided. Following the keys to the species within each genus, abbreviations indicate the park or parks in which each species oceurs. The recognition of species, subspecies, and varieties is liberal, e.g., the authors accept Equisetum limosum and E. kansanum as distinct species, whereas conservative taxonomists often consider these two taxa either as syn- onyms or mere varieties or forms of E. fluviatile and E. laevigatum, respectively. The July, 1954, installment is the first in a series de- signed to cover the entire vascular flora of the Western National Parks. A second part appeared in J uly, 1957.” The first installment, however, is the only one containing cryptogamic vascular plants. The first eight pages in the initial paper are devoted to an introduction and to a discussion of the vegetation of the Pacific Slope Region, the Rocky Mountain Region, and the Southwest Region, these being the phytogeographic areas recognized. The keys to the ferns occupy pages 9 through 23 in the initial paper. The remainder of this part, and all of the sub- Sequent ones, cover the seed-bearing plants. Part 1, in which the ferns and their allies are treated, will be interesting to members of the Fern Society who may have occasion to visit one or more of the National Parks west of the Mississippi River—Ira L. Wiacrns, Stanford University, Calif. Notes and News Our Cuarter Memper Honorep: The Council of the American Fern Society has unanimously voted to remit further dues for Miss Elmira Noyes, our one remaining Charter Member. Miss Noyes joined the Society in 1893, the year of its formation, and the Council thinks that 65 years is long enough for anyone to have to pay dues! ? Op. cit. 58: 73-114. 1957. 46 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Miss Noyes was a student at the University of Kansas of Prof. W. C. Stevens, who taught botany at the university for 51 years (1886-1937) and who died only two years ago. According to our former Treasurer, Dr. McGregor, Prof. Stevens remembered her very well. A portrait of Miss Noyes and some of her personal recollections of the early days of the Society were given in the article ‘‘Salute to Our Charter Members’’ by Dr. Correll. ANNUAL MEETING, 1958.—The annual meeting of the American Fern Society will be held this year on August 25 or 26, at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana, in connection with the meetings of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. We hope that members will prepare papers that they will read at the meetings. If a member is not able to attend in person, it will be possible to make arrangements to have papers read by others. Titles should be forwarded to the Secretary, Dr. Mildred Faust, as soon as possible, or at least prior to May 10. AnnuAL SuMMER Fiewp-rrip, 1958.—This year the Fern Society will have its field-trip in southern Ohio and Indiana, a region containing a number of limestone out- crops and a good many rare and interesting ferns. Arrangements for the trip are being made by our Cura- tor, Dr. Warren H. Wagner, Jr. (Department of Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan). The trip will probably be from about August 20 through 24. As usual, we will rely on private cars for transportation ; we shall probably be able to get rides for those without cars. The cost will be kept to a minimum. Members who are at all interested in attending should get in touch with Dr. Wagner, so that he will have some idea of how many accomodations to book at the motels or hotels that we Shall stop at. 1 This JOURNAL 43: 137-149. pl. 12. 1958, AMERICAN FERN Society 47 LETTER REGARDING MICROLEPIA STRIGOSA F. MACFADDENLAE. November 6, 1957 Dear Mr. Morton: The article you wrote in the July- September issue of the JOURNAL on Microlepias is interesting and enlighten- ing. Just goes to prove that calling a fern by the wrong name for 30 years doesn’t change the real name at all. The form MacFaddeniae that you describe has been grown by me and many of my friends here for 30 years or more under the name Asplenium Sandersonii. It is one that we all thought we knew. Our dealers here ob- tained it from a Mr. Baldwin in Pasadena, and that is the name he released it under. I don’t know where he obtained it. I think Mr. Baldwin looked in Nicholson’s Dictionary of Gardening or Schneider’s Book of Choice Ferns at the illustration of A. Sandersonii (they both use the same one) and thought he had it.’ So did we. I keep the long fronds picked out of f. M acFaddeniae, and so the frond stays quite long and narrow; but a neighbor of mine has let hers completely revert aaa it then does look like M. strigosa. It has never had spores, but if it does I shall send some. Thank you for the Journan. May I say that I enjoy each issue. Sincerely, Ora M. Wilson American Fern Society Report of the President for 1957 Several important changes in Fern Society affairs have been made during 1957. Owing to a reorganization of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, our Society has been given representation on 3 S a casual resemblance between iets fag strigisa f, MacFaddeniae and Asplenium Sandersonii, but it is only super ficial. The latt ra is a true Sa ie and Givstovs Sills guielated to Microlepia. ©. V. Mor 48 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL their Council. By action of the Council of the American Fern Society, Dr. A. C. Smith, of the National Science Foundation, was appointed to represent our Society at the regular and special meetings of the Council of the A.A.A. e attended the regular meeting of the Coun- cil of the A.A.A.S. at Indianapolis in December, partici- pated in the deliberations of that body, and forwarded a comprehensive report to the President in which he covered all actions that held even remote significance for the Fern Society. During the spring of 1957, Dr. Rolla Tryon decided to move from the Missouri Botanical Garden to the Uni- versity of California, so it became necessary to find a new depository for the Society’s Herbarium and Library and to appoint a new Librarian and Curator. Dr. Tryon convinced Dr. W. H. Wagner, Jr., that the University of Michigan is conveniently and centrally located to a large proportion of our membership. He was successful, also, in getting Dr. Wagner to consent to being appointed Librarian and Curator of the Herbarium. The Fern Society’s Council has now appointed Dr. Wagner Librar- ian and Curator of the Herbarium, so any member wish- ing to borrow specimens or literature dealing with ferns should, in the future, address his inquiry to Dr. W. H. Wagner, Jr., Department of Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mrs. Boydston continues to manage the Fern Society’s Spore Exchange, and has done a ‘‘land office business’’ this past summer in sending out packets of spores. She has been a trifle less successful in getting a satisfactory supply of spores in exchange. Others can serve the in- terests of the Society by sending her packets of carefully collected spores or fragments of fruiting fronds. An unexpectedly large increase in membership during the year, noted in the Report of the Secretary, necessi- tated another unusual action this past year. It was necessary to increase the total number of copies of the AMERICAN FERN Society 49 FERN JOURNAL run off at each printing in order to fill the immediate demands and to provide a reasonable supply of unbroken sets of the Journal for future sale. Not only that, but we had to reprint two numbers, one and three of Volume 47, because the entire run of each of these numbers had been exhausted before the year was completed. These increases are no more than indica- tions of healthy growth, provided we retain the majority of the new members a number of years and do not have too many drop out a year or two after joining! Many of us were shocked when informed of Harold A. Rugg’s death on February 13th, only a month and a half after he had become Vice-President of the Society. The vacancy in the Council left by Mr. Rugg’s death was filled by appointment of Dr. Benjamin R. Allison, who consented to serve out the unexpired portion of the term. His willing and able help was most timely and greatly appreciated. He was particularly active in furthering the interests of the Fern Society in the New York metro- politan area, in planning and helping arrange field trips, garden parties, and lectures for Fern Society members and their friends. Another member of the Fern Society, respected and loved by all who knew her, was taken by death in August of 1957. Mrs. C. A. Weatherby, who had been a member of the American Fern Society since 1914, had accom- panied her husband on many fern hunting trips prior to his death in 1949. Together, they had made their home near the Gray Herbarium in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a mecca for all students of ferns and many who worked on the flowering plants. Even after Mr. Weatherby’s death, his widow had opened her home to visiting bota- nists, and continued to show the kindly hospitality char- acteristic of these two gentlefolk. This writer holds very pleasant memories of the evenings spent with the Weath- erbys in delightful historical spots around London, and of afternoons comparing notes with them at Kew Gardens, 50 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL during the summer of 1937. All who knew them were grieved when Mr. Weatherby died in July, 1949, and now we mourn the passing of his devoted and talented widow. It is characteristic of the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Weatherby that Mrs. Weatherby’s will provided a legacy in the amount of $3,000 for the support of the Fern Journal and other constructive uses of the Ameri- can Fern Society. This fund will provide a small but regular income in support of the Fern Journal and possi- bly for other activities of the Fern Society. I am sure that Mr. and Mrs. Weatherby planned this course of action long years ago, because they clearly foresaw the help such a gift could afford our Society. Membership increased from slightly below 600 to a few past 700 during 1957. Many of the new members joined the Fern Society directly as a result of an article on growing ferns from spores published in the August number of ‘‘Sunset,’’ a West Coast magazine devoted to beautification of the home, gardening, travel, and recreation out of doors. We appreciate tremendously the boost given us by the publishers of ‘‘Sunset’?! A good many other new members were won through the enthusiasm of members who had joined somewhat earlier —from a year to over fifty years earlier! These staunch supporters of the Society and its objectives deserve much credit, and sincere thanks are extended to them. The Editorial Board earnestly hopes that the pages of the American Fern Journal will interest and stimulate our new members, and that they will continue for many years to study, grow, and enjoy ferns. One of our members who participated in the Annual Foray from August 21 through the 25th has prepared a report, to be published separately, on that activity. Following the Foray, a series of papers was presented during two half-day sessions on August 26th, in eon- Junction with the annual meetings of the American In- stitute of Biological Sciences, held on the Stanford Uni- AMERICAN FERN Society 51 versity campus. Thirty-eight individuals attended the morning session and fifty-two were present during the afternoon. Thirty-five members and friends enjoyed an informal buffet luncheon during the noon-hour break between the two sessions. A number of those attending the Fern Society meeting on Monday remained through- out the next two or three days to hear papers presented by members of other organizations. The reports prepared by the Secretary and by the Treasurer indicate that the American Fern Society is in a healthy condition, and that our regular financial reserves have risen slightly during the year, in spite of the slightly increased expenditures. I take particular pleasure in thanking all of the offi- cers, editorial staff members, curators, and librarians for their splendid cooperation and for their individual ef- forts in forwarding the interest of the American Fern Society during 1957. The Treasurer and the Editor-in- Chief have worked the hardest and most continuously, and I am particularly grateful to both of them. I am sorry that Dr. McGregor has found it necessary to termi- nate his stewardship as Treasurer, but wish him pleasant experiences during the sabbatical year he is planning when his current school year is finishe Those who have served on regular and special com- mittees and in numerous other ways deserve commenda- tion, and such is gladly given. To each member goes my personal appreciation for entrusting me with the office of president for yet another year. The honor is accepted with humility and with the hope that 1958 will witness further improvement in Fern Society affairs. Two new officers, Vice-President, James E. Benedict, Jr., and Treasurer, Dr. Walter S. Phillips, are weleomed heartily to the Council. May they enjoy the duties of their respective offices and gain valued friends among the members of the Society. Perhaps, since the annual meetings of the A.I.B.S. are 52 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL to be held in Bloomington, Indiana, from August 24-28 in 1958, a larger percentage of our membership can attend than was able to get all the way to the Pacific Coast in 1957. If so, I feel sure that officers and members alike will enjoy the fellowship afforded by the Foray and the formal part of the meetings that follow. But whether all officers reach Indiana or some are prevented from attending, each set of officers is tem- porarily entrusted with the affairs of the Society—the members constitute that Society and give it continuity, character, and life. May each member, and the Ameri- can Fern Society as a whole, experience an excellent year during 1958. Respectfully submitted, Ira L. Wicarns, President Report of the Curator and Librarian for 1957 This was a year of major changes. The American Fern Society’s Herbarium and Library were transferred from the Missouri Botanical Garden to the University of Michigan Department of Botany in August, 1957. The previous Curator and Librarian, Dr. Rolla Tryon, organized the materials with his typical care and fore- thought; and a total of 32 boxes (Merrill boxes) of pteridophyte specimens and 11 boxes of books were re- ceived at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on August 12. The books were arranged on shelves in cabinets with glass doors, and the specimens were dis- tributed in two single-door steel cabinets (Chas. Lane & Co.) in room 3010, Natural Sciences Building. The first loan issued from the Library was on November 23, the British Fern Gazette to Mr. Dale J. Hagenah of Birming- ham, Michigan. Thus far no loans have been requested from the Herbarium, although several of the advanced graduate students at the University of Michigan have consulted the collection in connection with special prob- lems. One of our pleasant prospects for the enrichment of the Society’s Library is Dr. Edgar T. Wherry’s plan to AMERICAN FERN Society 53 contribute a large number of his photographic negatives of ferns, some of these representing rare species. We have received news that Dr. Wherry also plans to con- tribute a number of fern specimens to the Herbarium. The first and most important thing that I, as the new custodian of these collections, can do upon assuming the duties of this office is to express my gratefulness, and that of the American Fern Society, to my predecessor, Dr. Tryon, for the excellent state of the materials and for the fine manner in which he carried out his job. Respectfully submitted, Warren H. Waener, Jr., Curator and Librarian Report of the Treasurer for 1957 At the end of the year our financial condition was a little better than in 1956. This was due to a significant increase in new members, the 87 sustaining members, the sale of back volumes, and gifts to the Society. The cost of handling the Society’s business remained nearly the Same though the increased activity of the year caused a slightly higher expenditure. A 3% increase in the cost of printing was offset by a reduction in the size of the JouRNAL from 176 pages to 168 pages. No funds were withdrawn from the three reserve accounts. After four years as Treasurer of the American Fern Society, I wish to thank the many individuals who cooperated so completely. It has been a pleasure to work with the officers and members to further the study of ferns. Receipts Amount Total Cash on hand, Jan. 1, 1957 $1,600.15 1956 Membership Arrears $ 10.00 1957 Membership Renewals 712.15 1957 Sustaining Members 435.00 1957 New Members 240.78 1957 Subscription Renewals 80.60 1958 Subseription Renewals 273.55 Life Membership 50.00 Sale of Back numbers 174.34 54 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Sale of Reprints 194.44 Advertising 60.00 Gifts 168.64 2,399.50 $3,999.65 Disbursements Amount Total A. F. J. Vol. 46, No. 4 443.53 A. F. J, Vol. 47; No. 1 480.28 Ae Bd. Vo » No, 2 393.51 A. F. J. Vol. 47, No. 3 412.33 “aire SOAs INO. 8 A he 65.00 ee 183.49 Eaves an Maine AR, Te a, 78.73 Preaek nies 112.90 Secretary 33.76 Treasurer 96.21 ful Siew 21.09 2,320.83 Cash on hand, January 1, 1958 $1,678.82 STATEMENT DECEMBER 31, 1957 Ass aes aie eae $1,678.82 Bissell Herbarium Bequest 648.40 Life Membership Fund ... 744.45 Rese si? GARI Nes SE OME tRed bre lone 1,774.88 ieventery Ao 25 0t 3,313.70 Ph ON kag re 396.00 Liabilities Capital, Acsoaut 3200 oa ee a $6,350.99 Suspense sateen 1958 arg ae Seek enaee neta MS 273.55 Distribution, Vol. 46, 538.86 Bissell Herbarium Pik 648.40 Life Membership Fund 744.45 $8,556.25 Respectfully submitted, Ronatp L. McGrecor, Treasurer AMERICAN F'ERN SocieTy 55 Report of the Auditing Committee We hereby certify that we have seen the books and ac- counts of Dr. Ronald L. McGregor, Treasurer of the American Fern Society, Inc., and have obtained confir- mation of the correctness of the Society’s balances on hand as set forth in detail in the accompanying report of the Treasurer. Auditing Committee W. H. Horr ELLEN 8. DUNCAN Report of the Secretary for 1957 The membership has continued to increase, now total- ing 709 as compared with 582 at the end of 1956. Cali- fornia is far in the lead of all other states with a total of 125 members. Two honorary members were elected during the year: Dr. Ralph C. Benedict, a past-President of the Fern Society, and Dr. Irene Manton, of Leeds University. England. We regret to report the deaths of the following mem- beds: Mr. Alfred T. Beals (1949), Mrs. Dudley Clapp (1953), Mr. Otto C. Risch (1956), Mr. Harold G. Rugg (1906), the Vice-president, and Mrs. Charles Weatherby (1914). In the afternoon of June 22, Mr. and Mrs. Thorlief Fliflet and their family entertained the society in their lovely garden and home at Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. Mr. Fliflet has reported on this in number three of the JOURNAL. The many species of ferns are beautifully arranged. A New England Field-trip in the vicinity of Rutland, Vermont was held July 12 and 13; this was reported on by Anna Scudder in number four of the JouRNAL. The annual summer Foray of the Society was lead by Ira Wiggins and Conrad Morton. Mrs. Dorothea Luhr is reporting the details of the trip in this number. The Annual Meeting was held on the campus of Stan- 56 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL ford University, August 26, in connection with the A.I.B.S. meeting. The morning meeting, presided over by Mildred E. Faust, consisted of the following papers: ‘‘An Amateur Plants Fern Spores’’ by Kathryn E. Boydston ; ‘‘Factors in the Collection, Propagation, and Culture of Hardy Ferns,’’ by Harry K. Roberts; ‘‘Cul- tivated Ferns of Southern California,’’ by Barbara Ho- shizaki ; ‘‘ Notes on Some Mexican Ferns,’’ by A. J. Sharp (read by title only) ; ‘‘The Discovery of Hymenophyl- lum,’’ by Herman Persson; ‘‘ Microscopie Fern Studies,’ by Clara Hires; and ‘‘The Problems of Polypodium virginianum L.”’ by Irene Manton, (read by title only; published in number four of the JouRNAL). At 12:15 an informal luncheon, presided over by President Wiggins, was attended by 35 members.’ The afternoon session, presided over by Ira L. Wiggins, consisted of the following papers: ‘‘ Peruvian Ferns,’’ by olla M. Tryon; ‘‘Distributional Notes on Some Okla- homa Ferns,’’ by George J. Goodman; ‘‘Survival of Hart’s-tongue Fern in Central New York for 150 Years,’’ by Mildred E. Faust; ‘‘Collecting Ferns in British Columbia,’’ by Fay A. MacFadden; ‘‘A Conspectus of the Pteridophytes of British Columbia,’’ by Thomas M. . Taylor; and ‘‘Ferns and Fern Allies in Marin County,’’ by John T. Howell. An Exhibition and Demonstration Room was open for the Society during the entire convention period. Her- barium specimens and living material of characteristic California ferns and exotics growing in the region were tas 1 Among Fern Society members and friends attending the lunch- eon were: William H. Baker, N. Flo Bracelin, Lincoln Constance, shi Hoshizaki, J ell, Marcel E y, Sylvia B. Le: man, Elbert Little, Fay A. MaeFadden, Elizabeth McClintock, C. V orton, ersson, Walter lips, Lea Reed, Mr Ts Harry K. Roberts, Lewis Rose, William E. Schmidt, Eva Sobol, arold L. Swendsen, Lucile Evans Swendsen, T. M. ©. Taylor, Alice Tryon, Rolla M. Tryon, Ernest Twisselmann, Ira L. Wiggins, AMERICAN FERN Society 57 displayed by the California members, as well as a large collection of photographs and models of fern spores of Clara Hires. Dr. and Mrs. Tryon displayed specimens and photographs of ferns with which they have worked. All the members who attended realized and appreciated the fact that the success of the entire program was due in great part to the efficient planning of our President, Dr. Ira L. Wiggins. Respectfully submitted, Mivprep E. Faust, Secretary 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. Wiggins 328 Clair Brown 1 C. V. Morton 1 For Vice-President James E. Benedict, Jr. 327 Thomas Darling, Jr. 1 For Secretary Mildred E. Faust 327 For Treasurer Walter S. Phillips 326 I therefore declare the following candidates elected to the several offices: President, Ira L. Wiggins; Vice- President, James E. Benedict, Jr.; Secretary, Mildred E. Faust; Treasurer, Walter S. Phillips. ieee submitted, . C. Lommasson, Judge of Elections aie of California Field-trip An enthusiastie group of members of the American Fern Society, most of whom were attending the annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences at Stanford University, spent five profitable days, August 21-25, 1957, on a foray to Mendocino and Humboldt CALIFORNIA FIELD-TRIP, 1957. Lerr to Rigut. BAck Row: SyLvIA LEATHERMAN, CONRAD Morton, MitprRep Faust, Fay MacFappen, Mrs. Brown, J. R. Rogers, Mrs. ROGERS, ORA WILson, Eva Sopot; Lower Row: Ira Wia@sin, CLAIR Brown, FRIEDA WERTMAN, DOROTHEA LUHR, BARBARA JOE, DONALD HUTTLESTON, CLARA Hires, SARAH Brown, Betsy Rogers. PHOTOGRAPH BY DorcAS Brown. 9 ALVIg ‘8F ANDTIOA IVNUNOf NDT NvOUINy AMERICAN FERN Society 59 Counties in the area north of San Francisco. The entire trip was planned and led by Dr. Ira L. Wiggins, Director of the Natural History Museum, Stanford University, who had carefully located the ferns to be studied. The group was most congenial and the plans were smoothly carried out. The caravan, comprising six cars and eighteen adults, left the campus at eight o’clock and proceeded north on Highway 101, which includes the Redwood Highway. At no time were we more than 35 miles from the ocean. We reached Eureka, a distance of 284 miles from San Francisco, the second day. Willits was our stop early in the afternoon of the first day. Here we were met by Donald Branscomb, a fern lover and a member of the Fern Society, who knows the location of the wild ferns of the area and is successfully cultivating many varieties. On a rock formation in a canyon of Big Horn Ranch he showed us two small clusters of Cheilanthus intertexta in dry condition due to the lateness of the season. Cheilanthus gracillima and Polystichum munitum var. imbricans were also seen in location and we then were shown Mr. Branscomb’s splendid private collection. Outstanding were Adiantum x Tracyi, Polystichum californicum, P. Dudleyi, Poly- podium Scouleri, Woodwardia fimbriata, and several species of Pellaea, Notholaena, and Cheilanthes. That evening we had an unusually clear view of the comet Arkos. Thursday morning we were taken on a tour of a mill on the outskirts of Willits, where Douglas fir is used in the manufacture of plywood. Five and a half miles north of Laytonville Pilularia americana sporocarps (with a few live fronds) were found in a bog. } il ee ‘ EK STATE PARK, HUMBOLDT COUNTY PHOTOGRAPH BY CLAIR BROWN , IVNYNOf Naa Nvowany ILVId ‘SF ANNA ) AMERICAN FERN Society 61 ferns are sold. However, the selection was small as many buyers had depleted the stock. At the beautiful Garden Club Grove, less well known and less crowded than Richardson’s, were found Athyrium Filiz-femina, Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens, Polystichum muni- tum, Polypodium Glycyrrhiza, Adiantum pedatum, Woodwardia fimbriata, and Dryopteris arguta. Near Pepperwood, we saw huge plants of Polystichum muni- tum and Athyrium Filiz-femina. The night was spent in Eureka. On Friday, August 23, we headed north to Prairie Creek State Park in the northwest corner of Humboldt County, following the spectacular Coast Highway. Specimens of Blechnum spicant, Dryopteris arguta, D. dilatata, Athyrium Filix-femina, Adiantum pedatum, Polijstichidn munitum, Polypodium Scouleri, and Wood- wardia fimbriata were found here, and again our photog- raphers and spore collectors were busy. Then, instead of taking the four and a half mile hike through the Park to Fern Canyon, we drove over the mountains past several saw mills and approached it from the sea. A magnificent stand of Adiantum pedatum covers the walls of the cork-serew shaped canyon, which even in late summer were dripping with moisture. On the return to our motels a very small clump of Lycopodium inundatum was discovered by Dr. Wiggins at Big Lagoon State Park and nearby in the tall grass seven specimens of Botry- chium silaifolium were found and photographed. This night also was spent in Eureka. Incidentally, fish dinners and a smorgasbord were enjoyed on the nights we spent there. Early on the morning of August 24, Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Nunan, of Eureka, showed us their garden, which contains not only ferns, but many rare begonias, geran- iums, and other plants. Several unusual, very fine-leaved Species of Adiantum were observed. The mild climate 62 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL of Eureka makes outdoor culture of many plants possible, with roof protection in the summer and hangings on cooler winter nights. Heading south, Founders Grove, containing the tallest known living redwood tree, was visited. Adiantum Jordani, Pityrogramma triangularis, and Selaginella Wallacei were examined on rocks along the Eel River, on the outskirts of Leggett. Willits again became our stop for the night An early start on Sunday, August 25, brought us back to Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco, soon after noon. Here we had our last meal together in a picnic grove. After going through the conservatory, we carefully ex- amined two tree ferns, Alsophila excelsa and Dicksonia antarctica in Tree Fern Grove. Those making all or part of the trip were: Mr. & Mrs. Donald Branscomb, Dr. and Mrs. Clair A. Brown, and daughters Misses Sarah and Dorcas Brown, Dr. Mildred KE. Faust, Miss Clara S. Hires, Mrs. Barbara Joe Hoshi- zaki, Dr. Donald G. Huttleston, Mrs. Sylvia Leather- man, Mrs. Dorothea Luhr, Dr. and Mrs. R. C. Lommas- son, and Beth, Carol, Paul and Tim Lommasson, C. V Morton, Mr. & Mrs. T. J. Nunan, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Rogers, Timmie Rogers, Miss Eva Sobol, Mr. and Mrs. Harold L. Swendsen, Mrs. Frieda Waren, Dr. Ira L. Wiggins, and Mrs. Ora Wilson—Dororuea Lune. New MEMBERS Mr. nn M. Addison, 1585 Cherry Glen Way, San Jose 25, Califor Mr. Say ea ad of Botany, University of California, Berkeley 4, Califor rs. Lenore propicey 2104% Grant Avenue, Redondo Beach, California Miss Karen 8, Alt, Rancho Santa Ana cin Garden, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont, Californi Mrs. F, L. Ballard, Jr., 149 Nurthwoners Avenue, Philadelphia 18, Pennsylvania Mr, A. M. Bean, 1456 Vancouver Avenue, Burlingame, California AMERICAN FERN Society 63 Mr. Fred C. st 2620 North Willard Avenue, South San Gabriel, Califo rae Sally C ici, 718 10th Street, Santa ape California r. Hugh Catier, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis 10, Missouri i John Dent, 2400 North saalyigs Avenue, eae California Mr. Miguel A. Diaz, P. O. Box 74, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Mrs. Ellen Dunean, 938 ree ee , Lawrence, Kansas Miss Florence J seas Durmay, 3810 Woodland Avenue, West Mrs. Fern B. macs, 1101 East Altadena Drive ae , Calif. Mr. George F, Evans, 4030 Haines gs me Bi » California Mr. s, 16 adi treet, Cle Mr. Neill D. Hall, 1225 East 95th pose pare as: enc Miss Ann Hampton, 185 Whiting Street, Grass sank California Mrs. adapt P. Hatley, 4358 Lyceum Ave., Mar , Calif. Mrs. Dorothy M. Hitchcock, P. 0. Box 822, oa N, H. Mr. Arthur James, Delta Flowers, 4249 7th Street, S.W., Canton 10, Ohio Mr. Martin C. Johnson, 22276 Oak Avenue, Los Altos, cet Mrs. Thomas B. Jones, 1131 Prescott Street, MeKees Mr. Felix M. Jury, Tikorangi, Waitara, New Boland York 11815 Juniette Street, Culver City, California Miers, Mabel Mackinlay, 2508 N. Portland Boulevard, Portland 17 Miss H. M. Marsh, 481 Dolores Avenue, San Leandro, ce iapaid Mr, Charles F. Moore, P. 0. Box 8, Brevard, North Carolin Mr. Dudley L. Parsons, 55 Marcourt Drive, Chappaqua, New Yo rk Mrs. J. G. Perry, 2180 Fremore Street, Beaumont, Texas Mr. Waldo Todd Pratt, 84 Maplewood Avenue, West Hartford 7, tieu . E. Prickett, Box 296, Wheeler; Oregon Miss Mary D. Rankin, 2248 Seminary Avenue, Oakland, California Mr. Patrick J. Bicudor:. 490 Vincente Avenue, Berkeley 7, Calif. Mr. Milton E, Scherer, M.C.M.T. Quarters 20, Sault St. Marie, Michigan Mrs, Eugene R. Sm Pe Box let, hen California Mrs. ee ‘oimita, 2198 Veteran Avenue, Los Angeles 25, Calif. Mr. anton, Fowler Chapter, Puture Farmers of America, Fo whee prea Miss Lillian N. Stockwell 114 Bay Street, Alameda, California 64 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Mr. Langley G. Walker, 65 Bellevue Avenue, Summit, New Jersey Mrs. Thomas Wall, 1551 30th Avenue West, Seattle 99, tied a Mr. Reeve T. Watson, Route 1, Box 35, Gilroy, Califo Mr. Charles E. Young, Jr., 1136 New Hampshire ay aici Nebraska CHANGES OF ADDRESS r. and Mrs, Edward P, Allen, 505 Ridge View Road, Orange, Conn. re Lenette Rogers Atkinson, c/o Bruce, 52 Steattnides Road, Brookline 46, Massachusetts Miss Frances W. Brewster, 294 Montgomery St., Bloomfield, N. Mr. Dara E. Emery, 807 Moreno Road, Santa Baviard, pea Aa Mr, i. T. Foster, pets Lane, Vermont Mr. R. M. Mapai P. O. Box 5731, Upper Arlington Braneh, Co- at , Ohi Dr. Neal we ‘dilbert, 2031 A Central Road, Fort Lee, New Jersey Ch Vv Dr. Henry A. Imshaug, Department of Natural Science, Michigan L : chigan Mr, Carl 8. Keener, ¢/o Jonas Swartz, Route 1, Box 74, Phoenix- ville, Pennsylvania Mr. E. P. Killip, 620 Eaton Street, Key West, Florida Mr. John P. Knable, II, 172 Spring Grove Rd. Soe vets 32, Pa. Mrs. Ruth Lippincott, 56 La Cuesta Drive, Otindé: arabes Mrs. Diane Koshal McGuire, 237 Sanford St., Rochester, N. _ Mrs. fies “ea Route 1, Box 323, Old Hickory, se iicsdeuds Dr. Dwight M. Moore, Department of Forestry, Arkansas A. & M. College, pei Heights, Arkans Mr. Robert R. Ream, 825 West Sevk ne Street, Madison, bbeteieas Mr. Ray A. Robinéon: 720% Ocean View, Monrovia, Calif Dr. Donald P. Roperé, Department of Botany, Wilideatty Po Tt nois, Urbana, Illinois Mrs. Elizabeth A, Valentine, P. O. Box 186, Furlong, Bucks County, Pennsylvania Mrs. Frieda Wertman, 1201 Whitehurst Dr., Monterey Park, Calif. HENRY GEORGE FIEDLER Scientific Books and Periodicals HENRY TRIPP, PROPRIETOR Large stock of books on ferns and cryptogamic botany 31 East 10th Street, New York 3, N. Y. CASTANEA Published by the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club Devoted to the botany of the interesting Southern Appalachians. os ublished Quar Sie ea f subscription, including membership in the Club, $3. Address Dr. ee L. Corz, Editor West Virginia University irginia incpuae, West Vir I specialize in HORTICULTURAL BOOKS from WARM COUNTRIES Send for free lists EDWIN A. MENNINGER The Flowering Tree Man ‘Stuart, Florida SSS eee S en d THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR f or Y our THE HERBARIUM FREE COPY 1: dennron of this Helpful | csnniczerme cme Treatise: “THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR THE HERBARIUM” Dr. I. M. Johnston, of the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, has generously shared the benefits of his long = ——— experi- ence in the collection and preparation of plant s: ‘Help for the amateur botanist, and hints for ai esinnal col- ector, abound in this thirty-six page illustrated treatise in _— Dr. Johnston describes time tested sechaicnel for pressing, preserving and _ mounting herbarium materials, Special methods are outlined for for _ treatment of ic flowering aquatic flo ferns, lichens and fungi. Specific suggestions are offered Bic Some aking in the field; for record keeping in the prea: One copy of the treatise is yours i hg cates eg be pena samples of Babanicet Pas Pasar ioe Driers, Moun oy and Genus Covers) as well as data on Collecting Cases ft goo Plsea me a Mounts, Botanical Labels an Just ask for “a copy of the Johnston treatise”. - _ CAMBOSCO | SCIENTIFIC COMPANY ERP STREET | BRIGHTON STATION “BOSTON, MASS. U.S.A. Vel. 48 April-June, 1958 No, 2 American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY Bd EDITORS Cc. V. MORTON R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGINS A MITH Fad CONTENTS Ferns as a Hobby in Southern California... R. C. BENxpicT 65 Is Equisetum laevigatum a Hybrid?....... “icHAB TL L, Hauke 68 ‘The Ball Fern in Cultivation ..= = 3....s0. ARA JOE 72 The Identity of Polypodium viride Gilbert... re v. on 75 Ophioglossum yvulgatum in reece le cae Some Critical and New Central American Species of Urustachys ................... W. Herrer 81 Shorter notes : The Hollyfern, Cyrtomium faleatum, Out- doors in Ohio; —"s Adiantum-nigrum Again... 84 Recent Fern Literature - 86 Notes and News: Adviiits tea fot 3 a 1959 . Field-teip Organization of the Los Angeles Fern Society; Member Honored; New Membership List; Spore Sxchakce In- vited ; Exchange Invited; British Dealer in Fern Spores 91 American Fern Society: Report of the Spore ee . 94 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, $2.35; ; FOREIGN, $2.45 : N. saa x ST. AND McGOVERN AVE., LANCAS: ue tqit ote 2 faeeren Epoqccen “ander cotta Att oe of March 3. oa aa wiaek sete fe meas al TSS Che American Hern Society Counril for 1958 , OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Tra oe oe Dudley Herbarium, Stanford Ere _ Pre dent Scie: B. es: JR., 945 Pennsylvania Ave. ., N.W., Washing- ton C. Vice-President MILDRED h Faust, Department of Botany, Syracuse Uaieargis. Syracuse, New Yor: Secretary Watter 8. PHILuPs, Department of Botany, University of Ari- zona, Tueson, Arizona Treasurer C. V. Morton , Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. Ed ditor-in- -Chief OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal C. V. Morton ........... Sictthaaiae 2 Tecra tion, Washington 25, D. C. R. C. BENEpIcT 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Y. Ira L, Wicains .... Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. A. C, Surre .. .. National Science Foundation, Washington 25, D. C. Sub ij 'y $2.35 per reig xtra ; € 4 < a of the nae FERN SOCIETY (annual dues, - 3 Sustaining membership, $5.00; life membership, $50.00). a tracted reprints, if ordered in advanee, will be fur nished authors at cost. They should be ordered when proof is is returned. Back volumes $1.50 each, except vols. 1, 38, = 40, $2.25; — _ back numbers 50 cents each, pat a 38, no. 4 and vol, 40, = $1.25; Cumulative In dex to ose , 25 ee discount on orders of ms ume pete Matter ~ publication should be Ee herg to ©. V. Morton, _ Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D P eS Ores he back numbers and other business communications _ me age ™ stoned © the Treasurer of the Socie: iety. LIBRARIAN AND CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM RM. Tryon, Tr., Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Mo. inut alt cost oe also are open to members who ak to. ‘arrange a wat list is —, at intervals, to ta: aeniat: : ng ot a eet | ie calities, American Fern Journal Vou. 48 APRIL—J UNE No, 2 Ferns as a Hobby in Southern California R. C. BENEDICT For some years, it has been a matter of interest to me to note in each issue of the Fern Journal the increasing numbers of new members with California addresses. As long ago as 1953, Matt Mann, the Treasurer of the Fern Society, called attention to the fact that the California membership had grown until its list was second only to that of New York. By now it must have taken the lead. During the last year or two, Mr. Morton’s articles on cultivated fern species, with their frequent references to southern California fern gardens, have cast some light on the reason for the rapid growth. It remained, however, for a recent four weeks visit to that area, with the much appreciated help of a number of local members, to make clear to me the extensive and growing interest on the part of dwellers in what local newspapers refer to as ‘‘The Southland.’’ The climate of California, as far north as San Francisco, is conducive to year-round gardening. Daffodils bloom in January, at least in areas not too far from the coast or too high in altitude. Roses bloom the year-round. Apparently, almost every home owner is garden-conscious, and the interest is not merely in a few flower beds but in broader landscape effects. Ferns, I was informed by one adviser in interior and exterior decoration, are essential to provide finely divided foli- age, as an offset to the plainer and coarser patterns of philodendrons and so forth. Nurserymen abound. In the yellow-pages of one of the five or six large telephone books which are necessary to cover the sprawling metrop- : [Vol. 48, No. 1, of the JourNAL, pp. 1-64, was issued April 17, 958. ] 66 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL olis of Los Angeles, I counted upwards to one hundred nurserymen, and that number would have to be multi- plied a good many times to cover all the local retailers that might be expected to offer at least some fern plants. Even the giant food-markets have their plant sections with ferns; I saw Boston Fern sports, small tree-ferns, and others in Ralph’s Market, one of the large local con- cerns. - Because of the mild climate of much of California, it is possible to grow outdoors a wide range of fern species from subtropical regions. The fern gardener in one of the eastern states counts himself fortunate if his state of- fers as many as forty hardy species, but the southern Californian makes use of a present list said to number about 140 species, and that number could easily be multi- plied several times by the introduction of appropriate species. This section of California has an advantage, as I later learned, over portions of the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico where mild winter temperatures also pre- vail but where with intense summer heat there are also heavy, driving rainstorms, a combination hard on deli- cate fern foliage. Besides the general interest in a wide variety of fern species, there is also the collector’s interest shown espec- ially for platyceriums or staghorn ferns. At one small private garden in Ventura, the lady of a house where be- gonias had held sway reported that her husband agreed they might get one staghorn. Thereafter, he caught the fever and now they spend every available period scout- ing hundreds of miles to add additional species of this genus. While most of the fern species in wide use are much less striking and distinctive than the staghorns, small and large fern plantings present unfamiliar aspects to a visi- tor from the East. Most similar, perhaps, is Polystichum setosum, which looks enough like P. Braunii to show its FERNS as A Hoppy 67 relationship. Familiar from their wide use by eastern orists are various species of brake (Pteris) and the holly fern (Cyrtomium). Public parks and some small gar- dens have their representation of tree-ferns, mostly of Australasian origin, but an Hawaiian tree-fern species, Cibotium Chamissoi, has been abundantly imported in dormant, rootless condition. I met some difference of opinion as to the permanent establishment of these trunks, but I saw a number that seemed to be thriving after years in the same place. At one grower’s, these trunks were on sale at prices proportional to their length—a 114 foot specimen could be bought for $1.50 but the per-foot price increased for longer trunks. The same grower had a splendid, long-established specimen of Dicksoma antarctica, with a 10-foot trunk and more than 100 leaves; the price, admittedly designed to make its sale unlikely, was $450.00. Interest in ferns is not confined merely to individual gardeners and garden clubs. The City of Los Angeles has taken official cognizance of a feature of its large Grif- fiths Park—a winding valley known as the Fern Dell. One of our members, Dr. W. C. Drummond, has official recognition as in charge of the continued improvement of the plantings. Dr. Drummond is preparing an account of the Fern Dell for the Journal. Eastern fern hobbyists, with their climate-limited pe- riod and range of fern garden activity may well feel a touch of envy of an area where the opportunities are so much wider. Some of these newly established California ferns are familiar as house fern types for eastern indoor growth—Cyrtomium, Pteris species, and others. One which is rarely seen in the East but which can make a good house plant is the ‘‘mother fern’’ or ‘‘mother spleenwort,’’ Asplenium bulbiferum, with its finely cut leaves, and copious production of small plants on the older leaves. Pitot Knos, New York 68 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Is Equisetum laevigatum a Hybrid? RicHarp L. HAUKE The genus Equisetum is an ancient one, having possibly the longest fossil record of any extant genus of plants. There are about 20 living species throughout the world, but the specific differences are often subtle and the species tend to run together. An example is E. moorei of Europe, also called E. hyemale var. schleicheri and E. intermedium (of Schur, not Rydberg), which is inter- mediate between FE. hyemale and E. ramosissimum and seems to intergrade into both. Manton, 1950, showed cytological evidence of the hybrid nature of this Euro- pean species, as well as of EL. trachyodon and E. litorale, both of which had been previously suspected of being hybrids. She wrote: ‘‘The detection of three species hybrids among little more than a dozen representatives of the genus is a surprisingly large number, especially when the rarity of prothalli is remembered, and it sug- gests fairly clearly that speciation can still oceur.’’ In 1952, while attempting to identify the representa- tives of the genus Equisetum in northern Michigan, I became quite interested in the sect. Hippochaete, or scouring rush group, and have since adopted it as my doctoral thesis problem. Within this section there are several species that have been troublesome, including E. laevigatum. Part of this species was segregated into E. hyemale var. intermedium by A. A. Eaton, and called this because it was intermediate between E. hyemale and E. laevigatum. Schaffner later segregated those members of FE. laevigatum with annual stems and blunt strobili as a new species, E. kansanum. Looking for additional characteristics by which to differentiate between these two species, I mounted their spores, and was greatly surprised to discover that all specimens from this area of Michigan that fit the description of E. laevigatum as EQUISETUM LAEVIGATUM 69 delimited by Schaffner have abortive spores, whereas those specimens that fit his description of FH. kansanum have good spores. It is rather disturbing to think that such a widespread and common species as FE. laevigatum might be of hybrid origin, so I sought further evidence FIGS BiG. oe EQUISETUM LAEVIGATUM. Fic. 1. TELOPHASE II, SHOWING CHROMO gigs BRIDGE AND LAGGING CHROMOSOMES, x 215; Fie... 23: ANAPHA I, SHOWING LAGGING CHROMOSOMES, 485: Fig. 3. SPORES, pe es DIVERSITY IN SIZE AND LACK OF ELATER DEVELOP- MENT, Xx 50 A 9 for this idea. On May 31, 1957, I collected young strobili of FE. laevigatum from a colony growing on Pine Point, Douglas Lake, Cheboygan County, Michigan (R. L. Hauke 111), fixed them in Neweomer’s solution, squashed 70 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL them in acetocarmine, and studied meiosis. The results were very interesting: The divisions were quite irregular, with lagging chromosomes and formation of bridges (figs. 1 and 2). Cytologically, therefore, it would appear that FE. laevigatum is a sterile hybrid. This startling observation is reinforced by the inter- mediate character of FE. laevigatum, between E. hyemale and HL. kansanum, as can be seen from the following table. hyemale laevigatum kansanum 1. Perennial. Perennial, ’ Annual. least at bas 2. Bast under ridges Mostly ae Bast under ridges more extensive hyemale but inter less extensive than aap _ t under aging to kansanum. bast under grooves. groo 3. Apiculus of Apiculus of Apiculus of strobilus strobilus well- strobilus prominent mainly absent, developed. to nearly absent. strobilus blunt. 4. Fruiting June Fruiting late Fruiting mid-May to to October. May to August. July. Equisetum laevigatum is an inhabitant of disturbed places, such as sandy lake shores, railroad embankments, and roadsides, the types of habitat where one might expect to find hybrids. But if our familiar E. laevigatum is sterile, how could it become so widespread? Several factors should be considered. First, Equisetum is clonal and very resistant to destruction. On Pine Point, Douglas Lake, Michigan, for example, where I obtained the material for cytological study, the colony has resisted destruction by wave action and sand burial over 24 years at least, for there is a specimen in the University of Michigan herbarium col- lected there on June 22, 1933 (Ehlers 5237), the one from which I obtained the abortive spores illustrated in fig. 3. Secondly, Equisetum readily propagates itself vegetatively by fragmentation. Schaffner, 1931, showed this with E. prealtum (E. hyemale) and E. arvense. EQUISETUM LAEVIGATUM ae Thus, a colony such as the one on Pine Point could be broken by wave action, and segments of stem carried around to other parts of the lake-shore, or down the outlet, until, landing in wet sand, they take root and produce a new rhizome system. Those species, such as E. laevigatum, growing in disturbed places would be most favored by such vegetative propagation. Considering these facts, one can conceive of a sperm from E. hyemale fusing with an egg of EH. kansanum to produce a single hybrid plant, which, due to heterosis, might overgrow and eliminate the normal Equisetum plants nearby. If this hybridization occurred on a rail- road embankment (a not unlikely place for such an event) and if the railroad embankment were near a rail- road center like Saint Louis, an area where both putative parents are common, then one can visualize this colony providing cuttings for dispersal in all directions and later growth into new colonies. In one hundred years a single hybridization might provide enough plants to cover a large area of the Midwest. In the far West, the parents would most probably be E. hyemale and the plant known as EF. funstonii. The latter is considered by Miss Emily L. Hartman (private communication) to be inseparable from EF. kansanum, and she combines the two under the name £. laevigatum ssp. funstonit. Although the presence of abortive spores and irregular meiosis in E. laevigatum, along with its intermediate morphology between E. hyemale and E. kansanum, argue for the hybrid origin of this species, its abundance and broad distribution will have to be accounted for. It is hoped therefore that continuing work will provide more facts bearing on the evidence for a hybrid origin of E. laevigatum, and the reason for its abundance and wide distribution. DepaRTMENT OF Botany, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ArBor, MICHIGAN Tz AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL LITERATURE CITED Manton, Irene. Problems of Cytology and Evolution in the Pteridophyta. Cambridge University Press. 1950. Schaffner, John H. Propagation of Equisetum from sterile aerial shoots. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 58: 531-535. 31. The Ball Fern in Cultivation BARBARA JOE The Ball Fern, Davallia Mariesii Moore, is currently being imported from Japan under the name D. bullata Clusters of the rhizome have been fashioned into the shape of monkeys, dolls, horses, and other figures. Inas- much as it is native to the mountains of Japan, this species should be able to withstand temperatures com- parable to that of Washington, D. C. These fern figures have a tendency to dry out rather easily and must be frequently syringed to maintain sufficient moisture around the roots. Once in a while they should be given a thorough soaking. They will do best hung in a pro- drafts. In cool climates the Ball Fern is deciduous; however, in greenhouses or warmer climates most of the fronds are persistent through the winter. Prices range from $3.00 to $25.00 depending on the’ elaborateness of the figure. The monkey is about 12 inches in length and averages about $7.00 to $10.00. Supplies are most plentiful in spring when dormant shipments arrive from Japan. They are available at La Fleur Nursery, 11373 South Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, California and Virgil Nursery, 621 North Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles 4, California. Giaitas to the Ball Fern but three to four times larger is Davallia trichomanoides Blume, which, as the Squirrel- Foot Fern or under the mis-applied name D. canariensis, is frequently cultivated in Southern California. This AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLUME 48, PLATE 8 “MONKEY” AND “Horse” ARRANGEMENTS OF BALL FERN 74 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL fern is both attractive and very useful in garden land- scaping. Although commonly used in hanging baskets, this fern is also adapted to ground cultivation. he creeping habit enables it to grow over rocks and wood, softening the surfaces with its finely cut fronds and lending a woodland atmosphere to the planting. Tem- perature-wise it is considered hardy to semi-hardy, hav- ing endured temperatures as low as 32°, and perhaps it may survive lower temperatures. It is evergreen. Specimens grown in baskets have their containers thickly lined with sphagnum moss and within this nest of moss the fern is planted in a friable soil mixture (2 parts peat moss or leaf-mold to 1 part sand or sandy loam). A thin layer of moss spread over the soil aids in keeping the soil in place and protecting the rhizomes from drying out. Some growers prefer to plant baskets entirely with sphagnum moss. Once planted, adequate water and a protected place is about all this epiphyte will require. As a rule, epiphytes do well with a very small amount of mineral nutrients, and unless the plant is showing poor growth, fertilizer is best withheld. Vege- tative propagation is achieved by pegging down portions of the rhizomes on sphagnum moss or partly burying them in friable soil. Rotting of the rhizomes may be indicative of over-watering or poor drainage. Prices of D. trichomanoides range from $0.75 for a 21-inch pot size to $10.00 for baskets or those growing on driftwood. They are available at the previously mentioned nurseries and at Robert’s Sub-tropical Gar- dens, 10136 National Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. Davallia solida, and D. fejeensis and its cultivars are occasionally offered in trade. Generally they are green- house subjects, being tender even in Southern Californian climates. 565 North WerstmMoreLANp, Los ANGELES 4, CALIFORNIA, POLYPODIUM VIRIDE 75 The Identity of Polypodium viride Gilbert C. V. Morton In 1899, Mr. Benjamin D. Gilbert described a new species of Polypodium which he ealled P. viride, which has remained a nominally valid species since that time, primarily because no one has investigated it. Recently, Mr. G. Brownlie, of Canterbury University College, Christchurch, New Zealand, has asked me about it and prompted me to look into the matter. Mr. Gilbert wrote that his material had been collected for him by Dr. C. H. F. Peters, the astronomer-in-chief of the Transit-of-Venus Expedition of 1874. Most of Dr. Peters’ collections were obtained near Queenstown, near Waikatipu Lake, New Zealand. The new species P. vir- ide was described as intermediate between Polypodium pellucidum and P. vulgare, differing from both in being smaller, in having the veins only once forked, and in the fine black wavy costae, the slender green stipes and ra- chis, and the metallic green color of the fronds. The Gilbert Herbarium was for some time thought to be lost, but it has been preserved. It was bequeathed to Hamilton College, which is located at Clinton, New York, and has been preserved in good condition in the herbar- ium of the Department of Biology of that institution. Through the courtesy of Prof. Walter N. Hess I have been privileged to borrow the type of P. viride, a photo- graph of which is reproduced in the accompanying plate. The label of the type reads ‘‘Polypodium viride sp. n. Gilbert; Leg. Dr. C. H. F. Peters—1874; New Zealand, Middle Island.’’ The plant is the common polypody of the eastern United States, Polypodium vulgare var. vir- ginianum (l.) Eaton, which should perhaps be treated as a distinct species P. virginianum L. The cytological 1 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 29: 316. 1899. AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 48, PLATE 9 5 vi Be SPECiER. ie ole. ihn. G4 t Sharh Lec. A q Mp |S G hlers shh Jie. Leabaazd Hecdbl, Seleeal, HOLOTYPE OF POLYPODIUM VIRIDE OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM 77 evidence is not all in yet. It is matched perfectly by material from New York State and Pennsylvania. One must assume that somehow a plant from the eastern United States became inadvertently mixed in Gilbert’s herbarium with the Peters’ collections from New Zealand. Neither P. vulgare nor any allied species is known from New Zealand, and it seems likely that if any occurred there they would have been found by other persons than Dr. Peters. The differences mentioned by Gilbert are not distine- tive. Plants of P. virginianum are often quite small, the veins are mostly only once-forked, the costae are fine, black, and wavy, the stipes and rhachis are green, and the fronds are mostly quite persistently green. The principal distinctive character is found in the paraphy- ses, which are illustrated by Dr. Manton in no. 4 of the American Fern Journal for 1957. These characteristic paraphyses of P. virginianum are present on the plants of P, viride, and are conclusive proof of its identity. Unttep Srares NationaL Museum, WasHINeTOoN, D. C. Ophioglossum vulgatum in Missouri JuuIAN A. STEYERMARK Except for one isolated station north of the Missouri River, all other collections of Ophioglossum vulgatum in Missouri have been known until recently from the low- land counties of the Mississippi Embayment section of the southeastern portion of the state. The discovery during the past two years of this fern from another sta- tion north of the Missouri River and from a sector of the eastern Ozarks has necessitated a restudy of the Missouri material and has revealed the presence in the state of the two varieties, i. e., var. pycnostichum Fernald and var. pseudopodum (Blake) Farwell, as represented in the United States. Nearly thirty years ago I found a few plants of Ophio- 78 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL glossum vulgatum in a secluded wooded valley of Sandy Creek, west of Foley, in Lincoln County. This area, lying within a deeply dissected stratum of St. Peter sandstone of Ordovician Age, harbors a unique flora for this sec- tion of east-central Missouri. It is here that a number of species, such as Vaccinium arboreum Marsh. and Mitchella repens L., otherwise confined in Missouri to the Ozark section south of the Missouri River, reach a northern limit. Together with many other species found in this and adjacent counties, the flora partakes of an Ozark character, comprising many species known to occur only in the hilly section, entirely unglaciated, south of the Missouri River. Combined with an old weathered mantle of residual rock, this Lincoln County and sur- rounding area give every indication of having escaped Pleistocene glaciation.* The county just south of Lincoln County, St. Charles County, is just north of the Missouri River, but, likewise, possesses a similarly predominant Ozark flora. It was, therefore, more or less expected that another station for Ophioglossum vulgatum would sooner or later turn up from this area. During 1956 in a rich wooded valley in St. Charles County I discovered a large number of plants belonging to this species. The data for this collection are: Locally frequent in rich wooded valley of Callaway Fork, at base of north-facing limestone wooded slopes, T 45 N, R 2 KH, sect. 7 and 8, 4-5 miles southeast of New Melle, 314-4 miles northeast of Schluersburg, St. Charles County, July 26, 1956, Steyermark 81994 (F, GH, MO, US). The St. Charles and Lincoln county collections both belong to O. vulgatum L., var. pyenostichum Fern. Until 1957, these stations were separated by nearly 150 miles from the next closest known stations to the south in the state where Ophioglossum vulgatum occurs. Plants Cf. gf george pes fos Bot. Gard. 39: 126-135. 1951; Phoders 55: 226, OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM 79 from these stations, in the southeastern counties (Bol- linger, Seott, Stoddard, New Madrid, Pemiseot, Dunklin, and Butler), uniformly belong to the other variety, i. e., var. pseudopodum (Blake) Farwell, with relatively nar- rower obovate or elliptic blades narrowed or tapering to the base. However, in the spring of 1957, I discovered a stand of O. nalouinn var. ene in a section of WOphioglossum vubgatum var. pseudopodum ear + Ophioglossum vulgatum » var. pycnostichum DISTRIBUTION OF THE TWO VARIETIES OF OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM MISSOURI the Ozarks in Crawford County—bottom of ravine run- ning NNE into Courtois Creek, T 37 N, R 2 W, sect 4, just north of Valley View Roadside Park, 4 miles north- west of Berryman, April 28, 1957, Steyermark 83927 (F). This isolated Ozark collection, the first of the spe- cies to be found within the Ozark section south of the Missouri River, now bridges the gap separating the St. Charles County occurence of var. pycnostichum and the 80 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL southeastern Missouri stations of var. pseudopodum by only 55 miles (fig. 1). The specimens of O. vulgatum var. pseudopodum, cited below, have been examined in the herbaria of the Missouri Botanical Garden (MO), Chicago Natural His- tory Museum (F), and the private herbarium of E. J. Palmer grt Herb.) : Bou R Co.: Low rich woods, Brownwood, mae 5, 1919, aae wis Cito, Palmer Herb.). Butter Co.: Rich wooded slopes and valley woods along south side of Cane Grea: As 24 N, R5 E p CRAWFoRD Co.: Cited previously, April 28, 1957, Steyermark 83927 (F). Premiscot Co.: Vir are kia eo level ground on property of Son Rone, T 20 N, R 12 8, see , 3 mi, southwest of Portageville, July 29, 1956, Steyermarh pe 58 (F). NEw Manvrip Co.: Deciduous lowland woods, T 24 N, R 14 E, NW cor- ner sect. 32 and NE corner sect. 31, 1% mi. south of Riendomwse: Mound, about four miles northeast of La Farge, April 6, 1956, Wemrausk 80869 (F). Scorr Co.: Rich humus in low flat ground along creek bottom, T 29 N, R 13 E, SW part sect 13, 24% mi. southwest of Kelso, along branch of Sals Creek, July 23, 1951, Steyermark 72234 (F). Stopparp Co.: Rich wooded slopes below quartzite sandstone bluffs, west of Heagy, April 25, 1938, Steyer- mark 5077 (F); moist sandy soil, wooded hillsides, Dexter, April 18, 1919, Palmer 14765 (MO, Palmer Herb.) ; wooded valley along stream, Crowley Ridge, T 25 N, R 10 E, sect 1, 2% mi. northeast of Dexter, April 7, 1956, Steyermark 80893 (F). While 0. vulgatum is relatively rare in Missouri, and always is found in rich wooded sites of valleys and low wooded ground, O. Engelmanniit Prantl is frequent throughout southern and central Missouri, always con- fined to upland limestone glades and outcrops in the un- glaciated section of the state. It is absent from the south- eastern lowland section of the state inhabitated by O. vulgatum. The two diverse habitats of these species are, therefore, quite distinct in the state. 494 Nortu Hit Drive, BArrineton, ILuinots. CENTRAL AMERICAN UROSTACHYS 81 Some Critical and New Central American Species of Urostachys W. HERTER Next to the high-Andean regions of equatorial South America the highlands of Central America are richest in species of Urostachys (liycopodiaceae), although they have been little investigated. Through the kindness of C. V. Morton, of the U. S. National Museum, Washing- ton, D. C., I have been able to study a number of collec- tions from this region, and I am taking this opportunity of presenting a short summary of the forms studied. The material comes mostly from the mountains of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama, but I mention a few specimens from Mexico and the Dominican Republic also. The ar- rangement of the species follows the order given in my system (Herter 1949-50), as did my last publication on the high-Andean Urostachys (Herter 1953). All the specimens cited are in the U. 8S. National Herbarium. I should like to express my gratitude to Prof. Dr. W. Mevius, Director of the Staatsinstitut fiir Allgemeine Botanik, Hamburg, and to Dr. W. Domke, Curator of the same institution, for providing me with laboratory space in their institution and for arranging for the transpor- tation of material. UROSTACHYS ORIONIS Herter, Index Lycopod. 73. 1949. Costa Rica: Erect among small bushes in péramo, among Sphag- um, Cerro de las Vueltas, Prov. San José, alt. 2700-3000 meters, Dee 29, 1925-Jan. 1, 1926, Standley § Valerio 43611, 44004, 4400 Gansiden under shrubs on open rocky slopes above cloud- forest area, Paramo de Cerro de la Muerte, Cordillera de Talamanca, oe ieee alt. nee meters, Mar. 30, 1949, L. O. Williams me Errxssoni Herter ex Nessel, Rev. Sudamer. Bot. 6: 19 GUATEMALA: Voledén Tajumulco, Dept. mae gen alt. 3800— 4000 bape Feb. 16, 1940, Steyermark 3577 82 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Costa Rica: Among Sphagnum in péramo, Cerro de las Vueltas, Proy. San José, alt. 3000 meters, January, 1926, Standley 43613 **Orillas de una fuente en las faldas,’’ Voleén Turrialba, 1938, Orozco 136. The plants bear adventitious roots, and are ascending, and not pendent, as stated on one of the labels. Perhaps only a growth-form of U. orionis. UROSTACHYS BLEPHARODES (Maxon) Herter, Index Lycopod. 53. Costa Rica: Near the ‘‘finca,’’ southern slope of Voledn de sae ti ate 2000-2400 meters, Feb. 22, 1924, Standley 35264, 5288. Urostacuys chamaeleon Herter, sp. nov. rrestris sive subepiphyticus. Radices apt paioicoraiaa: brunneae, 6-8 em. longae. Frons erecta, postea serpentiformis, flexuosa vel eetrpeudiia. ter vel quater bipartita, rigida, sordide-vel brunneo-viridis, 2—5 dm. longa, 8-13 mm. foliis inclusis lata. Caulis basi rigidus, diam. 1-3 mm. foliis exclusis. Folia 10—12-faria, densissima, caulem t tegentia, regulariter patentia vel re- flexa, brunnea, linearia, coriacea, lucida, margine integro revolu ta, acuminata, 5-8 mm. longa, 0.3 mm. medio lata, basi vix 0.5 mm. lata. Sporangia per totam a plantam distributa, usque ad 1 mm. longa et 1.2 mm. lata. Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, no. 1 ,307,684, collected at Barranca Grande, near San Marcos, Costa Riea, February, 1926, by Otén Jiménez ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Erect on wet mos sy bank, Cerro de las Caricias, north of San Isidro, Prov. Heredia, alt. 2000- 2400 meters, Mar. 11, 1926, Standley § Valerio 52083. Cerros de Zurqui, northeast of Ser cere Prov. Heredia, alt 2000-2400 meters, Mar. 3, 1926, Standley § Valerio 50451. Ia Palma, Prov. San José, alt. 1500 leis ct 31, 1936, Valerio 2236. Distinguished from the other species of the relation- ship of Urostachys reflexus by the crowded, very slender but tough, untoothed, shining leaves and the extraordin- arily great variability of the forms. UROSTACHYS REFLEXUS (Lam.) Herter, Beih. Bot. Centralbl, 392: 249, 1922. CENTRAL AMERICAN UROSTACHYS 83 Costa Rica: Las Nubes, Prov. San José, alt. 1500-1900 meters, Pity 20-22, 1924, Standley 38360, 38387 UROSTACHYS PARVIFOLIUS Herter ex Nessel & Hoehne, Arch. Bot. Estad. Sao Paulo 2: 395 (seors. 41), t. 10, f. 2. 1927 Costa Rica: Along the cart-road between Vara Blanca ate La wee alt. 1600-1950 meters, July 23, 1923, Maxon § Harvey Urosnsoms PRINGLEI See & Lloyd) Herter ex Nessel, Bar- lappg 131. MEXICO: Gacpeepes, “Ching, on trees, 1904 (?), Miinch 81. Baduitz, Chiapas, Miinch 9 s. On exposed oi utes Gara Veracruz, alt. 1500 meters, hae 1, 1938, Copelan UROSTACHYS CHIRICANUS (Maxon) Herter ex Nessel, Baap. ' oe sean AM piphyte 3 feet long, vicinity of El Boquete, aie de cee a ca. 3100 meters, July 18, 1938, Davidson 1 UROSTACHYS MANDIOCANUS (Raddi) Herter, Repert. ca Nov. edde 19: 164. 1923. a. Bank of Rio Dulce, July 21, 1936, W. R. Hatch § C. L Wilson 5 URosTAcHYsS DicHoTOMUs (Jacq.) Herter, Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 392; 249, 1922, Costa Rica: On tree in wet forest, Cerro de las Caricias, north of San Isidro, Prov. Heredia, alt. 2000-2400 meters, March 11, 1926, Standley & Valerio 52067. UrostacHys SCHWENDENERI Herter, Repert. Sp. Nov. Fedde 19: 165.. 1923, Dominican REPUBLIC: On tree trunks, slope of Pan de Aziecar, Peninsula de Sa seee Prov. Saman4, alt. 400 meters, May 4, 1930, L. Ekman H.14 UROSTACHYS ceaturtoaibie Herter, sp. no Planta epiphytica, Frons calahila, subflaccida, quater vel quinquies bipartita, apice subflexuosa, pallide brun- iridis, 2-6 dm. tentia, basalia lineari-lanceolata, subapiculata, subplana, 12 mm. longa, 1.5 mm. lata, apicalia subearinata, 3-5 mm. longa, 1.5 mm. lata. Caulis debilis, 0.5-1 mm. latus foliis exclusis. Sporangia 1.5 mm, longa lataque. 84 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Type in the U. 8. National Herbarium, no. 861,309, collected in Costa Rica, 158 i special locality, March, 1908, by Robert Ridgeway (s. bisbh up of U. myrsinites. Probably the same as the un- described Lycopodium costaricanum Rosenst. (based on Tonduz 17614) that I mentioned in my description of U. Killipti (Herter 1953: 128). BIBLIOGRAPHY Herter, W. 1949-50. Systema Lycopodiorum. Revista Sudamer. Bot. 8: 67-86. 1949; 93-116. 1950. Estudios Botdnicos en la Regién Urognaya, no. 21). 19 Neue und kritische hochandine Urostachys- Arten. Revista Sudamer. Bot. 10: 110-129. Shorter Notes THE Houiy-rern, CyrromiumM FALCATUM, OUTDOORS IN Out0o.—In the summer of 1956 Mr. Harold Boystel, a florist of Lancaster, Ohio, discovered a plant of the Holly-fern (Cyrtomium falcatum, sometimes known as Polystichum faleatum) growing on the outside wall of the greenhouse at the Boys’ Industrial School, five miles south of Lancaster. The exact location is on the south- western edge of section 36, Hocking Township, Fairfield County, Ohio. The fern is growing on the sandstone foundation of the greenhouse on an eastern exposure, partially protected by a planting of boxwood. The fern came up spontaneously, and survived the winter of 1956-57. It has continued to increase in size, and when examined in August, 1957, it was fruiting freely. Mr. from its spores. A fragment of the fern was collected and deposited in the U. S. National Herbarium.— Cares R. Gosuin, 726 East King St., Lancaster, Ohio. AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLuME 48, PLATE 10 CYRTOMIUM FALCATUM ON WALL OF Boys’ INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, LANCASTER, OHIO 86 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL ASPLENIUM ADIANTUM-NIGRUM AGAIN.—In the last number of volume 47 of the Fern Journal, Dr. MeVaugh reports Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum from Mexico, cit- ing a Cyrus Pringle collection and one of his own from the state of Chihuahua. I can now add a third report, my no. 597, which was collected on the road between La Bufa and Creel, Chihuahua, on September 25, 1957. Creel is a railroad station at the end of the line in south- western Chihuahua. Its altitude is 2340 meters (7677 feet) and its location is 107° 38’ W. and 27° 45’ N. The rocks are of igneous origin and the topography is very rugged and spectacular. Pines are the dominant arboreal species. The ferns in question, three small plants to be exact, grew in a tiny pocket in a huge block of rhyolite rock. The entire area is rich in unusual species of ferns, such as Pellaea allosuroides and Notholaena Weather- biana; the latter has been known only from the type, which was collected at some unspecified locality in south- western Chihuahua.—Irvine W. Knosiocu, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, Michigan. Recent Fern Literature A New Fern Fiora or Japan.1—Floras of J apan that are usable by people that can not read Japanese are as yet practically non-existent, although illustrated floras with Japanese texts are fairly common; in fact, there are some excellent works of this kind, some with superb colored plates. The present Flora, although wholly in Japanese, contains 68 excellent habitat photographs of ferns in black and white, which make this a work of interest to western pteridologists. The text is a transla- tion of a manuscript originally written in English by Dr. Ohwi, of the National Science Museum, Tokyo, which 1 Flora of Japan: Pteridophyta. By Jisaburo Ohwi. pp. 1-164, 45 60). Shibundo, Tokyo, Japan, 1957. Price 1300 yen (about ReEcENT FERN LITERATURE 87 will be incorporated in the forthcoming English edition of his Flora of Japan, which he himself has translated, and which is being edited by Dr. Fred Meyer, of the Department of Agriculture, and the first reviewer. The original Japanese edition of this Flora (1953) covered only the seed-plants, but when an English edition was considered the author prepared this additional treatment in order to cover all the vascular plants. However, the delay in issuing this English edition, and the fact that it would not meet the needs of the Japanese people, led to the issuing of this Japanese version of the pteridophyte portion. Although Dr. Ohwi is not a special fern student, he has had many years’ experience with ferns of Japan. When the professional pteridologists Professor Motozi Tagawa and Dr. H. Ito were unable to prepare the needed treatment, Dr. Ohwi undertook the task himself, attempt- ing to steer a middle course. His treatment is designed as a practical manual and not as a technical revision. The family and generic delimitations follow Copeland’s Genera Filicum closely. There are keys, accepted names, Synonyms, and descriptions, but no literature citations (except in the a formal transfers in footnotes) nor citations of specimens. Fern students m4 the United States would recognize many species of Japanese ferns, for there is a notable similarity between the flora of Japan and that of the eastern United States. They would, for instance, find Matteuccia struthiopteris, Onoclea sensibilis, Woodsia ivensis, W. glabella, Polystichum Braunui, P. Lonchitis, Dryopteris fragrans, D. austriaca, D. Filix-mas (in the varietal form or closely related species D. crassirhizoma), D. Thelypteris, D. disjuncta, D. Phegopteris, Asplenium Ruta-muraria, A. Trichomanes, A. viride, Phyllitis Scolopendrium, Camptosorus (in the closely related species C. sibiricus), Athyrium Filiz-femina, A. al- 88 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL pestre, Polypodium virginianum, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum, Cryptogramma crispa, C. Stelleri, Adiantum Capillus-veneris, A. pedatum, Botrychium Lunaria, B. lanceolatum, B. multifidum, B. virginianum, Ophioglossum vulgatum, Osmunda Claytoniana, O. re- galis (in the closely allied variety or species japonica), O. cinnamomea (in the variety, or species, asiatica), Selaginella selaginoides, and almost all the species of Lycopodium and Equisetum. A relationship with the western United States is less apparent. The xerophytic genera Notholaena, Cheilan- thes, Pellaea, and Pityrogramma are absent. Still, a relationship is shown through such species as Blechnum mipponicum, which is closely related to the northwestern American (and European) B. spicant, Woodwardia japonica, allied to the western American W. fimbriata and the European W. radicans, and ‘‘Lastrea quelpaer- tensis,’’ which is usually considered only a variety or forma of the western American and European Dryopteris oreopteris. Nevertheless, Japan is much richer in ferns than is the United States. There are representatives of many char- acteristically tropical genera as Elaphoglossum, Angiop- teris, Bolbitis, Cyathea, Pyrrosia, Davallia, Lindsaea, and many others. It tay be pointed out that the genus called Phanerophlebia in this Flora, following Copeland, should be known correctly as Cyrtomium,? and that the name Lastrea is not correct, being antedated by Thelyp- teris.® This book is excellently printed on high grade paper, and is sturdily bound in green buckram, a tribute to the Japanese art of bookmaking. Criticisms of the botany in this Japanese version will be gies considered in editing 2 Cf. Morton, This JourNAL 47: fd 3 A fe cora ‘to conserve batten in the sense of Copeland and to reject Thelypteris was rejected by the Nomenclature Committee appointed by ae International Botanical Gonvtoas at Stockholm. ReEcENT FERN LITERATURE 89 the coming English edition, and may be relayed to the author through the reviewers.—E. H. WaukKer and C. V. Morton, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. A REVISION OF THE FERN GENUS PELLAEA, SECTION PELLAEA’ is a wholly admirable taxonomic account— concise, accurate, and informative. Mrs. Tryon has studied her group in the traditional herbarium manner and also in the field and greenhouse. Whenever possible, chromosome counts (by Dr. Donald Britton) were made to clarify relationships. The results are definitive enough to be of permanent value. It is unfortunate that at least some comparative studies could not have been made with species belonging to other sections of Pellaea, but very likely that would have extended the study be- yond the bounds of a doctoral thesis, which this is. In these circumstances though, when relationships within the genus are not mentioned or known, it does seem a little inapropos to be discussing possible relationships with Cheilanthes and other different genera. The species treated are arranged in two (unnamed) groups, according to the color of the stipes. The group with dark (castaneous to black) stipes is further sub- divided as to whether the rhizome scales are concolorous (with a solid color), which includes P. atropurpurea, P. glabella, and P. Breweri, or bicolorous (with a dark central stripe), ie. P. ternifolia (including var. Wright- tana), P. longimucronata, P. mucronata, and P. brachyp- tera (mostly from the United States). The other group, with stipes and rhachises straw-colored to ruddy brown, is Subdivided into a subgroup with a stout rhizome (and concolorous scales) (P. sagittata, and its var. cordata, P. notabilis, and P. Pringlei, mostly Mexican), and a subgroup with a creeping, cord-like rhizome, further divided into species having bicolorous scales (P. ovata, 1 By Alice F. Tryon. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 44: 125-193, 1957. 90 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL P. wmtermedia, and P. a lifola tly United States) and concolorous weaiee (P. myjrtilitfolia, Chile, and P. rufa, South Africa). Perhaps the principal interest attaches to the studies of P. atropurpurea and P. glabella. I, and some other botanists, have considered the latter as only a variety of the former. Mrs. Tryon considers them as distinct species. Although she has not adduced any new dis- tinguishing characters, her careful work should be ac- corded due consideration. It still is somewhat a matter of opinion, for the cytological evidence is not conclusive. It appears that atropurpurea is a sterile triploid (n = 87), and Mrs. Tryon suggests that it originated as a hybrid between P. ternifolia and some other unknown species ; the species can be propagated from spores, but the pro- thallia produced on germination are not truly ‘‘gameto- phytic,’’ for they have the somatic number of chromo- somes, and the new ‘‘sporophytes’’ are produced from the prothallia adventitiously and are not the result of the fertilization of sex-cells; this type of reproduction is known as apogamy, and occurs in hybrids and other plants having an unbalanced chromosome complement.” The typical eastern P. glabella is also a sterile, apogamous hybrid (a tetraploid, n = 116), and Mrs. een considers that it perhaps arose as a hybrid between P. atropurpurea (already a hybrid) and the western P. pumila (which is a diploid, n=29). In dealing with complex issues like these, involving sterile triploids and tetraploids, taxo- nomic practice has not yet been standardized. Mrs. Tryon’s treatment is a little inconsistent. If the hybrid P. atropurpurea is regarded as a distinct species, then P. glabella should be also, but Mrs. Tryon makes P. 8. Tryon’s interesting observations is that apogamous ever: nae fies bilateral (monolete) spores, 32 to a sporangium, and that the sexually fertile hose have smaller, i aapetgelae hoirat (trileteé) spores, 64 to a sporangium, a difference due, 0 course, to the latter having undergone a second, reduction division. Notes AND NEwSs 91 glabella and P. pumila conspecific, the latter as P. glabella var. occidentalis: But if glabella is really an interspecific hybrid it is hardly possible to class it as a variety of one of its parents and not the other. The matter is further complicated by the existence of a fourth entity, P. Suksdorfiana, which I called P. atropurpurea var. simplex, and which Mrs. Tryon ealls P. glabella var. simplex, which is also a sterile, apogamous tetraploid (n=116) but a different one from typical glabella. The existence of these complicating western variations is the reason I referred all of them to the single species P. atropurpurea, even though glabella seems reasonably distinct when the eastern material is considered alone. The matter is highly debatable.-—C. V. Morton Notes and News ApvANCE PLANS FoR A 1959 Fretp-TrIp.—A number of field-trips are being planned in connection with the Ninth International Botanical Congress to be held in Montreal, August 19-29, 1959. The details of these trips have to be worked out well in advance. A tentative arrangement has been reached with Dr. Harold A. Senn, Chairman of the Field-trips Committee, for the American Fern Society to join with Trip 19, which is a three-day trip immediately after the Congress, August 30, 31, and September 1. This trip will consist of visits to labora- tories and herbaria in Ottawa, certain social events A minor misapprehension that might be noted is the statement ow. J. Hooker e geese ge hig hots characters as diagnostic for he arranged these species n Pellaea according to the division of the blade.” Hooker, os his Bodice Filicum, habitually arranged his species according to the division of the blade in all the genera, from simple blades to the deecompound ones. It was a purely artificial arrangement for convenience and no conclusion can be rawn from it as to Hooker’s opinion on the relative value of diagnostic characters in the genus Pellaea 92 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL scheduled for the visit of botanists to the Canadian capital, and a day’s botanizing slanted toward ferns in the general region of Ottawa, both on the Quebec and Ontario sides of the Ottawa River. The leader of this trip will be Mr. W. J. Cody, the author of the recent book ‘‘Ferns of the Ottawa District.’?! The area is rich in interesting ferns. The total cost of the trip will be very moderate, probably about $25.00. Fern Society members that either definitely or tenta- tively would like to take this trip are urged to write to Dr. Senn (Botany Laboratory, Science Service Building, Ottawa, Canada) and make a preliminary registration, and ask to have their names placed on the mailing list for the Congress.—C. V. Moron. ORGANIZATION OF THE Los ANGELES Fern Socmty.— The newly formed Los Angeles Fern Society was organ- ized March 7, 1958, with 23 members present at the organ- izing meeting. Another 18 charter members are expected to join. A set of By-laws, written up by Mrs. Muriel L. Merrell, was adopted, one of the provisions of which is that all elected officers must be members in good standing of the American Fern Society. Dr. W. C. Drummond was elected President, Mrs. Sylvia Leatherman, Vice- President, and Mr. George Getze, Jr., Treasurer-Secre- tary. The purpose of the Society is to further interest in ferns in the Los Angeles area both from a horticultural and scientific viewpoint. To this end, a lending library is being set up and a spore exchange. Plans have been made for meetings every six weeks and for a series of field-trips. Mrs. Barbara Joe Hoshizaki has been ap- pointed Program Chairman. Mr. Van Groot is in charge of membership. We wish the new organization well. Active local groups can do much to promote interest in ferns, includ- 1 Reviewed, This Journa 47: 111. 1957. Notes AND NEWS 93 ing the conservation of wild plants and the introduction of new ones into cultivation —C. V. Morron. MempBer Honorep.—Our member, Dr. W. C. Drum- mond, was honored at a luncheon March 13 in Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Park, Los Angeles, for his work in preparing and classifying 140 specimens of ferns for exhibition in the Nature Museum in Griffith Park. The exhibit was opened to the public on March 14. New Mempersuipe List.—A new membership list (by the multilith process) of the American Fern Society was issued in April. It shows a total of 696 members as of March 1, 1958, but since that time a number have joined and the total membership as of April 28 was 721. If any members have failed to receive a list they may re- quest one from the undersigned—C. V. Morton. Spore ExcHaNGeE Invirep.—Mr. Charles J. Felix (Sun Oil Production Research Laboratory, 503 North Central Expressway, Richardson, Texas) has samples of spores of a hundred or more species of ferns, many of them tropical or Old World, that he is willing to exchange for named specimens of spores. These spores have all been killed by chemical treatment and are for scientific study only and not for growing. ExcuHance Invrrep—Mr. Tomitaro Namegata, 481 Narita, Narita-shi, Chiba-ken, Japan, is desirous of ex- changing specimens of Japanese ferns for American ones. Members interested may contact him directly —C.V.M. A British DEALER IN FERN Spores.—Major V. F. Howell, Fire Thorn, Oxshott Way, Cobham, Surrey, England, has sent us an unusual catalog offering seeds of a number of rare orchids and Gesneriaceae and spores of a selection of rare ferns, including such unusual items as Hemionitis arifolia, Doryopteris {Pteris| palmata, 94 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Adiantum macrophyllum, Diplazium proliferum, D. polypodioides, and Todea barbara. Members may be interested in writing for his catalogue. Major Howell writes me that for the nominal sum of $1.00 to cover expenses he will send a selection of spore-bearing fronds of native ferns from North Devonshire to any members wanting to try growing British ferns——C. V. Morton. Mr. Thomas 8. Constantine, 72 Terrace, Katonah, New York, has a complete set of the American Fern Journal for sale. Members interested can write him regarding the price. American Fern Society Report OF THE SporE ExcHance.—The Spore Ex- change in 1957 had times of activity and times of quiet. Highty-nine letters were received from 43 members of the Fern Society and well over a hundred went out, as well as 60 lists of available spores. This amount of correspondence bespeaks a considerable interest in the exchange, although it seems that only about half of the people requesting the list followed up with requests for spores. During the year 201 packets of spores were sent to 26 people. The disappointing part of this report is that only 13 members contributed spores or fertile leaves to the ex- change, altogether 40 packets having been received, a decrease partly to be attributed to the loss of Harold ugg, who ever had the exchange in mind and con- tributed many packets each year. I myself renew the supplies of the commoner eastern species each year, and so almost all the spores listed last year are still available and probably still capable of germinating. In some cases the supply is very limited or exhausted. The need therefore, if the exchange is to continue to grow and serve the members, is for more members in various parts of the country to watch their ferns at AMERICAN FERN SOcIETY 95 home and in the nearby native habitats to gather spores at the right time and to send them. It should be emphasized again that growing ferns from spores is a rewarding experience. Little trouble or ex- pense is involved, little experience required, and the resulting fern specimens perhaps give more satisfaction and pride than would specimens purchased or trans- planted —KatTuryn E. Boypston, Fernwood, Route 3, Niles, Michigan. New MEMBERS Mr. laren M. Addison, 1585 Cherry Glen Way, San Jose 25, Califor Mr. cae fake Pc Ba of Botany, University of California, Berkeley 4, Califo Mrs. Rena Allen 1156 North Beverly Boulevard, Tueson, Arizona Miss Karen S. Alt, Rancho Santa Ana Bot nie Garden, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont, Califo Mrs. Ferne Carter Ames, 19331 Aes ieee Tarzana, ~ Dr. Edward P. Bagg, 207 Elm Street, pec sa Massachusetts Miss Hazel E. Baker, 7654 Central Avenue, Lemon Gro a lif. Mrs. F, L. Ballard, Jr., 149 Northwestern on, Philadelphia 18, Pa. Miss ong D. Bandettini, 143 Palmer Avenue, Mountain View, Calif Mrs " Viola ‘Aust tin, Edgewood, low Dr. Ralph H. Benedict, 3106 pies Street, Rockford, Illinois Mr. Ronald E. Blackwell, 2525 North Park Blvd., Santa Ana, Calif. Mr. Ray Bloemer, 11144 West Fourth Street, Seite Ana sue Mrs. F. Jewell Coyne, ¢/o Alfred W. Roberts, 10136 capes Boulevard, Los Angeles 34, Califor Mrs. Kathryn Eastman, 128 Chri oper ‘street Columbia, Mo. Mr. Austin Murray Evans, Barnard, Verm Mr. George F. Evans, 4030 Warnes eae a: Diego 9, California Mr. George E. Freeman, 1675 Garnett Lane, Concord, California Mr. George Getze, Jr., 1121 Azalea Drive, Alhambra, California Mrs, saruieitig Horton Grant, 5521 Ameston Ave., nests, Calif. Mr. H. Gross, 16621 Madison, Cleveland 7, Ohio Mr. Arnold Hall 1170 Fifth hate New ede 29, New Yor Mrs. Haldor E. Heimer, D.C.C.M / , Belgian mast Africa 96 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Mrs. Josiah M. Hewitt, Twin Beeches, Holmdel, New Jersey Miss Tees Hougardy, 625 South Baywood Avenue, San Jose 28, Califor Mr Kunio “Twat, Department of Botany, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Jap Mrs. J.C. Fen 6807 DeLongpre Avenue, pate i Calif. Mrs. Thomas B. Jones, 1131 Prescott Street, McKeesport, Pa. Mrs. Darwin P. Kings i argh Club Ro nes New Canaan, Conn. Mr. Art eek man, 631 h Fair 5 iy sbe e Californie nas ne pikari 103 Wet Buildi e Cha rles A rigpe . Lyon Mr. Marion Makely, 2040 Newport Bo ais evar ® oes ta ‘Meus; Calif . Arnold L. Ma i edham Mr. Arthur R. Modler, 6666 Garber eee Dayton 15, Ohio ock 8 Sou e Avenu Mr. Dudley L. Parsons, 55 aiecgtce: pele Chappaqua, New York Mr. Clifford L. Peasley, 7324 N. Washburne, Portland 17, Oregon Mrs. Francis C. Reed, Llewellyn Park, West Orange, New Jersey Mrs. mi 2) ° ty ic) - w S for) ie] ° = 5 > ° = RM er | oO oO Road = ° =] i=} co oo ® 3 5 ° 5 = Mr. J. M. Rowse, 477 Pettis Avenue, Mountain View, Ronee Mr. Robert A. Seward, 2839 Yard Street, Oroville, California Mrs. Raymond Deane Sherman, West 1123 Sixteenth Ave., Spokane 41, Washington Prof. Tae — Department of Botany, University of Kyoto, Kyoto, Mrs. G. if Pattok 7114 West 35th Street, Berwyn, Ilino Miss pane: Gower Was, 12792 Newport Avenue, iat Calif. n Mrs. Baward L. Wharton, 50 James Street, Newark 2, New Jersey Mr. Charles H. Young, Jr., 1136 New Hampshire, Lincoln, Neb. CHANGES oF ADDRESS! Mrs. O. S. Bryant, Jr., 3470 Afton Avenue, Paducah, Kentucky Dr. Charles E, DeVol, no. 11 Lane 284, Wu Feng Road, Chiayi, aiwan, Free Chi Mrs, Mary F., pecngestie 1015 Harrison Street, Superior, Wis. Dr, Julian A. Steye rmark, 494 North Hill Drive, Barrington, Il. 1 Only changes subsequent to the new membership list are noted. HENRY GEORGE FIEDLER Scientific Books and Periodicals HENRY TRIPP, PROPRIETOR Large stock of books on ferns and cryptogamic botany 31 East 10th Street, New York 3, N. Y. CASTANEA Published by the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club Devoted to the botany of the interesting Southern gg Soe EET Published Quarterly. Soe subseription, including membership in the Club, $3.0 Address Soe Earu L. Corg, Editor Virginia University iocnisen West Virginia I specialize in HORTICULTURAL BOOKS from WARM COUNTRIES Send for free lists EDWIN A. MENNINGER The Flowering Tree Man — ‘Stuart, Florida _———— oe ee e S ern d THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR i 3 or sé our THE HERBARIUM FREE COPY ik jommerene of this Helpful See Treatise: | “THE PREPARATION OF _ BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR THE HERBARIUM” Dr. I, M. Johnston, of the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard ee _ has generously shared the nt A eee and | puCCHaaIE €xpete ence in the collection and preparation of plant Help for the amateur sa a hints for the professional col- lector, abound in in this thirty-six easy gt eg in which Dr. Jot time tested jockaicass for pressing, ng and mounting herbarium m: aterials. | (aaa Geos methods are uttined fo for _ treatment of aquatic flowering ts, . lichens and lee. Specific suggestions are —— for record ni a 2 One copy of treatise is yours for the ay To pode: be ‘eeeded ded samples of Botanical Pap Papers (Driers, Mi and ie wig as well as data on Collecting Cas Cases, Fi Fi Field id roves ze Plant Presses, pecimen ounts, Botanical - Just ask for “a copy of the Johnston teats” - eaEosce SCIENTIFIC COMPANY si 37 ANTWERP STREET _@ BRIGHTON STATION BOSTON, MASS. U.S.A. Vol. 48 July-September, 1958 No. 3\/ American Hern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY ae EDITORS Cc. V. MORTON R. C. BENEDICT IRA L. WIGGI A. C. SMITH URI SOTAP + oe a] Kec veg OCT 2 $1958 Bad CONTENTS Isoétes in Eastern Canada | JAMES H. Soper AND SATHYANARAYANA RAO 97 Physiological Studies with Azolla under Aseptic Condi- tions. I. Isolation and Preliminary Growth Studies Louis G. NicKELL 103 * New Jainsioan Species of Ctenitis ... ‘Guorce Hi Proctor 108 The Taxonomic Position of Saccoloma K, U. Kramer 111 An Uaapest Hawaiian Population of Ophioglossum pen- dulum EUGENE HoRNER 118 aed a Shorter N : Dryepteris Climonbista in ome pe i é eyes Station for Adiantum Tracyi re N. QUEEN sT. AND McGOVERN NAVE, LA NC matter at the ‘post. offee at | neaster, _anlfr the Ae"oe Marek S385 en r mailing at rate of posta ‘or in the Act 7 in Paragraph (3 yBeedon Saad BL «Bat To Che American Hern Society Gounril for 1959 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR ° : Tra L. Wiaeins, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Cali- fornia Pr esident JAMES E, BENEDICT, JR., 945 Pennsylvania Ave., N. Ww. tes g- ton 4, D. C. Vice- sident MILDRED E. Fav UST, 6s Nephew of Botany, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New Y Watter 8S. PHILLIPS ;, Department of Botany, chines of ges zona, Tucson, Treasurer Cc. Vz. Morrow, See Institution, Washington 25, D. C. Editor-in- Chief OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal TORS C. V. Moron ......... Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. R. C. BENEDICT Ira L. ae Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. A. C. Smith ........ Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns. Subseription, $2.35 per year, 5 foreign, 10 cents extra; sent free to members of the AMERICA N FERN SOCIETY (annual dues, $2.00; sustaining Gonberhiy. $5.00; life membership, $50.00). reprints, if ordered in advance, will be scr gi authors Back volumes $1.50 each, except vols. 1, 38, and 40, $2.25; single ‘ umbers 50 cents C, “ ne —— to the saa cach of the Orders for back numbers and ty business communications be Sa ore a LIBRARIAN AND CURATOR oF THE HERBARIUM © a Dr H. Ww. a Deen ane of sesaae, 5 Ann eso Mich. American #ern Journal Vou. 48 OcTOBER- DECEMBER No. 4 Una Foster Weatherby ‘‘*What are you doing here?’ I heard my husband say to a plant, and I soon discovered he was talking to a Lespedeza which wasn’t supposed to grow in that part of the State.... I began to see what I could find. On glancing up the shaded roadside bank I saw five very upright fronds which suggested ebony spleenwort. . I could hardly wait for my husband to finish examining the plants he was interested in. This really beautiful fern proved to be the incised form of the ebony spleen- wort which has only six reported stations in the United States.’’ This sprightly report some 30 years ago in this Journal records the joys Una Foster Weatherby shared in her role of pteridologist’s wife and fern enthusiast. Long residence in and devotion to New England did not obscure a warm and vivacious nature disclosing her many Southern ties. Her father, Arthur Crawford Foster, journeyed early in his career from Foster’s Settlement in Alabama to Lee County, Texas, where he taught school in winter to supplement his law work. He married one of his pupils, Margaret Ellen Edwards, and on October 11, 1878, their daughter Una Lenora Foster was born. Later she was to ponder at the singular implication of the name, for at three her mother’s death left her an only child. The void was filled by a dear aunt and grandmother who provided a home in Starkville, Missis- sippi. There was much activity here around grand- mother’s grist mill and cotton gin with many cousins, orchard trees to swing and climb upon, and fine pet cats [ Volume 48, Number 3, pp. 97-128, was issued October 13, 1958.] AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLuME 48, PLATE 16 Pa’ Mrs. Una Foster WEATHERBY Una Foster WEATHERBY - 131 and chickens. She was an alert, imaginative child, in- terested in grandmother’s reading in the Bible and clas- sics and intrigued by the tales of Old Mose, the handy- man. In this happy environment she developed a vital- ity which served her later in more austere moments, on strenuous field trips and long travels abroad. At fourteen she returned to Texas to live with her father and step-mother and graduated from the High School at Haskell. She continued her active program in this frontier country—bicycling, riding, hunting, fish- ing, and there was instilled in her a love of freedom and a fondness for the west-Texas prairie. But such lively endeavors did not detract from scholastic achievements, for in 1896 she entered as a sophomore at Baylor Univer- sity in Waco, and after two years she received a scholar- ship at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia. In the course of her studies there, she assisted in a bacteriology lab- oratory and learned the use of the microscope—an ex- perience she found helpful in later years. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Shorter College in the class of 1899 and returned to Haskell to serve in the office of Deputy County Clerk. Her interests, however, were in art rather than business or government. — In 1902 she enrolled in the Eric Pope Art School in Boston, where for the next two years she attended classes five and a half days a week and interrupted this schedule only to teach a summer art class at Woods Hole. Her objective then became to teach art in a southern college and to further prepare herself she enrolled in the Nor- mal Art School in Boston. With this splendid back- ground and her many talents in art, she made her first trip abroad. In February, 1910, accompanying her father she made a three months’ cruise in the Mediter- ranean visiting Italy, Greece, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Holland, and Eng- land. She returned to Italy the following winter in the company of an older woman from Hartford, Connecti- As? AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL cut, also interested in art. While visiting the Uffizi gal- lery in Florence, they chanced to meet Charles Alfred Weatherby, also of Hartford, and his mother, and this foursome toured together through the winter in Rome. Although Mr. Weatherby returned to his work at the Gray Herbarium in Cambridge, Massachusetts, their acquaintance continued through long and frequent let- ters discussing art, of course, and music, politics, and poetry as well as the new ideas which were being pub- lished on philosophy and evolution by Haeckel, Sir Oli- ver Lodge, Mendel, and de Vries. In answer to her re- quest to name a plant he indoctrinated a bit for her bene- fit. ‘‘ Well, we’ll call the Potentilla torment Una' for the present. That’s sure to be correct as far as it goes. I perceive you have discovered one of the advantages of being a botanist. There is no place on earth, barring the poles and desert of the Sahara, where you can be alto- gether bored or without congenial oceupation.’’ With his return to Hartford and later hers to Boston, their letters continued but he was also able to visit her occasionally bringing plants for her to mount and to botanize with her in the Chestnut Hill woods. When the New York publisher Frederick Stokes called upon his classmate Charles Weatherby to revise and adapt the English work, Wild Flower Preservation, by Mae Coley, for the American flora, Una Foster was commissioned to do a new illustration. Her drawing of Robin’s Plantain, with various parts enlarged, in the volume issued in Feb- ruary, 1915, was the first of many she prepared for his publications. She painted a series of little water-colors of the Jewel Weed, Impatiens biflora, comparing the various color forms, and he refers to these in his papers on the species. They are preserved in the herbarium of the New England Botanical Club and although painted some forty years ago retain their bright color patterns 1A pun on the plant name er Fade dugg a former name for the plant currently known as P. er Ed. Una Foster WEATHERBY 133 and illustrate her skill in a favorite medium. More than the artist, she joined him in observing and collect- ing jewel weeds and a new form platymeris, described by Mr. Weatherby, was based on a specimen she collected on a field meeting of the Connecticut Botanical Club, Aug- ust 13, 1918, at Southbury, Connecticut. The color forms of various plants were a special interest they studied together for many years. On May 16, 1917, Una Lenora Foster became Mrs. Charles Alfred Weatherby and on their wedding trip at Lakeville, Connecticut, a little verse he wrote about her reveals their joys on a tramp through the woods. Such delightful poems and walks continued through their happy years. Mr. Weatherby’s articles in Rhodora of- ten refer to their joint ventures, and herbarium speci- mens document their trips over most of New England and in Nova Seotia and New Brunswick. There is an amusing account of a trip to Long Pond in the north- eastern corner of Connecticut in which Mr. Weatherby brightens the botanical record with their adventures in camping overnight, in trying to collect the copious dew jeeringly barked at their waterless condition. They made their home in Hartford, Connecticut, for eleven years, although Mr. Weatherby continued his work at the Cray. Herbarium, spending part of each month in Cambridge. Mrs. Weatherby busied herself at home mounting the plants he brought, doing some of his typ- ing, and preparing drawings. The large series of illus- trations she prepared for his publications are particu- larly notable for their diagnostic value,.for her object was not to include photographie detail but to stress the important characteristics of the plants. She believed these should be somewhat cartoon-like. They are espe- cially helpful for comparative purposes in difficult or little understood groups as Selaginella, Cystopteris, Polypodium, Notholaena, and in the new species of South 134 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL American ferns he described. She illustrated also for Harold Rugg and H. C. Ridon in this Journal; three of her plates were used in the volume on the Ferns of New Hampshire by Edith Seamman, and she contributed a drawing of a new species, Ctenopteris punctata, for the Ferns of Liberia by Winifred J. Harley. In 1929, with Mr. Weatherby’s appointment to the Gray Herbarium staff, they moved to Cambridge and settled in their attractive home at 27 Raymond Street, a familiar address to visiting dignitaries, botanists, and students. In 1935, the Botanical Congress in Amster- dam was an invitation to visit the herbaria and botanical gardens of Europe as well as the art museums, and on August 13 they departed for Rotterdam. There was time to visit Leiden before the Congress and Mrs. Weatherby was put to work there copying some of the drawings of the Van den Bosch types. They were inspired at the Congress by distinguished botanists from all over the world and by the herbaria they visited at Utrecht, Brus- sels, Paris, London, Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh. ferns. In order to prepare herself, Mrs. Weatherby acquired an excellent camera and took lessons in its use, and in June, 1937, they sailed for Liverpool. They worked at length in the herbaria at Kew and Paris and made shorter trips to Vienna, Prague, and Berlin. The large series of photographs at the Gray Herbarium of fern types are mainly the result of her work on this trip. These are of such excellence that it is possible to examine their smaller detail under magnification. The cheilanthoid ferns became Mr. Weatherby’s prime interest and necessitated another trip to Europe in 1939, chiefly to London, Geneva, and Paris. il : 146; ‘var ians, iride, 87; Viviparum v folium, 31, v. inaequal 31. = lineatum, 3 Asplenium Adinabion -nigrum 2: ain, 8 Athyrios, 30, 127; al Bilix- femina. 61, See coe piked © Bree a 21; pterorachis, 32 5 n, 127; thelypteri- oes 30, 127; viritprons, 32 Azolla, 103-108 ; earoliniana, 106 Bailey, Virginia L. & Haro A Key to Ferns in Weateen Na- Genet Parks (Rev.), 44 all Fern in Be pi ibe pid pe Benedict, R. ns as in Southern “California, "65 Benson, Lym Plant Classifica- tion (Rev wad Biry’S: 3 Sidiar Anatomy of In- dian Aspleniaceae (Rev.), pee Hobby Blechnum nipponicum 88; cant, 61, bittiniem,: 165, 166, v. serratum, 166 Bolbitis, 88 oston Fern, 18, 24-27. 66 Botrychium, 168; boreale, 44; lanceolatum, Lunaria, 88; matricariifolium, 44; multi- fidum, Bes ginianu hovantind, "Kathryn ee teur ae Bern aceon te or Exchan ghee 9 silaifolium, 61; vir- "88 nd i lationship he . “Peculiar Plant from West Virgin 46 Branscomb, Donald. ey tee y Cali- fornian Station for Adiantum Tracyi, A Rare Form of the De aati: 165 Bridgers, Bernar Techniques T. a a Py Row ing of Spores of F r Artificial Culture, er eee Species of Thelypteris, Ger iaieka sibiricus, 6, ha 38, rhizophyllus, 6; 87 39; Gaudi- thalictroides, dii shoe Pe erin 37, harter Me ae “ Homonid, 45 Ghatige nthes, 2, Ped 88. 118; ala- bamen “hae 124 ; eerie 45; fee! —_ a, 50: inte rtexta, 59; 6; Parr Huxiragiimen palmata, 167 Cibotium Cha 67 Cauatanne” 3 Cornopteris ee 32 sythii-majo an "Mac ie sili, 32; oosora, 82 : parvisora, Bo: pechen pee at on: i'n opchnee enuisecta, 32: ifrons, Correct ae of the Mountain Fern, Crane, see Ward. Is It a Hybrid or a Species ?, 164 ae progres amma crispa, S88; crenttig. ore Stel- arthrothrix, 110; nif, 32 : dolphinensis, OG riastaanit 110; hirta, INDEX TO VoLUME 48 ae oophylla, 110; Warburii, Cte nopt eris punctata, 134 Cultivation of ferns from spores, —18, 161-164 140, 141; acumin- we ae silvaticus, 33; sub- ennigerus, 35 cyrtomium, 67, 88; falcatum, 84, Cystopteris, 134 Darea inaequalis, 31 Davallia, S88; canariensis, chaerophylloides vy. mau uritiana, emirnensis, 34; fejeen Ti! _ Goudot jana, Maries! 119 ; mexi- Diellia, 8, sem cpt Blam of, 30, 127; esculen- tum, 30; japonicum, ge 30; a pea ON cae oly po- Do pain bier Doryopteris palmata, 9 Dryopteris, 17, 136, 187: arguta, 61, 136 ; austriaca, 87, 136, 140; bella, 383; crassirhizoma, Lis Clintoniana, , 164, 165; tata, 165; dilatata, 61, 136: disjuncta, 87; Feei, 136, 188; Fil a 8h 186; For- sythii-majoris, 3 : fragrans, + intermedia, tees ontana, 145; nevadensis, 139; oregana, 136, 140; spinulosa, igs cathe sub- pennigera, 33 5 jay Thely pteris, ST: ‘ oWwar Dunean, Ellen 8S, Report of Audit- ing Committee, 55 Elaphoglossum, 88 Equisetum, 68—71, 88, 104; ar- vense 7: fluvia Funstonii, ntermedium Tc Moorei, *68 : "prealtum, (0°; : ta- mosissimum, 68 ; trachyodon, 68 Faust, Mildred, Report of Secre- tary, 55 173 Ferns as a Hobby in Southern ear: 65 44 Fosberg, F. R. s on Micro- aie Pteridophyta, II, 35 ae Bot ns Peter. The Correct the Mountain Fern, Glaphyropteris, 141 By. Re ee ee Ce MOS Diplazium sy ge mg Natarae tt) a ‘ silvatica, s R. The Sentieds: Cyrtomium ‘tale atum, Outdoors in Ohio, 84 Harley, Winifred J. Handbook of ecm Pei ae (Rev.), 126 ard L. Is cig eae a Hybr Mad 68 ; oe Hemestheum, 144, Hemionitis arifolia, Herter, W. Som eicritieal = Fhe’ Centra 1 peoate an of Urostachys, 8 Heterogonium cyatheifolium, 33 Holly-fern, pg esa faleatum, hemi be Horne Bu an Unusual Ha eatians Population of Ophioglos- sum pendulum, 1 Horr, W. 1 & Ellen 8. Dune mere of Auditing Guanes Humblotiella odontolabia, 33 Identity of Polypodium viride Gilbert, Is Bquisetum laevigatum a Hy- bri Is It a Hybrid or a Species?, 164 Isoétes, 97, 102; macrospora, 98, 00, 101; murieata, 98, 1 101; riparia, 98, 100, apres Tucker- manii, ‘98, 100, 101 Isoétes in ‘Hastern Canada, 97 Joe, Barbara. eg ane Fern in pg Sone vated ON copute” Trev), 167; Pteris "species Cultivated in California (Rev.), 167 Knobloch, Irving W. Asplenium Adiantum- nigrum Again, ine Kramer, he Taxonomic Position of Saccoloma Wereklei, astr 88, 140, 144, 145; quel- paerter Lindsaea, 118; campylophylla, 34; Chienii, 34; leptophylla, 34; madagascariensis, 34; micro- pare, 34: oxyphylla, 34; pli- cata, 174 Lommasson, R. oh Report of Judge of Electi 57 Los Angcidn ae Tmaclety. 92 sudnten 61; nikosense, 125; setaceum, 125 McGre bial rer) aa L. Report of Treasu Marsilea, "703, 104, Mass A 8. Weak ” Allies of Visginie tiie. ‘f Matteuccia Struthiopteris Matuda, BE. Los Helechos Neh ‘valle de Mexico y Alrededores (Rev.), rere P.N. & S. C. Verma. Cytol- gy of my bce ieee ), 125; Cytology. pe saat an Species f Gen plen ‘en BA (Rev) base Se 115, 117; Hookeriana, 118; jamaicensis, 117; spe- os neae, 117; strigosa f. Mac- ae 473 Wercklei, 116, ock, Robert Dry tein. Clintontana in lilinote” $2 eS enhreck, Robert H. Wal Weber. An Tneeusl Por me Asplenium Bradleyi, Mor cr The Californian eae of Theis neweie 136; The wage te 3 kdl PoP ay viride, 75; Observations on ‘Cultivated ec a odfrey. Diplazium japonicum Natural- ized in Florida, 28 Nephrodium, 144, 145; Boi vinii, ook nevadense, 139; oosorum, 32; uber ulum, Nephrolepis, 2, 5 18, 115; acumi- nata, nies 1, 22, 24; acuta, 21; rf sima- biggrin 24, ev. Fluff. ple: 26, Scottii, 36, 27, ev. Smithii, oT AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL ev. ey mdida, 27, cv. Spring- field, 26, ev. Teddy, ct, Shey Trevillian, 25, ev. Whitm 19; superba 20; Westonii, 20; orga we 26 nian Station for Adi- "spleenwort from s at Fernwood and its Relationship to a Pecul- me Plant from West Virginia, New Jamaican Species of Ctenitis, 108 Nickell, 1 Physiological Studies with Azolla under Asep- tic Conditions, I. Isolation and Preliminary Growth Studies, 103 Notes om esia phyta, Notes on ‘he Distribution of As- plenium kentuckiense, Notholaena, 59, 88, 134; Weather- 6 Obituary: Wilhelm Herter, 168; Una Foster Weatherby, 129 de ss on Cultivated Ferns, pecies pe orms of Neiheokeou. i Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan: 80, 88, 125, v. pseudopo pyenostichum, T7— 79 Ophiogioseum vulgatum in Mis Ormoloma, Tit, is Osmunda ‘asiatica cinnamo- nea, 88; Claytoniana, 88; japon- ica, 8s: regalis, Pellaea, 59, 88, 89; Pe aple ta ath sndromedifolia, 90; atropu tata, 89, v. cordata, 89; 7+ a oe | ow a EE lebia, Phenaetetic 4 Phyllitis, 2,16; eA ea 87 Physiological Studies with Azoila INDEX TO VOLUME 48 r serie Conditions, Taclation P reliminary Growth Studies, es Pilularia americana, Pityrogramma, 88, 161: triangu- 1 mon ceoante: 142, oreopteris, 142-145 ; Laltnclauen, pter rioi 145; Scolo- iride, he 3 volgate, 6, 15, 77, v. vibeiis batvetichonulk bella, nf? dei oebret 144, 145, 185; Pate ett 66, 87; californicum, Dud- "dlandu- 61, 166, v. imbricans, 59; etosum, Proctor, George R. A New Jamai- ca Is i a rinigera, , 33; De- Pteriaium ae gene oe vy. latius- cul 88, pubescens, 61 Peoria or; j bidgatel, 118 Pyrrosi Rao, Sathyanarayana & James H. Soper, Isoétes in Eastern Can- ‘oe Form of aa Deer-fern, = por Bh Californian 55; of = ore, rekens oF Treasurer Saccoloma, 111; elegans, 111; Werel:lei, 111-118 jet ryana, 33; pli- Schaifneria 117 Sch zolegnia leptophylla, 34; oxy- Schizoloia wren 34: Decarya- el eptophyllum, 34 5 vans i Sexpholepia, 15, 116 Selagin ella, 134; piceberey hye 126 ‘aaineinolied: 88; subco da ta, pape Divpneras: 62 Some ny riti and New Centra an Species of LN et Soper, James H. & Sa dings et det rg ag Teoatse in Eastern Can 175 Sphenomeris camplyophylla, 34 os 168; emirnensis, 34; Goudot , 34; madagascarien- sis, ate _mierophs!la, 34 1-18, 161-164 66 N. Manual of China (Rev.), Vascular Yangtze Valley, 125 mveyerniere Julian. Ophioglossum vulgatum in Missouri, 77 Tardieu-Blot, Mme. Validation of Some New Combinations, 31 Taxonomic Position of Saccoloma Wercklei, 111 Techniques Involving the Sowing of Spores of Ferns for Artificial yl aes re, 161 Tectaria Decar Li ro dyguethen i v136. iar, 140, 141, 144; ata, 137, 139, 141: Feei, 138; limbosp er cogerreae 137, 130: hotninlin. 38, hie ge Gee 13 ; oreop- teris, 42, 145 Linenioe 140; te pba 138, 140; berula, 137, 1388; tetragona, ‘14 i Todea barbara, 94. Tryon, Alice PF. beat ore of Ferns (Rev.), — Revision of the Fer P petined, Section Pellaea (ier), 89; Una Foster Weatherb Una nh Sabena tah 129 Unus _For of Asplenium braalc 15 Uaneual "Hawaiian Population of phioglossum pendulum, 118 iposgucty®, 81-84, 168, 169; ble- pharo ane es, 82; chamaeleon, ee chiricanus, 83; costaricensis, 8 dicho a mus, 83; ads or BL gegen de 4 slger rsinites, 84; 81, ao parvifolius, ‘reflexus, 82 83; ‘Prit rate 83; Schwendeneri, & Lo wena of Some New Combina- tic Verma, S. C. Cytology of Ophio- glossum ee a Vern S. N. Cc sytoloky of eyes od 25; Cytology of Some feaia Species of Genus Asplenium L. (Rev.), 125 Wagner, W. F., Jr. Notes on the Distribution of Asplenium an tu nse, 39; Report of Curator ibr: rian, py ‘i 2 3 Wagner, W. H., Jr. Rt Repear fds EB, Bo vi Sea ee Hybrid 176 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Spleenwort from Artificial Cul- of Asplenium Bradleyi, 159 ures at Fernwood and its Re- Wiggins, Ira L. Report t of Presi- lationship to a Peculiar Plant dent, 4 st Vi i 46 Woodsia glabella, 87; ilvensis, 87 Wa Ei: Woodwardia, 167; fimbriata, 59, Marhien bracts. An Unusual Form 61, 88; japonica, 88; raion: ERRATA pene oe line 14: Delete the lec line sae eee Aspleniwm rum Baker, Journ. Bot . & For Page 118, panning head: ee oe ae tiy pad “Ophio- glossum pendulum age 121, running head: For “Saccoloma Wercklei,” read “Ophio- glossum pendulum. HENRY TRIPP Successor to Henry George Fiedler Scientific Books and Periodicals Large stock of books on ferns and cryptogamic botany 31 East 10th Street, New York 3, N. Y. CASTANEA Published by the Southern his isin ge Botanical Club Devoted to the botany of the interesting Southern Appalachians. —— Be Seta Pasa subscription, including meen? » $3.0 Address Dr. Eart L. Cors, Editor West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia I specialize in © HORTICULTURAL BOOKS from WARM COUNTRIES Send for free lists ‘EDWIN A. MENNINGER The Flowering Tree Man - Stuart, danaaes ee cen Cend OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR for Your FREE COPY LM. JOHNSTON of this Helpful | esszmerncunn Treatise: “THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS oe PERSANIOM : Help for the amateur botanist, and hints for the professional col- lector, abound in this thirty _ page illustr eye — in which Dr. Johnston describes time d techniques “age preserving and mounting herbarium materials Seactal sisteds are eae for treatment of aquatic flo lichens and ane —— suggestions are — for om i akties ‘in the field; ecord keeping in the eae a ae ee baa asking. With it will be included samples of Botanical Peace (Driers, Mounting Sheets Plant Presses, Specimen Mounts, Botanical Labels and other Her- “Sandi _‘Tust ask for “a copy of the Johmeton treatise”. ne _ CAMBOSCO SCIENTIFIC COMPANY ee 374 STREET © BRIGHTON STATION “BOSTON, cme U.S.A. American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY EDITORS C. V. MORTON R,. C. BENEDICT TRA Il. WIGGINS A. C. SMITH BUSINESS PRESS, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA Contents - VoLUME 49, NUMBER 1, Paces 1-64, Issurp APRIL -13, 1959 A. H. G. Alston, 1902-1958 : C. Vo Morton 1 : TUN 2 SACS CDE Tia Wena) pe a a . Alice F. Tryon 10 A Range Extension in Arctic Alaska for Bakryehvan lunaria J. E. Cantlon, W. H. Wagner, and W. T. Gillis 25 The Ferns and Fern-allies of Northern Neck, Virginia lyde F. Reed 30 Recent Fern Literature 36 Notes an ews: Answer to Dr. Allison; American Horti- il American Fern Society: Report of. President ; Report of Secre- tary; Report of Treasurer; Report of Audit ing Committee ; Report of Judge of iBioetionia Report of 1958 i trip VoLUME 49, NuMBER 2, PAGES 65-96, IssuED JuLy 7, 1959 Frederick Louis Fagley, 1879-1959 ..... ........... C. V. Morton 65 The Identification of a Costa Rican Blechnunm .... C. V. Morton 66 The Home of Blechnum Buchtienii in Costa Rica C. K. Horich 69 Remarks on Some 1958 Dealers’ Catalo Ops fate C. V. Morton 72 A Study of the Filmy Fern Trichomanes Boschian Robert H. Mohlenbrock and John se Voigt 76 A Note on sO oe in Some Indian envieas of bo ne gd ie Wade ve een P. N. Mehra . S. Bir 86 Mocdect ae Society: Report of pve Bo rath Report of Spore Exchange, 1958; Summer Field-trip fn Minnesota Planned 92 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 3, PAGES 97-128, Issugp Sepv. 29, 1959 American Grapeferns Resembling Botrychium ternatum: A Proliminaty, Renort oo os W.. H. Wagner, Jr. 97 Cytotaxonomic Studies of Some American Species of Dryopteris . Walker 104 Some New Combinations in Thelypteris ............... V. Morton 113 Ferns and Los Angeles Smog ............... R Benedict 114 Fete in Cutlivation; F232 3407 fe Sylvia Leatherman 116 Recent Field Notes <0 ee Thomas Darling, Jr. 117 Recent Fern Literature American, Fern Society carats diernc ateL eae 128 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 4, Paces 129-160, IssuED DECEMBER 30, 1959 Observations on Cultivated Ferns: The Hardy Species of Tree Ferns (Dicksonia and st pain ae) a Tryon and Alice Tryon 129 plik pectinatum and P. icnune “bale wicsas or itidaceae? ma G. Stokey 142 The. Sastsawe of Three Problematic a of Polypodium eth A, Wilson 147 The Correct Name of the Fern Uniadis vanes a ary blechnoides Cor. rton 151 Not and News: Exchange Invited; Los aa Pann 153 Boel American Hors Society: Joining the American Institute of 1 Biological Sciences Index to Volume 49 157 Vol. 49 January-March, 1959 No. 1 American Hern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIE R. C. BENEDICT . C. SMITH ad CONTENTS A. H. G. Alston, 1902-1958 ~..----------- Cc. V. Morton 1 The Fern Dell, Los Angeles ~.------—----~ W. C. DruMMonD 2 Ferns of the ince 0 oe ORR ESO 10 A Range Extension in Arctic ake for Botrychium lunaria_ . E. Cantuon, W. H. WaGNeR, AND W. T. Giuis 25 The Ferns and Fern-allies of Northern suet = XDE F. Reep 30 : coer Fern Literature ~..-- ute OO Notes and News: Answer to Dr. ‘alee! American Saree: cultural Council . American Fern Society: Report of President; Report of _ Seeretary; Report of: Treasurer; ! Committee ; ae of Sees of Elections: “Report of | 1953 eepaanae’ Recess Ae - 48 alae pehanaerin DA = (N. QUEEN ST. Pe ouere GOVERN AVE. ,LA PAL second ces matter at, te past, fe ancaste pa ee. Ei mg ol ge “March 3, 1879 Acceptance fo: mailin pat woecsl a rate of postage for in the Act Act of Rebroaty 25, Se aut-ines Paragraph (3) Section 9440 P Bok & Bo i Che American Hern Society Council for 1959 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Ika L. Wicains, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Cali- for ornia President ~ JAMES E. BENEDICT, JR., 945 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washing- ton 4, D. C. Vice-President Dr. Donaup Hurriteston, Longwood Gardens, Kennett year Secretary —— Ss. PHILuips, Department of Botany, Univ —. of ie ma, Tueson, Arizona Treasurer C. v. Meiicn: Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. Editor-in-Chief OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal : : EDITORS C. V. Morton ......... Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. RB. C. Benepict .. . 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Y. Ina L. WiceIns Badieg Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. A. C, Smira _... - Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. An illustrated quarterly ¢ devoted to the general study e aig ‘Su pt. Baek vo 2.00 each; sin single bac k numbers 50 cents each; ae Canmulastys measly : vols. 1-26, cea Ten per ‘cont discount o orders of six ¢ volumes or more Matter for pibbiestiaa shake ag oe to C. iy. Mort : * ganeaes © nstitution, Washington 25 om Ree oe for back et ane fics “Guan nnieadions’” Amprican Bern Journal Von. 49 JaNUARY—Marcn, 1959 No. 1 A. H. G. Alston, 1902-1958 ©. V. Morton Mr. Arthur Hugh Garfit Alston died suddenly in Bar- celona, Spain, March 17, 1958.1. He was the youngest son of the Rev. F. 8. Alston, of Serivelsby, Lincolnshire, and was educated at Marlborough and at Lincoln Col- lege, Oxford, where he took an honours degree in Botany in 1924. After a few months’ study at the Kew Her- barium, he was appointed Systematic Botanist to the Department of Agriculture at Peradeniya, Ceylon, where he remained for several years, preparing a supplement- ary volume to Trimen’s Handbook to the Flora of Cey- lon and the Kandy Flora (published in 1931 and 1938). In 1930, he was appointed Assistant Keeper in the Herbarium of the British Museum (Natural History), to take charge of the Pteridophyta, where he remained for the rest of his life. He quickly acquired a world-wide knowledge of ferns and their allies, and he improved the Museum’s collection of ferns to a remarkable degree, not only by encouraging botanists and explorers of all na- tions to send in material but also by incorporating pho- tographs of type specimens deposited in the many foreign herbaria that he had visited. Botaniecally, he will be remembered chiefly as an authority on the genus Selaginella, on which he published many papers. Just before his death, he had completed an account of the ferns of West Tropical Africa, which will be published ater. 1 Most of the following information, kindly supplied through the Rey. E. A. Elliot, comes from The Times [London], March 28, 1958. [Volume 48, Number 4, of the JOURNAL, pp. 129-176 was issued January 20, 1959.] 2 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Alston was himself an enthusiastic traveller and col- lector. In 1938 and 1939, he made a very large collection in the Andes of Venezuela and Colombia, and in 1953 and 1954, at the invitation of the Government of Indo- nesia, he explored Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Celebes. Nearer home, he made large collections in southern Al- bania, Greek Macedonia, Algeria, Spain, and Sweden, and shorter holidays were always spent botanizing in the British Isles. During the last war he was assigned to the Ministry of Home Security. In 1946 he was given the important task of reporting on the state of taxonomic botany and the botanical collections in some areas of Germany on behalf of the Allied administration. Alston put his scholarly mind and profound knowl- edge of ferns and the history of botanical collectors at the disposal of countless visitors to London. He was a member of the Savile Club and of the Athenaeum, and had been a vice-president of the Linnaean Society of London and of the Botanical Society of the British Isles. At the time of his death he was president of the British Pteridological Society. His loss will be deeply felt, not only in Great Britain but throughout the world. The Fern Dell, Los Angeles W. C. Drummond The Fern Dell, one of the show places that visitors ask to see on arriving in Los Angeles, is a part of the Los Angeles municipal park system. It is located at one side of mountainous Griffith Park, of which it is a part, and is not far from the center of the city of Los Angeles and only about a mile and a quarter from the center of Holly- wood. It is maintained by the Los Angeles City Recrea- tion and Park Department, the officials of which are aware of the great interest that there is in the beauty of the Dell and who cooperate in every way in furthering its development. After seeing the Dell, it is little wonder Fern Dewi, Los ANGELES 3 that visitors come away with a respect for the natural beauty of ferns as well as for the handywork of man. The Fern Dell was established in 1912 by Frank Shearer, who was then Park Superintendent of Los Angeles. At that time, what is now the Dell was called Western Avenue Canyon, although it had been called originally Mocohuenga Canyon by the Indians. It was Mr. Shearer who first saw the possibility of planting ferns in the canyon. After removing rocks and tree stumps, he built a road through the dell in 1914. The Montgomery Brothers, from New Zealand, were experts in building rock gardens, and they were hired by Mr. Shearer to arrange dams and to create terraced pools through the lower part of the canyon. In 1916, a path was constructed along the stream and dry rock-walls were built to retain the earth, in this way creating an ideal place for the planting of ferns. About this time, Mr. Walt Lambert was the Assistant Superintendent of Parks, in charge of the municipal nursery. He also became interested in the development of the Fern Dell and col- lected and planted many evergreen ferns suitable for growing in the climate of southern California. He em- ployed Mr. Harry Johnson to assist with the work, who contributed much from his knowledge of ferns gained while living in Peru and other parts of the tropics. These men planned the Dell as we know it today. The Fern Dell proper is about 1,500 feet long and ap- proximately 300 feet broad; it contains in all about four and a half acres. It is situated along a winding brook, with many small waterfalls, along which is a broad, shaded walk, with benches for resting and viewing the ferns. Besides ferns, the dell has plantings of many shrubs and trees, both native and exotic, most of which are evergreen although a few are deciduous. These trees provide the shade so necessary for the growth of many ferns. The climate of Los Angeles is subtropical, the days in AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLUME 49, PLATE 1 VIEW IN THE Fern Dewi, Los ANGELES FERN Dewi, Los ANGELES 5 3 summer averaging 78° F and in winter 68° to 70°. The summer nights average 64° and the winter 45°. Mornings are often cloudy or foggy, but there is sunshine from late morning to sunset. In the Dell, there is frost about every 10 to 15 years sufficient to kill tender vegetation. Slightly elevated locations with good air circulation may escape the frosts when lower elevations may have it. The Fern Dell is located at the foot of a mountain and has a gradual slope and thus good air circulation. The day- time temperature in the Dell averages a few degrees cooler than the surrounding built-up territory. The average annual rainfall is 15 inches, which occurs mostly in the winter, during the months of December, January, Feb- ruary and March, although there is occasionally some rain in November. During the rest of the year, irriga- tion must be resorted to; in the Dell, overhead watering is used. Ferns from all parts of the world are now planted in the Fern Dell. They are mostly evergreen in the climate of Los Angeles, and those listed below seem hardy. The oldest and best-developed are the arborescent kinds. The Australian Tree-fern, Alsophila Coopert, is perhaps the commonest and most impressive; at present, these ferns, planted about 30 years ago, stand 15 to 20 feet tall; they have usually passed under the name Alsophila australis in southern California. Those known as Ha- waiian Tree-ferns belong to the genus Cibotium. They are imported as bare trunks, devoid of an established root system ; it takes them a year or more to start crowing. These trunks arrive in various lengths from three to ten feet or more. In the Dell they are still in the testing stages, our plants being about four years old. There are two species of these, C. Chamissoi and C. Menziesti. They are also grown from spores, and once established they do well in the Fern Dell. A related species, the Mexican Tree-fern, Cibotium Schiedei, is grown from spores; it eventually reaches a height of 10 to 15 feet, but it is a 6 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL little slow and tender at the start; it is the species most commonly grown in tubs for ornament. One of the finest tree ferns is Dicksonia antarctica, which is very hardy and long grown in the Dell; it forms large crowns. Two other ferns that are not really ‘‘tree-ferns’’ but which are somewhat arborescent are the two species Blechnum brasiliense and B. gibbum (this known also commonly as Lomaria gibba). They have low trunks up to 2% feet high, and seem hardy. Among the attractive larger trunkless ferns are the Microlepias, both M. platyphylla, a large showy back- ground fern up to 514 feet high, and the smaller M. strigosa, which forms large clumps up to 314 feet high; both species are much planted in the Dell and are among the most conspicuous plants; they seem hardy. The Holly-fern, Cyrtomium falcatum, is well established here, growing 2 to 3 feet high; some of the cultivated variants are also grown—cyv. ‘Mayi,’ with crested fronds, ev. ‘Butterfieldii,’ and the Rocheford-fern, ev. ‘Roch- fordianum,’ with variously cut leaflets; these ferns all grow well in the Dell; they are evergreen, tufted, with clumps of erect fronds up to 2 feet high. Several species of ‘‘shield-ferns’’ and ‘‘wood-ferns’’ are grown. Dryop- teris atrata (known in the trade mostly as D. hirtipes) is a tufted, erect fern up to 2 feet high that does best in shade. Thelypteris gongylodes (also known as Dryop- teris gongylodes and Cyclosorus gongylodes) grows best with plenty of light or even in part sun, as does also 7. dentata (which has passed under the names Dryopteris dentata, Cyclosorus dentatus or sometimes erroneously as D. parasitica) ; the latter, sometimes called the Downy Wood-fern, is tufted yet spreads by stolons; the fronds are quite erect and up to three feet high. Thelypteris setigera (Dryopteris setigera) is a beautiful plant with arching fronds 314 or 4 feet long. ome of the other important kinds grown in the Dell are the Leatherleaf-fern, Rumohra adiantiformis (usu- FERN Dewi, Los ANGELES 7 ally known in the trade as Polystichum coriaceum or Aspidium coriaceum), with spreading, shining fronds to 21% feet long, which grows well in the Dell but best in not too dense shade, and Tectaria cicutaria, a tufted plant to 3 feet high, with viviparous buds that drop off and soon grow into new plants; the latter also grows best in not too dense a shade. Ctenitis pentangularis has until recently been erroneously known as Dryopteris decomposita; it is a tough, leathery fern, forming nice clumps of a deep green color; it is lower growing, reaching only about 18 inches. The fern usually known as Polystichum setosum locally is much used in the Dell; it is dark, shining green, tufted, and with a spread of 2 to 214 feet; the proper botanical name remains to be determined. Several kinds of brakes do well in the Dell, the tallest and most conspicuous being Pteris tremula, which can stand much sun, although it does best in the shade; this kind grows 314 feet high. Another coarser species is P. vittata (often called P. longifolia), also more or less a sun plant. Many of the cultivated variants of Pteris cretica have been tried, among them ev. ‘Parkert’ (Pteris Parkeri of the trade), which grows 2 to 2% feet high, and ev. ‘Ouvrardii’ (Pteris Ouvrardii of the trade), lower growing. The two Cliff-brakes Pellaea viridis (from South Africa) and P. falcata (from New Zealand) are low-growing kinds of which many plantings have been made. A recent introduction from Mexico, Llavea cordifolia, seems perfectly at home. Evidently it likes heat, as it grows best in the summer. It has light yellow green foliage, 18 inches high in the shade. Polypodium aurewm (also known as Phlebodium aureum) is normally an epiphyte in its native habitat in tropical America, but here it grows in shade under trees in a fibrous soil. An- other tropical American species, Blechnum occidentale, forms clumps 14 or 15 inches high; it spreads by stolons. The European Hart’s-tongue Fern, Phyllitis Scolo- AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 49, PLATE 2 ONE OF SEVERAL BRIDGES ACROSS THE CREEK IN THE FERN D Fern Dewi, Los ANGELES 9 pendrium, comes in many forms, all of them low growing ; it requires shade and does best in limy soils. Another European introduction is the European Chain-fern, Woodwardia radicans, which has large, drooping leaves provided with viviparous buds on the rachis, which may be used for propagating the plant. Some of the native Californian ferns are also grown in the Fern Dell. Among them are the Pacific Sword- fern, Polystichum munitum, which makes fine specimens in shade, with dark green, shining, arching fronds, Dryopteris arguta, the California Shield-fern, which does best on the hillside without much summer watering, and the Pacifie Chain-fern, Woodwardia fimbriata (formerly known as W. Chamissoi), the largest of western ferns, with fronds up to four feet long similar to those of the European Chain-fern, but lacking the viviparous buds. The Western Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum var. pubes- cens, grows well in the shade and also in the sun; it isa rather large, coarse plant. The native California Poly- pody, Polypodium californicum, is not too successful in cultivation; it usually goes dormant in the summer, and so only a fais plants are being grown. Polypodium Gly- cyrrhiza grows naturally in the Dell among the native shrubs, but it is not cultivated. The Maidenhair-fern, Adiantum pedatum, is not much grown. It has been my privilege to act as special adviser for the Fern Dell in recent years, and I have also assembled a fern herbarium displaying all the ferns known in eulti- vation around Los Angeles. This display is housed in the small natural history museum located in Griffith Park, near to the Fern Dell; it is open to the public. The Los Angeles Fern Society, recently organized, of which I am Vice-President, holds its meetings in the museum on the fourth Thursday of each month. Visitors are wel- comed. 1246 North Kings Road, Los Angeles 46, Califorma. 10 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Ferns of the Incas ALICE F. Tryon? How do we know the Incas? From reports of the chroniclers—the soldiers, governors, and priests who came to conquer, and the subsequent observers; from the silent testimony of ruins—fortresses, temples, dwellings, graves, and trash piles; and from the customs and man- ners of Andean people still remote from modern eiviliza- tion. All that we know of the ancient Peruvian cultures is from these three sources. I pursue them in this ven- ture among the ferns. A compilation of the plants in the chroniclers’ ac- counts has been made by Fortunato Herrera and Eugenio Yacovleff in their paper, El Mundo Vegetal de los An- tiguos Peruanos. The earliest of these in which a plant, Maiz, can be recognized with certainty is a letter written in 1533 by Hernando Pizarro, brother of the conqueror, Francisco, giving his impressions of the country and people. I have examined the records cited by Herrera and Yacovleff containing references to ferns except for the earliest, an anonymous paper, Relaciones Geograficas sobre Quito, 1573. Here ‘‘Doradilla’’ is mentioned and has been identified as Notholaena nivea. In reference 0 ‘‘Trembladera’’ they quote the original work and I translate—‘‘In the region of Quito there are always herbs although much taller in warmer places than in cold, and withered in summer, except an herb called trembladera, which is more or less a yard in height; it has nodes and internodes wun to fennel and its branches although thicker .. .’’ and they identify this as either Equisetum bogotense't or EL. giganteum. From the general size and comparison to fennel this would seem to be the latter, or 1 For the use of Peruvian ophong3 archeological collections, and fern specimens assembled a Pie Univers rsity of California and the many kindnesses shown me by the Herbarium staff, I am most grateful. FERNS OF THE INCAS 11 perhaps E. xylochaetum, rather than the smaller species E. bogotense. The chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, sometimes re- ferred to as the Inca, for he was the son of an Inca prin- cess and a Spanish soldier of some rank, wrote the Com- mentarios Reales issued between 1609 and 1617. A few but significant plants of the Incas as Ceantu, Cantua buxifolia, the national flower of Peru, and Palo de Balsa, Ochroma piscatoria, are included in this account of the life and customs of the Incas. The herb ‘‘Vifay Huayna”’ is noted as signifying always young, from its habit of remaining green for a long time even though dry ; it is carried only by persons of royal blood. The leaf is compared to that of the Lily and is placed on the head. In Quechua, both Lycopodium complanatum and the orchid Epidendrum ybaguense are called ‘‘Huafiai- huaina’’ but the comments pertaining to the leaves would ‘seem to identify this as the orchid rather than the mi- nute-leaved Lycopodium. Fr. Bernabé Cobo is reputed to be among the best of the chroniclers for his accounts on natural history. He resided in Lima and Cuzco, traveling thereabouts and northward to Mexico. His Historia del Nuevo Mundo was completed about 1653 but first printed between 1890 and 1893 by the Sociedad de Bibliéfilos Andaluces in Seville. Among the plants he mentions are *¢«Polipodio,”’ ‘*Culantrillo de pozo,’’ ‘‘Doradilla,’’ ‘*Escolopendria,”’ and ‘‘Trembladera.’’ He notes that the roots of ‘‘Poli- podio”’ are especially used by the Indians as a decoction with two or three seeds of ‘‘Vilea’’ [Piptadenia colu- brina] when they are afflicted by phlegm or cholera and the disposition is relieved with ease and without pain or nausea. The ‘‘Trembladera’’ he observed grows in marshes and moist places in temperate lands. Some of the Spanish impatience with the Indians can be detected in his comments that they recognize the plants and give them 5 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 49, PLATE 3 ABOVE: CHEILANTHES SCARIC UM FR WITH SILVERY SCALES. 2 LOW LEFT: pout ¥PODIU M CRASSI- FOLIUM, “ANCA-PFURUM”: “BIRD-FEATHER, IN snare TO THE FEATHER-SHAPED FRONDS, IGHT: hart LAEN: REA, “CUTI-CUTI”; PREPARED AS SA, “KUMU-K ONDS COVERED FERNS OF THE INCAS 13 names in their language but have little curiosity about cultivating them, even though they are useful in their sus- tenance and in treatments of pain and disease. Herrera and Yacovleff remark on the difficulty of identifying the species from Cobo since they are without sufficient de- scription; they related them to the more conspicuous species in the flora. The ‘‘Polipodio’’ is indicated as either Polypodium angustifolium, P. pycnocarpum, or P. crassifolium. The genus is a large one in Peru, for in the vicinity of Cuzco there are at least twenty species with the characteristic polka-dot sori which might be ap- plied here, and it is likely that several of these species were used. ‘‘Culantrillo de pozo’’ is identified as Adiantum Poiretii, ‘‘Doradilla’’ as Notholaena nivea, and ‘‘ Escolopendria’’ as an Asplenium. The period of conquest and lust for gold recorded by the chroniclers was followed by one of exploration in which the plants were objects of interest. Documenting these years are the collections and records of the Spanish botanists Ruiz and Pavén. A captivating account from the diary of Ruiz reports the Travels of Ruiz, Pavén, and the French botanist Dombey in Peru and Chile between 1777 and 1788 and notes the uses of many of the plants they saw and collected. Some 30 species of ferns are listed among the plants in the region of Tarma and some uses and Inca names ay given. There is a note on the kinds of ‘‘Calaguala,’’ including sAasaovands crassi- folium, which is called ‘‘Puntu-puntu’’ or ‘‘Lengua de ciervo’’; it was used as an infusion or cto of the roots for pains of the sides. It was gathered in seas and sent to Europe under the name ‘‘Calaguala gruesa.’ The notable British authority of this period Sir Clements R. Markham translated many of the early manuseripts on Peru and traveled extensively in the country while superintending the collections of Chin- chona plants and seeds for introduction into India. His general remarks on the vegetation are of botanical inter- 14 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL est. The two references to ferns are not sufficient for determination. He describes the herb vendors at Lampa in the waded ses of Puno and a fern they sell called ‘*Racci-racci,’’ used as an emetic. While in the valley of Tambopata, Markham’s Quechua guide pointed out a small Asplenium called ‘‘Espineu,’’ which has a sweet taste and is sometimes chewed by the Indians for want of ‘* Coca The work of the prominent Peruvian physician Hermilio Valdizan, in collaboration with Angel Mal- donado, La Medicina popular Peruana, in 1922, surveys the medicinal uses of plants in various departments of the country. Polypodium angustifolium is named as a kind of ‘‘Calaguala’’ which is prepared as an infusion of the rhizomes and used in nearly all parts of the coun- try as a purge, to induce sweating, to curtail fevers, malaria, and to treat shock. There are several references to studies of ‘‘Calaguala’’ including that of the botanist Ruiz. ‘‘Sano-sano’’ is identified as a tree fern Alsophila from which a glutinous substance exuded from the stems is gathered and applied to heal wounds or in a decoction as an astringent. Adiantum Capillus-veneris is recog- nized as the ‘‘Culantrillo de pozo’’ but it is noted that several others are taken under this name, used as a di- uretic and pectoral. Notholaena Fraseri is given as the ‘‘Doradilla’’ (but it is more likely that this is NV. aurea, because of the scarcity of the former), which is gathered in the Andean cordillera but used throughout the country to induce sweating and to treat dropsy. Equisetum rylochaetum and E. gigantewm are given as species of ‘‘Trembladera’’ or ‘‘Cola de caballo’’ and are used in the treatment of ulcers, acne, and highly regarded as a diuretic. Quechua, the language of the Incas, which still pre- dominates in the southern highlands, has been the source of a remarkable number of English words as pampa, a FERNS OF THE INCAS 15 treeless plain; puma, a cat-like creature; llama, vicuna, and guanaco, the cameloid animals of the Andes; coca, the drug plant, and jerk, from charqui, strips of dried meat. Many Spanish words, particularly of the New World, have also come from Quechua as papas, potatoes; palta, avocado; yuyo, weed, and chacra, a small farm Quechua language has given such plant names as Cantua buxifolia from Ceantu, Stipa ichu from I’chu, Cheno- podium quinoa from Quiuna, Peperomia ppucu-ppucu from Ppueu-ppucu, Calceolaria puru-puru from Puru- puru, and Gentiana conchalaguala from Conchalaguala. The fern Polypodium incopcam from Incopcam is men- tioned by Ruiz. Studies of Quechua philology by Fortumato Herrera, his floristic work, and that already noted on the chron- iclers convey his vibrant interest in the Peruvian abo- rigines. The Synopsis of the Flora of Cuzco, 1941, culminates his work on the plants of that area and lists the following ferns and their applications. Cyathea cuspidata, ‘‘Sano-sano,’’ the stems and petioles secreting a mucilage which is employed in healing wounds; Poly- podium angustifolium and P. pycnocarpum, ‘‘Calag- uala,’’ ‘‘Ccalahuala,’’ used in medicine as an astringent and diaphoretic; Dryopteris paleacea, ‘*R’aqui-r’aqui,”’ the young frond tips eaten as salad; Dennstaedtia Lam- bertiana, ‘‘R’aqui-r’aqui,’’ cultivated for decoration; Asplenium monanthes, ‘‘Kumu-kumu,’’ used as a i phoretic ; Cheilanthes ornatissima, ‘‘Kumu-kumu,’’ culti- vated as an ornamental; Notholaena nivea, ‘‘Inca-sairi’’ r ‘‘Culandrillo de pozo,’’ used as a sudorific and em- menagogue; Cheilanthes incarum, ‘‘ Inca-cuca,’’ ‘* Kutu- kutu,’’ the rhizomes and fronds used in an infusion for bronchitis, chronic hoarseness, and lung diseases; Equi- setum bogotense and E. giganteuwm, ‘*Mocco-mocco,’’ ‘*Cola de caballo,’’ prepared in an infusion as a diuretic. The first of his papers on Quechua philology is an analysis 16 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL of plant names that are formed by the duplication of the same radical, like ‘‘Sano-sano’’; it was motivated by the controversy as to whether such repetition implied that the plants were of medicinal value. In his analysis, these names are arranged in groups based on plant mor- phology—the stem, ‘‘Mocco-moceco,’’ referring to the joints or knots of Equisetum bogotense; the leaves, ‘‘Kumu-kumu,’’ Cheilanthes myriophylla or Asplenium monanthes, and ‘‘Kutu-kutu,’’ Cheilanthes incarum. From this investigation he concludes that there is no certainty whether such reduplication denoted medicinal properties of the plants. Another paper organizes the Quechua plant names into categories based on their essen- tial properties from which the following information is obtained. ‘‘Chipi-cuea,’’ Polypodium Buchtienv and P. subvestitum means ‘‘False Coea,’’ and ‘‘ Anca-pfurum,”’ Polypodium crassifolium, ‘‘Eagle-like bird feather,’’ from the resemblance of the fronds to the feather of a bird. ‘‘Inea-cuea,’’ Cheilanthes incarum is translated as ‘*Coea of the noble people’’ and ‘‘ Inca-sairi,’’ Notholaena nivea, as ‘‘ Tobacco of the noble people.’? The names are also arranged into bi, tri and tetrasyllabic groups, among which is the fern ‘‘ Chirumpi,’’ Adiantopsis radiata, culti- order. From these papers it appears that the Quechua name for fern is ‘‘R’aqui-r’aqui’’ and the following are called by this name: Dennstaedtia Lambertiana, Dryop- teris paleacea, D. subandina, D. glanduloso-lanosa, Poly- stichum Wolfii. ‘‘Cuti-r’aqui-r’aqui,’’ Asplenium fragile and ‘“‘Nutu-r’aqui-r’aqui,’’ Cheilanthes pruinata, mean ‘Small fern.’? The word ‘‘R’aqui’’ is also applied to the Jug-like vessels or aryballos, varying in size from eight inches to three feet, used to store their corn beer, ‘‘Chicha,’’ and which are often decorated with fern de- signs. The pattern is a common one found on ceramics belonging to the Late Inca period between 1438 and 1532. FERNS OF THE INCAS A I have seen the design on pottery or fragments from Pachacamac, Chicama, Chincha, and Machu-Picchu, and on cooking vessels and jugs as well as aryballos. Several drawings of ceramics ornamented with fern designs are illustrated in Hiram Bingham’s work, ‘‘Machu-Picchu, a Citadel of the Incas,’’ and one of the jugs is indicated as evidently the property of a wizard or medicine man ib ARYBALLOS FROM THE Late INCA Pertop (1438-1532) CALLED “R’ AQUI,” DECORATED WITH STYLIZED FERN DESIGNS WHICH CAN HAPS REPRESENT PoLyPopIuM. NOTE THE SETS OF PARALLEL LINES IN TWOS AND THREES. REDRAWN FROM HERRERA AND YACOVLEFF from its contents of seeds, mosses, bone, and bits of char- coal. Two aryballos from the paper by Herrera and Yacovleff are redrawn here in reference to their com- ment that venation by two and three veins is clearly distinguished. A botanical interpretation of such highly stylized designs is difficult but it would seem more likely that the parallel lines represent the margins of the lobes of the leaf where they are in sets of two and where a third is shown a central vein is indicated. Whatever interpre- tation might be made the pattern is an interesting one, illustrating modifications or variations of a design. 18 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Philip A. Means, one of this countries celebrated authorities on Peruvian archeology, evaluates the con- temporary people in his volume ‘‘ Ancient Civilizations of the Andes’’ as, ‘‘the race which created the oldest, the choicest, the rarest, and, for us the choicest artifacts from the ancient periods of the Andean area, is still living and, relatively speaking, is almost unchanged in custom, char- acter and genius.’’ This idea is confirmed by scholars and technicians who have journeyed to Peru to observe methods of weaving, of keeping of quipus (the knot rec- ords), of building, and of agriculture, or to record stories and music in order to interpret better the ancient cul- tures. The markets of Peru are irresistible to most visitors, and for the botanist a certain place to gather records on plants. The ferns are no exception, for we saw them among the wares of herb vendors in Cuzco, Huanecayo, and Lima. At the Lima market, I had the good company of Dr. Emma Cerrate of the University of San Marcos Herbarium at the Museo de Historia Natural, an able botanist and fluent in Quechua. We collected and made records on the following: Equisetum bogotense and E. giganteum, ‘‘pinco-pinco,’’ prepared as a tea for diseases of the liver and kidneys; Adiantum Capillus-veneris, ‘‘Culantrillo,’’ an infusion is used as an enemmagogue ; Asplenium triphyllum, ‘‘Culantrillo,’’ a tea taken to im- prove the blood; Cheilanthes pruinata, ‘‘Cuti-cuti,’’ taken as a tea for diseases of the kidneys and diabetes; Notholaena aurea, ‘‘ Cuti-cuti,’’ prepared as tea for dia- betes; and N. nivea, ‘‘ Cuti-cuti-blanco,’’ mixed with C. pruinata and brewed as a tea for diabetes. Samples from the Pisaec market of the resin of Cyathea cuspidata, ‘*Sano-sano,’’ were obtained from Dr. César Vargas, the Peruvian authority on potatoes at the University of Cuzco; bamboo joints were used to store the resin, which is used on wounds and broken bones. A sample of FERNS OF THE INCAS 19 Asplenium foeniculaceum was sent to the Museo de His- toria Natural for identification by the Officina de Huanta in Ayacucho; this is called ‘‘R’aqui’’ by the Indians of the Sierra de Viscatan and used for a substitute for coca. There is no formal register of botanists who have come to Peru, but plant specimens in herbaria throughout the world document the visits of Joseph de Jussieu, of Ruiz, Pavén, and Dombey to Tarma in 1779, of Née, who reached the Guarimaya valley on the Malaspina Expedi- tion, of Humboldt and Bonpland to the Marafion, of Pearce, who traveled to Huanaco in search of plants for English gardens, and of Raimondi and Weberbauer who came and stayed. They record the many expeditions sent out by the Field Museum of Natural History and that six sent out by the University of California Botanical Garden collected ferns as well as Nicotiana, and that Killip and Smith, on a Smithsonian Institution expedi- tion, collected roots as well as the leaves of ferns. The following observations were made on a visit to Peru from July to November, 1956, in connection with the preparation of a manual of the ferns of Peru by Rolla M. Tryon. My lot was to assist, and as numerous Peru- vian wives do, I soon learned to carry at least half of the load. Our object was not to explore but to take complete samples of the ferns, and to observe their haunts, so that the collections already made can be more readily inter- preted. Our first trip was northeast to Iquitos, Peru’s Atlantic port some 2300 miles up the Amazon. There we found many kinds of Polypodium perched on tree limbs and noted that the reason specimens of Trichomanes Hostmannianum may look as if they have been bathed in mud is because they grow on the inundated forest floor. Contrary to popular belief, low jungles are not teeming with ferns, animals, nor even snakes. On the cool, east slope of the Andes, in the vicinity of Tingo Maria, in central Peru we made our richest collections. In cloud- AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 49, PLATE 4 ABOVE: BLECHNUM GLANDULOSUM ON AN INTERIOR FALL OF A DWELLING AT MACHU-PIccHU. BELOW: phage pia M .au ILINUM, BRACKEN, IN CULTIVATED ‘TERRACES M 1-Pr FERNS OF THE INCAS 21 drenched mountain passes we found small Hymenophyl- lums on wet, mossy, rocks and above them colonies of tall tree ferns, Cyathea. The area near Tingo is expanding agriculturally and there are large plantations of tea and coca. Here the greatest weed problem is Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum var. arachnoideum, which takes over entire hillsides after they are cleared for crops and is rampant after burning. Here we collected the tallest of the Horsetails, Equisetum gigantewm. While we pre- pared specimens we were approached by a native woman in her colorful array of bright skirts and shawls. She asked for some of this plant called ‘‘Pinco-pinco”’ from which she prepared a tea for liver complaints. We won- dered how she knew it was the liver that troubled her, but in Lima we learned from a physician that Equisetum is popular and effective as a diuretic. The southern highlands are the most scenic part of Peru for here the Incas reigned and their walls of pre- cisely fitted stones are festooned with ferns. Nearby the fortress of Sacsahuaman guarding the city of Cuzco above 11,000 feet, we found several species in xeric habitats. The leaves of Cheilanthes incarum were coiled and cov- ered with tawny scales giving the impression of an Inea huaca or relic more than of a fern. Plants of Pellaea ternifolia were compact and the leaf margins strongly enrolled. The leaves of Cheilanthes pruinata were viscid and those of Notholaena nivea were undercoated with white wax. The most magnificent ruin, Machu-Picchu, found within the past 50 years, a hidden retreat in the mountain tops above the Urubamba River, was rich in ferns. Bracken covers many of the old agricultural terraces and poses the problem of why there is no men- tion of this conspicuous species as a culinary or medicinal plant of the Incas. Woodsia montevidensis grew from the projecting stones of the roof gables, and symmetrical niches in the interior walls of dwellings were brightened SYNopPsis OF THE COMMON NAMES OF FERNS AND SPECIES WITH WHICH THEY ARE IDENTIFIED Chroniclers, records to 1900 Herrera & Valdizan Markets Trembladera Equisetum bogotense, E. giganteum Doradilla Notholaena nivea Culantrillo de pezo Adiantum Polretii lipodie hy angustifolium, P. erassifolium, P. pycnocarpum o Asplenfum vit na um complanatum an saaik Polypedium serratum, P. lineare Cuca-cuea, Incope Polypodium cae Puntu-puntu, Lengua de clervo tinct crassifolium Espincu splenium Trembladera, Cola de caballo, Mocco-mocco, Pineco-pinco pape eee Pera E. giganteum, E. xylochae Dora Notholaena Fraseri (probably N. aurea) Culantrillo de - Adiantum illus-veneris, A. Orbig- nyanum, Notholaena nivea China-huifai-huaina Lycopodium clavatum Calaguala, pedir dg cecalaihbua ee angustifolium, P, Sano-sano Cyathea cuspidata, Alsophila R’aqui-r’aqui Dryopteris Dennst erencyiga jana D. ore D. glanduloso- aan, a Palsutichenn Wolfii Cola de caballo, Pinco-pinco Equisetum bogotense, E, giganteum Culantrillo Adiantum Capillus-veneris Asplenium triphyllum Sano-sano Cyathea cuspidata aqu Asplenium foeniculaceum IVNHOOf NYG NVOMay Cuti-r’aqui-r’aqui Asplenium fragile Nutu-r'aqui-r'aqui Cheilan vt pruinata Anca-pfuru Pelsasdtom crassifolium Chipi-cuca Polypodium Buchtienii, P. subvestitum Chirumpi Adiantopsis radiata aagientant monanthes, Cheilanthes ornatissima, C. scariosa, C. myrio- phylla, Polypodium xantholepis Qquella-qquella Adiantum digitatum Cuti-cuti Chellanthes pruinata, Notholaena Cutheuti: Dlaiied Notholaena nivea SVON] DHL JO SNUG &@ 24 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL by young, pink fronds of Blechnum glandulosum. We collected these as well as the following at Machu-Picchu: Adiantum Poiretvi, Asplenium auritum, A. monanthes, iene ta marginata, C. Poeppigiana, Elaphoglossum pathulatum, Ophioglossum reticulatum, Pityrogramma ferns Polypodium Herzogu, P. moniliforme, Pteris muricata, and Equisetum bogotense. The cultivation of potatoes, corn, cotton, and coca, the crops of economic importance, are often conceded as a contribution of the Ineas and the peoples upon which their empire was built. That there were other plants they knew and utilized, such as these ferns, which have not been adopted by our culture, we know from the reports of the chroniclers, from their Quechua names, their artifacts, and from contemporary Andean people. LITERATURE CITED Anonymous, Relaciones Geograficas sobre Quito, Bi ay or age Machu-Picehu, a Citadel of a ae New Haven, 1930. ae Pema Historia del Nuevo Mundo. Soe. Bib. Andaluces. faeseg a la Vega See a Commentario Reales, primera parte, 2nd. ed. Petes Herrera, F. L. eee Quer. Ene del Mus. Nac, Lima 2: 3-8, 131-136. 1933; 7-62. ————— Sinopsis de hs ga del rune 1941 Herrera, F. L. and E. Yacovleff. El Mundo eles de den oe Peruanos. Rev. del Mus. Nae. Lima. 3: 243-322. 1934; 102. 1935. Means, P. A. Ancient Civilizations of the Andes. New York, 1931. Markham, C. R. Travels in Peru and India. London, 1862. Pizarro, Hernando, in Reports on the raed of Peru, ed. C. R. arkham. Hak klyut Soe. London, 1872. Ruiz, Hipélito. Travels of Ruiz, Pavon and Dombey in Peru and Chile. Field Mus. Publ. Bot. Series 21: 1-372. 1940. Valdizan, Hermilio and A, Maldonado. La Medicina Popular Peruana. Lima, 1922 BotrycHtum LUNARIA Pay) A Range oe in Arctic Alaska for ychium lunaria JoHN E. CANTLON,? WARREN H. WAGNER,’ AND Wituiam T. Giuis? The moonwort, Botrychium lunaria (L.) Swartz, has a circumpolar distribution, including Alaska, Canada, the northern United States, Greenland, Iceland, Scandi- navia, northern Europe, and Siberia. It is also repre- sented in the southern hemisphere in New Zealand, Aus- tralia, Tasmania, and Argentina. The most northern latitudes reported for the species by Hultén (1941-50) and Porsild (1951) are 61° N in the Urals, 66° N in the Ob and Yenisei Rivers in eastern Russia, and about 66° N in central Alaska. Bécher (1957) reports it from 73° N in Greenland. The present report concerns a collec- tion from north of the Brooks Range, somewhat over 69° north latitude in arctic Alaska. The locality data for the specimens are: Valley of the Okpilak River, ca. 45 miles south-southwest of Barter Island and ca. 250 miles north of Fort Yukon, Alaska, lat. 69° 26’ N, long. 144° 01’ W (U.S.G.S. Topographic series, Mount ‘Mishelaos quadrangle), elev. ca. 2000 feet, J. E. Cantlon and W. T. Gillis, Nos. 57-1885 and 57-2063, 7 August and 10 August, 1957. The specimens are de- posited in the herbaria of Michigan State University, Uni- versity of Michigan, and the U.S. National Museum. The collections and observations were made during a study of plant micro-distribution patterns supported by a grant 1 Publication No. 58-8, Department of cag and Plant Path- ology, Michigan State University. The field studies were aided by a contract between ONR, Department of the Navy, and the Arctic ue iy of North oe Reproduction in whole or in part permitted for any purpose of the United States Government. Shartinens of Botany and pay nt Pathology, Michigan State Univ Srey, East Lansing, Mich % Department of Botany, University ‘of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 26 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL from the Arctic Institute of North America and the Arctic Research Laboratory. The question arose whether these specimens might be- long to the closely similar Botrychium minganense Vic- torin, the relationships of which to B. lunaria were re- cently discussed by Wagner and Lord (1956). Both species have been collected at high latitudes in Alaska. However, such characters as the green (rather than yel- low-green) color of the specimens, the relatively broad segments with descending basal margins, the coarse and angular penultimate segments, and others indicate that these specimens are B. lunaria. We examined spores with the intention of comparing their measurements with the different sizes characteristic of the two species, but there were so many irregularities in spore structure—perhaps due to irregular freezing conditions in development—that no dependable measurements could be made. Since Botrychium lunaria may oceur at other sites on the arctic slope of Alaska and adjoining Yukon, Canada, a detailed description of the habitat is presented as a guide to future collectors in these areas. The Okpilak valley is mantled with glacial till of several ages, the high- est being found approximately 2000 feet above the cur- rent flood-plain. The entire region is underlain with continuous permafrost, and lies north of the treeline. However, there are small stands of Populus tacamahaca ill. on river gravels in protected valleys, the nearest stand being in the Ignek Valley sixty miles to the west (Spetzman, 1951). There is no frost-free season, but the surface is usually about half-free of snow by mid-June and some plants remain green until about September 1. The vegetation of the region is arctic tundra. The communities range from marshes in very poorly drained sites to wet or upland meadows on the poorly to im- perfectly drained soils, with the exposed crests support- ing upland meadows or sparsely vegetated barrens. The BorrycHium LUNARIA ae marshes are of sedges and grasses, the wet meadows are of cottongrass tussocks, sedges, dwarf-shrubs, and mosses ; the upland meadows are of dwarf shrubs, mosses, herbs and lichens; and the barrens are of herbs, dwarf-shrubs and lichens. Shrub vegetation with the dominants from one to four feet tall oceurs where the mantle of snow is thick enough to provide the necessary winter protection yet melts off quickly in the summer and does not shorten excessively the already short growing season. The coarse- textured alluvial soils on the lowest terrace close to the river channel may support very small stands of Salix alaxensis Cov., feltleaf willow, some stems of which reach 15 feet in the area. The soils in the area (Tedrow, Drew, and Alderfer, 1957; Tedrow and Cantlon, 1958) range from Hydrosols and Bog on the wet end to Meadow Tundra and Upland Tundra soils on the gently to steeply sloping surfaces, and with Arctic Brown soils and Lithosols on the very well drained crests. Solifluction and other frost action produce colluvial materials on some steep slopes that lack identifiable soil profiles. The actual collection site was a short, steep, south- facing slope in glaciofluvial materials. The slope is an old eut-bank formed when the Okpilak River was cutting through a small moraine which, following Detterman (1953) and Kunkle (1958) is Echooka, synchronous with late Wisconsin. The colony of moonwort is about 100 yards east and approximately 20 feet above the present river. The surface soil is a sandy loam. The vegetation is an open shrub-grass type, the shrubs ranging from 1 to 3-5 feet tall. Shrub cover ranges from 20 to 60 per cent, averaging about 40 per cent. The major shrub spe- cies are Salix glauca L. ssp., Potentilla fruticosa L., Betula nana L. ssp. exilis (Sukatch.) Hult. and Vac- cinium uliginosum. L. The lower vegetation is domi- nated by grasses, particularly Festuca altaica Trin., 28 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Bromus pumpellianus Seribn. var. arcticus (Shear) Porsild, Poa spp., and Agropyron sericeum Hitche. Abundant herbs are Carex spp., Potentilla nivea L., P. vahliana Lehm., Kobresia myosuroides (Vill.) Fiori and Paol., Gentiana propinqua Richards., Epilobium spp., Androsace chamaejasme Host., Bupleurum americanum Coulter and Rose, and Artemisia tilesii Ledeb. Mosses and lichens contributed little cover and few species were present. The individual plants of Botrychium lunaria oceurred as scattered individuals (sometimes in pairs) among the grass in the central part of the willow-grass stand. The entire colony appears to be confined to an area not more than 30 feet up and down the slope and 100 feet along it. Down-slope from the colony the willows are taller (up to 41% feet) and more dense, and the soil more moist; with- out question the snow is deeper and later in melting down- slope from the colony. Up-slope from the colony the shrub cover thins out and is much shorter (less than 1 foot), the soil is more stony and drier, and winter snow cover is doubtlessly shallower. Approximately 30 specimens were seen, 12 of which were collected. Each one was deeply rooted (about 114 inches to base of rootstock) among clumps of grass, mostly under willow shrubs. The soil in which they grew was always a very well-drained dark brown, fibrous, organic- mineral material. The lower horizons were not examined. The colony in question is obviously younger than the age of the glacio-fluvial surface on which it is found. The deepness of the organic-mineral soil in which all of the plants were rooted suggests that the species would not be a pioneer on raw mineral soils, and could come in only after other vegetation had been long established. Since the only sites of this nature in the area are post-pleisto- cene, the arctic slope range may likewise be post-pleisto- cene. It may be of significance that the Okpilak valley BorrycHium LUNARIA 29 is one of the several routes through the Brooks Range taken by the caribou as they migrate from their winter range on the south to their summer range on the arctic slope. If the caribou are agents of transport, similar habitats along rivers connected with the other passes through the Brooks Range might be logical places to make careful searches for additional colonies of Botrychium lunaria.* LITERATURE CITED Boeher, Tyge W. 1957. Lekepewe Flora. P. Haase & Sons For- Detterman, R. L. 1953. A eae -Anaktuvuk Region, north- ern Alaska. In Multiple mearigniae in Alaska by T. L. Pewe U.S. Geol. Survey Cire. 289: Hultén, E. 1941-1950. Flora a ee and egies Parts I-X. Lunds Universitets Arsskrift. N. F. Vol. Kunkle, G. R. 1958. Multiple glaciation in . J ago River area, northeastern Alaska. Masters thesis, Department of Geol., Univ. f Michigan. Porsild, A. E. 1951. Botany of southeastern Yukon agent to the Canol road. Nat. Mus. Canada Bull. 121. Otta Spetzman, L. A. 1951. Plant Geography and ecology vy the aretic slope of Alaska. Masters Thesis, University of Min Tedrow, J. C. F., J. V. Drew and R. B. Alderfer. 1957. “Jago River Area. In es pedologic study of the soil forming processes = the aves ‘Cousta Plain of Alaska, by J. C. F. Tedrow. Unpub mimeogr. report to Arctic Institute of North America, Wiley. ton, D. C, Tedrow, J. C. F. and J. E. Cantlon. 1958. Concepts of soil forma- tion and Seetieene in Arctic regions. Manuscript submitted to “Aretie Wagner, e HL. and Lois P. Lord. 1956. The morphological and ee distinctness of Botrychium minganense a and B. lunaria n Michigan, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 83: 261— 280. 1An ay gi smaller, but almost ee colony was discov- e ered b or author in 1958. approximately one- fourth there abet of the one deseribed. 30 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL The Ferns and Fern-allies of Northern Neck, Virginia! CLYDE F’. Reep Northern Neck is the peninsula that lies to the south of the Potomac River and is bounded on the north by that river, on the south by the Rappahannock River, and on the east by the Chesapeake Bay. Five counties make up the peninsula: (from the northernmost to the south- ernmost) King George, Westmoreland, Richmond, Northumberland, and Lancaster. The peninsula is about 90 miles in length from the bend of the Potomac River southeastward to the Chesapeake Bay, and varies from 10 to 25 miles in width. Northern Neck is made of coastal soils only. There are some swampy areas and millponds inland and many marshy places along the coast, but for the most part the land is dry and woodsy. Some of the plants that reach their northern limit of dis- tribution, west of the Chesapeake Bay, on this peninsula are Asarum virginicum (heart-leaf), Oxydendron ar- boreum (sourwood), and Galax aphylla (wandflower ). Massey* listed only 8 specimens, representing 8 differ- ent species from the five counties of Northern Neck, namely: Dryopteris noveboracensis (Lancaster), Ptert- dium aquilinum var. latiuseulum (Northumberland), Lorinseria areolata (Northumberland), Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis (Northumberland), Equisetum prealtum (Westmoreland), Lycopodium complanatum var. flabel- liforme (King George), Lycopodium lucidulum (North- umberland), and Lycopodium obscurum var. dendrot- deum (Northumberland). While studying the flora and herpetology*® of North- 1 Contributions to =e Flora of Virginia, 2 The Ferns and Fern Allies . Virginia, Bull Virginia Poly- bop ere 37(7): 1-110. urn, Washington ‘head. Sei. 47(1): 21-23. 1957, tu in fete eb scons of Northern Neck. FERNS OF NORTHERN NECK 31 ern Neck during the past twelve years, the author has collected 20 species and varieties of ferns and 5 species and varieties of fern-allies, with more than 75 county records, represented by more than 165 annotated speci- mens. Since the author’s collections add considerably to the present known distribution of the ferns and fern- allies in Virginia, an annotated list of the specimens collected by the author along with the records published to date follows below. BotTRYCHIACEAE . BoTRYCHIUM DISSECTUM yar, OBLIQUUM (Muhl.) Fernald— Sita lobed Gra se e-fern. KiNG GrorGE Co.: Deep ravine, 2 mi, W. of Owens, Aug. 28, 1957, Reed 38356; low woods, just E. of Owens, Aug. 28, 1957, Reed 39342; along Machadoe Creek, 8S. of Dahlgren, Aug. 28, 1957, Reed 39363; low woods near Shiloh, Nov. 9, 1957, Reed 39471. WESTMORELAND Co.: Roadside bank, 2 mi. f Oak é Co.: Low woods, 1 mi. N. of Morattico, near Litwalton, May 27, 1956, Reed 37726. No specimens of typical B. dissectum have been found on this peninsula. . BOTRYCHIUM VIRGINIANUM — Sw Pte aee Fern. KING GrorGE Co.: Deep ravine, 2 mi. of Owens, Aug. 28, 1957, Reed 39358. LaNcAsTER Co.: Wo ra yavine, SE. of Lively, May 27, 1956, Reed 39117. OSMUNDACEAE 3. OSMUNDA CINNAMOMEA L.—Cinnamon Fern, KriNe@ GErorGE Co.: Maple Grbve: hue. 10, 1955, ae 36675; wer ditches near Noite’ Grove, W. of Lye ells, Aug. 28, 1957, Reed 39375, RICHMOND Co.: Low woods, } mi, SE. of Warsaw, April 22, 1946, Reed 4437; 1 mi. E, of Farnham, pa 30, 1946, Reed 5082, NORTHUMBERLAND Co.: Swampy woods near Clarks eg 1 mi. N. of cept May 15, 1954, Reed 33264; near Remo, E. of Wicomico Church, May 27, near Litwalton eres 27, 1956, Reed 37738; woods between Nutts- ville and Morntties; May 27, 1956, Reed 39106. 32 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 4. OSMUNDA REGALIS var. SPECTABILIS ( Willd.) A. Gray—Royal Fern. Kine George Co.: erpald near US. 301, Aug. 15, 1957, Reed 39089 ; wet woods 2 mi. W. of Dahlgren, near Owens, Aug. 28, 1957, Reed 39333 ; low Len near peas Nov. 9, 1957, Reed obs. Wrst MORELAND Co. Wet ditches near Nomini Grove, W. of Lyells, Aug 28, 1957, Ried 39373. RicHMOND Co.: Low wet places, 4 mi. Wa May 7, 1933, (UVa., cited in Massey, p. 77). LANCASTER Woods between Nuttsville and Morattico, May 27, 1956, Reed 39110. PTERIDACEAE 5. raps blac PUNCTILOBULA (Michx.) Moore-Hay-scented E O28 ) mi 1. WE GE Co. Woods near pond, Rt. 206, just N. of Maple Grove, Aug. 10, 1955, Reed 36669. LANCASTER Co.: Woods 1 mi. N. of Mo phe? near eee May 27, 1956, Reed 37739. WESTMORELAND Co. oods . S. of Oak u Underw.—Bracken or Eastern Sakae’ Kine GEORGE Co.: Waele near Dahlgren, a0 28, 1957, Reed 39385. WESTMORELAND CO.: Roadside wastes, 8. of Oak Grove, May 25, 1957, Reed 38860. RIcH- MOND Co.: Wet ney near Newlands, Aug. 28, 1957, Reed 39382. NORTHUMBERLAND CO.: Sa ndy wastes near Reedvill e, June 10, 1956, e 974; wooded ravine 1 mi. S. of Wicomico Church, May 27, 1956, Reed 39139. = Brighton 35 BOSTON, MASS, 0.5.4, Treatise: Ss ae / “THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR THE HERBARIUM” i eben, 16 Be Aneel Activote, H pirat ays has bap general shared the benefits of his hepa and successful ex ence in a the cache and Rrepereti - plant specimens. aquatic flowering gae, mosses, lichens pal fungi, Specific suggestions are — for record making in the field; for record keeping in the herbarium. __ Qne copy of the treatise is yours for the asking. Wi With it will er be imthetled samples of Bosaieal Papers (Driers, Meonting Sheets and Genus Covers) ode a oe Plant Presses, Sp H Mawets, Botanical. Labels é ~ | Tust ask for “a copy of the Johnston treatise”, CAMBOSCO SCIENTIFIC toueist ae 37 ANTWERP STREET BRIGHTON STATION TON, MASS. U.S.A. Vol. 49 April-June, 1959 No. 2 American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS — Published by the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY C. V. R. C. BENEDICT IRA A. C. SMITH Fd CONTENTS Frederick Louis Fagley, 1879-1959 ... The Identification of a Costa Rican Blechnum Cc. V. Morton 66 The Home of Slechuost Buchtienii in Costa Rica -C. K. HoricnH 69 Remarks on Some 1958 Dealers’ Catalogs ... C. V. Morton 72 A Study of the os Fern Trichomanes Boschianum wee Ro deo . MOHLENBROCK — JoHN W. Voter 76 Spe pe Eines ie Some Indian Species of Equisetum N. Munra And S. S. Brr 86 =< Am merican Fern Society: Report of Curator and Librarian; = Pomert of Si Snes Exchange, 1958; Summer - Field-trip: 92 N. QUEEN sT. AND McGOVERN AVE, LANCASTER, PAL potas d as 5 Page goin lass = tter at, the a at Lancaster, Pa. March 3, Fanee for ‘under the "dew aties rate of Dor 2 Doaiage p naethek: for ine the Act eae aa Pe (4-2) Section 3440 P. te & B, of Ghe American Hern Society Cununril for 1959 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Ira L. Wigains, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford acs <8 Cali- fornia se ident JaMzEs E. BENEDICT, JR., 945 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., hing- Vic ce- Presideet DoNALD HUTTLESTON, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Penna. ecre aes Wattrr 8. PHILuIps, Department of Botany, dackeees © a i zona, Tucson, Arizona easurer C. V. Morton, 8S: Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, > C. Edi itor-in-Chief OFFICIAL ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS C. V. Moron ............. aay ian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. R. C. BENeEpIct ......... 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn by N. A Ira L, Wiaarns ...... Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. A. C, SuirH ....... Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. An illustrated quarterly devoted to the general study of ferns. Biphniens agr, $2.35 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra; sent free _ Back volumes $2.00 ea ; single back numbers 50 cents each; oe oe to vols. Tbs, 25 cents. Ten per cent dineataih on more ers of six "Metion for Barrera should be or to C. V. Morton, Smithsonian nstitution, Washington 25, D. C. Orders. — back numbers and aaa Sthex busi communications moud be amas to the Treasurer of the Society. LIBRARIAN AND CURATOR OF THE HERBARIUM Dr. H. W. Wagner, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Eeeal regular loan department i is maintained in connection with the fed enrgnl at maeebigpiates to assist from differen ener Amprican #eru Journal Vou. 49 APRIL-JUNE, 1959 No. 2 Frederick Louis Fagley, 1879-1958 C. V. Morron* Dr. Frederick Louis Fagley, President of the Ameri- ean Fern Society in 1945, 1946, and 1947, was born in Bethel, Ohio, May 8, 1879. He received his degree of D.D. from Oberlin College and thereafter devoted the remainder of his life to the service of the Church. He soon demonstrated great administrative ability and was Associate Secretary of the General Councils of Congrega- tional Christian Churches from 1922 until his retirement in 1948. He was especially interested in Church History and was one of the founders of the Congregational His- torical Society. Among other activities he served on the executive committee of the Federal Council of Churches, served as chairman of a national committee for Army and Navy chaplains during the war, directed the Na- tional Council’s German Exchange Program after the war, initiated the Fellowship of Prayer and served as editor of ‘‘Daily Devotions.’’ For a time he was Dud- leian Lecturer at Harvard University (1951-52). He will be best remembered as the author of ‘‘The History of American Congregationalism,’’ with Dr. Gaius Glenn Atkins. There was nothing provincial or parochial about Dr. Fagley ; he was a man of liberal outlook, and his interests ranged from art (he was a director of the National Arts Club) to plants. Ferns, in particular, were a long-time 1T am grateful to the Gramercy Graphic, New York, and the Bulletin of the Congregational Library, Boston, for information. [Volume 49, Number 1, of the JOURNAL, pp. 1-64, was issued April 13, 1959.] 66 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL hobby; he took great pleasure in growing and studying them on his summer place on the shores of Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire. It was during Dr. Fagley’s terms as President of the Fern Society that the long association between the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Fern Society was terminated. He very competently directed the negotia- tions that resulted in the library and herbarium being transferred to the Missouri Botanical Garden and the stock of back-numbers of the Journal being brought to the Smithsonian Institution. It was.a privilege to have been associated with Dr. Fagley. He had an affection and respect for the old and traditional, as his historical interests testify, and also a zest for the new and the untried. As many have reason to know, he was always ready with wise counsel and warm friendship. The Identification of a Costa Rican Blechnum C. V. Morton There is a group of species of Blechnum of striking aspect, noted in Mr. Horich’s accompanying article. They are cycad-like, with erect, stocky trunks, and stiffly erect, coriaceous lenses They grow mostly in open ex- posed meadows at high elevations, or in far southern, subantarctic regions. The best known of these is B. tabulare, of South Africa, with which most of the other species have been identified at one time or another. Doubtless, many of them are distinct, although in just what characters has never been altogether certain. The Brazilian form is B. imperiale (Fée & Glaz.) Christ, that of the Guianas is B. Schomburgkii (Klotzsch) C. Chr., that of Colombia B. columbiense Hieron., that of Bolivia B. Buchtienii Rosenst., that of Pasdgonin and southern IDENTIFICATION OF BLECHNUM 67 Chile B. magellanicum (Desv.) Mett., that of Juan Fernandez Island B. cycadifolium (Colla) Sturm, and that of Costa Rica B. Werckleanum (Christ) C. Chr. In addition to the arborescent character, these species all have characteristic scales—curved, long-linear, entire, bicolorous, thickened at the center and several cells thick. These scales occur only on the trunk and the base of the stipes. They must be considered as distinguishing a group more than the trunk, which occurs also in some other unrelated species of Blechnum, such as B. brasil- dense. It appears that, considered conservatively, the genus Blechnum can be divided into two subgenera—Blechnum and Lomaria. The latter has often been regarded as generically distinct, but the only character is that of having dimorphic sterile and fertile blades, which is not necessarily a generic character in ferns and which in this case is rather vague and variable; there are some species of subg. Blechnum with subdimorphic blades and some of Lomaria, at least exceptionally, with subconform blades Several subdivisions of Lomaria have been proposed, rather casually. John Smith’ recognized four groups, the category of which is not definitely stated but which ~ can be assumed to be sections, in accordance with the usual nomenclatural. practice of his time. They are named Lomaridium, Stegania, Loxochlena, and Lomario- cycas. The latter group included a large number of spe- cies—among them L. Gilliesii, L. procera, L. capensis, L. gibba, L. Fraseri, and L. Boryana [i.e. Blechnum tabu- lare]. Apparently the name Lomariocycas has never been taken up by a subsequent author, and is thus still untypified. According to my present views, the species enumerated by Smith belong to several sections. How- ever, the one that is especially commented on by Smith, and the one that doubtless occasioned the coining of the 1 Historia Filicum 302-306, 1875. 68 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL descriptive name Lomariocycas is L. Boryana, which can conveniently be designated as the lectotype. BLecHNuM L. Sect. Lomariocycas (J. Smith) Morton. comb. nov. Lomaria [Sect.] Lomariocycas J. Smith, Hist. Fil. 305. 1875. Lectotypus: Lomaria Boryana (Swartz) Willd. The only species of this group to be reported from Costa Rica is B. Werckleanuwm, mentioned above, which was described from an unstated locality on material col- lected by Wercklé. It has been collected at several lo- calities—Vara Blanca de Sarapiqui (between Pods and Barba volcanoes), between Las Nubes and La Palma, on the Cerros de Zurqui and Cerro de las Caricias, north of San Isidro in the Province of Heredia, and at El Boquete, on Volean Chiriqui, in Panama. The sterile pinnae in this species are slenderly long-attenuate at the apex or sometimes rather abruptly caudate. Little is known about its habit ; it may not have a very thick or conspicu- ous trunk, because the labels on the specimens do not comment on the fact. There is a second species of this group known from Costa Rica—the one growing in the ‘‘pdramos’’ of the Sierra de Talamanca, Province of Cartago, and of the Laguna de la Chonta, northeast of Santa Maria de Dota, Province of San José. Specimens from the latter locality collected by Paul C. Standley were considered a new species by Dr. Maxon and assigned a specific epithet in honor of the collector; however, Maxon never got around to describing this species. The pinnae are obtuse at the apex and not at all attenuate or caudate. In preliminary studies that I made of Blechnum some years ago I was unable to distinguish this species from the South Ameri- can Blechnum Buchtienii Rosenstock, which was de- scribed originally from Unduavi, North Yungas, Bolivia (Buchtien no. 878), which was collected at the extreme Home or BLECHNUM BUCHTIENII 69 altitude of 3800 meters. However, this species is now known to oceur commonly in the paramos of Colombia and Ecuador, where it has been found by most collectors. A reexamination of the material satisfies me that the Costa Riean plant can correctly be called B. Buchtienii; if there are any differences they are not apparent from herbarium material. SmirHsoNiaNn InstrruTION, Washington, D. C. The Home of Blechnum Buchtienii in Costa Rica QC. K. Horica The high mountains of Costa Rica are isolated from the Guatemalan highlands by the lowlands of Nicaragua and from the Andes of South America by the Isthmus of Panama. They reach the highest points of elevation in the southernmost Cordillera de Talamanca, which is con- tinuous with the high mountains of western Panama in the region of the Voledén Chiriqui. The very uppermost elevations provide the only stretches, comparatively diminutive in size, in Central America of the tundra-like ‘“p4ramo’’ conditions so typical of the high Andes, with the possible exception of the isolated Cerro Maria Tecan in Guatemala, on the boundary between the Departments of Totonicapan and Solola. In these ‘‘paramos’’ occur a number of rare and inter- esting endemics, such as the bromeliads Puya dasyliri- oides and Greigia sylvicola, a species of ‘‘sundew,”’ Drosera (not reported from Costa Rica in Standley’s “Flora of Costa Rica’’), Gentiana sedifolia, and a num- ber of species of Ericaceae. Among the pteridophytes growing in this region are species of Lycopodium and Jamesonia, the fern genus that is typical of South Ameri- can ‘‘paramos,’’ and even an extremely rare Isoétes, half- submerged in open ponds in sphagnum bogs near the Cerro de la Muerte (‘‘The Death Mountain’’). These AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLUME 49, PLATE 5 Top, BLECHNU M BUCHTIENIT IN ne EN BOG IN CORDILLERA DE TALAMANACGA: BELOW, ONE OF TE LARGEST SPECIMENS WITH THE AUTHOR IN aie oe NI Home or BLECHNUM BUCHTIENII ‘LE plants grow at elevations between 2500 m. and 3300 m. or more. ; The climatic conditions prevailing throughout the regions of the Cerro de las Vueltas, Cerro de la Muerte, Cerro del Nivel, Cerro de Urén, Cerro Chirripé Grande, Derro Durika, and the Cruz del Abispo rank among the most disagreeable that one could find—a continuous suc- cession of fog, drizzle, heavy rain, and cold, howling winds. There are immense stretches of deep, virgin cloud-forests in these mountains; it is only on the most exposed situations, located in saddles where the water can not drain off immediately, that we find the sphagnum bogs and ‘‘ paramos.’’ It is in this bleak, almost sinister world of white fog that we meet with Blechnum Buchtienii, a fern so strange in appearance that even competent botanists confuse it with a species of eyead. The thick, stiff, leathery fronds spread star-like from the top of a thick stem that becomes more than eight feet in height in old specimens. It is more deeply rooted in the swamp and tougher in struc- ture than any other tree-fern that I have seen. The stout, stiff appearance of this Blechnum and the regular, sym- metrical growth of the narrow, glossy fronds is responsi- ble for the strange superficial similarity to eycads such as Dison, a similarity that prevails even in young specimens. However, an investigation will soon reveal the fertile, spore-bearing fronds, hardly different in as- pect from the sterile. The trunks of Blechnum Buchtienti are often host to small epiphytic plants, including a species of Asplenium and miniature orchids of the genera Pleurothallis and Lepanthes. When the trees lose their anchoring in the high winds and fall down on the mats of sphagnum moss they some- times will root throughout their entire length in the boggy ground. 72 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL This Blechnum, a remnant of an ancient ‘‘péramo’’ element that may have once covered most of the higher slopes in Costa Rica, is certainly an outstandingly inter- esting fern, and also a very decorative plant. It might be possible in cultivation in cool, wet, acid soil, with its stem wrapped in live sphagnum moss. The region in which it grows merits conservation. Lista de Correos, San José, Costa Rica. Remarks on Some 1958 Dealers’ Catalogs C. V. Morton One of the frequent requests received by the officers of the American Fern Society is for information as to sources of supply for ferns, both hardy and house (or greenhouse) kinds. For this reason I wrote to a number of dealers for current catalogs of their offerings. The following are some casual remarks on those received. The largest dealers are those supplying the trade— florists’ shops, ten-cent stores and so forth—and these usually do not wish to bother with small retail orders. Some of the best dealers apparently do not issue catalogs at all, depending on general advertisements. Some con- sideration has been given to the possibility of having a few pages of dealers’ advertisements at the back of the Fern Journal as a service to our members rather than as an income-producing proposition, but the response has not been encouraging. Apparently there is a feeling that the membership of the Fern Society is too small to make advertising profitable in the Journal. It is true that the subscription list is relatively small compared with many popular periodicals, but still it is highly se- lective in that it includes a large number of those people in the States that are truly interested in ferns and in growing ferns. Stocks do vary, and doubtless some of the dealers men- 1958 DEALERS’ CATALOGS 73 tioned below have additional species available but in quantities too small to merit advertising. Inquiries can be made by letter. One of the most reliable plant dealers is Wayside Gardens, Mentor, Ohio, whose catalogs are things of beauty. Ferns are by no means a specialty, and only six hardy kinds are offered—Adiantum pedatum, Poly- stichum acrostichoides [as Aspidium acrostichoides], Dryopteris spinulosa [as Aspidium spinulosum], Athy- rium filix-femina [as Asplenium filix-foemina], Osmunda cinnamomea, and Osmunda Claytoniana. Gardens of the Blue Ridge, Ashford, North Carolina, offers plants of about 25 species of hardy eastern ferns, as well as many native eastern flowers and shrubs, including the interesting and seldom used native ground-covers Galax aphylla, ‘‘Oconee Bells’? (Shortia galacifolia), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), and trailing ar- butus (Epigaea repens), and the most spectacular and beautiful of native trees, the fringe-tree (Chionanthus virginicus), not enough used in gardens. The proprietor, Mr. E. C. Robbins, is to be congratulated on the careful and professional way in which his catalog is drawn up, with practically all the names right, and correctly spelled, a marked contrast to many dealers’ catalogs. Twenty-seven kinds of hardy ferns native to the east- ern states are offered by Harry E. Saier, Dimondale, Michigan. Ferns are a very casual sideline with Mr. Saier, who specializes in seeds of flowers, shrubs, and trees ; his catalog is the richest I know of in rare plants. A feature of the catalog of Vick’s Wildgardens, Ine., Box 115, Gladwyne, Pa., is that all the stocks are nursery- grown; it is good to know that some dealers are not raid- ing the dwindling supply of wild plants. The ferns of- fered are all hardy eastern species, including club-moss (Lycopodium lucidulum), ground-pine (L. obscurum), and ground-cedar (L. complanatum var. flabelliforme, to 74 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL judge from the illustration). A crossing of the names between the drawings of polypody and New York fern will not confuse readers of the Fern Journal. Plants of hardy eastern ferns are offered also by Sky- Cleft Gardens, Camp Street Extended, Barre, Vermont, altogether 31 species, all natives of the eastern states ex- cept the deer-fern, Blechnum Spicant. The same firm offers also hardy rock garden and alpine plants. One of the best catalogs for house and greenhouse plants is from Merry Gardens, Camden, Maine, whic offers a large selection of various geraniums, tuberous begonias, foliage plants, and succulents. A number of tender ferns are offered, including mother-fern (Asplen- tum bulbiferum), bird’s-nest-fern (Asplenium nidus, erroneously called Asplenium nidus-avis, as it is in many other dealers’ catalogs), Davallia Mariesii and D. Griffithiana (a real rarity, if it is correctly named), Nephrolepis ev. ‘Compacta,’ ev. ‘Duffii,’ ev. ‘Verona,’ and ev. ‘ Whitmanii,’ Pteris ev. § Victoriae,’ ev. ‘Wilsoni,’ Selaginella Brownii, 8. Kraussiana, and others. It is rather too bad to continue to find the flowering plants asparagus (Asparagus plumosus and A. Sprengeri) and ‘“babies’-tears’’ (Helxine) listed as ferns. I am sure that the compilers of the catalog know better but feel im- pelled to go along with the irradicable popular idea that asparagus is a fern, but there seems to be no reason at all for classing Helxine as a fern, for it is anything but fernlike and is not thought of as a fern by gardeners, who think of it as a ground cover of the same class as Dichondra. Tt might be mentioned that the photograph labelled Polystichum aculeatum certainly does not repre- sent this species; it is apparently the plant called P. coriaceum, which is now properly called either Poly- stichum adiantiforme or Rumohra adiantiformis (the “‘leather-fern’’ of commerce ), One of the better offerings of house ferns and green- 1958 DEALERS’ CATALOGS 75 house varieties is from Tropical Paradise, 3810 Bales Avenue, Kansas City 28, Missouri, which is run by one of our members, Mrs. H. E. Dillard. Among the plants offered are Blechnum brasiliense, B. gibbum, Davallia fejeensis and D. Mariesii, Microlepia speluncae, Wood- wardia orientalis, several kinds of tree-ferns, and various cultivars of Nephrolepis and Pteris. Adiantum curvatum is listed, an excessively rare species, if it is correctly named. The same might be said of the plant listed as Davallia tenuifolia, which, if correctly identified, is a synonym of the plant properly called Sphenomeris chin- ensis. In addition to ferns, Mrs. Dillard specializes in begonias and Gesneriaceae. Unfortunately, her catalog is marred by numerous misspelled scientific names. Another firm offering a few ferns for house plants is Barrington Greenhouses, 860 Clements Bridge Road, Barrington, New Jersey. The ferns are mostly a rather common lot, but some of the other greenhouse plants of- fered are exceedingly rare, including a number of Gesneriaceae. The catalog is much more carefully made up and edited than many are; brief descriptions of many of the novelties are included. A few house ferns are offered by the Country Green- houses, Cook Hill Road, Danielson, Connecticut, along with many geraniums, fuchsias, begonias, and other tender plants. For California growers and for those elsewhere with greenhouses, the California Jungle Gardens, 11977 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles 49, California, can be recommended.’ This firm specializes in large-leaved exotic plants, such as palms, cyeads, bromeliads, and species of the banana, elephant-ears, and ginger families. A number of larger ferns are offered, including some that are perhaps not offered elsewhere—Sadleria cyatheoides, Aglaomorpha [Polypodium| coronans, Aglaomorpha Meyeniana, Davallia solida, Adiantum trapeziforme, and 76 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL nine kinds of stag-horn ferns (Platycerium), the latter quite expensive ($5.00 to $15.00 each), but reasonably so, for propagation of these plants is a slow and tricky busi- ness. One intriguing entry is an offering of a fern called “‘Pellaea virgata,’’ said to be a ‘‘stunning fern that looks much like a fine, large-leaved Adiantum.’’? I can not guess what it may be; so far as I know, there has never been a plant described botanically as Pellaca virgata. A few western ferns are offered by Theodore Payne, 2969 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles 39, California— Adiantum pedatum, Dryopteris arguta (called in the catalog by the old name Aspidium rigidum argutum), Athyrium filix-femina var. californicum, Polystichum Dudley, P. munitum, Pteridium aquilinum var. pubes- cens (called in the list Pteris aquilina lanuginosa, an obsolete nomenclature), and Woodwardia Chamissoi (now correctly called Woodwardia fimbriata). Mr. Payne specializes in seeds of Californian wildflowers and plants of western trees and shrubs. SMITHSONIAN INstrTUTION, WasHINeToN, D. C. A Study of the F ilmy Fern Trichomanes Boschianum Rosert H. MoHLENBROCK AND JoHN W, VoicT The filmy fern Trichomanes Boschianum, one of east- ern North America’s rarest ferns, has been known to occur at a single station in Illinois since 1923. Recent visits to this station by the authors show the species still to be thriving. Its unusual presence in IIlinois has led the authors to make a study of this fern in regard to its history, morphology, ecology, geography, and past col- lections The idathiues are indebted to the Missouri Botanical Garden for privileges granted to them in the library and herbarium, and to Mr. Raymond E. Hatcher, whose col- lection of iiines bryophytes was utilized. TRICHOMANES BoscHIANUM TE HISTORY Trichomanes Boschianum became known to science through its discovery by Judge Thomas M. Peters in 1853. On January 8 of that year, while exploring near the Sip- sey River in the upper part of Hancock County (now | _ Winston County), Alabama, Judge Peters discovered two kinds of ferns that he had not seen before on wet sand- stone bluffs. Puzzled by his new finds, he sent material of each to Professor Asa Gray for determination. Gray reported his identifications of the specimens in a paper entitled ‘‘On the discovery of two new species of Tricho- manes in the state of Alabama, one of which is new.’’* In this report, Gray described the smaller species as new, _ naming it T'richomanes Petersvi after its discoverer. The other specimen he called Trichomanes radicans, a species known previously only from the tropics and subtropics. For eight years, this material went by that name. In 1861, Johann Wilhelm Sturm, working on the Hymeno- phyllaceae, concluded that the Alabama specimens were specifically distinct from 7’. radicans, and described them as Trichomanes Boschianum in honor of his contempo- rary Roelof Benjamin van den Bosch, one of the most ardent students of the filmy fern family. MorPHOLOGY Trichomanes Boschianum is perennial and evergreen with leaves either erect or, more usually, pendent. The slender, creeping, wiry rootstocks are black or deep brown and often widely branching. They are covered with numerous deep brown filamentous hairs, these be- ing most abundant where the leaves are attached. The abundance of hairs diminishes as the plant becomes older. The light green, translucent leaves, which are only 1 Amer. Journ. Sci. IT, 15: 324, 325. May, 1853. 78 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL one cell in thickness (hence the name filmy fern), are lanceolate or sometimes ovate-lanceolate and bi- or tri- pinnatifid. In one specimen from Alabama (Underwood s.n.), the fronds taper to the tip. The segments are ovate and cut into linear divisions. The degree of cutting varies considerably—in House 2096 from South Carolina and Harvill & Segars 803, from Alabama, the leaves are much dissected, and in Rule 1756, from Kentucky, the divisions are more shallow and fewer in number. Several gradations occur between these extremes. The tips of the ultimate segments are mostly obtuse, and particularly so in Spear s.n. from Alabama. The leaves range from 8 to 20 em. in length and are without stomata. The winged rhachis is green when young, becoming brown or black mm.) and are translucently winged, except near the base. These, too, are sometimes beset with short brown hairs. The venation is free, with the tips of the veins often forking into the usually slightly bidentate apices of the ultimate leaf segments. The veins are composed of several layers of tissues. The sori are terminal on the veins. The indusia are urn-shaped with the lower part immersed in the leaf tissue. There may be one to four indusia in each segment, arising from the leaf in the short lobes or from the sinuses between these lobes. They are 2-5 mm. long and truncate at the apex. From the indusium the bristle-like receptacle (columella of Wil- liamson, 1878) arises. It may reach a length of nearly ten millimeters. From it are produced numerous small sporangia in a spiral arrangement. The receptacle usually persists long after the sporangia have been shed. The lower and younger sporangia are sheathed by the indusium; the upper and older are not concealed. The sporangia are short-stalked and thin-walled, with a trans- verse annulus that dehisces obliquely. TRICHOMANES BoscHIANUM 79 The seldom-observed gametophyte is filamentous and much branched and reminiscent of some filamentous green algae. EcoLoGy Like most members of Hymenophyllaceae, T'richomanes Boschianum is a plant of moist, shaded areas. It occurs beneath overhanging rocks of very moist sandstone and is usually at all times out of the sun’s direct rays. Zuck (1939) reports it occurring on exposed siliceous rocks in Monroe County, Tennessee. Frequently it grows in grottoes just a few feet from limpid pools of water or near falls where the spray of water helps to keep the fronds continually moist. An analysis of the sandstone substratum shows it to be acidic. Coker (1938) reports the surface pH from the North Carolina station to be 5.45 and the interior pH to be 6.54, taken with a Beck- man pH meter. At the Illinois station, spring wate1 issuing from beneath the bluff had a temperature of 57° F. on August 11, 1957. The leaves of the filmy fern are adapted to moist shaded conditions by their one-celled thickness and ab- sence of stomates. In North Carolina, Coker (1938) listed Asplenium Trichomanes and Asplenium montanum as associates of the filmy fern. In their discussion of the hemlock in Alabama, Segars, et al (1951) listed Trichomanes Bosch- ianum as an associated species, along with Asplenium montanum, Asplenium pinnatifidum, Trichomanes Petersii, Diphyscium cumberlandianum, Mnium pune- tatum, Rhodobryum roseum, and Tetraphis pellucida. The phanerograms included Orchis spectabilis, Juglans cinerea, Betula lenta, Trautvetteria caroliniensis, Thalict- rum clavatum, Boykinia aconitifolia, and Heuchera parviflora var. Rugelit. These authors suggest that there may be botanically significant differences in the micro- FF IN JACKSON HoLLow, ILLINOIS IGN W x IVNYNOf NYA NVOI ‘6h ANOIOA 9 TLVId TRICHOMANES BoscHIANUM 81 climate between the places where hemlock (and hence filmy fern) occurs and other areas. The elevation of the stations for this species ranges from 560 feet above sea level in Pope County, Ilinois, to 3000 feet in Macon County, North Carolina. The Pope County station, Illinois, is in a great sandstone ravine called Jackson Hollow. It was first discovered by Mary Steagall in 1923 and later rediscovered by Julius R. Swayne in 1950. The authors have made several visits to this station during the last four years. The abundance of the species at this station has diminished little during the past thirty years. (Pl. 6). The rootstocks of the filmy fern at Jackson Hollow are intertwined among various bryophytes, notably the mosses Leucobryum glaucum and Thuidium delicatum and the hepaties Baz- zania trilobata and Pellia diphylla. Other cryptogams found on moist sandstone bluffs in the vicinity of T'ri- chomanes Boschianum are Diphyscium foliosum, P lagio- chila asplenioides, Scapania nemorosa, Leucolejeunea clypeata, Tetraphis pellucida, Calypogeia Trichomanes, and numerous others. The mesic ravines of Jackson Hollow are dominated by white oak (Quercus alba), sugar maple (Acer saccha- rum), and beech (Fagus grandifolia), these three mak- ing up about 60% of the trees. Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), redbud (Cercis canadensis ), Hop Horn- beam (Ostrya virginiana), white elm (Ulmus americana), and white ash (Frazxinus americana) are common. Herb- aceous species, many of which are unusual in southern Illinois, include three orchids (Goodyera pubescens, Corallorrhiza Wisteriana, and Orchis spectabilis ), louse- wort (Pedicularis canadensis), liverleaf (Hepatica acuti- loba), and various sedges including Carex Jamesii, C. Careyana, and C. crinita. Besides the filmy fern, other pteridophytes of note in the area are Lycopodium lucidu- lum, Dryopteris austriaca var. intermedia, and Campto- 82 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL sorus rhizophyllus. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION The family Hymenophyllaceae, containing two large genera (Hymenophyllum and Trichomanes), is widely distributed, but is most prevalent in the tropics and sub- br bey che ae 3 ok 90 80 Fig. 1. GkOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF TRICHOMANES BOSCHIANUM tropics. Most of the species oceur in very moist, shaded areas. A few extend northward, including Trichomanes Boschianum. Trichomanes Boschianum has been found in nine states, most of which are in the southeastern section of the United States (Fig. 1). It seems to be most frequent TRICHOMANES BOSCHIANUM 83 in Kentucky and Alabama. Collections are from 27 scattered counties in the United States. In some counties, it is known from several stations (Winston and Marion in Alabama; Edmonson in Kentucky). The most northern station for this filmy fern is in Hocking County, Ohio, at about 39°40’ N. latitude. The species extends southward to Hale County, Alabama, at 32°80’ e eastern limit is in Wayne County, West Virginia (82°30’ W.) while the westernmost station is in Pope County, Illinois (89°). Nearly two-thirds of the collections have been from Kentucky and Alabama. Tennessee has three stations. Two stations are in South Carolina. Single localities are recorded from Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Reports of this species from Florida are either in error or are based on specimens no longer in existence. COLLECTIONS OF THE FILMY FERN All specimens cited below are in the herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden, except the Illinois specimens and Rule 1756, which are in the herbarium of Southern Illinois University. The Tennessee citations are taken from Shaver, 1954. ALABAMA: ErowaH: Reported by Graves (1920). FRANKLIN: scapes by Graves (1920). Hate: Rocky glen, Havana, Decem- r 21, 1898, Trelease s.n, JACKSON: Repor ted by Graves (1920). eS Shady mares cliffs alone Tata River, north edge of county, sa , 1933, Har : aes Moulton, 1865, Peters s.n.; eu sandstone gos 1873, Pet s.n.; under cliff in canyon at waterfall on Sipsey River in ss ieutiens corner of county, April 11, 1953, Hardin & Duncan 15343. Marion: Pikeville, E. A. Smith s.n.; on dripping ledge, overhanging ipA stone bluffs, along Dugan Greek, near old town of Pikeville, May 21 931, E. J. Palmer 38988; under overhanging sandstone cliffs on Williams Creek, r its mouth, March 29, 1939, Harper 3709. WALKER: Freque ae under sandstone cliffs, 1873, Peters s.n Winston: Sandstone cliff, 1868, Peters s.n.; under eneaiing 84 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL rocks near Sipsey River, T8, a et. 10, oss 1, 1896, Underwood em OTs A) =e nm co fo) Ss fa) a e 8 oO | ct z eH Yo ‘eg A “ pienie grounds, sont 22, 1949, Harvill & Segars 803. GrorGia: Rasun: Dripping rocks, Rabun Bald, yeti 1-4, 1906, é 232 LINOIS: Pope: Dripping siceiogs. hae Hollow, August 2, 1923, Steagall 37; near a spring, Jackson Hollow, T118, R5E, sect. 31, August 17, 1950, Swayne 1136; cuss Hollow, Septem- ber 15, 1951, Evers riage Rineiony: BARREN: 1873, Hussey s.n. CARTER: 1872, Hill s.n.; 1874, Hussey s.n. mune: July, 1874, Hussey 1986; August, . 1878, Hussey 3767; Indian Hill, Brownsville, under sandstone cliff, July 16, , Price smn.; the Gulf, July 5, 1897, Price s.n. Wrigley and Blaze, March, 1950, Reed 183 POWEL ada Tunnel, October, 1949, Reed 17505. Rock Under drip- ping sandstone rocks on Wild Cat Mountain, near Livingston, Wa s.n. WHITLEY: Under a shaded oan rock ape June 9, ame McFarland, Templeton, Malet ide oa Wo.re: Sk Bridge State Park, March, ee ce i NortH CaroLIna: Macon: In the sa ep Cullasaja ne Do on Crow Creek, under the jae falls, 1938, Hechenbleikner OunI0: Hockrne: Poe by omens (1935). SourH CaRoLINA: OcoNEE: Tamassee Falls, 1700 feet, ange i 1906, House 2096. Pic oN Near a Fork Creek, Noy. 12, 1954 ( denen by Darling, 1 ENNESSEE: FRANKLIN: eat Bridge, Sewanee, Shaver 9839. MONROE: po fiarance Lake, 1939, Zuck. Scorr: No Business peer fteihas tac & Clebsch 3971. tT VIRGINIA: WAYNE: Under dripping sandstone cliff, one mile mat mein May 11, 1938, Gilbert & Plymale 712. DEPARTMENT OF BoraNy, SouTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVER- sITy, CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS. REFERENCES - Bailey, W. M. & J. R. Swayne. 1952. pee aie Tilinois Plant Records. Trans. Ill: Acad, Sei. 44: TRICHOMANES BOSCHIANUM 85 Blomquist, H. L. & D. 8. Correll. 1940. A County Check-list of North Carolina Ferns and Fern-allies. Journ. Elisha Mitchell Sci. S 63-105. Cobb, B. 1956. A Field Guide to the Ferns. Coker, W. C. 1938. A Filmy Fern from North Carolina. Journ. Elisha care Sci. uw 54: Correll, D. S. 1938. A County Chek list of niainge ati and Fern-allies. rant Fern Journ, 28: 11-16, 46-54, 100. ———_——. 1939. Some Southeastern Fern Notes: ae Fern Journ, 29: 135-142. Darling) T4955): A atts letter Day in South Carolina. Amer. Fern Journ. 45: 138-1 Graves, E. W. 1920. ee ec Flora of Alabama. Amer. Fern Journ, 10: 65-82. 1921, An Interesting Trip. Amer. Fern Journ. 11: s6-88. Gray, 1853. On the Discovery of Two New Species of A seve in the gen dl aoe One of Which is New. . Journ, Sei. II, 15 Seow, R. M. 1905. The Pathe Stor: of Georgia. Fern Bull. 13: 1-17. ie J. T. 1917. Ferns Found in the Vicinity of Sewanee. s. Tenn, Acad. Sei, 2: 66-68. MeVaugh, R. & J. H. Pyron. 1951. Ferns of Georgi Maxon, W. R. 1900. Notes on American Ferns. at Fern Bull. 8: 84— : 5. Reed, C. F. 1951. Notes on the Ferns of Kentucky, TH. < Prieh- omanes Boschianum. Amer. Fern Journ. 41: 120-123. Schaffner, J. H. 1935. ptey Fern Native in Ohio. Amer. Fern ourn, 25: 17-18. Segars, C. B., L. C. Crawford, & A. M. Harvill. 1951. The Oc- currence and Distribution of Hemlock in Alabama. Ecology 32: Shaver, J. M. 1954. Ferns of Tennes Small, J. K. ais Ferns of the SAliaaeets States ace P. D. & E.L. Core. 1952. Flora of West Virginia. teens L. M. 1903. Notes on Southern Ferns. Torreya 3: 7-19. Atinimaees Ue EBT O. pared of Kentucky. You 1933. Ferns of se Sayer Cave National Park Region, ees Fern Journ. 23: —116. Zuck, R. K. 1939. ce “Boseianam Sturm in East Tennessee, Amer. Fern Journ, 29: 1 86 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL A Note on Chromosome Numbers in Some Indian Species of Equisetum P. N. Meura aANp S. S. Bir Equisetum Linn. is one of the oldest living genera of vascular plants and is also the sole living representative of a large and ancient group Equisetales. It comprises about twenty-five species (Billington, 1952) of world- wide distribution except for Australia and New Zealand. For this reason a comparison of the cytological constitu- tion of various species from different parts of the world is desirable. A study of the available literature (Clarke, 1880; Baker, 1887; Stewart, 1951; and Schelpe, 1954) shows that only four species of the genus, namely EF. arvense L., E. diffusum D. Don, E. ramosissimum Desf. (syn. E. elongatum Willd.), and E. debile Roxb., have been re- ported so far from India. Another species, E. robustum A. Br., was reported to have been collected at Lahore by Jacquemont and in Pondichery by Belanger (cf. Clarke, l.c.; Baker, l.c.). However, Clarke pointed out that there are no Indian specimens in the Kew bundle of FZ. robus- tum. Since that time there is no record of this species having been collected in any part of India and inasmuch it is a species of the North American continent (cf. Baker, l.c., and Manton, 1950), it is doubtful that it actually oceurs in India at a The cytology of all these species except Equisetum debile has remained to be worked out. The latter was studied by Ninan (1955) on material from southern India. The present report records the chromosome num- ber of this species from northern India and in addition those of two other Indian species for which there has been no previous data. These two species, namely E. dif- fusum and E. ramosissimum var. altissimum A. Br., are usually inhabitants of hills and are common between CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN EQUISETUM 87 5,000 to 7,000 ft. altitude in the Himalayas. Both of these are abundant at Mossy Falls and Burning Ghat, Mussoorie, in the Western Himalayas. At Darjeeling in the Eastern Himalayas, the former species is common by roadsides, and individuals of the latter occur singly among the tea bushes near Lebong. Typical FE. ramosis- simum is reported to oceur in Pahlgam, Kashmir (Stew- art, 1951). It is interesting to note that in April the young individuals of E. diffusum are characterised by the presence of 1-3 underground tubers and very rarely the specimens collected in September also bear these (Pl. 7, f. 1). There is no previous mention of the presence of tubers in this species. It seems that the earlier col- lectors gathered the specimens only in mature condition when the tubers are gone. These tubers generally consist of one long swollen internode. The shoots arising from the nodes of the rhizome have stunted growth and these develop as the short thick tubers. E. ramosissimum var. altissimum is characterised by its rather large size (up to 10 ft.) and in having a thick stem with a large central cavity. The main stem is simple or branched; in the latter case up to six ascending branches are present at the upper nodes only. The third species, E. debile, has been reinvestigated from a cytogeographic point of view. It is very common along river banks and water channels throughout Panjab, ascending up to 2,000 ft. in the Kangra District. Medium-sized cones collected from wild sources were fixed in 1:3 acetic aleohol for 48-72 hours. The usual acetocarmine squash technique was followed. The pre- served material gives good results even after four or five months. Each species was examined from at least two different regions (Eastern and Western Himalayas). It is very easy to get divisions in the cone of Equisetum but certain technical difficulties crop up which hinder exact counting. Firstly, the cytoplasm in the spore-mother AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 49, PLATE 7 Fie. 1. a harlot DIFFUSUM, Mossy FALLS, Mussoont, SHOWING TUBERS; Fic. 2, SPORE MOTHER CELL DIFFUSUM, SHOWING 108 BIVALENTS AT KREG, . 745 CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN EQUISETUM 89 cells of Equisetum diffusum and EF. ramosissimum var. altissimum is slightly granular and stains quickly even if very dilute carmine is used (Pl. 7, f. 2). Secondly, the chromosome size and shape are variable and sometimes the shapes are so peculiar as to easily suggest multivalent pairing, this being more prominent in LE. debile particu- larly. Thirdly, the chromosomes appear to be brittle Fig. ..3. Expu oe DIAGRAM FOR FIG. 2, SPORE MOTHER LL OF E. DIFFUSUM; x 870 and may break during squashing even with slight manual pressure. The resulting fragments can easily be mis- taken for small individual chromosomes. (Fig. 4). So, for exact counting the results were confirmed from large number of spore-mother cells in each case. The size of bivalents at diakinesis is smaller in E. diffusum and E. ramosissimum var. altissimum than in E. debile, and they are somewhat more contracted (Figs. 3 and 5). 90 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL In all the three species the haploid chromosome num- ber is n= 108 (Figs. 2-5) and thus the results are in con- formity with those of Manton (1950) and Ninan (1955). The meiosis is regular resulting in normal well-filled and viable spores. There is no sign of hybridity or chromo- somal races in any of the species. Fig. 4. DIAKINESIS IN SPORE MOTHER CELL OF E, DEBILE, SHOWING 108 BIVALENTS AND ONE BROKEN FRAGMENT MARKED ‘F’; x 870 The general uniformity of cytological results for all the species of the genus worked out so far (which are 17 in number) and the antiquity of the living species be cause of their wide distributional range give one the impression that evolutionary activities within the genus Equisetum have come to an end. But actually this may not be true, for three hybrids have been reported by Manton (l.c.) from amongst a little over a dozen Kuro- CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN EQUISETUM 91 pean species. From this it can be inferred that evolution within the group is still at work to a certain extent, howsoever slow the pace may be, and speciation can possibly occur in the future. So far, about three-fourths of the representatives of the genus have been worked out cytologically. There is no indication whatsoever of the manner in which the high chromosome number n=108 has been compounded. Whether euploidy or aneuploidy has 5 RAMOSISSIMUM VAR. osis; x 870 Fig. 5. SPORE MOTHER CELL OF E. ALTISSIMUM, WITH 108 BIVALENTS AT MEI played a part cannot be assessed at this stage unless some member with different monoploid number (high or low) is detected. Here we seem to be dealing with only the upper members of a series whose bases have been lost The same haploid number for the European (Manton, 92 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL l.c.) and Indian (Ninan, l.c. and present authors) species of the genus growing in tropical, subtropical, and tem- perate climates is significant and is in complete contrast to the behaviour of ferns under identical conditions. We are thankful to Prof. R. R. Stewart for identifying Equisetum ramosissimum var. altissimum and to Mr. R. 8. Pathania for the photographs illustrating this note. BotaNy DEPARTMENT, PANJAB UNIversIty, Amritsar, India. LITERATURE CITED Baker, i G. 1887. Handbook of Fern Allies. George Bell & Sons, Lon biingtn, C. 1952. Ferns of Michigan. Cranbook Inst. Sci. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S.A. Clarke. 4 C. B. 1880. Review 2 Ferns of Northern India. Trans. I. 1: 594-595. Manton, I. 1950. Problems Set ytology and Evolution in the Pteridophyta. Cambridge Univ. asa Cambridge, England. Ninan, C. A. 1955. he gd of Equisetum debile Roxb, Journ. Ind. Bot. Soe. 34: 112 Schelpe, E. A. 1954. foe observations on eo in Kangra Himalaya. Amer. Fern Journ. 44: 49— gistloakes i R. 1951. The ‘Waris of Pahlgam. sah Ind. Bot. Soe. 137-142. American Fern Society Report of the Curator and Librarian for 1958 The most important news of 1958 is the contribution by Professor Edgar T. Wherry, our former President, of a collection of his excellent photographs of ferns and lycosphens to the Society’s Library. The collection in- cludes a series of over 400 negatives, representing among them both common and rare species from all over the United States. Each negative is contained in a glassine envelope and is marked with a locality and the year it AMERICAN F'ERN SOCIETY 93 was made. The series is divided into families and the species alphabetized within each family. Should any of our members need illustrations for an article, book, or other purpose, let us know the species desired. If avail- able, a glossy print, suitable for reproduction, will be furnished at cost. I am sure that all the members of the American Fern Society join me in expressing our great thanks for this fine contribution. The over-all use of the Library and Herbarium this year has shown a definite increase over that in 1957. A number of outside loans of books and specimens have been made, and the facilities have also been used fre- quently by visitors and students on the campus of the University of Michigan. The outside borrowers of books and (or) specimens have included, among others, D. J. Hagenah, I. W. Knobloch, J. Cyrus Lloyd, and Donald Branscomb. Mr. Branscomb kindly contributed over twenty specimens of California ferns to the Herbarium this year. I wish to express apologies for any delays or mix-ups in our service during this period of organiza- tion. It is hoped that during 1959 some of the necessary binding of volumes can be accomplished. There is also a backlog of unmounted and undistributed specimens in the Herbarium to be attended to; for the mounting of specimens it is tentatively planned to use the new plastic mounting technique. In this connection I should like to suggest that collectors contributing mounted specimens avoid the use of scotch-tape in preparing them; we have found this tape to be troublesome and difficult to work with For those new members who are still unfamiliar with our procedures, a description of them is given briefly in the bottom paragraph of the inner cover of this Journal. Respectfully submitted, Warren H. WaGNER, JR. Curator and Librarian 94 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Report of the Spore Exchange, 1958 To those of us who have watched the American Fern Society Spore Exchange grow since its beginning (at the suggestion of Dr. R. C. Benedict), it was gratifying to be able to send out in the fall of 1958 a list of 175 avail- able kinds of spores. All the spores listed have been sent in within the past two years by 46 kind members and friends of the Society. The list was sent out to all those who had contributed or used spores during the last two years or who had expressed an interest in the Exchange—a total of nearly 100 members. The list is still available to anyone requesting it. A supplementary list is now being prepared for distribution which wil bring the total number of species currently offered to over 200. Taking into account 1958 only, contributors slightly outnumbered users, for the first time—contributors num- bered 29 and users (who received 203 packets of spores) 21. These seem small numbers compared to the size of the membership as a whole, but each year the number grows a little, and as has been said before in these reports, those who are interested are very, very interested, and express real and sincere gratitude for the privilege of using the Exchange to obtain spores. Members who are fortunate enough to have green- houses for their ferns will be interested to know that we have promises of many rare and hard to obtain kinds from several sources in the not too distant future. Re- ports of these as they arrive will be sent to any members requesting information. ( Stamped, addressed envelopes will be appreciated. ) It is earnestly hoped that the friends of the Exchange will again keep it in mind when the 1959 time for fertile fronds comes around where you live or where you vaca- tion. In order to make the exchange of real value, it is necessary that fresh supplies of all ferns be on hand each AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY 95 year, for fern spores gradually lose their viability. There will always be a goal not quite reached as we strive for a more comprehensive list each year, and for more friends to request spores to have the pleasure and reward of growing them. Respectfully submitted, KATHRYN BoypsTtoNn Fernwood, Route 3, Niles, Michigan SuMMER FIELD-TRIP IN MINNESOTA PLANNED: Tentative plans are under way to hold a field-trip in northeastern Minnesota August 7 and 8, and possibly 9. A start will be made from Duluth and the party will proceed north along the western shore of Lake Superior to Grand Marais, a beautiful region in which some interesting ferns are to be seen. The trip will be led by Dr. Olga Lakela, Department of Botany, University of Minnesota, th, Minn.; enquiries should be addressed to her, immediately. New MEMBERS Mrs. Sidney C. Alden, Albro Lane, Cedarhurst, Long Island, N. Y. Dr. Floyd D. Anderson, 1334 Jefferson Street, Napa, California Mr. William B. Armitage, 6591 Marlborough Avenue, Burnaby 1 British Columbia, Canada Mr. Bertram Bakerman, 457 F. D. Roosevelt Drive, New York 2, New York Mrs. Nellie R. Blakesly, 115 Church Street, Kensington, Con Mrs. Ben Cone, Bonaventure Road, Route 2, Box 508, Sav ak, eorgia Mr. Clyde E. Cristman, 153 neepee Street, Ashland, Mas Mrs. Edythe Dailey, P. O. Box 1143, San Bernardino, Gantorsin Mr. Richard Heviey, Sa a pibeanat University of Arizona, Tucson, Mrs. William a rear 20 Point Crescent, Malba, Whitestone 57, Long Island, N. Y. Mr. André Lawalée, Ave. Van Elderen 3, Brussels 16, Belgium Mrs. Frances L. Moore, 1643 Walnut St., Berkeley 9, California Mr. William oe Olden, 1361 West Avenue, Santa Rosa, California Mr. Edward J. Probst, 101 West 23rd Street, New York 11, Mr, Vernon W, Proctor, Department of Biology, Texas itschadlogs- cal College, Lubbock, Texas 96 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Mrs Pook. Reedstrom, Reedstrom Nursery, 3265 Paradise Drive, Cee Califor Mr. John T. Reynolds, 900 West Michigan Ave., Chicago 11, Ill. Mr. Ko Seto, ¢/o Osaka Municipal Museum, 2-chrome Utsubonaka- dori Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan (KTO) Mr. Dale M. Smith, ened Department, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentue : Miss Bettie Smysor, at 2, 4202 North Henderson Road, Arling- on, Virginia Mrs. Daisy C. Todd, 237 Momterey Street, Brisbane, California TA Mr. Winslow R. Wood, 944 South Eucalyptus Avenue, ing neon: Ae California CHANGES OF ADDRESS Mrs. ey Allen, 3645 East Lee Street, Tucson, Arizo Mr. Walter S. Allen, 168 Cedar Hill at ue Nee Jersey Dr. ae C. sippy pe t Knob, New Mrs. William F. Bennett, 9371 East cae Bak Road, Temple City, California Mr. David E. eae par of Botany, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indi Mrs. Edward H ose Sr., 127 East Emerson Street, Melrose 76, epee etts Dr. Delzie Demaree, 109 South Avenue, Hot Springs, Arkansas Mr. Robert Eugene Divoky, 1168 East 78th Street, Kansas City 10, Miss Mr. Lewis A. Dyer, 47 Main Street, Rockport, Massachusetts Mrs. oe H. Gliddon, 14 Rope Ferry Road, Hanover, New Hampshir Mr. Jan E. bee 1427 East Palm Avenue, ee ener Mr. teats Egan: 9 Plumtree Lane, Westport, Connee Dr. Robert H. McCauley, Jr., 6405 Orchid oe ethane 14, a Mr. Charles Neidorf, 1604 East 22nd Street, Brooklyn 10, N. Y Dr. Rodolfo Pichi- ee Istituto Botanico “Hanbury,” Via Balbi 5, Genov taly s. I ton, an ute 1, Box 283, North Bend, Washington Mrs. Carol esac 535 West oe Street, Colton, California Mrs. Lucille Evans Swendsen, 521 Worford Avenue, Vallejo, Calif. Mr. Sanford Young, 532 North Thomas St., No. 1, Arlington 3, Virginia HENRY TRIPP Successor to Henry George Fiedler Scientific Books and Periodicals Large stock of books on ferns and cryptogamic botany 31 East 10th Street, New York 3, N. Y. CASTANEA Published by the Southern i bag Botanical Club Devoted to the botany of the interesting Southern Appalachians. Jaa Fra A Penis subscription, including membership , $3.0 Address Dr. Earu L, Cort, Editor West Virginia University Magners, West Virginia FERNS SPECIALISTS IN TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FERNS We ship Price List Available LEATHERMAN’S GARDENS 2637 North Lee Avenue —~—SCS orth El Monte, Calif.. ———————— ee. Seanad THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR Sf or Y our THE HERBARIUM FREE COPY LM. JORMOTON of this Ao Original Peblicerion of ‘THE ARNOLD ARBORBTUM OF HARVARD tNgVERSSTY Helpful socom Treatise: “THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR THE HERBARIU. he. L Se ee cone Pane ee si has has genera cas shared the benefits of his oe i long and successful expe Histy fr. ths: memtcas botasiet, and hints for the ional col- lector, abound in this thirty-six page illustrated treatise oe which Dr. Johnston erat oh time tested techniques for pressing, p — peppy me materials, —— methods are ‘outlined for for tment of aquatic flowering plants, erns, lichens and fungi. Specific suggestions are offered for record ata in the field; for record keeping in the herbari Que copy of the treatise is yours for the a asking. With it will be included samples of Botanical Papers (Driers, Mounting and Genus Covers) as well as data on Collecting Cases, Field Trowels, . Plant Presses, S pecimen Mounts, “Botanical Labele and other Her me - Sut ask for “a copy of the Johnston treatise”. CAMBOSCO. SCIENTIFIC COMB ANY e RIGHTON STA’ "BOSTON, MASS. U~- S.A. Vol. 49 July-September, 1959 No. 3 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 A. C. SMITH Cytotaxonomie Studies of Some American Species of Dryopte ris cseccncrsnennennernttnrnermenmnasinmnstesnntn S. WaLKer 104 _ Ferns and gape Angeles Smog fi Sacre eee C. Benepict 114 Che American Hern Saoriety Conuril far 1959 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Ira L, Wiaains, Dudley Herbarium, Stanford umes Cali- fornia sident JAMES E, BENEDICT, JR., 945 Pennsylvania Ave., N. nde ashing- ton 4, D. C. | aden DoNnALD HUTTLESTON, Longwood Gardens, Kennett feces Pe ene ecretary Wattrr §. PHILLIPS, a i of Botany, University sd Ari- zona, Tucson, Arizon Treasurer C. V. Mozton, Rnigucsian Institution, Washington 25, D. Editor- in-Chief OFFICIAL, ORGAN American Fern Journal EDITORS C. V. Morton ............ Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. eC. BENEDICT . unum 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Y. Ira L, WIGGINS ..... Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. A. ©. Sarre ........ Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. An illustrated quarterly devoted to the cmipal study of ferns. Be Subscription, $2.35 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra; sent free — ‘members of the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY ome dues, $2.50; sustai ip, $5.00; pte membership, 0.00). Extra oe att ordered in advane , Wi ve authors at cost. ee agin when proof is ret Back yo single back numbers "te cents each ‘Gumralatiey tone Tadex to vol, pe 25 cents. Ten per cent discount orders of six volumes or more. 2 's saathnonian pebiieation should be a adromeed oo¥ Morton, 7 American Fern Journal Vou. 49 JULY-SEPTEMBER No. 3 American Grapeferns Resembling Botrychium ternatum: A Preliminary Report’ W. H. Waener, JR. During the nineteenth century the species and varie- ties of evergreen grapeferns (Botrychium, Subgenus Sceptridium) in North America were usually identified as Botrychium ternatum (Thunb. ) Swartz. Underwood’ in 1898 pointed out that Milde had been ‘‘followed more or less implicitly by English and American botanists”’ in confusing the American species with B. ternatum of Japan and continental Asia. It was stated by Under- wood that ‘‘No one, who holds any modern view of spe- cies, who has seen genuine specimens of B. ternatum from Japan, could hold for a minute that it was the same as the various species that occur in North America, and would adopt at once Prantl’s masterly definition of this thin-leaved species with such a natural geographic ranee.’’ Since Underwood’s treatment of this group of grapeferns, the name B. ternatum has been confined to plants of Asia—Japan, China, and India—and the spe- cies has not been acknowledged to occur in the New World. My own studies, however, indicate that B. ter- natum or a plant closely related to it does oceur in North America, and, in fact, possesses a rather wide range. I fail to find that this plant, whatever its ultimate identity will prove to be, has been treated in the literature, and 1 Research supported by a grant from the H. H. Rackham School, University of Michigan. 2 Torrey Bot. Club Bull. 25 (no. 10): 521-634. : [Volume 49, Number 2, of the JOURNAL, pp. 65-96, was issued July 7, 1959.] AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VoLUME 49, PLATE 8 10 cm. “BOTRYCHIUM TERNATUM,” LEAF TYPE EXTREMES FROM ONE LOCAL- ity, IpA Twr., MonROoE Co., MicH., WAGNER 8670. BoTRYCHIUM TERNATUM 99 it is hoped that this discussion will call attention to its peculiarities. During the course of field studies of the evergreen grapeferns of Michigan covering the past seven years, I had occasionally met a rather finely divided plant of . distinctive appearance, which did not conform with any of the more common species with which it grew, namely B. dissectum or any of its diverse forms, B. multifidum, or B. oneidense. I had usually considered this plant to be perhaps a diseased or otherwise abnormal variant, until in the fall of 1958 I encountered, for the first time, a truly sizeable population. Later field investigations have proved that the unusual plant is widespread in Michigan; and preliminary herbarium observations show that it ranges over a large area of the northern states. The field work is continuing at the present time. The report to be given here is intended to call the attention of other botanists to the existence of this plant, in the hope that we may be able to determine the full extent of its range. Comparison of the odd plant with materials in the American Fern Society Herbarium and in the Edwin B. Copeland Herbarium show that it cannot be distin- euished on any characters as yet known to me from the true B. ternatum of Asia. This species is readily dis- tinguished in the living state from the other species of Botrychium with which it grows, but it is somewhat less. easy to identify in the dried state. The plant has un- questionably been overlooked in many areas, as it was in Michigan, and I believe that these notes should be of help to others. I hope to make a much more detailed report on this plant in relation to its immediate relatives in the near future. Before presenting notes on the occurrence and distin- enishing features of the American plant resembling Botrychium ternatum, I should like to emphasize sev- 100 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL eral points. The first is that, in studying the evergreen erapeferns, it is essential to obtain a sample comprising a number of specimens if possible. As I have pointed out elsewhere, our experience shows that there is no need to worry about destroying a colony if the collector is careful to remove leaves above the base of the petiole. . The second is that grapeferns of this group are extremely variable according to habitat and, also, to age of plant. In the open, dry habitats, such as grassy, upland fields, a species will have an entirely different aspect (seg- ments broader, approximate or overlapping; texture thick; the fertile ‘‘panicle’’ disproportionately large and much branched) from those in deeply shaded, moist habitats (the segments narrower, remote; texture thin and membranous; fertile ‘‘panicle’’ narrow or absent). Very young specimens do not necessarily pe fertile structures. Under certain conditions, in fac plants only a few inches tall may produce the pane panicles,’’ and these plants have a striking appear- ance, wholly distinct from the normal, much larger orm of the species. The differences between single in- dividuals of Botrychiuwm are often so subtle that careless pressing makes a plant, which was well marked in the growing state, barely recognizable on the herbarium sheet without removal and treatment. If a specimen is taken in July or August (at least under the conditions of the Great Lakes area) it will appear more or less membranous when pressed; if taken in the fall, winter, or spring, it will be more leathery and opaque when pressed. As an illustration of some of our difficulties, one of the problems that has faced us in our study is the commonly repeated statement that the species Botry- chium oneidense (also treated as a variety or form of B. dissectum or B. multifidum) is ‘‘thin-textured.’’ arene D. na Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 4. 1825. Sesh s ida O. Kuntze, aie Gen. Pla nt: 22-812.) L89l. Cyclosorus vaca idan: pets Fan Mem. Inst. Biol., Bot. Ser. 8: 194. 1938. THELYPTERIS extensa (Blume) Morton, comb. no Aspidium extensum beard Enum. Pl, ete Dryopteris extensa O, K , Rev, Gel oi ant, 2: 812. 1891. atorest extensus ania ey Fan Shou Inst. Biol. Bot. Ser. : 182. 1938. chat heterocarpa (Blume) Morton, comb. no Aspidiwm heterocarpum Blume, Enum, Pl. Jav. Ne: 1828. carpa O sig See ga fst ed Ching, Bull. Fan Mem, Inst. Biol., Bot. Ser 180. Seeaihtt unita Ag Morton, comb. no Polypodium unitum L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 8: 1326. 1759. Dryopteris unita O. Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Plant. 2: 811. 1891 Cyclosorus swith Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol., Bot. Ser. 8 92. 1938, THELYPTERIS multilineata (Wallich ex Hook.) Morton, comb. nov. Polypodium multilineatum Wallich ex Hook. Sp. Fil. 5: 11. 186. 1864. r ~ Dryopteris moulmeinensis (Beddome) C. Chr., Ind. Fil. 19 05. Abacopteris multilineata Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol., Bot. Ser. 8: 253. 1938 [‘“multilineatwm”]. 1 This JournaL 48: 140, 141. 1958. 114 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL As pointed out by Holttum,? the genus Abacopteris is searcely distinguishable from Cyclosorus, and thus must also be now referred to Thelypteris. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C. Ferns and Los Angeles Smog R. C, BENEDICT Los Angeles ‘‘smog’’ is merely a specially well-known example of the unpleasant and harmful results of urban and industrial activities. Recently, a scientific study of its effects on plant life has begun. Dr. Ruth Ann Bobrov Glater has reported on damage to fern leaves in the article ‘‘Smog Damage to Ferns in the Los Angeles Area.’"' Since this is a matter of importance to fern gardeners, we quote below some of the remarks from Dr. Glater’s paper. ‘‘Smog’’ is ‘fa complex of liquids, solids, and gases, comprising more than 50 chemical elements and com- pounds, and producing, among other effects, low visibility, eye irritation, crop damage, excessive rubber cracking, and odor nuisances. Plant damage is considered to be due to certain intermediate peroxidie products resulting from the chemical combination of unsaturated hydro- carbons with the ozone of the atmosphere. Certain spe- cies of vegetables, ornamentals, and weeds were found to be singularly sensitive to smog. . ‘‘Recently, a new symptom was heeeas in ferns in response to the polluted air of Los Angeles. In the field as well as under lath, fern leaves showed characteristic markings following a period of high smog intensity. The gross symptoms were quite distinct from those previously reported on other plants. Damage manifested itself as 2 Ferns of Malaya 285. 1954 1 Phytopathology 46: 696-698. figs. 1-5. 1956. FERNS AND SMOG 115 a tan spotting of leaflets, followed by local or general dehydration of affected areas, ending in complete necrosis of the entire leaf.’’ The species specially studied (and illustrated) by Dr. Glater were Microlepia platyphylla (abundant in the Fern Dell in Griffith Park) and Blechnum (Lomaria) gibbum (less common). ‘* Approximately 24 hours following the incidence of smog, tan lesions, commonly near the smaller veins, ap- pear on the leaflets. At this time, damage to the cells directly above the stomata can be seen with a microscope. Since the spongy mesophyll is a very loose tissue, the smog-laden air easily penetrates through the entire leaf. Within 48 hours, part or all of a damaged frond may be- come completely dehydrated, turn brown and brittle, and crumble on pressure. ... An entire frond or isolated por- tion of individual fronds on a given plant may be dam- aged. Old, middle-aged, and young leaves appear to be equally sensitive. The growing tip of the plant, with its spirally uncoiling developing leaves, usually is not dam- aged. Occasionally, following a long and severe smog period, a young plant may be completely killed, growing point and all. More commonly the plant will continue growth, albeit slowly. Stems, roots, and all vascular elements of the plant remain uninjured. ‘‘The general response of the cells of fern leaves to smog is similar to that described in other plants, but differs in two ways: 1) in the random distribution of damaged markings as contrasted with the restricted smog damage pattern observed in other plants and 2) in the extreme sensitivity of the plant, a condition that results in complete necrosis of many leaves. The specific expres- sion of damage in ferns may be attributable to the ex- treme sponginess of the laminal tissue, through which polluted air can move easily and rapidly, and to the weak suberization of cell walls.’ 116 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Ferns in Cultivation, I Sytvia LEATHERMAN Many people have difficulty growing ferns in clay pots, especially as house plants or in areas with hot sum- mer temperatures. Upon tapping a fern out of a pot to shift it to the next size pot study the root formation. The roots twine and wrap themselves next to the inside wall of the pot. The clay pot is porous, the main reason for the use of a clay pot, and being porous the pot be- comes dry and in turn the roots suffer from this dry condition. The double pot method, which I have recommended to many people who are now growing potted ferns suc- cessfully, is an ideal way to grow your ferns under ad- verse conditions. A clay pot about four inches larger in diameter than the potted fern is used. In the bottom of this pot place a piece of crockery over the drainage hole. On top of this fill in with charcoal and pea gravel, using enough material so when you place your potted fern in this pot the tops of the two pots are level. Fill in the space between the two pots with sphagnum moss or peat moss. The inner pot, the one where your fern is growing, will then remain damp and cool and this is beneficial to your fern as ferns love to grow where their root system is kept cool and moist. Ferns will not tolerate dry roots. Some people have reasoned, and wrongly, that to over- come this condition of the roots, they could plant their fern in a glazed pot. Porous pots, for numerous reasons, should be used. Would you want your feet encased in a container which received no air and became stagnant? 2637 Norra Lee Avenur, Eu Monte, CauirorNia Recent Fieutp Nores 117 Recent Field Notes THoMAS DARLING, JR. ASPLENIUM TRUDELLII IN WEST VIRGINIA On August 24, 1958, Dr. James W. Johnston, Jr., of Georgetown University, and I drove to Trout Pond, in the George Washington National Forest, Hardy County, south of Wardensville, the only natural lake (really just a pond) in West Virginia. On a pinnacle-like cliff in the vicinity we found quite a number of plants of the interesting rock-fern hybrid Asplenium Trudellu (A. montanum x pinnatifidum) along with both parents. The specimens of the hybrid were relatively small com- pared with the luxuriant plants I have seen west of Wardensville and near French Creek, West Virginia. In the latter localities fronds occasionally attain a length of eight inches or more. All three of these stations for A. Trudellii are known to local botanists. DRYOPTERIS FRAGRANS AND WOODSIA GLABELLA IN THE CATSKILLS Back in 1940 Edward M. Shields, of Haines Falls, New York, discovered three rarities in the Catskill Mountains which had previously only been found many miles to the north. He published an account of his dis- ecoveries in an article in the Fern Journal entitled ‘‘Poreupines and Ferns.’’* These unusual ferns were Dryopteris fragrans (Fragrant Fern), Woodsia gla- bella (Smooth Woodsia), and Woodsia alpina (Alpine Woodsia). When I visited Mr. Shields at his summer home in the Catskills in the summer of 1958, we revisited the native haunts of two of these rare ferns. On June 30th, we explored the cliffs where D. fragrans had been found 1 This JOURNAL 33: 57-59. 1943. 118 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL at the southern limit of its range. As related by Mr. Shields in the 1943 Journal, ‘‘It will always be a matter of utter amazement to me that these stations on the ram- parts of the Hudson, almost within sight of the city of New York, had not before been reported.’’ He con- tinues by saying that literally hundreds of these ferns were to be found on the cliffs. Now, nearly twenty years later, the same ‘‘status quo’’ prevails. If anything, the plants are even more numerous than before. The treach- erous terrain, with its high inaccessible cliffs and breath- taking views over the surrounding countryside, is not attractive to vandals bent on the destruction of this rarity. The next day, July first, we explored the area where Woodsia glabella had been found. Here the situation was reversed. Painstaking search resulted in the discov- ery of only two small plants, where previously many more had been in evidence. Whether due to adverse weather conditions or over-collection, this graceful and attractive fern appears doomed to extinction in this loeality. My host informed me that Woodsia alpina, although extremely scarce, was to be seen in the mountains some distance away. Unfortunately, lack of time prevented my making this interesting trip. ASPLENIUM BRADLEYI IN PENNSYLVANIA The rare fern Asplenium Bradleyi was once luxuriant and plentiful in certain ravines along the lower Sus- quehanna River in Lancaster and York Counties, Penn- sylvania. This was the situation encountered by the late John K. Small in 1890 while he was still a student at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania. Many beautiful specimens were collected by him and deposited in various herbaria during those early days. Then, following a long period of extreme drought, REcENT Fievtp Notes 119 the blasting away of cliffs to permit railroad relocations, and over-collection by thoughtless individuals, A. Brad- leyz almost totally disappeared from the scene. In the years between 1937 and 1941, when I spent considerable time searching the area, this fern was known to local collectors and others at only one location, near Marietta, where I found it to grow sparingly. Looking through the old Fern Journals, I was inter- ested to note in Volume I (1911) an article by Harold W. Pretz of Allentown, Pennsylvania, entitled ‘‘An In- teresting Find.’’ It described the discovery of A. Brad- leyi on the high cliffs overlooking the Lehigh River near Glen Onoko, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.2 There are only two records of this species having been collected farther north, in the state of New Yor On October 21, 1956, after consulting Mr. Pretz as to the approximate location, C. V. Morton and I care- fully explored the same cliffs where this rarity had been discovered 45 years previously, but to no avail. Either the fern was overlooked, or it had disappeared due to unfavorable climatic conditions. While visiting Mr. Shields in the Catskills, I learned that he had discovered a small colony of A. Bradley: in October, 1942, in Muddy Run Ravine, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He told me that it was located ‘‘ possibly a quarter of a mile from the railroad tracks, about three- fourths the way up the slope, and on a large boulder rather than a cliff.’’ Although it was much like looking for a needle in a haystack, on October 19, 1958, sixteen years after the reported discovery, I found my way into this ravine and began a methodical search. Since I could not locate the large boulder after several hours’ search, the trip seemed destined to failure. Before giving up, however, 2 This JOURNAL 1: 137-141. 1911. 120 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL I climbed to the very summit of the slope and examined the perpendicular rock ledges in this area. Here, much to my satisfaction, I finally succeeded in finding plants of A. Bradleyi at scattered intervals. They were not large, but appeared luxuriant. It is to be hoped that this rare species is staging a comeback in this locality. Although A. pinnatifidum was also found in these cliffs, there was no sign of the hybrid, A. Gravesu. DryopTeris LEEDSI IN MARYLAND In 1931 the late Arthur N. Leeds discovered a colony of the woodfern hybrid Dryopteris Goldiana x D. mar- gynalis on the bank of the Susquehanna River, below the Conowingo Dam in Harford County, Maryland. Ten years later Dr. Wherry visited the locality, noted at least 200 individual plants of all sizes, and suggested the name ‘‘D. Leedsii’’ in an erin entitled, ‘‘A Woodfern Hybrid Deserves a Name. On October 18, 1958, I visited this colony and found a number of plants of the hybrid in a limited space of time. One specimen was larger than the maximum height of 150 em. previously recorded by Dr. Wherry. The clump was at least six feet tall, though at this season of the year most of the fronds were prostrate. Although one of the parent plants (D. marginalis) is present in this locality, the other (D. Goldiana) is totally absent. Dr. Wherry’s theory is that the spores of D. Goldiana were blown there from some distance away, and germi- nated to form prothallia which yielded sperms to fer- tilize some D. marginalis, but since the habitat is not suitable to the former, the Goldiana gametophytes never developed into sporophytes of that species itself. The nearest colony of D. Goldiana known in recent years is on a farm about two miles to the northwest. 3 Bartonia 21: 1, 2. 1942. REcENT Fietp Notes 121 FutTme SearcH FoR ASPLENIUM KENTUCKIENSE AND A. STOTLERI IN WEsT VIRGINIA On October 5, 1957, accompanied by Dr. James W. Johnston, Jr., I journeyed to the cliffs of the Shenan- doah River, east of Charles Town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, in an effort to discover the rare rock-fern hybrid A. kentuckiense, a cross between A. platyneuron and A. pinnatifidum.* Since these cliffs extend for several miles along the east side of the river, we chose to concentrate our search in a limited area near the dam. Although we found A. platyneuron common throughout, along with scattered A. pinnatifidum, there was no sign of the hybrid. On July 20, 1958, I explored the area south of the dam to a point opposite the south end of Snyder Hill, again with no success. Here A. pinnatifidum is locally plenti- ful in spots, with A. platyneuron abundant everywhere. It would be difficult to imagine a more likely place for A. kentuckiense. On some ledges both parent plants grew out of the same erevice. The hybrid, however, seems to be extremely rare, even in favorable localities. I have made many trips to the Maryland Heights area across the Potomac from Harpers Ferry and to the nearby Weverton cliffs, where both parents grow in close proximity, but have failed to uncover the hybrid. Having found this fern so difficult to locate in its native habitat, I have repeatedly attempted to raise it artificially from spores of the parent plants as I sue- ceeded in doing with A. Gravesti,® but I have not been successful as yet. On October 26, 1958, accompanied by Dr. Johnston and James E. Benedict: I again visited the Jefferson County cliffs. This time the object of our search was This JOURNAL ate 104, 105. 1936; 48: 39-43. 1958. Evolu- Gon 8: 113-116. 5 This JOURNAL 47: 55-66. 1957. 122 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL A. Stotleri near Keys Ferry at the northern extremity of the high ledges below the dam.* This extremely ie Appalachian spleenwort was once believed to be t cross between A. platyneuron and A. pinnatifidum ee considered A. kentuckiense), but a more recent conjec- ture is that A. Stotleri represents the hybrid between A. pinnatifidum and A. trichomanes. Following directions given by Dr. Wherry, we found our way to a high ledge opposite the power plant which Mr. Benedict, who had visited the Stotleri cliff when the fern was still in evidence, felt positive was the exact spot, but the rarity was not to be seen. Asplenium Stotleri, incidentally, has been found only on this single cliff in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Dr. Wherry, after revisiting the locality several years ago, wrote me that he considered the fern essentially extinct. At that time a few sporelings of A. Stotleri were to be seen, but were being crowded out by A. platyneuron. 382 37TH Paces, S8.E., Wasnineton, D. C. Recent Fern Literature MEDICINAL Frrns:—In ‘‘Medicinal Plants of the Philippines,’’! a work published some years ago which has just come to our attention, 18 pages are devoted to the pteridophytes. Apparently, many of these plants are well known in the Philippine Islands and in common use. Altogether, 30 species are described and discussed at some length. As is usual in folk medicine, the uses vary from the reasonable, such as infusions used as anthelmintics or astringents, to the fanciful-remedies for tuberculosis, beri-beri or snake-bite—C. V. Moron. 6 This JouRNAL 19: 135, 136. 1929. e ae: Dept. of ’Agrie. & Natural Resources Technical u Recent FERN LITERATURE 123 THE GENERA OF GLEICHENIACEAE.—A reappraisal of the genera of Gleicheniaceae by Dr. R. E. Holttum de- serves careful study; this is contained especially in two recent papers—‘On the Taxonomic Subdivision of the Gleicheniaceae, with Descriptions of New Malaysian Spe- cies and Varieties,’ and ‘‘ Morphology, Growth-Habit, and Classification in the Family Gleicheniaceae,’’? in which much of the same material is presented, although from different points of view. In Christensen’s Index Filicum, only two genera are recognized—Stromatopteris and Gleichenia—whereas Copeland, in his Genera Fil- icum, recognized six, and more recently Nakai tried to recognize even more and to divide the family into two subfamilies. Holttum has shown that the primary char- acter stressed by Nakai, namely trilete versus monolete spores, is unnatural, and that both kinds of spores can occur even within a single species (Dicranopteris linearis). He has shown also that one of the genera recognized by Copeland, namely Platyzoma, should not be referred to the Gleicheniaceae at all; it apparently finds its closest alliance with the genus Jamesonia (of the Polypodiaceae, s. l.). The genus Dicranopteris differs in several important characters from the others and can conveniently be given generic status. The other genera recognized by Copeland—Gleichenia, Sticherus, and Hicriopteris—are much closer and are best united as sub- genera of Gleichenia. Holttum shows that the group called ‘‘Hicriopteris’’? by Copeland is not properly so called, the type and only original species being a Dicra- nopteris; as a subgenus this group becomes Diplop- terygium. The name Sticherus disappears also, to be replaced as a subgenus by Mertensia. Holttum’s key will be permanently valuable; it is reproduced below: 1 Reinwardtia 4: 257-280. 1957. 2 Phytomorphology 7: 168-184. 1957. 124 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 1. Fronds unbranched (apart from occasional true dichotomy), borne on erect branched stems arising from a_ ereepin rhizome ; stellate or Saahahied hairs lacking on vegetative parts of inne; paraphyses in the form of small irregular scales Stromat hbk appa only genus Stro oe (forked), ily many sa with dormancy eri or i a rne en direetly on a creeping rhizome; stellate or layne arth or fringed scales, or both, always present on igo part of plant Subfam geo owe: 2. Hairs stellate with rays consisting of eae cells, or simple and very short; scales peltate, with fringe of outgrowths from marginal cell (in G. laevissima margins entire) ; sori of 2-4 large ee with paraphyses; lateral veins in a lobe of the lamina simple or once-forked. erie ichenia 3. Ultimate branches pinnate with deeply lobed Te vaflet 4. Dormaney confined to a periodie condition of the i frond; branch continuing the main rachis th ond lobes of lamina each with costule and once-forked lateral veins; sori several on eac chen subg. Diplopterygium (Hicriopteris of auth.) 4. Dormancy often occurring, and persistent, on other branches of the frond; lobes of aaa sea with wes and veinlets all simp le; a Gleichenia sabe eebhew 3. Uiediaste: at ae hes bearing a deeply pinnatifid lamina, its lobes entire or ke toothed Gleichen ubg. i ostenpia (Sticherus Presl). 2. Hairs consisting of a row a cells, with one or more branches a a, lateral veins in a lobe of the lamina for ier: ene 5. An accessory branch, of the same form as the ultima branches, often present on the basiscopic side at the base of soe branch from a aa vascular system of rhizome a protostele 0... Dicranopteris subg. Dicranopteris 5. eiones rere lacking; vascular system of rhizome a solenostele oo... Dicranopteris subg. Acropterygium RECENT FERN LITERATURE 125 The genus Stromatopteris is an excessively rare one, confined to the island of New Caledonia. Gleichenia subg. Gleichenia is strictly Old World, occurring in Africa, Australia, and Malaysia. Gleichenia subg. Diplopterygium is primarily Old World also, but there is one New World species, G. Bancroftii. Dicranopteris subg. Dicranopteris includes the common Old World species D. linearis and its allies, and the widespread American D. flexuosa, the Brazilian D. nervosa, and three little known South American species D. rufinervis, D. Schomburgkiana, and D. seminuda. The subg. Acrop- terygium includes only the common American species D. pectinata. All the other New World species are referable to Gleichenia subg. Mertensia. Dr. Holttum is to be congratulated on this work, which constitutes an important advance in our knowledge of this family. He has a better understanding of the genera than Copeland, Ching, or Nakai had, and his results de- serve to be widely accepted —C. V. Morton. FERNS OF CHINA: There is a recent publication (dated 1958) with a title in Chinese that may be translated as Flora of the North- east Province, I. The chief editor is Liou Tchen-ngo. The ‘‘Northeast Province’’ referred to is that part of China formerly known as Manchuria, or briefly before the last war as Manchukuo. It is situated between Korea on the south and Siberia on the north and east, and is bounded on the west by the Mongolian Republic. This first part of the flora deals with the Pteridophyta. The author is apparently not indicated, but it may well be R. C. Ching, who is again active in botanical work in China; the style of the citations is that of Ching. The treatment is in Chinese throughout, except for the de- scription in an appendix of three new species and one new variety in Latin. However, the Latin names of the 126 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL plants enable one to gain an idea of the flora, and some of the species are illustrated by line drawings. The region is all north of Lat. 40° N., and consequently is in the temperate zone. Quite a number of the species represented are boreal species known from Europe and Siberia, and a good many occur in boreal North America also. Among the familiar names are Ophioglossum vul- gatum, Botrychium Lunaria, B. ramosum (i.e. matricari- ifolium), B. multifidum, B. robustum, B. virginianum, Osmunda cinnamomea, O. Claytoniana, Pteridium aqui- linum, Adiantum pedatum, Camptosorus sibiricus, As- plenium Ruta-muraria, Athyrium acrostichoides (2.¢. thelypterioides), Athyrium multidentatum (A. Filizx- femina var. multidentatum), Cystopteris fragilis, @ymno- carpium Dryopteris, Thelypteris Phegopteris, T. palu- stris, Matteuccia Struthiopteris, Onoclea sensilis, Woodsia glabella, W. ilvensis, Dryopteris austriaca, D. fragans, Polystichum Braunii, Polypodium virginianum, Marsilea quadrifolia, Salvinia natans, Lycopodium Selago, L. ob- scurum, L. annotinum, L. alpinum, L. clavatum, Sela- ginella sibirica (rupestris £. sibirica Milde), Equisetum arvense, E. sylvaticum, E. pratense, E. palustre, E. heleo- charis (fluviatile), E. scirpoides, E. variegatum, and E. hyemale. Thus a visitor from New England should feel quite at home among the ferns of Manchuria. Still, the flora is richer in ferns than New England, and there are a number of more or less unfamiliar plants, such as Gonocormus [Trichomanes] minutus, Microlepia pilo- sella [doubtless similar in habit to Dennstaedtia in the United States], Davallia Mariesii, Aleuritopteris [Cheil- anthes| argentea, Coniogramme intermedia, Gymnopteris bipinnata, Pleurosoriopsis M akinoi, Cyrtomium falcatum, Phymatodes |Polypodium] hastata, Pyrrosia spp., and several unusual-looking species of Woodsia, Dryopteris, and Athyrium. The novelties (all on p. 69) are Sela- ginella tamariscina var. ulanchotensis Ching & Wang- Recent FERN LITERATURE 17 Wei, Asplenium conmixum Ching (an evident error for commiztum, which should be corrected), Athyrium pachyphlebium C. Chr., and Dryopteris manshurica Ching. For the benefit of the many to whom this work will be inaccessible, the original descriptions are repro- duced below. 1. Selaginella tamariscina ee Spr. var. ulanchotensis Ching et Wang-Wei A typo differt tol eee lanceolatis angustatis, 1.6-1.9 mm. longis, 0.6-0.8 mm. latis, apice attenuatis aculeatis, margine fere indistinete minutissime serratis, lateralibus et ventralibus directis, vix 2 parallelinervibus ABIT. in rupibus SPECIMINA EXAMINATA: on interior Ulanchote. Chang yii- aan et rolee Pei-yun 479 (Ty ongolia interior Thandie te. Spibee in Inst. Sylv. et cakes ge sinicae Mukden conservatur 2. Asplenium conmixum Ching s Asplenium varians (non Wall) bcs. le. Fil. Jap. I (1928) tab. a. Species intermedia inter A. anogrammoidem Christ Coreae et A. variantem Wall. A prima differt frondibus teneribus, paulo dissectis, colore in sicco viridi, segmentis ultimis latioribus et dentibus obtusis, a secunda foliis magis minoribus textura et dentibus pense AN obtusisque. HABIT. : sylvis, in rupibus. PECIMINA EXAMINATA:Proy. 1 Kiang-si Wu-kungshan, Kiangsi expedition No. 1175 (Typus). 2. Prov. Liao-ning Feng-whang- shan leg. G. G. Sato No. 10162; 3. Corea Quelpaert. leg. G. Faurie. AREA GEOGR.: China dentealig et borealis, Korea Japonica. Typus in Inst. Bot. Acad. Sinicae, lang conservatur. Athyrium pachyplebium C, nov A. niponici (Mett) Hance ee frondé watts ampla, pinnulis lobato- pinnatifidis, textura crassiore, costis waeeag non nullis pinnulium saepissime plus vel minusve roseolilace , marginibus fatdeaatin venulis erassis, ad apicem NCIS ensaant et supra paginem distinctis, soris prope marginem pinnulium dis- positis heer nnaede bag C. Ching deseripait). HABI sytvi SPECIMINA EXAMINATA: Prov. Shan-hsi district Yuanchu Harry Siatih No. 6130 (Typus) ; 2 Prov. Hopei Jeho, district Hsing-lum 128 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL leg. T. N. Liou No. 4882 1952. 9. 8. 3. Prov. Liao-ning, Chien- shan, leg. Wang-chan No. 1229 1951. 9. 26. AREA GEOGR.: China borealis. 4. Dryopteris manshurica Ching sp. nov. Species gregis D. austriacae Woynar, differt pinnis lateralibus medialibus multo angustioribus longioribusque, textura foliis tenuiora sauna soris indusiisque minoribus. ABIT.: In sylvi SPECIMINA EXAMINATA: 1. Prov. Heilung-Kiang, district. Shang- chi Mt. Takuokui, leg. Wang ku Sk ae No. 1567 (Typus) 2. ibid. Veiho leg. Wang kuang-cheng 367. AREA GEOGR.: China boreali-oriental TyPus in Inst. syly. et Pedol. Acad. Statens Mukden conservatur. C. V. Morton Sepithaielin Institution Our member Barbara Joe Hoshizaki has continued with her ‘‘Ferns Cultivated in California,’ with an article commenting on the genera Phyllitis, Doodia, Pyrrosia, and Llavea. C.V.M American Fern Society New MEMBERS Mr. Archie Amate, 8824 East Broadway, San Gabriel, California Mr. C. D. Barber, 112 East Myrtle Ave., Aransas Pass, ape Mrs. H. C. Gardner, 2718 Chester Lane, Palee sfield, Californ Mrs. Juanita 8. Spee Biology Department, Salem College, Sialens West Virgini Dr. Clark a sessed. New York Botanical Garden, New York 58, Yor. New Mr. eoace, Sellati, 3571 Fair Isle Street, Miami, Florida CHANGES OF ADDRESS Mr. Lloyd Crawford, P. O. Box 663, Andalusia, Alabam Mr. Art Kraseman, 3419 Graham Hill Road, Santa on Calif. Dr. Elva Lawton, sta Department, University of Washington, Seattle 5, Washington Miss Mary Ann Merrill, 1210 South Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables, Florida 1Lasea Leaves, 9: 8-14. 1959. Probably obtainable from the adr weideaa California Horticultural Institute, Box 688, Arcadia, alifornia HENRY TRIPP Successor to Henry George Fiedler Scientific Books and Periodicals Large stock of books on ferns and cryptogamic botany 31 East 10th Street, New York 3, N. Y. CASTANEA Published by the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club Devoted to the botany of the interesting Southern Appalachians. Published Quarterly. Yearly subscription, including membership in the Club, $3.00. West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia FERNS SPECIALISTS IN TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FERNS ces 8 ern -d THE ON OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR THE RBARIUM for Your FREE COPY LM. Jorasron of this Helpful Be coor Treatise: | } “THE PREPARATION OF BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR THE HERBARIUM” I, M. Johnston, of Id Arboretum, Harvard Mingo Bigs has genera shared the state of his long and successful e: in the tellaction dad and preparation of plant specimens. Sud, ie va alae: sad as ne professional col- = decries te tested turhiuee for preang, Destin Dr. One copy of the treatise is yours for the asking. With it will be included samples of Botanical Papers. (Di Driers, Mounting Sheets and Genus over) well x data on Collecting Coes, Feld Towels x Mounts, Botanical Labels “Tat ak fr" “a copy of the Johneton treatise”. ee SCIENTIFIC COMPANY oe Bhi piecie 2 Bite: a BRIGHTON STATION lees MASS. U.S.A. Vol. 49 October-December, 1959 No. 4 American Fern Journal A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS Published by the : AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY Pd Fa ; é eg B, iS om f o¥ x oa 4 = yY : tts : ; C. ¥. ‘MORTON °o 4 R. C. BENEDICT TRA L. WIGGINS, ABM T Ponoen© TH weiecpene 8 8 ge \ rd ‘ ; = CONTENTS Observations on Cultivated Ferns: The Hardy Species of we Tree Ferns (Dicksonia a ane Cosckers ae) : LA TRYON AND ALICE TrYON 129 bcs P tinatum and P. pig t Ons OY Poy pid sine S asiens a y . Atma G. STOKEY 142 : The, porns of Three Palen Sermo Poly- a podium : A. Winson 147 e eo The Correct ayant of the Eom Usually Called _ Alsophila blechnoides C. V. Morton 151 Notes and pons Exchange Invited 1 ioe 5 Angeles ro = a os . 463 American Fern geiias Joining * ee hacia ictal : of Biologics I Seiences — Biete Pee NE, «A es 157 _N- QUEEN sr. - AND McGOVERN AVE. L weg : a ‘Entered as second-class matter 2 at, the p “ zee oe Act of | March | nd igg i in Paregeaph: 3} fi Ghe American Hern Society Cuunril far 1959 OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR Tra Lu shogasgy Dudley Herbarium, Stanford University, Cali- sident JAMES E. BENEDICT, JR., 945 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washing- ton 4,’ D, ©, Vice-President DonALD HUTTLESTON, Longwood Gardens, Kennett 2 Penna. retary WaALter S. PHILLIPs, i again ras of Botany, iiieecais en Ari- zona, Tucson, Arizo Tr — C. V. Morron, Binithananlan Institution, Washington 25, D. Ettlor ic Ohet OFFICIAL ORGAN Anvrican Fern Journal EDITORS C. V. Morton ........ Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. R. ©. BENEDICT ....... uae 2214 Beverly Road, Brooklyn 26, N. Y. Tra L. Wiaams .. “hadley Herbarium, Stanford University, Calif. A. C. Sarre . Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. An illustrated eaviacke devoted to the poeie study oo ferns. at Subscription, $2.35 per year, foreign, 10 cents extra; sent free cide seeeebers of the AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY (oan Ene Hs poses Geo ed in advance, will be Popa oak witha - at ec cost, poe should be ordered when proof is returned, Te volumes $2.00 each; single back numbers 50 cents each; _ Cumulative Index to vols, 1-25, 25 eents. Ten per cent discount on or mo re. ; orders of six vo! Matter for publication cana addressed to C. V. Morton, — ithsonian Insti Institution, Washington 25, D. C. __ Orders for back numbers and other business communications FE be omy the ne of the — : American Sern Journal Vou. 49 OcTOBER—DECEMBER, 1959 No. 4 Observations on Cultivated Fern The Hardy Species of Tree Ferns (Dicksonta and Cyatheaceae ) RoLtuA TRYON AND ALICE TRYON The delicate, lacy leaves characteristic of the ferns are most elegantly displayed in the tree ferns, where the stem becomes a trunk and holds them aloft in silhouette. The cultivation of these handsome plants is unfortu- nately limited to a few areas in the United States that are generally frost-free and cool and moist, or where local niches, ravines, or lath houses can provide these re- quirements. ost of the species are native to cloud- drenched ravines or highlands in the tropics and sub- tropics but a few inhabit cooler and drier areas. In sub- tropical Florida and coastal California from San Fran- cisco to San Diego, where they are cultivated, they are imports from New Zealand, Australia, and a few from Mexico. There remains considerable horticultural po- tential in the group, which encompasses some 700 or 800 species in six genera or more. The groves in San Fran- eisco’s Golden Gate Park are especially notable and prob- ably the most unique display in cultivation. Our inter- est in tree ferns stems from these. We found a total of 8 species in the park, in several groves of predominantly one or two kinds, and there are records that two others have grown there. In the Los Angeles area we have seen specimens or herbarium records of notable collections at the University of California Botanic Garden, La Fleur Nursery, and in the gardens of Dr. W. C. Drummond Volume 49, hc 3, of the JouRNAL, pp. 97-128, was issued September 29, 1959.] 130 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL and Mrs. Fay A. MacFadden, members of the Fern So- ciety. The most complete herbarium collections of cul- tivated species are in the California Academy of Sci- ences at San Francisco, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the United States National Herbarium. This study has been made on the hardy tree ferns and we have not considered those grown under glass. In spite of their distinctive aspect, the tree ferns have not been comprehensively studied and their grouping into genera is a perplexing problem. We have chosen to recognize Alsophila and Hemitelia in addition to Cyathea rather than unite them all under the latter genus as has been done by several recent authors. The nature of the indusium may not be a wholly reliable character nor may it afford the most natural classification. How- ever, until the several hundred species of the family have been adequately studied and a better classification pro- posed on a sound foundation it seems best not to abandon a character that does have a great deal of utility. It may be noted here that in several species we have been able to observe both the juvenile and mature plants of the same species and there are some differences in the leaves. The petiole of leaves of young plants may be much longer in proportion to the blade than in old plants and the petiole scales may persist for a longer time. The position of the pinnae, whether plane, somewhat erect or drooping seems to vary both with the age of the plant and the amount of shade it receives. In Dicksonia fibrosa and D. antarctica the characteristic leaf-cutting may not be found in the young leaves and since there are no dif- ferences in indument, it is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish young individuals. Identification of the tree ferns is most easily done with fertile leaves having the sori mature but not old, thus allowing the indusium to be easily seen. However, we have found many sterile CULTIVATED TREE FERNS tai specimens. We have employed in the key characters of these as much as possible. The best vegetative charac- ters appear to be the indument of the blade, the color and surface of the petiole, and the scales at its base. Since the scales on the petiole are often deciduous or erode with age it is desirable to observe relatively young leaves. Indument such as wax, hairs, or scales is characteristic in most species and although this often requires at least 15 x magnification to be clearly seen, the diagnostic value of this indument is well worth the necessary careful observa- tion. In most cases where the hairs or scales are decidu- ous, they are first lost from the larger axes. Therefore, the rachis of the pinnules and the costae are the best places for the examination of the indument, although a similar type may occur on other axes. We have been especially helped in the preparation of this paper by Dr. Elizabeth McClintock of the California Academy of Sciences whose interest and enthusiasm for the fine specimens in the Strybing Arboretum and Golden Gate Park lent much encouragement. To Dr. W. C. Drummond and Mrs. Barbara Joe Hoshizaki, who shared much information on the collections in the Los Angeles area, we are grateful. Conrad V. Morton gra- ciously invited us to prepare the study for his series on the cultivated ferns and provided us with extensive loans for study from the U. S. National Herbarium. Dr. ert C. Cooper of the Auckland Institute and Museum kindly lent specimens of the New Zealand species and has sent us some of the attractive Ponga Ware made from the trunks of Cyathea. To Mary D. Tindale we are much indebted for her suggestions on some of the Australian species and especially for her excellent paper on the Australian Cyatheaceae published in the Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium.’ 12: 327-361. pl. 9-15. 1956. 132 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Key To THE Harpy SPECIES OF TREE FERNS a. Fertile segments with sori borne on the margins, the indusium of two valves; leaves without scales but with hairs, those at the base of the petiole long and prominent. DICKSONIACEAE. b, b. Inner valve of the indusium membranous, tan to brown, with a thin, usually slightly erose margin, the outer valve her- baceous to coriaceous, wholly green or with a narrow brown- ish border; sori borne on the lobes of the Saini In the ung 8 arly pee a8 Ag hai s at the base of the petiole are sttt harsh to the touch, oe do pith of the nee is rather dry, not mucilaginous. D1cK- SONIA. c. Petiole aiid rachis pean or ag a with brown when fresh, drying to brown; hai the under surface of the pinna-rachises whitish to eg Central pinnae about 3 to 4 times as long as broad with the central pinnules having a long-acute to acuminate apex with many (4-8, usually 5-7) simple pa to a side. D. antarctica Central pinnae about 5 to 6 times as long as fae with the central pinnules having a short-acute apex with few (1-4, usually 2 or 3) simple teeth to a side. ..... D. fibrosa porat at least at the base, and usually also the rachis reddish-brown to i te soot when fresh or dried ; of the pinna-rachises reddish- D. squar oe ey ous arrosa b. te and outer values of the indusium very coriaceous, with aie entire ee thick, whitish to brown; sori borne eae ng the edges of the In the cultivated Hawaiian species ‘he blade of ‘sc leaf is broadly UR the pinnae are epee and the hairs at the base wea. g a mass soft to the ak becoming matted with age. CrsoTiuM (This genus is to be treated by another a. Fertia je with the sori borne between the margin and e costa on the under-surface; leaves, in most of the species ineluding all those treated here, with scales, these especially long and prominent at the base of the petiole, hairs sometimes also present; pith of the petiole mucilaginous. CYATHEACEAE. e. CULTIVATED TREE FERNS 133 e. Indusium absent or ssi Seats by several appressed, fim- briate scales. A LA. Leaf tissue coriaceous ; aie without small, red squamules. g. Banal portion of the petiole green or partly brownish when fresh, drying to tan or brown, with scales of tw h. Broad seales at the base of the petiole smoky white, usually with a small brown patch e very base; scales on the under-surface the pinnule-rachises with short spinules of the same color, sometimes with thin, aes: spinules (Fig. 1) ---c-.-0----- oopert Broad scales at the base of 5 petiole light peetts to yellowish Cae the basal portion darker; scales on the under-surface of the pinnule-rachises and costae ro whitish, the central portion ovate to linear, the rgins with see slender spinules, some of them Pee i GMOS TOA (FAG. 2) ceesennresnessncernssesseensnesnsees A, excelsa g. Basal portion of up ones brownish, with nearly uni- form brown scales; bullate scales on the under- surface f the pinnule-rachises and costae (Fig. 3) 4. australis f. Leaf tissue thin-herbaceous; blade with small red, stellate squamules especially evident on the rachises and costae Fig. 6 A. Colensoi oe a BY. scrcnsretiannirrsiine drttrrtontrniennrnersminesatt e. Indusium present, very thin, cellophane-like to m embranous- papyraceous, usually globular, wholly sagas the young and la sporangia a ter splitting into two to sev ral segments, or saucer- Ggreas or hemispherical and | ically enclosing the sorus. ee Indusium wagiaseeenal enclosing only the proximal face of the sorus; rachises with small, red, stellate squamules (as im BIG. 5) nvnenvernencnteternennreernnt Hemitelia Smithii i. Indusium globular (or my open on the distal face) to saucer-sha Y. ped. j. Pinnules not sriieataie: Ssolioie smooth to strongly urieate with stout rounded or pointed processes. k. k. Seales at the base of the petiole of two different kinds ; nna- and pinnule-rachises only scaly beneath, the seales stellate or much dissected. 134 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL ti A owt base thick es Seu: ae black, smooth; ssue coriaceo all the und pate of the pin nae ates se aes whitish, the central portion lustrous, the margins with lon spinules, some of them red (Fig. 7) C. medullaris F Petiole base slender, dark brown to atropurpureou . — scales on the under-surface of the pinnule-rachises and costae fawn to tan colored, stellate or maar ange a ate giving the appearance of a tomen- tum (Fi C. Cun nninghams k. Seales at ie 5 of the petiole uniform; pin an pinnule-rachises pubescent beneath, xine nehes: with more or less cgenia usually bullate scales. m. Blade white-ceraceous beneath; pinnule- ie yellowish ee beneath, with few or no scales C. deal ate m. Blades green beneath; pinnule-rachises Meh des to puberulent beneath, also with bulla . Pinnules of the longer pinnae 1.5-2. he em. iced, those of the upper pinnae about 1.5 em. broad. C. fulva n. Pinnules of the longer pinnae about 1 em. broad, those of the upper pinnae less than 1 em. broad. C. delicatula . Pinnules wien petiole with sharp spine-like proc- ses; pinnule-rachises sparingly pubescent beneath and be flat, ehiGah scales with dark marginal spinules (Fig. 11) C. mexi oe DICKSONIACEAE Dicksonia L’HErItTIerR, SertumM ANGLIcUM 30. 1788 Dicksonta ANTaRcTIcA Labill. Nov. Holl. Pl. Spec. 2: 100, t. 24 806. Tasmanian Dicksonia. This species and D. fibrosa are not readily distin- guished but it seems best to maintain them until a thor- ough study of the species in their native habitat is made. The characters presented in the key are not always cor- related and occasional specimens will be difficult to iden- CULTIVATED TREE FERNS 135 tify. Leaves of young plants and small leaves of older ones are usually impossible to determine. However, all of the cultivated material we have examined was easily determined when the specimens were adequate. Splen- did plants up to 12 feet in height, having a crown of 25 or more leaves up to 10 feet long, occur in a grove near Rhododendron Dell along the Main Drive in Golden Gate Park. Among a hundred or more specimens in the park we noted a single plant with an offshoot at the base of the trunk. Native of Australia and Tasmania. DicksoN14 FIBROSA Colenso, Tasm. Journ. 2: 179. 1844. Woolly Tree Fern. The problem of distinguishing this from the previous species has been discussed. We have observed that in cultivated plants the trunks of D. fibrosa are generally shorter (the tallest we have seen was 7 feet) and the leaves are also shorter than those of D. antarctica. The two species grow together in Golden Gate Park and there plants of D. fibrosa may have somewhat stiffer, more erect fronds. Native of New Zealand. DICKSONIA SQUARROSA (Forst.) Swartz in Sehrad. Journ. 18002: 90. 1801. Slender or Rough Tree Fern. Trichomanes squarrosum Forst. Fl. Ins. Prod. 86. 1786. The long, appressed, leaf-bases give the slender trunks a unique fluted appearance. The two previous species have relatively stouter, unfluted trunks although the leaf-bases are also persistent. Stolons are reported in native plants of this species but we have not observed them in the cultivated plants; rather, they produce off- shoots at or somewhat above the base of the trunk, The 136 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL VOLUME 49, PLATE 13 1 = SCALES OF THE BLADE oF TREE FERNS. APPROX. x 30. Fic. 1. ALSO- | PHILA COOPERI. Fig. 2. A. EXCELSA. Fig. 3. A. AUSTRALIS. Fic. 4. A. CoLensor. Fic. 5. A. Conensor. Fig. 6. HEMITELIA SMITHII. ig. 7, CYATHEA MEDULLARIS. Fig. 8. C. CUNNINGHAMIL. 9 C. FULVA. Fig. 10. C. DELICATULA. Fig. 11. C. MEXICANA. CULTIVATED TREE FERNS 137 leaves are often about half as long as those of D. ant- arctica and D. fibrosa. There is a handsome grove of these in Delavega Dell in Golden Gate Park with speci- mens 10 feet tall. Native of New Zealand. CYATHEACEAE ALSoPpHILA R. Br. Prop. Fu. Nov. Hou. 158. 1810 ALSoPHILA AUSTRALIS R. Br. Prod. Fl. Nov. Holl. 158. 1810. Australian Tree Fern. Cyathea australis (R. Br.) Domin, Pterid. 262. 1929. We do not know of this species cultivated out-of-doors, but it is included because it is commonly confused with Alsophila Cooperi. It may be identified by the brown- ish, muricate petiole-base bearing nearly uniform, bright brown scales, the bullate scales on the under-surface of the pinnule-rachises and costae, and the absence of squamules on the leaves. Native of Australia and Tasmania. Atsoputta Couensor Hook. f. Fl. N. Zeal. 2: 8, t. 73. 1854. Creeping Tree Fern. Cyathea Colensot (Hook. f.) Domin, Pterid. 262. 1929. We have not seen living plants of this species although there are specimens documenting its former occurrence in the Strybing Arboretum and the La Fleur Nursery. Native plants are reported to have prostrate trunks although the apex may be erect and up to 5 feet tall. It resembles Hemitelia Smithti in having copious small, red, stellate squamules on the leaves; these are par- ticularly evident on the rachises and costae. The two species are clearly distinct when fertile, for the indusium in H. Smithii is conspicuous and hemispherical in form whereas it is absent in A. Colensoi. Sterile specimens of A. Colensoi may be identified by the following char- 138 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL acters: The whitish or tan to light brown scales of the stipe, the bullate or subbullate scales on the pinnule- rachises and costae (Fig. 4), and the simple veins of the ultimate segments. Hemitelia Smithii is characterized y dark brown stipe scales, flat or twisted scales on the pinnule-rachises and costae (Fig. 6), and forked veins of the ultimate segments, at least near the base of the segments. Native of New Zealand. ALsopHILA Coopert Hook. ex F. Muell. Fragm. Phyt. Aust. 5: 117. 1866. Cooper’s Tree Fern. Cyathea Cooperi (Hook. ex F. Muell.) Domin, Pterid. 262. 1929. This is probably the most frequent and successfully cultivated species of the tree ferns. It is grown both in Florida and California where we have seen specimens up to 12 feet tall; it is reported to reach three times that height in Australia. Unfortunately this species has been widely distributed under the name of A. australis; prob- ably most of these cultivated specimens are properly re- ferred to A. Cooperi. In Los Angeles a vigorous strain of this species grown by Mrs. Fay MacFadden and A. W. Roberts has been descriptively called Robust Tree Fern. The species is closely allied to A. excelsa; these two are clearly distinct from other species in having narrow, reddish scales among broader whitish to yellowish brown ones at the base of the petiole. Both kinds of scales have spinescent-serrate margins. Intermediate forms of scales occur. The species are also characterized and particularly distinct from A. australis by the early dehiscence of the petioles, which leave clean, oval leaf- sears on the trunk Native of Australia. CULTIVATED TREE FERNS 139 ALSOPHILA EXCELSA R. Br. ex Endl. Prod. Fl. Norfolk. 16. 1833. Norfolk Island Tree Fern. Cyathea Brownii Domin, Pterid. 262. 1929, not Cy- athea excelsa Swartz, 1801. This species is quite close to A. Coopert. The char- acters by which we separate the two in the key are largely adapted from the work of Miss Tindale on the Australian Cyatheaceae. It is rare in cultivation and we have seen only two living plants in Golden Gate Park, the largest of which was 22 feet tall. Native of Norfolk Island. CyATHEA J. E. SmirH, Mém. Acap. TuRIN 5: 416. 1793 CyarHea CunnincHamI Hook. f. ex Hook. Icones Pl. 10: ¢. 985 & text. 1854. Gully Fern. This is apparently rare in cultivation for we found record of it only at the Strybing Arboretum where there is a single plant having a slender trunk 13 feet in height. The blade of the leaf is of a thin texture and the petiole has scales of two kinds, both having delicate margins which erode. The scales of the blade and axes are stel- late in form somewhat resembling those of Alsophila Colensoi and Hemitelia Smithu but are mostly larger and tan to brown. Some unusual scales may be found on the ecostules among the sori, of a color and texture similar to the indusium, but subbullate in form and with a reddish brown, stellate apex. Native to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. CYaTHEA DEALBATA (Forst.) Swartz in Schrad. Journ. 18002: 94. 1801. Silver King, Silver Tree Fern. Polypodium dealbatum Forst. FI. Ins. Prod. 83. 1786. The white, waxy covering on the under-surface of the leaves, which may extend to the rachis and petiole, is dis- tinctive of the species, although it is sometimes absent or poorly developed. Roberts’ Nursery has young plants 140 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL and there are specimens recording it from the Hunting- ton Botanic Garden. Native of New Zealand. CYATHEA DELICATULA Maxon, Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. 13: 4. 1909 This and the following two Mexican species were in- troduced into cultivation by the late Frank Montoya at the La Fleur Nursery in Los Angeles and were originally called Alsophila armata. Unfortunately, they have not proved to be as adaptable to cultivation as the Australian or New Zealand species and only a few have survived. Herbarium specimens have been preserved of these spe- cies and it is largely from these that we have identified the remaining plants. The pinnules and ultimate miotaiendile 3 in this species are shorter and narrower than those of C. fulva, giving a more delicate aspect to the leaf. Native of Guatemala and Mexico. CYATHEA FULVA (Mart. & Gal.) Fée, Mém. Fam. Foug. 9: 34. 1857. Alsophila fulva Mart. & Gal. Mém. Acad. Brux. 15: 18, t. 23. 1848 As indicated in the previous discussion this species resembles C. delicatula. Both have many bullate scales on the costae, although in this species (Fig. 9) they may be twice as large as in C. delicatula (Fig. 10). The indu- sium, completely enclosing the sorus in both species, is a remarkable, iridescent, cellophane-like tissue. There is a plant in the garden of Dr. W. C. Drummond. Native of Mexico. CYATHEA MEXICANA Schlecht. & Cham. Linnaea 5: 616. 1830 This species is quite unlike the two previously men- CULTIVATED TREE FERNS 141 tioned Mexican tree ferns in having blackish spines on the petiole and in having the scales of the blade flat, whitish, and with marginal spinules some of which are red (Fig. 11). The pinnules are articulate, leaving clean scars on the pinna-rachises. There are plants in the garden of Dr. W. C. Drummond and at Roberts’ Nursery. Native of Mexico. CYATHEA MEDULLARIS (Forst.) Swartz in Schrad. Journ. 18007: 94. 1801. Black Tree Fern. Polypodium medullare Forst. Plant. Esculent. 74. 1786; Fl. Ins. Prod. 82. 1786 This is the largest and most impressive of the tree ferns in cultivation. There is a splendid colony of them bordering the Lily Pond in Golden Gate Park, with speci- mens 25 feet tall or more, and with leaves up to 16 feet long. The petioles of young plants may be greenish, rather than black, and new leaves on older plants may have the petioles greenish on the upper side. The black petiole becomes brown when the leaves are dried at a high temperature. The scales of the stipe base are of two kinds, both having spinescent-serrate margins. The scales of the pinnule-rachises and costae are remarkably beautiful under magnification. The central portion is glistening white with a border of attenuated marginal spinules, some of which are red. Dr. R. C. Cooper gives an account? of the decorative pieces called Ponga Ware that are prepared from the trunks of this species and also mentions the former use as food of the pulp in the center of the trunk by the native Maori. Native of New Zealand. 2 This JouRNAL, 47: 89-91. 1957. 142 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL HEMITELIA R. Br. Prop. Fu. Nov. Hou. 158. 1810 Hemirevia Smiram (Hook. f.) Hook. in Hook. & Bak. Syn. Fil. 31. 1865. Soft Tree Fern. Cyathea Smith Hook. f. Fl. N. Zeal. 2: 8, t.72. 1854. The fertile leaves easily distinguish the species but sterile material poses more difficulty because of similari- ties with Alsophila Colensoi. The matter is discussed in the treatment of that species. We have seen only a small, sterile, living plant of H. Smitha in the Strybing Ar- boretum, which has leaves of an unusually thin texture. Native of New Zealand. Gray HerpartumM, Harvarp UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Polypodium pectinatum and P. plumula— Polypodiaceae or Prmaitiisceas? Auma G, STOKEY In the intermittent periods during which the gram- mitid ferns were placed in the genus Polypodium there was no question about the status of Polypodium pecti- natum L. and P. plumula Humb. & Bonpl. Now it is not merely a question of the genus—Polypodium or Ctenopteris—but of the family—Polypodiaceae or Gram- mitidaceae. Copeland’ in an Appendix to his mono- graph ‘‘Ctenopteris in America’’ includes them in a list of 12 species under the heading ‘‘Species believed to be Ctenopteris’’ with a brief statement of certain signifi- cant characters: ““Polypodium pectinatum Linnaeus. Large ferns; veins branching; spores bilete. A considerable number of similar ferns. : Polypodium Plumula H.B.W. Small ferns, not numer- ous. Paleae on rachis. Spores bilete.’’ 1 Philipp. Journ. Sci. 84: 381-475. 1955. s POLYPODIUM PECTINATUM GAMETOPHYTES 143 The evidence of relationship has been based entirely on the sporophyte, but in this case evidence from the gametophyte should be considered. The gametophyte is not ordinarily helpful in separating genera of the same family but may be of value in the case of genera of well- defined families. During the last five years I have had two cultures of P. pectinatum: one from spores sent from Puerto Rico by Edith Scammon of the Gray Herbarium, and one from Jamaica sent by George R. Proctor, Botanist of the Institute of Jamaica. While in Jamaica in 1954, I col- lected material of P. plumula which gave a good culture. Mr. Proctor sent more spores from Jamaica in Septem- ber, 1957, but the material was rather young and germi- nation was meager. For comparison with these cultures there were available the cultures which Dr. Lenette At- kinson and I have made in our study of these two fami- lies: 37 species from 20 genera of Copeland’s Poly- podiaceae (excluding the grammitids), and 27 species from five genera of the Grammitidaceae including 10 species of Ctenopteris. The gametophytes of these two families differ in so many respects that they can be dis- tinguished from each other readily. (An account of the gametophyte of the Grammitidaceae has recently appeared.) (Phytomorphology 8: 391-403. 1958.) Copeland notes the spore character: Polypodium has bilete spores, and Ctenopteris trilete, and, as is char- acteristic of the Grammitidaceae, they contain chloro- In these two families there is a difference in the mode of germination of the spore. In the Polypodiaceae, as in most of the higher ferns, a green prothallial cell and a rhizoid emerge from the spore coat at about the same time or the rhizoid may appear first; the first rhi- zoid is usually colorless and grows more rapidly than the prothallial filament. Germination in the Grammi- tidaceae is less uniform. The most common type in our 144 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL cultures was a green filament arising from one or two bulbous basal cells; less commonly germination resulted in amass or plate. It was exceedingly rare for a rhizoid to appear before there were three green cells or more, first rhizoid appears to be a family character. When rhizoids do appear they are sharply set off from the green cells by their slender form and dark brown walls. The difference in germination of the two families is striking and unmistakable. Both P. pectinatum and P. plumula agree with the Polypodiaceae in the mode of germination of the spore. There is a great difference in the extent of develop- ment of the filamentous stage in the two families. In the Polypodiaceae this is merely a short incident leading quickly to a plate if conditions for growth are favorable. In the Grammitidaceae it may be a mode of life which persists for months or even for years, the filaments form- ing a ‘‘turf’’ suggestive of the filmy-ferns. The ger- mination filament in the Polypodiaceae is ordinarily four to eight cells long, and the filament at the base of the plate consists of one to six cells, usually three or four. e two species in question agree with the Polypodi- aceae; in both there is a short filamentous stage which broadens rapidly into a plate leaving a filament of only one to five cells at its base. The broad cordate mature thallus of P. pectinatum with its broad midrib is like that of other species of Poly- podium and not like the more slender thallus of Ctenop- teris with its thin narrow cushion. The gametophyte of P. plumula is also like that of the Polypodiaceae in form but is less broad than that of P. pectinatum. The rhi- zoids of the mature thallus of both species are moder- ately stout with light brown or rust brown walls, and are like most of the Polypodiaceae not only in aspect but in their heavy development on the ventral surface. They POLYPODIUM PECTINATUM GAMETOPHYTES 145 are conspicuously different from the stiff slender dark brown rhizoids of the Grammitidaceae which are devel- oped characteristically on the margin of the thallus. Polypodium pectinatum has a sparing growth of sim- ple hairs, mostly on the margin of both young and ma- ture prothalli, and a few branched hairs on the ventral surface of the mature thallus. This is a common con- dition in many of the Polypodiaceae including four other species of Polypodium in our cultures, as well as nine other genera in the family. In the Grammitidaceae branched glandular hairs of unusual size are highly de- veloped on the gametophytes of some species but are com- monly found on the margin rather than on the surface. Polypodium plumula bore no hairs except one acicular hair on an apogamous thallus. Acicular hairs are found on the gametophyte of a few species of grammitids. One might attach more weight to the case of the one acicular hair if it had not developed on an apogamous gametophyte. The Puerto Rico culture of P. pectinatum bore abun- dant antheridia and archegonia. Fertilization occurred, resulting in sporophytes which grew to maturity. The Jamaica culture has produced both antheridia and arche- gonia but so far has developed no sporophytes. The first eulture of P. plumula had no sex organs, but began to develop apogamous embryos when three months old. Some of the sporophytes are still in cultivation. The second culture of this species grew slowly. Several gametophytes had two or three archegonia and a few antheridia, but unfortunately this culture has been the loser in a battle with fungi and algae. The sex organs can hardly be said to offer any impor- tant evidence. Archegonia are so uniform in the higher ferns that there is no characteristic difference between those of the two families. Antheridia show more vari- ation but there is a question if it is significant. In bot 146 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL families the wall is of the three-celled type characteristic of the higher ferns. The chief variation is in the basal cell and this affects the form of the antheridium; it may be funnel-shaped or dise-shaped, as is usual in globular antheridia, or it may be elongated or almost cylindrical or vase-shaped. The common type of antheridium in globular type, although the elongated antheridium with a more or less cylindrical or vase-shaped basal cell may be found in some species, e.g., Polypodium chnoodes, Phlebodium aureum, Pyrrosia chinensis, and Selliguea feet. The antheridia of the grammitids are usually elongated or vase-shaped. It is of interest to note that the rate of development of the two species is that of the Polypodiaceae rather than of the Grammitidaceae. The gametophyte of P. pect- natum from Puerto Rico bore antheridia and archegonia in two months; that from Jamaica grown at a less favor- able season matured in four months. The first culture of P. plumula had apogamous embryos at three months; the second had antheridia and archegonia at four months. This is unlike the Grammitidaceae, which are exceed- ingly slow in development. In this family the plate stage is seldom attained until three or four months, more often not until eight or ten months, or even a year. Archegonia were not found in any culture less than 10 months old. In spite of the relative simplicity of gametophytic structure, the characteristics of the two species are suffi- ciently well-defined, and agree so well with those of the gametophyte of Polypodium, and differ in so many re- spects from those of Ctenopteris, that there appears to be a high degree of probability that these two species are properly placed in the genus Polypodium. Mount Hotyoxe Couuece POLYPODIUM PECTINATUM SPORANGIA 147 The Sporangia of Three Problematic Species of Polypodium’ KENNETH A. WILSON An examination of the recent literature on fern mor- phology and cytology makes it apparent that a great deal is being added to the knowledge and understanding of the structure and life cycles of the ferns, and also that this accumulation of information is contributing to a more natural classification of the group. Cytological evidence, however, does not appear to aid in the differ- entiation of the Grammitidaceae from the Polypodiaceae since their chromosome numbers are basically alike. In instances where problems arise in determining the rela- tionship of ferns of this complex, we must rely on mor- phological evidence for an indication of their proper taxonomic position. Such a problem is presented by Stokey (1959) who discusses evidence from the gameto- phyte generation that indicates that Polypodium plumula Humb. & Bonpl. and P. pectinatum L. are properly placed in the Polypodiaceae rather than in the Gram- mitidaceae. Evidence from the sporangial morphology has been sought to add new information which might aid in deter- mining the systematic position of Polypodium pecti- natum, P. plumula, and P. amphidasyon®—three ferns listed by Copeland (1955) as ‘“Species believed to be Ctenopteris.”’ In a recent survey of the sporangia of many members of the Polypodiaceae and Grammitidaceae, I have de- 1 Continuing a series of miscellaneous notes and papers dealing with the flora of the southeastern United States made possible through the interest and support of George R. Cooley and a gran from the National Science Foundation. i 2 This study is based on material deposited in the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University; the specimens examined are cited in the legend of the illustration. 148 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL scribed the differences between the sporangia of these two families (Wilson, 1959). The sporangial capsule of the members of the Polypodiaceae is characterized by having a vertical or interrupted annulus which possesses a two-celled stomium, a series of thin-walled cells below the stomium (i.e., the hypostomium), and two or more thin-walled cells between the stomium and the indurated cells of the bow (i.e., the epistomium). The sporangial stalk of the ferns of this family is composed of two rows of cells at the base and becomes three-rowed only di- rectly beneath the capsule. At first glance the spo- rangia of the Grammitidaceae seem to be identical to those of the Polypodiaceae. Indeed, there is no fundamental difference in the sporangial capsule of the two families. The significant difference is in the structure of the spo- rangial stalk. The Grammitidaceae possess sporangia which have only a single row of cells at the base of the stalk. In order to determine the structure of the sporangium, one need only boil a sorus taken from an herbarium specimen in 5% sodium hydroxide, carefully dissect the sorus in a drop of water on a slide, and examine the material under a microscope. The sporangia of both Polypodium pectinatum (fig. a,, a2) and P. plumula (fig. b;, b,) are very similar to each other, and both possess stalks which are two-rowed from the point of their attachment to the receptacle to the three-rowed portion which subtends the capsule. Of interest also are the projections or hairs of the capsule. Both species have sporangia which bear these structures, but not all of the sporangia bear them. In both species, sporangia bearing no hairs may be found intermixed with others that bear from a single hair to as many as five. The presence of the hairs is apparently of signifi- cance only on the specific level rather than on the family or generic level. Hairs and setae are known to occur POLYPODIUM PECTINATUM SPORANGIA 149 on the capsules of sporangia of species of such distantly related genera as Thelypteris, Pessopteris, Leucostegia, and ‘‘Ctenopteris.’’ The morphology of the sporangia of Polypodium pec- tinatum and P. plumula agrees with that of the other members of the Polypodiaceae that I have studied. Thus, in view of the evidence from the gametophytes, and from a3 0 300y bs MATURE SPORANGIA AND PARAPHYSES. a, PoOLYPODIUM PECTINATUM (Fiorma: A, A. Eaton 538); b, PouyPopIUM PLUMULA (FLORIDA: L. M. UnpERWooD 278) ; ¢, XIPHOPTERIS AMPHIDASYON (Ecuapor: J. P. CourHovy 4). other sporophytic characters such as the bilateral spores, and the clathrate scales, there seems to be little reason to doubt that these two species are correctly placed in the Polypodiaceae. Polypodium amphidasyon Kunze ex Mett., in sharp contrast to the above species, has sporangia which have only a single row of cells at the base of the stalk (fig. ¢:, 150 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL C2). These sporangia indicate that this fern belongs to the Grammitidaceae. Other sporophytic characters sup- port this conclusion: The spores are tetrahedral and green, the rhizome-scales are non-clathrate, and the fronds bear long reddish-brown setae. The nature of the gametophyte is unknown, but it seems clear that P. amphidasyon is a grammitid fern and should be known as Xiphopteris amphidasyon (Kunze ex Mett.) Alston.’ Polypodium pectinatum, P. plumula and Xiphopteris amphidasyon all have paraphyses in their sori. Those of P. plumula are short and filamentous (fig. b;), but they are very rare in their occurrence. The branched filamentous paraphyses of P. pectinatum (fig. a;) occur rather frequently within the sori. Xiphopteris amphi- dasyon has extremely short paraphyses scattered among the sporangia (fig. c;). So little is known about the nature of paraphyses that no explanation of their phylo- genetic significance can be offered at this time. SUMMARY The sporangial evidence clearly indicates that Poly- podium pectinatum and P. plumula are rightly placed in the Polypodiaceae. This is in complete agreement with the evidence from the gametophytes as presented by Stokey. On the other hand, sporangial evidence points to the conclusion that Polypodium amphidasyon is a member of the Grammitidaceae. GRAY HERBARIUM AND ARNOLD ARBORETUM, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MasSACHUSETTS. LITERATURE CITED Alston, A. H. G. 1957. Some “ocean ferns collected by M. . Bull. Jard. Bot. Bruxelles 27: —58. 3 It is unfortunate that Copeland chose to use the generic name “Ctenopteris,” and that it has since been so widely accepted. The m though this fern is a member of the “Ctenopteris” group. A more satisfactory solution must await additional taxonomic ‘studies. NAME OF ALSOPHILA BLECHNOIDES 151 Copeland, E. B. 1955. Ctenopteris in America. Philip. Jour. Sei. 84: 381-473. Stokey, A. G. 1959. Polypodium pectinatum and P. plumula— Wilson, K. A. 1959. Sporangia of the fern genera allied with Polypodium and Vittaria. Contrib. Gray Herb. 185: 97-127. The Correct Name of the Fern Usually Called Alsophila blechnoides C. V. Morton There is a common tropical American fern that has long been called Alsophila blechnoides (L. C. Richard) Hooker, e. g. in Hooker and Baker, Synopsis Filicum, by Diels in Engler and Prantl, and by Christensen in Index Filicum, a disposition based chiefly on the lack of an indusium, as in Alsophila. In 1926, F. O. Bower? studied its morphology in detail, and came to the conclusion that this species differs from Alsophila in several important characters—in having a creeping rhizome rather than an erect caudex, in having hairs only rather than scales, and in having the sori of the ‘simple’? rather than ‘‘oradate’’ type. He chose to erect a separate family for it and the related genus Lophosoria called the Proto- eyatheaceae. The characters are important and doubt- less fundamental, but the erection of a separate family is scarcely necessary. Bower called this species Metaxya rostrata Presl, which is correct. However, the matter was confused by Cope- land, who in his Genera Filicum called it Amphidesmium blechnoides (Lu. C. Richard ex Hooker) Klotzsch. It is the purpose of this note to point out that both the generic and specific names adopted by Copeland are incorrect. The name Amphidesmium dates from Schott,? who 1 The Ferns 2: 282-292. 1926. 2 Gen, Fl. sub tab. [5]. 1834. 152 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL mentions it in an observation appended to his descrip- tion of the genus Trichopteris Presl as follows: ‘‘Genus e Gleicheniacearum familia cui nee Trichopteris Parker (Polyp. Parkeri Hook. et Grey. Fil. II. t. 232, Amphi- desmium nobis) nee Chnoophora Kaulfuss convenit.’’ Thus, Amphidesmium is proposed as a substitute for Trichopteris Parker non sate xoind Presl. But there is no genus ‘‘Trichopteris Parker.’’ In the original deseription of Polypodium Parkeri Hook. & Grev., the synonym ‘‘Trichopteris n. sp. Parker’’ is cited, by which is meant that Parker had indicated that his material be- longed as a new species in the genus Trichopteris Presl. However, Parker never published any description either of a species or a genus. Hooker and Greville did not accept the genus T'richopteris, but considered it a syno- nym of Polypodium, and consequently described the plant as Polypodium Parkeri. A genus Trichopteris Parker is therefore non-existent, and consequently Schott’s re- naming of it as Amphidesmium is invalid, being a nomen nudum ; Schott gives no word of description. Two years later, Presl proposed the genus Metaxya with a good description and figure. This is the correct name of the genus. The specific epithet blechnoides, adopted by Christen- sen, Copeland, and others goes back ultimately to Poly- podium blechnoides L. C. Richard, Act. Soc. Nat. Hist. Paris 1: 114. 1791, where it is a nomen nudum. The reference given by Hooker in taking up blechnoides, i.e. Polypodium blechnoides Swartz, Syn. Fil. 73. 1806, is also a nomen nudum, Swartz merely listing Richard’s spe- cies among the dubious names. The next earliest name is Polypodium rostratum Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. (1810), non P. rostratum Burm. (1768), nec Cav. (1802), nec Poir. 1804. Although the epithet rostratum is not available under the genus Polypodium, the species was transferred to the genus Aspidium by Humboldt, Notes AND NEws 15o Bonpland, and Kunth, in 1816, thus validating it as a new name, as of the date January, 1816. In the same year, 1816, Poiret renamed the species Polypodium Hum- boldtii Poiret. I do not know the exact date of Poiret’s publication, but the probability is that it is later than January. The synonymy of the essential names is there- fore as follows: eight Presl, Tent. fuery" oF. 1836. Typus: M. rostrata ( d.) Pech the only sp Anphideiam Schott, Gen. Ti. pe t. [5] in obs. 1834, nom. ae: ROSTRATA (H.B.K.) Presl, Tent. Pterid, 60. pl. 1, fig. 5. Polgdodium blechnoides L. C. Rich. Act. Soe. Nat. Hist. Paris 1: 114. 1791, nom. nud. Polypodium rostratum Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. Sp. Plant 5: 193. 1810, non Burm. 1768. Illegit. a rostratum H.B.K., Nov. Gen. Sp. 1: 12. Jan. 1816. Considered nom. nov., by Code Bot. Nom., Paris ed., Ark: 72. Polypodiwum Humboldtii Poir. in Lam. Encyel. Bot. Suppl. 4 497. 1816. Alsophila rostrata Mart. Ieon. Crypt. Bras. 64. pl 389. 1834. Amphidesmium rostratum J. Smith, London Journ. Bot. 1: Ol. 1842. Metaxya Parkeri J. Smith, London sing spain 1: 668. 1842. Alsophila blechnoides Hook. Sp. Fil. 1: 35. Amphidesmium blechnoides Klotzsch, peak 20: 372. -1847. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WasHINeTON, D. C. Notes and News ExcHance Invirep: Mr. R. Sekido is anxious to ex- change specimens (either herbarium specimens or living rhizomes) with members of the American Fern Society. He can send various unusual Japanese ferns, including the rare Asplenium oligophlebium* and ennstaedtia scabra2 His address is Tomio-cho, Nara City, Japan. mall fern of the 4. springy sacha group, somewhat resem- bling the tropical American A. formosum. C. 2A lar ite similar to sev eral speci ies ‘of Microlepia. southern California. C.V.M. 154 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL Los ANGELES Fern Sociery :—The Los Angeles Fern Society, formed under the guidance of Dr. W. C. Drum- mond in 1958, now has a membership of 48. Monthly meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday at Fern Dell Nature Museum in Griffith Park. The past year’s program included a visit to Fern Dell plantings. Mrs. Yolanda Orta and Mrs. Sylvia Leatherman spoke on growing fern spores and demonstrated methods. Rare fern books were discussed by Dr. W. C. Drummond. Mr. Peter Raven spoke on Californian native ferns. Mrs. Barbara Joe Hoshizaki spoke on introduced ferns. Lead- ing commercial and amateur growers gave a panel dis- cussion on the cultivation of ornamental ferns. Mrs. Sylvia Leatherman presented a program on ferns of Brazil. Plans for the second year of the society will include lectures on landscaping with ferns, visits to fern gardens, a fern forum, a glossary study period, and many other activities of general interest. e officers for 1958 are: Mrs. Sylvia Leatherman, President; Dr. W. C. Drummond, Vice President; Mrs. Mabel Anderson, Secretary ; Mrs. Hertha Solmitz, Treas- urer; Mr. Jan Groot, Program Chairman; Mrs. Barbara Joe Hoshizaki, Glossary Lessons and Forum. A library of fern boks is being assembled, for loan to the members. Mrs. Mabel Anderson, 5226 Strohm Ave- nue, North Hollywood, Calif. will give information on membership.—BarBaRA JoE HosHizaKki American Fern Society Jorninc THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE oF BIoLoGICAL ScrI- ENCES—