The fern allies of North America north of Mexico

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THE FERN ALLIES.

PLATE |. COMMON SCOURING-RUSH. ZLyaisetum hiemale.

Eek HT, (905, EY PRELER S* 6. STITES COMPANY

Fie) ERIN ALIS

OF

Worth America Worth of Mexico

BY
WILLARD NELSON CLUTE

author of “A flora of the Upper Susquehanna,” “ The Fern
Collector's Guide,” “ Our Ferns in their Haunts,” ete.

WITH MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY
ILLUSTRATIONS BY

IDA MARTIN CLUTE

NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

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A.2 ORL 3
CopyRIGHT, 1905,
By Freprrick A. STOKES COMPANY.

This edition published in September, 190s.

CONTENTS,

List OF ILLUSTRATIONS : ; ‘ i

PREFACE :

THE FERN ALLIES : :

KEY TO THE FAMILIES OF FERN ALLIES

Tue EQUISETACEA: SCOURING-RUSIIES AND
HakSETAILS ‘

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF EQUISETUM é

THE EVERGREEN EQUISETUMS, OR SCOURING-
RUSHES . ; :

THE DECIDUOUS EQUISETUMS, OR ‘Hie TAILS

THE LYCOPODIACE.E, OR CLUB-MOossEs.

Key TO THE LYCOPODIUMS

THE TRAILING LycoropiuMs ;

THE ERECT OR DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS .

THE PSILOTACE-E

THE SELAGINELLACE.E, OR ise ARF xo ate Ss

KEY TO TIE SELAGINELLAS

THE TRUE SELAGINELLAS, OK SELAGINELLA Ru.
PESTRIS GROUP

THE CREET ING SELAGINELLA Snore

THE SALVINIACE2

SALVINTA

THE AZOLLAS : Z

THE MARSILIACES®, OR PoerenwoRts : . ‘

KEY To THE MARSILIAS

THE MARSILIAS

vi CONTENTS.

THE ISOETACEA, OR QUILLWORTS
KEY TO THE ISOETES ‘ ; :
THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS .
THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS .
CHECKLIST OF THE FERN ALLIES.
GLOSSARY ‘ ‘ ‘ ’
INDEX TO THE COMMON NAMES
INDEX TO THE SCIENTIFIC NAMES

207
216
217
231
247

255
267

. 274

270

List of Illustrations.

COMMON SCOURING-RUSH. Lgutsctun hiemale. (In colours.)

SECTION OF SCOURING-RUSH STEM :

JOINT OF SCOURING-RUSH STEM

SPORE-CASES é
SPORES, ENLARGED . . . cs

CROSS SECTION OF STEM OF COMMON SCOURING-RUSH
YOUNG STEMS OF COMMON SCOURING-RUSH

FERTILE STEM OF COMMON SCOURING-RUSH. “@vésetzie pinatade
SHEATH OF GREAT SCOURING-RUSH. “@ésedii robustunt
EQUISETUM FERRISSI, SECTION OF STEM

EQUISETUM FERRISSI, TIP OF STEM .

SMOOTH SCOURING-RUSH. “giésetum levigatuim

SHEATH OF SMOOTH SCOURING-RUSH - :

CATKIN OF SMOOTH SCOURING-RUSH : . i
BRANCHED EQUISETUM, “gelsetum Kunstont

SHEATH OF EQUISETUM FUNSTONI ,

CATKIN OF EQUISETUM FUNSTONI

SHEATH OF VARIEGATED SCOURING-RUSH

VARIEGATED SCOURING RUSH. 49ésetwm variegatum ,
CATKIN OF VARIEGATED SCOURING-RUSH,

SECTION OF VARIEGATED SCOURING-RUSH STEM

DWARF SCOURING-RUSH. avésetumt scirpoides

SHEATH OF DWARF SCOURING-RUSH . ,
CATKIN OF DWARF SCOURING-RUSH -

STERILE FROND OF FIELD HORSETAIL. Lottisetum arvense
FERTILE FROND OF FIELD HORSETAIL

SECTION OF FIELD HORSETAIL STEM . .
WOODHORSETAIL. g2isetun silvaticum. (In colours)
EQUISETUM ARVENSE DECUMBENS

EQUISETUM ARVENSE CAMPESTRE "

BUDS AND TUBERS OF FIELD HORSETAIL -

FERTILE FROND OF IVORY HORSETAIL “guzsetum telmateia
SECTION OF STERILE FROND OF IVORY HORSETAIL

STERILE FROND OF SHADE HORSETSIL, Lamisetum pratense
FERTILE FROND OF SHADE HORSETAIL : .
STERILE FROND OF WOOD HORSETAIL. Zgiisetum silvatioum
FERTILE FROND OF WOOD HORSETAIL .

BUDS AND TUBERS OF WOOD HORSETAIL :

Frontispiece.
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viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

WATER HORSETAIL, Lauetsetum fluviatile

WATER HORSETAIL. “ouisetum fuviatile. (In colours)
SECTION OF WATER HORSETAIL STEM

MARSH HORSETAIL. “gittsetum palustre

A FORM OF EQUISETUM LITTORALE

FORMS OF SHORE HORSETAIL

A MOSS CAPSULE

FRUITING-SPIKE OF LYcOPODIUM

SPOROPHYLL OF LYCOPODIUM

SPOROPHYLLS OF VARIOUS LYCOPODIUMS

COMMON CLUB-MOSS, Lycopodium clavatum
LYCOPODIUM CLAVATUM MONOSTACHYON

STIFF CLUB-MOSS, Lycopodium annotinnm
LYCOPODIUM ANNOTINUM PUNGENS

BRANCHLET OF LYCOPODIUM COMPLANATUM
GROUND-PINE, Lycopodium complanatum

BRANCHLET OF LYCOPODIUM COMPLANATUM CHAMACYPARISSUS
LYCOPODIUM COMPLANATUM CHAMECYPARISSUS
GROUND-FIR. -Lycofodium alpinum

BRANCH OF LYCOPODIUM ALPINUM

SAVIN-LEAVED CLUB-MOSS, Lycopodium subinie/olvine
BRANCH OF LYCOPODIUM SABIN4EFOLIUM
LYCOPODIUM SITCHENSE

BRANCH OF LYCOPODIUM SITCHENSE :
TREE CLUB-MOSS, Lycopodium obscurum, (In colours)
TREE CLUB-MOSS. Lcopodium obscurum

STAG-HORN CLUB-MOSS. Lycopodium cernuum
SHINING CLUB-MOSS. Lycopodium luctdulum
SPORANGIA OF SHINING CLUB-MOSS :
LYCOPODIUM LUCIDULUM POROPHILUM .
BULBLET OF SHINING CLUB-MOSS .

FIR CLUB-MOSS, Lycofodium selago .

BOG CLUB-MOSS. Lycopodium inundatum

FOX-TAIL CLUB-MOSS. L2'copodinin alopecuroides
LYCOPODIUM ALOPECUROIDES ADPRESSUM ,
LYCOPODIUM ALOPECUROIDES ADPRESSUM. (In colours)
CAROLINA CLUB-MOSS. Lycopodium Carolinianum
SYNANGIA OF PSILOTUM

PSILOTUM TRIQUETRUM

MEGASPORE OF SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS :
ROCK SELAGINELLA Selaginedla rupestris. (In colours)
SPIKE OF SELAGINELLA ea

LEAF OF SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS

LEAVES OF A BIMORPHIC SELAGINELLA 1

ROCK SELAGINELLA. Selaginella rupestris

SPIKE OF ROCK SELAGINELLA

BRANCH OF SELAGINELLA WATSONI

SAND-BARREN SELAGINELLA. Selaginella ar eaissoh
SELAGINELLA BIGELOVII . . .

PAGE.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SELAGINELLA CINERASCENS

OREGON SELAGINELLA, Selag/necla Criseiei
PRICKLY MOUNTAIN MOSS, Selug/vedla spinor
CREEPING SELAGINELLA. Selag/nella apus
SPIKE OF CREEPING SELAGINELLA
SELAGINELLA LUDOVICIANA

SELAGINELLA LUDOVICIANA, (In colours)
SELAGINELLA DOUGLASII

RESURRECTICN MOSS. Sedaginetin Lepidosiyila
BRANCH OF THE RESURRECTION MOSS
RESURRECTION MOSS, WHEN DRY
SPOROCARPS OF AZOLLA

SALVINIA NATANS

CROSS-SECTION OF SALVINIA SPOROCARPS
SPOROCARPS OF SALVINIA NATANS

WATER FERN. -t20dla Caroliniana

THE HOME OF AZOLLA- -

AZOLLA FILICULOIDES
SPOROCARP AND SPORANGIA OF MARSILIA
VEINING IN THE LEAF OF MARSILIA
SPOROCARP OF MARSILIA

CROSS-SECTION OF PILULARIA SPOROCARP
MARSILIA QUADRIFOLIA. (In colours)
MARSILIA QUADRIFOLIA -

MARSILIA UNCINATA

MARSILIA VESTITA

MARSILIA MACROPODA

PILULARIA AMERICANA

LEAF OF ISOETES SHOWING SPORANGIUM
CROSS-SECTION OF ISOETES LEAF
MEGASPORES OF ISOETES :
MICROSPORES OF ISOETES

BRAUN’S QUILLWORT. /seetes echinospora Braunti
MEGASPORE OF BRAUN'S QUILLWORT
MEGASPORE OF ISOETES ECHINOSPORA MURIC ATA
MEGASPORE OF ISOETES TRUNCATA

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES ECHINOSPORA FLETTII
MEGASPORE OF ISOETES LACUSTRIS

MEGASPORE OF TUCKERMAN'S QUILLWORT. /soetes Tuckernirnl
MEGASPORE OF BOLANDER'’S QUILLWORT. /sectes Bolanderé

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES HIEROGLYPHICA
MEGASPORE OF ISOETES MACOUNI

ENGELMANN’S QUILLWORT. /sectes Engelmannt
MEGASPORE OF ENGELMANN’S QUILLWORT

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES ENGELMANNI CAROLINIANA
MEGASPORE OF EATON’S QUILLWORT. /seezes vadida
MEGASPORE OF DODGE’S QUILLWORT. /seefes Canadiens
MEGASPORE OF RIVER-BANK QUILLWORT, /Seefes 7épa7 fa
MEGASPORE OF ISOETES SACCHARATA

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x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES FOVEOLATA ’
MEGASPORE OF ISOETES GRAVESII

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES MELANOSPORA -

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES FLACCIDA

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES HOWELLI

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES MELANOPODA

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES BUTLERI

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES NUTTALLII

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES ORCUTTI

MEGASPORE OF ISOETES MINIMA

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PREPAGE

THE Fern Allies, by reason of their curious forms and
often great abundance, seldom fail to attract the atten
tion of the student of plants, but their identification has
always proved more or less of a puzzle to beginners.
Like the ferns, they bear neither flowers nor seeds, and
at first glance seem to offer few points by which they
may be distinguished. The species are usually included
in botanical Manuals, but the necessarily brief and tech-
nical descriptions have tended to discourage rather than
to aid the novice. In reality, however, most of the
species are easily identified, and it is one of the purposes
of this book to point out how this may be done.

No book has ever before been published in which one
may find untechnical descriptions of our fern allies, nor
one in which all the species have been figured; in fact a
large number are figured for the first time in this book.
Such illustrations as have hitherto appeared are scattered
in various American and foreign books, often inaccessi-
ble, many of which, published long ago, are more or less
inaccurate. It has been our aim, not only to illustrate
every species, but to represent them correctly. The
drawings have been made from typical specimens of the
plants, and it is believed that many of the species will
now be easily identified by merely comparing them with
the illustrations.

In the text each species has been carefully described
anew from authentic specimens, and all the known facts

xii PREFACE.

in its life history added. Preceding the account of the
species in each genus will be found a chapter on the
group as a whole, followed by a Key to the species. In
each group of species the best known is placed first, and
~those that follow are frequently compared: with it.
Many of these plants have received so little study from
botanists that scarcely anything is known about them.
In a further study of the life histories of these species the
beginner will find a new and inviting field in which he
will be a discoverer rather than a gleaner. I shall be
glad to receive notes of this kind, and offer to identify
any species that may prove troublesome, provided good
herbarium specimens are sent me, accompanied by post-
age for reply. I cannot undertake to return such speci-
mens, however.

Among technical works relating to the American
species, first place must be given to Underwood’s “ Our
Native Ferns and Their Allies,” which includes brief
descriptions of all but the most recently discovered
species in North America north of Mexico. Dodge’s
“Ferns and Fern Allies of New England” contains
somewhat more extended accounts of the New England
species, with an excellent chapter on the identification
of Isoetes and a list of the species arranged according to
the time each fruits. Eastman’s “ New England Ferns
and Their Common Allies,” in which there are illustra-
tions and untechnical descriptions of a few of the com-
mon species, completes the list of works devoted exclu-
sively to the subject. Of foreign works, Baker's ‘ Hand-
book of the Fern Allies,” published in 1887, includes
short descriptions of all the species in the world that
were known at the time of publication. Some mention
should also be made of “ The Fern Bulletin,” now in its

PREFACE. xili

thirteenth volume, which enjoys the unique distinction
of being the only publication in the world devoted to
the ferns and fern allies. In past volumes it has
published much regarding the haunts and habits of the
plants, including descriptions of many new species and
forms. A series of Fern Floras of the States is now
being published, which gives lists of the ferns and fern
allies in each State, with distribution and other notes
added.

In the matter of nomenclature J have adopted a some-
what conservative treatment, preferring for the most part
the names commonly used, since these will be most fre-
quently found in other books. When they differ from
others recently proposed, the latter are given also, and
they have also been included in the Checklist of the
species. It does not seem advisable, in a work of this
kind, to follow the practice of radical botanists in treat-
ing a large number of forms as species. It is possible
that some of these forms may be found to have characters
of specific importance, but it will be less confusing to
the beginner if they are still regarded as forms of the
species from which they have been segregated.

These newly named forms have had to be recognized,
however, and in giving them what I believe to be their
rightful places a number of new combinations have un-
avoidably been made. In no other way has it seemed
possible to indicate to beginners the various disguises
under which certain plants are likely to be found in com-
ing years. In the Checklist I have followed the plan
of citing the authority for the species only, believing
that the author of anew combination is not entitled to
the prominence which a double citation of authorities
confers.

xiv PREFACE.

Much valuable assistance in the preparation of this
book has been given me by students of the fern allies.
The source of many notes has been indicated in the text,
but I am especially indebted to, and wish here to thank,
Mr. S. B. Parish, Mr. A. J. Hill, Mr. C. H. Demetrio,
Dr. C. B. Graves, Mr. J. B. Flett, Mr. Julian Reverchon,
Prof. R. S. Cocks, Mr. Thomas Howell, Mr. M. L.
Fernald, Mr. J. H. Ferriss, Miss E. Cannon, and Miss L.
F. Kimball. Mr. Alvah A. Eaton, of the Ames Botani-
cal Laboratory, whose studies of these plants have con-
tributed so much to our knowledge, has rendered
invaluable assistance by the loan of specimens, by send-
ing many interesting notes, and by a critical reading of
the proof. It is but fair to add, however, that in matters
of nomenclature and the limitations of species I have
not always followed his suggestions.

WILLARD N. CLUTE.
Joliet, Tll.,
February 27, 1905.

THE FERN ALLIES.

INCE ferns are members of
the vegetable kingdom, all
plants are more or less

allied to them, but the term Fern Allies,

as commonly understood, has a much
more restricted meaning. As regarded
by botanists, the fern allies are plants
belonging to certain families included in
one of the great natural groups of the
. flowerless plants. The fern allies are
quite unlike flowering plants in appear-
ance and have little more resemblance to
their allies, the ferns; but their structure
and manner of fruiting show
them to be closely related.
Botanists long ago divided the
vegetable kingdom into two
sub-kingdoms which they named
respectively the Phanerogamia,
or Flowering Plants, and the
Cryptogamia, or Flowerless
Plants. In this second division

4 THE FERN ALLIES.

were placed such diverse plants as the alge, fungi, liver-
worts, mosses, and ferns. None of these ever bear
flowers or produce seeds, but, aside from this, the
various groups differ as much among themselves as the
division as a whole differs from the flowering plants.
The ferns and fern allies are the most highly developed
of these plant families, and in structure are closely re-
lated to the simplest flowering plants. They, alone, have
true roots and stems with tissues specialized for different
functions. The presence of these specialized tissues —
the so-called fibro-vascular system-—has caused these
plants to be called Vascular Cryptogams or Vascu-
lar Acrogens to distinguish them from the less-spe-
cialized mosses, alga, etc., composing the Cellular
Acrogens,

Modern botany still accepts these divisions, though
the terms used to designate them have changed some-
what as they have become adjusted to our present
ideas of nomenclature. We now usually speak of flower-
ing plants as the Spermatophyta, and of the ferns and
fern-like plants (the vascular acrogens) as the Prerido-
phyta. The mosses and liverworts are now the Lryophyta,
and the rest of the cellular acrogens are spoken of as the
Thallophyta. The fern allies, then, belong to the high-
est division of the flowerless plants, have stems in
which there are woody tissues and ducts, and, in
short, comprise all the Preridophyta except the
ferns themselves, as shown by the accompanying
table of the orders represented in the North Ameri-
can Flora.

THE FERN ALLIES. 5

ORDERS AND FAMILIES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN
PTERIDOPHYTA.

SERIES I, — FERNS,

ORDER I. — OPHIOGLOSSALES,
Family 1.— Ophioglossacee.

ORDER 2, — FILICALES.
family 1.—Hymenophyllacee.
Famely 2.—Osmundace.
Family 3.—Schiseacee,
Family 4,—Ceratoptertdacee,
Family 5.—Polypodtacea.

SERIES II. — FERN ALLIES.

ORDER 1,— SALVINIALES.
family 1.—JMJarsiliacee.
Family 2,—Salviniacee,

ORDER 2, — EQUISETALES.
family 1.—Equésetacee,

ORDER 3.— LYCOPODIALES.
Family 1.—Lycopodiacee.
Family 2,—Pstlotacee.
family 3.—Selavinellacee,

ORDER 4. — ISOETALES.
family 1,—Isoetacee,

Like the ferns, the fern allies are reproduced by spores,
which, germinating, form prothallia upon which the
reproductive organs, the antheridia and archegonia, are
borne. From the union of the contents of archegonia
and antheridia, new plants are produced. The pro-
thallia, however, are often quite unlike the familiar
green, heart-shaped prothallia of the fern. Some are
colourless, tuber-like, and develop underground instead of
upon the surface in the usual way, and in some that
develop above ground the prothallia are not heart-
shaped and the antheridia and archegonia are on sepa-
rate prothallia. The process of fertilization is essentially

6 THE FERN ALLIES.

the same in all, —a fusing of the contents of archegonia
and antheridia.

The ferns are a strongly marked and easily recognized
group of plants, but the fern allies have no such
uniformity of appearance. Only the botanist, familiar
with their manner of fruiting, would think of associating
plants of such diverse habits and dissimilar forms. The
club-mosses usually have trailing vine-like stems and
tiny scale-like leaves; the selaginellas grow in moss-like
tufts; the pepperworts have leaves resembling four-
leaved clovers; the quillworts have very short trunks
and grass-like leaves; while the scouring-rushes, at first
glance, seem to have no leaves at all and to be chiefly
remarkable for their development of stem. Neverthe-
less, all are practically alike in their manner of fruiting
and in the structure of the plant body, and are therefore
properly classed together.

The great diversity of leaf and stem in the fern allies
is made necessary by the habitats of the plants. The
club-mosses live on dry moors, in rocky wastes, or
sandy swamps; the scouring-rushes in damp shades or
standing water. The water-fern is found floating on the
surface of quiet pools; the marsilias root beneath the
water and send their leaves to the surface ; while many
of the quillworts pass their entire life at the bottom of
rivers, lakes, and ponds.

Asa whole, the fern allies are members of a decadent
group, and the lack of close resemblances between the
families is doubtless to be explained upon the supposi-
tion that many of the intergrading forms have died out.
At present there are about seven hundred living species,
or approximately one for every six species of ferns. In
the remote past they were much greater in both num-

THE FERN ALLIES. 7

bers and importance. The prototypes of our lowly
club-mosses and scouring-rushes — the lepidodendrons,
sigillarias, and calamites — often equalled in size the
forest trees of the present, and their remains form the
greater part of the Coal Measures. It is reported that
one of the Scottish coal beds consists almost entirely of
the spores and spore-cases of some extinct Lycopodium.
Of our modern genera, Lguisetum dates from the
Triassic Period; Jsoctes, Muarsilia, and Pilularia from
the Tertiary ; and Lycopodium from as far back as the
Devonian Period.

With few exceptions the fern allies are not remark-
able for either beauty or utility. Some of the club-
mosses, under the more familiar names of running pine
and trailing evergreen, are annually used in quantity for
holiday decorations, and various species of Se/aginella
are cultivated for their graceful foliage. The spores of
the club-mosses form the lycopodium of the pharmacist
and have been used in the manufacture of fireworks,
while the rough stems of the scouring-rushes were once
valued for polishing and scouring.

KEY TO THE FAMILIES OF THE FERN ALLIES.

I. — Sporangia in terminal cones
Stems hollow, rush-like ‘ . Lgutsetacee
II, —Sporangia in the axils of the leaves or leaf-
like bracts, often forming terminal

spikes
Plants apparently stemless . ‘ Lsoetacee
Plants with evident stems
Spores of two sizes : Selaginellacee
Spores all alike
Sporangia in spikes . Lycopodiacee
Sporangia in clusters . Pstlotacee
111. — Sporangia in berry-like sporocarps
Whole plant floating . : » Salvintacee

Plant rooting in mud . : MWarsiliacee

THE BOUSETACEZA
SCOURING-RUSHES AND HORSETAILS.

THE EQUISETACEA.

OT inappropriately may the Scour-
ing-Rushes be likened to the
cacti, for, like them, their leaves
are reduced to mere rudiments,
and the stems perform all the
offices usual to leaves. This,
however, is not their only

peculiarity. In their general
: structure they have little re-
semblance to other plants. The stems are jointed, hollow
except at the joints, and noticeable for their lack of
differentiation from the underground portion of the
plant. From the farthest subterranean root-stock to the
tip of the tallest shoot, the construction is essentially
the same. It may be likened to a line of drain-pipe, each
section of which fits into the slightly flaring top of the
one below it. These hollow sections are grooved exte-
riorly with from three to fifty longitudinal grooves, vary-
ing in number with the species. These grooves are

known as vallecula and the intervening ridges as carine.
Within the stem walls, and encircling the central hollow,
there are usually found two other series of hollows,—
one series beneath the vallecule, and therefore called the
vallecular canals ; the other beneath the carina, and called

12 THE EQUISETACE&.

the carinal canals. These differ in size and shape with
the species, and thus form excellent characters for their
identification.

At the top of each joint in the stem there is a
papery sheath which seems to form a socket
into which the next joint above it fits. This
sheath is toothed on its upper border, usually
with as many teeth as there are ridges in the
stem. From various indications it is evident
that this sheath represents a circle of confluent
but reduced and functionally useless leaves.
Inside the sheath (that is, in the axils of the
leaves) buds are formed,—a bud for each leaf, —
and if these develop into branches they break
out through the base of the sheath in regular
whorls. In many species these buds always
remain dormant unless the tip of the stem is Section of
injured, when a few near the tip may give rise the Sheath.
to short branches.

Externally the stems are often coated with particles
of silex in many. curious patterns, such as rings, bands,
granules, teeth, and rosettes; and, not infrequently,
abundant silex particles may be found lining the central
hollow. This silicious coating gives a characteristic
harshness to the stems of certain species, rendering
them useful for polishing woodwork and other articles.
The silex is usually most abundant on the carinz, while
the stomata—-the minute openings for transpiration —
are distributed along the vallecule.

The rhizome or underground portion of the plant is
often of considerable length, and spreads about in the
earth from a few inches to several feet beneath the sur-
face. The sheaths at the joints also contain buds, and

THE EQUISETACE-. 13

these, upon developing, become cither secondary root-
stocks pushing up toward the surface, or possibly aérial
stems rising above it. From the base of these buds slen-
der roots are produced. The sections of the
rootstocks are covered with a tawny or blackish
felt, which, like the root-hairs, doubtless assists
in the work of food-absorption. The buds on
the stems readily produce roots if covered with
moist earth, while rootstocks exposed to the air
soon produce stems. Since the plants are liable
to be either covered with mud or washed from
their places during freshets, it is a wise provi-
sion of Nature that stem and rootstock are so
nearly interchangeable. In certain species the
rootstock occasionally develops small round
tubers. These resemble the rootstock in struc-
ture and may be assumed to be undeveloped
branches of it. Their use is unknown, unless
they may serve as a storehouse for surplus plant-
food. Under certain circumstances they may
possibly give rise to new plants. Pe
The spores are always borne at the tips of the tne Stem.
stems in cone-like spikes or catkins. These
spikes consist of numerous, usually

six-angled, plates attached to the stem
by a central stalk, and bearing from

five to nine little sacs or spore-cases

on their margins. The sacs extend
horizontally toward the centre of the
cone, and only the angular plates to which they are
attached are to be seen before maturity. When ripe the
cone lengthens slightly, drawing the plates apart, the
spore-cases open on the side next the stalk that bears
them and the spores escape.

SPORE-CASES.

14 THE EQUISETACE-E.

The spores are tiny globular, single-celled bodies,
bright green in colour, and so small that single indi-
viduals cannot be distinguished without a lens. Each
possecses two filiform appendages with enlarged ends,
called elaters,
which are at-
tached to the
equator of the
spore by their
middle, coiling
spirally around it
when moist and
spreading out
when dry. As
the spore -case
dries at maturity,
the elaters uncoil

and assist in
SPORES, ENLARGED. liberating the

spores; and when the spores are free, they assist in float-
ing them on the air. The elaters of several spores
often become entangled, and the spores float away to-
gether, an advantageous arrangement, since the prothallia
are dicecious and require more than one spore to repro-
duce a plant.

The spores contain chlorophyll, the green colouring-
matter of plants, and lose their: power of germinating
within a few days after leaving the spore-case. When
they lodge in a favourable place, they germinate in ten or
twelve hours, and soon produce, small green, lobed pro-
thallia. It is said that the fresh spores will germinate
readily if sown upon the surface of water. Although
the spores are apparently all alike, some produce only

THE EQUISETACEA. TS

male and others only female prothallia. It is imposst-
ble, before germination, to discover which is which, and,
since the male prothallium is always the smaller, it is
conjectured that the difference in the sex may be due
entirely to the amount of nourishment the prothallia are
able to obtain, those well nourished becoming female
and the others male. It is interesting to know that the
cones of fossil species have been found so well preserved
as to show that the ancestors of our present plants had
spores of two kinds, like the modern selaginellas and
isogetes.

he scouring-rushes range in height from a few inches
to thirty feet, but the largest seldom exceed two inches
in diameter, and the majority are rarely thicker than a
lead pencil. In all, the rootstock at least is perennial,
and in some the atrial stems last for several years.
There are about twenty living species, most of them in
temperate regions. During the Carboniferous Age they
were most abundant, almost equalling the ferns in num-
bers. Though few in species now, they are abundant
and widely distributed. North America contains repre-
sentatives of more than half of all the species in the
world.

The name £guisctum is from two Latin words mean-
ing “horse” and “ bristle,’ and was applied to these
plants in allusion to the many slender branches of cer-
tain species, which render the plants not unlike the tail
of ahorse in appearance. In the order Equisetales there
is but one living family, the Equisetacea, and in this
family there is but the single genus £Lgwsetum. The
fossil species mostly belonged to the family Calamariz.
Many of them attained the size of trees.

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF EQUISETUM.

SERIES I,

Evergreen species, Stems rough, seldom branched,
catkins usually tipped with a hard
point
Stems tall, stout, about as thick as a lead pencil
Sheaths dilated upward
Margins incurved, stems rough
EE. Funstont
Margins not incurved, stems smooth
£. levigatum
Sheaths not dilated upward
Old stems much branched £. ro0bustum
Old stems seldom branched

Joints short. . £. hremale
Joints longer . £. Ferrisst

Stems slender, tufted
Six-angled, thread-like E. sctrpoides

More than six-angled, larger 2. vardegatum
SERIES II. — Deciduous species, Rootstock only, perennial,
Stems smooth, usually branching, catkin
not tipped with a hard point
Fertile stems tawny or flesh-coloured when young
Not lasting through the summer’
Plants stout, Western. £. Telmateta
Plants slender, mostly Eastern £. arvense
Lasting through the summer
Branches of sterile stems unbranched
E. pratense
Branches of sterile stems again branched
£. stlvaticum
Fertile stems green like the sterile
Sheaths appressed. EL fluviatile
Sheaths looser
Spores perfect, abundant £. palustre
Spores imperfect, few E, littorale

THE EVERGREEN EOUISETUMS,
OR SCOURING-RUSHES.

THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

ences among the equisetums
is found in the duration of
the aerial stems. In some
species all traces of them
above ground disappear soon
after the first hard frost,
while in others the stems not
only endure at least one win-

CROSS-SECTION OF STEM. ter, but in the second season
possess enough vitality to put forth new branches.
It is singular, also, that the evergreen species should
all resemble one another in external appearance more
than they do the species with deciduous stems. To
divide the genus upon the single character of perennial
or deciduous stems would separate the species into two
very natural groups. It has been proposed to make
these two groups separate genera, though botanists at
present usually include the two in the single genus
Equisetum ; the evergreen species, however, are placed
in the sub-genus Aippochete.

The Common Scouring- Rush.

Undoubtedly the best known of the evergreen equise-
tums is the common scouring-rush (EZgursetum hremale).
Its stiff unbranched stems of dark green, ringed at the

20 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

nodes with bands of black and ash-colour, are sufficient
to attract the eye at any time of the year, but they are
especially noticeable in winter, when, in the absence of
other greenery, they become very conspicuous against a
background of snow or withered leaves. It is a very gre-
garious species, and is seldom found except in little
thickets that are very characteristic.

Early in spring the new stems make their appearance,
arising from short branches of the underground portion of
the plant. In appearance these budding stems suggest a
closed telescope, being of full diameter, but with only
the sheaths of the joints showing. Development consists
in the lengthen-
ing of the inter-
nodes, just as a
telescope may
be lengthened by
drawing out the
‘ tube, though in
| the case of the

is @ plant the sections
are not enclosed one within the other, as in the
instrument. The full-grown stems are usually
stiffly erect and unbranched the first year; but
during the second season, if the tip of the stem is
injured, a few of the upper nodes may put forth
small branches. These, instead of diverging,
grow upward, nearly parallel with the main stem.
The height of the stem seems limited only by

its capacity for growth, though, since each joint
YOUNG is smaller than the one preceding it, there would
come a time, theoretically, when no more joints
could be produced. The tip of the stem is usually

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 21

winter-killed long before such a condition is reached.
Mature stems seldom reach a height of more than four
feet, or a diameter at base of half an inch.

A series of joints in the stem divide it into many sec-
tions, each three or four incheslong. At the top of each
section, or internode, there is a Icaf-sheath a quarter of
an inch or more long, fitting closely around the base of
the next internode, and bearing on its summit numer-
ous small triangular teeth which end in a long point.
These teeth are jointed to the sheath and usually fall
away at maturity, being noticeable only in very young
stems. Often the tips coalesce in the bud, and, as the
stem lengthens, they are carried upward on its summit
in a compact mass resembling an old-fashioned candle-
extinguisher or a Chinese pagoda.

Where the sheath joins the stem, there is a brown or
blackish band, and a line of the same colour borders the
outer edge. Between these the colour is purplish, green-
ish, or ashy white. The width of the black band and the
colour between them varies with age and with the indi-
vidual. In some specimens the bands always remain nar-
row, while in others they may broaden until the entire
sheath is suffused with black. This latter is most com-
mon in old stems and in sheaths near the base. The
marginal band is always the darker of the two, and in
young specimens the second band is frequently missing,
or is indicated only by a faint brown line. No species
show the manner of jointing better than this. After the
stem has been pulled apart it may be easily reconstructed
on account of the nicety with which the ends of the
internodes fit into the sheaths. At the nodes or joints
the stem is solid, but cross-sections of the internodes
show a very large central cavity occupying four fifths of

22 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

the stem, besides a series of small oval vallecular canals
alternating with a series of still smaller carinal canals in
the thin walls. Externally the stem bears from twenty
to thirty or more narrow longitudinal grooves, the ridges
between them being covered with many minute cross-
bands of silex. Occasionally these bands break
down in the centre, leaving a double row of
silicious tubercles. The amount of silex in the
outer coat varies, but usually it so completely
covers the epidermis that the vegetable matter
can be dissolved out by acids, leaving a com-
plete outline of the stem in silex,—a sort of
stone or glass skeleton.

The scouring-rush fruits in a yellowish, cone-
like catkin at the apex of the stem. Occasion-
ally, during the second summer, small cones
may be produced at the tips of the short
branches also. The terminal cone is ovate,
about half an inch long, and ends in a short
hard point. The principal fruiting-season is in
May and June, though the cones, usually small
and undeveloped, may be found at any time,
and the plant fruits in a desultory way until
October. Even in winter the compact little
cones have fully-formed spores packed snugly
away until a more propitious season. If one
of these winter cones be split from tip to base
with a sharp knife, and the cut surface be
quickly examined with a lens, a most interest-
COMMON ing sight will be revealed. From the gaps

SCOURING-

RUSH.. made in the delicate walls of the spore-cases,
Equisetum

Aienale. a lively crowd of spores come tumbling out,
jostling one another in their haste and apparently

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 23

urged on by those behind. As each fat little spore
reaches the open, it unfolds its elaters like four tiny wings
and quickly sails out of the field. As long as the mois-
ture in the tissues is evaporating they continue to come.
To change the scene, one has only to dip his specimen
into water or to breathe upon it. At once every elater is
coiled. Even those spores just balanced on tip-toe as it
were, ready for flight, decide to remain, and all seem
trying to shrink into the smallest space possible. The
change is due to the hygroscopic nature of the elaters,
which coil in the presence of moisture. This character-
istic ensures that the spores shall not set out on their
travels until a fair day comes and the sailing is good, and
also prevents the elaters from being folded again and the
spores dropped until a moist interval, suitable for ger-
mination, occurs.

The rough and flinty exterior of this species makes it
useful for scouring and polishing. It was once of prime
importance in domestic affairs, being used for cleaning
pots, pans, floors, and other woodwork. Cabinet-makers
and others also found many uses for it, but with the
advent of scouring-soaps and sandpaper it has gradually
fallen into disuse. In our own country, a few Indians
on the borders of civilization still use it for polishing
the shafts of arrows and similar work. It is said to be
occasionally used in the Old World also at the present
day.

The names of “scouring-rush,” “ scrub-grass,
grass,” *‘ polishing-rush,” and “gunbright ” all allude to

66 ) 6

shave-

its use in polishing, while the term ‘‘naked horsetail”’
has reference to the branchless nature of the stems. In
some sections the slender jointed stems have suggested the
name of “bamboo.” “ Joint-rush” and “ joint-grass”

24 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

refer to the same appearance. The names *‘snake-weed ”
and “snake-rush” are probably derived from the fact
that these plants often grow near water,—damp thickets
and snakes being always popularly associated. The
author has also heard the stems called “ frogs’ fishing-
poles.” The species has occasionally been called
‘“smoke-weed ” or ‘“mountain-rush,” but the reason for
the application of these namesis not apparent. ‘ Horse-
pipes” refers to the large size of this species. Smaller
species are called “pipes” or “ paddock-pipes,” and the
larger ones would naturally be called “ horse-pipes,” just
as we speak of “ horse-radish ” “ horse-fiddle,” or ‘ horse-
chestnut.” ‘ Wintedrush” alludes to the fact that this
is our commonest evergreen species. At the time of its
use aS a scouring-agent it was imported into England
from Holland in large quantities, and in this way gained
the name of “ Dutch rush.” It is stated that this species
is often planted upon the dykes in Holland, its long
branching rootstocks serving to prevent the soil from
washing away.

Children often amuse themselves by placing the fresh
stems on the rails of the street-car lines, and listening for
the sharp reports caused by the air in the central cavity
bursting through the walls of the stems as the car passes
over them. The juices of the stem will also cause them
to explode when thrown into the fire, and the medicine-
men of various Indian tribes still make use of them in
this way, in order that their popping may stimulate
their patients to renewed vigour. The hollow joints of
the stem may be made into a rude sort of Pan-pipe simi-
lar to those made from canes by the negroes of the South.
According to an old writer it was thought that if
cows fed upon this plant their teeth would drop out. It

‘

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 25

may be added that cattle will not eat it if there is any-
thing else to be had. The juice of the plant was once
thought to be useful in nosebleed and as an application
to wounds.

The scouring-rush is found throughout North America
growing along streams, on the borders of swamps, and in
other low grounds. It is able to exist, however, with
much less moisture, and is frequently abundant along dry
railway embankments and on gravelly banks. There is
some variation in plants from different localities, the one
here described being the form common to the North-
eastern States. Its closely appressed sheaths and many-
grooved stems are characters that usually serve to identify
it. Itisthe most abundant of our evergreen species, and
is also found in Europe and Asia, extending in a more or
less broad belt around the earth in the North Temperate
Zone. It appears to be absolutely unharmed by the cold.
The water in the central hollow often freezes solid without
hurt tothe plant. In exposed situations the stems on the
southern side turn a dingy brown in winter, but become
green again on the approach of a milder season.

In the Mississippi Valley, and farther west, there is a
form called Lguwisetum htemale interimedium which has
transverse bands of silex on the stems, looser, somewhat
funnel-shaped green sheaths with a narrow black-and-
white margin and deciduous or persistent teeth. It has
often been collected for Eguisetum levigatum, which it
resembles in many ways, especially in the funnel-shaped
sheaths, but the internal structure is that of true Aremale,
Equisetuin levigatuim is also said to have annual stems,
but there is still some doubt upon this subject. In some
States, notably Nebraska, Eguisetum hiemale intermedium
is considered of some importance as a forage crop. No

26 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

less than ten named varieties of Egursetum hiemale have
been reported from America. Many of these are mere
ecological forms, of interest only to the systematist.
Those wishing to study them will find a full account of
all in volume XI of the Fern Bulletin.

The Great Scouring-Rush.

In the Southern and Western States the most abun-
dant of the scouring-rushes is probably the great scour-
ing-rush (Aguisetuim robustum), which is supposed to
intergrade with the common scouring-rush and is by
many considered only a variety of it. It is a strong and
‘robust species, but except for its larger size it cannot be
distinguished from Lgzzsetum hiemale in a
cursory examination. Mr. A. A. Eaton,
who has carefully studied the genus, is con-
vinced that this is only a well-marked race
of the scouring-rush, but as it has always
appeared in text-books as a separate species
it will be so treated here. Mr. Eaton's
view is probably the correct one, however.

Aside from its larger size, the character-
istics usually depended upon for separating
Equisetum robustum from Equtsetum hicmale
are the greater number of grooves in the
stem, the three-keeled ridges of the sheaths,

Large Sheath. - A =
Natural Size. and the single series of cross-bands of silex on

the carine. Lgudsetum hiemale is supposed always to
have obscurely four-keeled ridges in the sheaths, and two
rows of silex tubercles on the carine, but any of the
characteristics of the one may be matched by specimens
of the other.

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 27

In favourable situations the stems of this species often
reach a height of ten feet, and a diameter of half an inch
or more at base, forming thickets similar to those of the
common scouring-rush. In the warmer parts of its
range the new shoots begin to make their appearance
in March or earlier, and by the first week in April the
fruiting cones may be obtained, though the stems have
scarcely reached their maximum height at that period.
During the first year the stems seldom branch, but early
the next spring a large number of them put forth long
wand-like branches from the upper joints. All authori-
ties agree that this form rarely branches, but this is
clearly a mistake. It produces branches much more
freely than does Aguzsetum hicmale. In addition to the
principal stems this species not infrequently produces
several slender stems from each rootstock.

The sheaths are rather longer than those of Eguisetuim
hiemale, and are pinkish ash-colour with rather narrow
marginal and basal dark bands, the latter at first promi-
nent and lighter in colour. The teeth are dark brown
with tawny margins, elongated triangular in shape, with
long tapering points, and usually remain in position
until the stems are full grown or even longer. Those
upon the branches do not fall off during the life of the
stems.

The fruiting cones are from half an inch to an
inch long and terminate in a sharp point as in the
other species of this group. The fertile stems produce a
single spike at the apex of the stem the first year, and
the following season one or more smaller cones may de-
velop on the ends of small branches, the terminal cone, of
course, being absent. Like the common scouring-rush,

the stem of this species is hollow for the greater part of

THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

its diameter, and the contained air causes a loud
report when it is forced out under pressure.

The great scouring-rush is rare east of the Mis-
sissippi River except in the South. It has been
reported, apparently upon good authority, from
scattered stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, and is
the common form in the States bordering the Gulf.
In the West it appears to be plentiful throughout,
extending northward into British Columbia. It
is said to occur in India also. The stems are as
rough as those of the common species, and are still
occasionally used for polishing by the Southern
negroes. Beingso nearly like Eguisetum htemate it
shares with it the various common names.

The Stender Scouring-Rush.

The characters relied upon -for the identification
of the various Eguwisetum species, such as the num-
ber of grooves in the stem, the diameter of the
stem, length of the joints, etc., make the variations
a matter of easy mathematical demonstration. In
making some investigations along this line, recently,
the author was surprised to find that the extremes
of variation in Lgutsetum hiemale are much less
than is commonly supposed. Out of more than
250 stems selected at random, all but twenty-four
were between 5/32 and 8/32 of an inch in diam-
eter. The length between joints was between

two and three inches in all but fifteen of the

Beaker 230 specimens measured, while of 125 speci-
CF PISS, *

Section ef mens in which the grooves were counted, all
a but thirteen had from twenty-four to thirty

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 29

grooves each. At the same time, an Lgwzsclume was
found near Joliet, Illinois, that differed so constantly
in these characters that it was considered a new species
and was named gutsetum Ferrisst. This species is
principally distinguished by its tall, slender, pale-green
stems with few grooves, and the exceedingly long
sections between joints. More than fifty specimens,
selected at random, were measured, and all but four
were 4/32 of an inch or less in diameter. The grooves
were also fewer in number, only nine stems having more
than fourteen grooves. The greatest difference of all,
however, was in the length between joints. None of
the internodes were as short as the average in Aguzsetum
hiemale,and but fourteen were less than four inches long.
The longest measured more than six and a half inches.
This form may also be known by the appressed sheaths,
which are green when young, but in age become chalky-
white with a narrow black basal band encircling them
obliquely. The teeth are two thirds the length of the
sheaths, slender and deciduous, with a central streak of
dark brown bordered bya wider hyaline margin. After
the teeth have fallen, the border of the sheath becomes
thickened, incurved, and dark brown in colour. The
grooves between the leaves extend below the basal black
band. The catkins, like those of the common scouring-
rush, are tipped with a sharp point and are borne ona
short pedicel. They ripen about the first of June, but
many appear to be abortive and are to be found in the
globular expansion formed by the topmost whorl of
leaves,

The slender scouring-rush resembles Egutsetum hiemale
intcrimediuim, but may be distinguished from it by the
smoother, slenderer stems, by having fewer grooves in

30 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

the stem, and by the appressed sheaths and strongly
apiculate catkin.

It is not known at present whether this form occurs
elsewhere, or whether its existence at Joliet is unique.
At the place where it was discovered it forms an exten-
sive thicket, but this may have arisen by means of the
spreading rootstock. Possibly the first plant was
K\ produced by a variant spore. If so, it is not
AWE likely to be found in other localities, and the
question arises whether it is entitled to be called
a species, or is more properly considered a form
of Egutsetum hicmale. From the modern view-
point of evolution it might be thought an off-
shoot, by mutation, of the species mentioned.
In form it appears to be more distinct than either
Equisetuim hiemale robustum or Equisetum hremale

STEM EN: intermedium, but should it turn out to be un-

LARGED. worthy of specific rank it would still rank as a

sub-species with the title of Aguzsctum hiemale Ferrtssi.

The Smooth Scouring-Rush.

Typical specimens of the equisetums are not difficult
to identify, but when one has a large series of a single
species from different localities to deal with, the task
becomes more perplexing than might be supposed, on
account of the numerous variations presented; in fact,
it is hinted that all the species in the section Hippochete,
though distinct enough as to type, may be connected by
intergrading forms. One of the most variable of these
species is the smooth. scouring-rush (Aguisetum leviga-
tum). On the.one hand it is linked to the common
scouring-rush by the form known as Egu?setum hicmale

SMOOTH SCOURING-RUSH,
Leguisetum levigatun,

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 3t

tntermedium, and on the other it intergrades almost
imperceptibly with the smaller variegated scouring-rush.

In outward appearance the smooth scouring-rush is
much like /guisetum hicmale, though usually shorter
and slenderer and with less silex in the epidermis.
Well-developed specimens may reach the height of four
feet, but the average is probably less than twenty inches.
The exterior is comparatively smooth and has from ten
to thirty grooves. The sheaths are long, green, and
dilated upward like a funnel, this last characteristic
being one of its most distinguishing features. There
seems to be some question as to whether or not the
stems last through the winter. All its affinities are
with the evergreen species, and it has always been
called evergreen in the books, but Mr. Eaton, the
latest monographer of the American species, has stated
that the stems are annual, and that the species may
be distinguished from Lgutsetum hiemale by this single
peculiarity. Further observations on this point are
desirable. The present lack is no doubt due to the
fact that the species is rare in the Eastern States, where
most of the studies of Aguzsetum have been made.

The stems of the smooth scouring-rush usually grow
in tufts from the summit of the rootstock. They are
slender and usually unbranched, though the more robust
specimens may develop several ascending branches from
near the base, especially if the tip be injured. In this
it is the reverse of the common scouring rush, which, if
it branches at all, does so near the tip of the stem. In
colour the stems are pale green, and a cross-section shows
a large central cavity with medium-sized vallecular
canals, those under the carine being either smaller or
absent. On the exterior the grooves are somewhat

32 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

rounded with or without cross-bands of silex. The
sheaths are coloured like the stem, or occasionally
paler, rarely with a black girdle at base. The leaves
of the sheaths usually have a central ridge
at base, which fades out as the apex is
approached. The teeth are long and slen-
der, silvery white in colour, witha narrow
streak of dark brown down the middle. At
maturity these teeth usually fall away, leav-
ing the brownish bases, bordered with white,
as a narrow brown and white margin to the
sheath.

This species begins to fruit about the
first of May, though the catkins may be
found as late as midsummer. The late
catkins are produced on secondary stems
which spring from the base of the earlier
ones. The cones are small, ovate
or oblong, with the base often en-
closed in the uppermost sheath, and
the point at apex short or absent.
“soon Pee caiceer i dinenocneE

cuEe sh, y defined, begins in

New Jersey'and spreads out in fan
shape to the Pacific coast, the line of its south-
ern limit passing through Louisiana and Texas,
while the line on the north crosses Ohio and
Wisconsin, and so on to British Columbia. In
the East and South it is extremely rare, and there
is a suspicion that the Eastern records are based Catkin of
on forms that are more properly referred to Eguz- Rea
setum hiemale. The form Equisetum hiemale inter- °°”
medium closely resembles it, especially in the shape of the

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 33

sheaths, though in the latter these are shorter and paler,
with a black basal girdle. Agutse¢uim levigatum is found
only in America, and is doubtless most common in the
Middle West, where it is often used for forage. It pre-
fers a moist soil, being usually found in sand or clay on
the borders of streams. Many facts in its life history are
as yet imperfectly known, and the beginner will find this
a species worthy of further observation. Five American
varieties of no especial importance have been described
in the Fern Bulletin.

The Branched Equisetum.

Students who consult other works on the fern allies
will find listed among the North American species two
‘that are no longer regarded as members of our flora.
These are Eguisetum ramosisstinum and Equisctum Mext-
canum. The first was reported from British Columbia
more than fifty years ago, but as it has never been
rediscovered there, and the reported situation is far out
of the plant’s known range, it seems almost certain that
some other species was mistaken for it. The second
species, Lgurtsetum Alextcanum, has frequently been
reported from southern California, but here again the
probabilities are that the identification is incorrect.
Baker, in his ‘‘ Hand-Book of the Fern Allies,” considers
Lquisetum Mextcanum to be a form of the tropical Aguz-
setum giganteum , and while it is possible that an occa-
sional plant of this species may stray across our south-
western border, it is more probable that the California
specimens belong to a different species. Since these
plants have always been wrongly identified, it becomes
necessary to give them a new name to distinguish them.

34 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

Mr. vA. A. Eaton has therefore proposed the name of
Equisetum Funstont, in honour of General Funston, who
in early life made several botanical expeditions into
little-known regions, upon one of which he collected this
species.

The branched scouring-rush is most like Egudsetus
levigatum, but may be distinguished from it by its
rougher stems and by the shape and make-up of the
sheaths. In both species the sheaths are coloured
like the stems, and both are dilated upward, but
in Eguisetum Funstoni the margin of the sheath,
after the tips have fallen, turns inward, while in
Equisctum levigatum it does not. The leaves
composing the sheaths of Egusetum Funstont are
somewhat separated at the apex. The stems of
LEequisetum levigatum are also supposed to be
annual, while those of Aguzsetum Funstont last
through the winter. This difference, however,
may be accounted for by the warmer climate of
the region inhabited by the latter. Both species
Sheath of are alike in having catkins lacking the apical
Fquisciu™ Hoint, though, curiously enough, they belong to

asection in which the possession of such a
point is one of the distinguishing features. It has been
suggested that Eguzsetum Funstont is but a form of the
better-known Egutsetum levigatum. Whether this is
true or not will necessitate further study of both plants
in the field. Should it be proved to be a form of Eguz-
setum levigatum, it would be known as Lgutsetune
levigatum Funstont, since the other was first named.

The new stems of the branched scouring-rush make
their appearance early in the year, and by the middle of
March are in fruit. At maturity they may reach a

BRANCHED EQUISETUM = Mow/sedun Funstone,

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 35

height of two feet or more, with a diameter of a quarter
of an inch. They contain from ten to thirty grooves,
the ridges somewhat rounded and usually rough with
many cross-bands of silex. The sheaths are twice as
long as they are wide, and are tipped with triangular,
long-pointed teeth, most of which are torn off by the
developing stems, the rest falling at maturity. The
teeth are dark brown or black with a pale margin, and
the bases, which remain attached to the sheaths, are
slightly grooved in the centre. Each leaf has a low
ridge extending lengthwise, and the upper margin, where
it is separated from the others, is slightly raised. In
cross-section more than four fifths of the stem is hollow,
and both the carinal and vallecular canals are very small,
or, occasionally, wanting.

Much remains to be observed regarding the
development and duration of the stems of this
species. Apparently the erect fruiting stems
do not branch, at least not until after fruiting,
but the sterile stems produce regular whorls
of branches as they develop. There is also
a form of the sterile stem, most noticeable in
winter, which spreads flat on the ground and
sends out a multitude of short, very slender
branches from the base, forming dense mats.
In this form the stems are about ten-angled,
and the teeth are silvery white and persistent.
It does not seem to be known whether the
fertile and sterile stems last through the win- Beep

. Funstoni,
ter, but, reasoning from the analogy of related
species, it may be assumed that they do.

The fruiting-catkins are among the largest produced by

this group of plants, being about three quarters of an

36 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

inch long and a third as broad. They are nearly ovate,
with a rounded apex, and the base is either included in
the uppermost sheath or raised above it on a short stem.
In most specimens there is a cup-shaped sheath of the
same colour as the catkin, closely appressed to the lowest
whorl of sporophylls.

Equisetum Funstont is a plant of the extreme South-
west. It is very abundant in southern California below
about 1,500 feet altitude, and prefers moist sand, espe-
cially along streams, although it occasionally ‘grows in
soil so dry that the stems perish during the summer. In
general appearance the species is so much like Aguzsetuim
levigatum that it is easily mistaken forit. Four ecologi-
cal forms have been named. It is interesting in this
connection to note that there are but two other species
of Egutsetum in the world, named for botanists.

The Variegated Scouring-Rush,

One familiar with the appearance of the smooth
scouring-rush might easily mistake the variegated
scouring-rush (Agmisetum variegatum) for a small
form of that species. Superficially they are much
alike except in size and the markings of the
sheaths, but a close examination will show many
other points of difference. guisetum variega-
zune is much the more widely distributed, and
in America the habitats of the two do not
overlap to any great extent.

The stems of this species grow in tufts from
the apex of the rootstock, and reach a height of
Sheathof from six to twenty inches. They are slender,

LEguisetum F a A :
pariegatum. barely an eighth of an inch in diameter, and so

VARIEGATED SCOURING-RUSH, Legureseditm varvegali.

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 37

weak that they often spread about in a half-recumbent
position, Externally they are marked with from four to
ten broad, rounded, or slightly two-angled ridges with
still broader hollows between. A cross-section shows the
central hollow to be about one third the total diameter,
the vallecular canals to be relatively large and trans-
versely oval, while the carinal canals are much smaller.

The sheaths are of moderate length, slightly dilated
upward, and tipped with elongated, triangular, slender-
pointed teeth with white margins which may or may not
fall off at maturity. At the base of old stems the sheaths
are jet black; higher up they are ash-colour with two
black girdles, one at the base and one on the margin;
while near the apex and in young stems they may
be clear green with only a narrow blackish band
on the margin. The leaves are four-ridged, the
two middle ridges separated by a rather deep
groove, this latter being considered an impor-
tant point in identifying the species. The cat-
kins are slightly ovate, half an inch or under
in length, and tipped with a comparatively large
point. After fruiting, the sporophylls often fall
from the axis of the cone, which may persist in
this condition for some time.

The variegated scouring-rush is a lover of the

: : ae Catkin of
North, and inhabits a zone encircling the earth gyusceen

variesaluin

from about the 42d parallel of north latitude to
the Arctic Circle and beyond. In the southern part of
its American range it has been reported from all the
northern tier of States and from Illinois and Indiana.
It has often been reported from the Southwestern
States, but it is likely that in such cases Agu?sefuin
fwvigatum may have been mistaken for it. It grows in

38 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

swamps, on wet rocks, and on the gravelly borders of
streams, but, according to Eaton, seldom in sand. In
Europe it has been reported as occurring in sandy places
near the seashore. In the northern part of its range the
stems possibly do not survive the win-
ter, but farther south there is evidence
that a majority, if not all, are evergreen.
The specific name, varzegatum, refers
to the appearance given to the stem
by the black sheaths. Four varieties

Cross Section of Stem. have been named, of which A laskanum,
found from the State of Washington northward, is the
most noteworthy. It is regarded by many as being a
connecting link between this species and Lguisetum hte-
male.

The Dwarf Scouring-Rush.

After puzzling over the minute differences that are
often depended upon for separating the other species of
Equisetum, it is refreshing to turn to one like the dwarf
scouring-rush (Aguzsetuin scirpoides) that is so distinct
in form and so characteristic in appearance that even the
beginner, finding it for the first time, has no doubt as to its
identity. It is the smallest living species of Aguesetum,
and for this reason is often overlooked in regions where
it is fairly common.

This species, though growing only in the colder parts
of America, is an evergreen, and, like its relative, the
common scouring-rush, carries many of its fruit-buds
through the winter. Almost assoon as the snow has dis-
appeared, the first catkins begin discharging their spores,
and the plant continucs to fruit through the summer.

Zsetim

DWARF SCOURING-RUSH. Legu

THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 39

The greatest number of mature spikes will probably be
found about the middle of April, making it one of the
earliest fruiting species of Eguzsctum.

The stems grow in dense tufts, the longest barely
reaching a height of ten inches, and are so slender as to
be almost threadlike. They are often branched
at base, but seldom so above, unless they become
prostrate and covered with soil. The fertile stems
are nearly erect, but the sterile are flexuous and
bend over at the tip. When dried for the herba-
rium they often coil into circles or even double
circles. The stem is six-angled, but there are
only three leaves in the sheath. In all other
species of Lguzse¢um the number of leaves in the
sheath and the number of angles in the stem are
equal, and the apparent anomaly presented by
this species is explained by the fact that in addi-
tion to the true ridges there is an equal number
of false ridges over the vallecular canals. The ®!™4™:
three leaves are not joined together, and do not prop-
erly form a sheath, in this showing very clearly that the
sheaths of the other species are formed of confluent
leaves. The teeth are small, slender, black, with pale
margins, and are not deciduous. The leaves have one
deep central groove and two lighter lateral ones, making
them four-keeled. In age, both leaves and sheaths be-
come dark brownor black. Unlike all other equisetums,
the stems of this species have no central hollow. The
vallecular canals are comparatively large, and the carinal,
though small, are present.

The fruiting-spikes are scarcely larger than pepper-
corns and consist of about half a dozen small sporophylls
on an axis tipped with a tiny black point. Many of the

40 THE SCOURING-RUSHES.

embryo fruit-spikes seem never to become fully developed.
The first spores are ripe at about the time the anemone
and spring beauty are blooming.

The dwarf scouring-rush is found from
Greenland and Alaska south to Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Nebraska, Montana, and British Co-
lumbia. It is also found in northern Europe
and Asia. The stations on the southern limits
of its range in America are widely separated,
and the plant does not begin to become
common until the northern boundary of the
United States is reached.

A writer in the Fern Bulletin reports it as
covering several acres in western Connecticut,
aud says of its habitat:

ii

CATKIN. “Tt seems to favour moist, thickly wooded hillsides

for the place of its abode, although Mr. Grout found
it in a cold boggy meadow. The place where I first saw this plant
isa steep hillside thickly grown up to hemlock and white pine.
Underneath, the little Zaxus, or ground hemlock, grows in abun-
dance, and the twisted-stalk, showy orchis, red trillium, and round-
leaved violet are its companions.”

It is also found on wooded banks, decayed logs, and
among fine grasses, usually in forest regions. Since it so
nearly resembles the grasses and sedges among which it
grows, the best time to search for it is early in the year,
before the other early vegetation has started up.

THE DECIDUOUS EQUISETUMS,
OR HORSETAILS.

THE HORSETAILS.

, HE separation of the Equisetacez into
two divisions, called respectively the
Scouring-Rushes and the Horsetails, is
at best but an arbitrary classification.
The manner of growth, the structure
of the stem, and the method of fruit-
ing are the same in all, and they are
therefore properly placed ina single genus. There are
however, certain very noticeable characters by which
even the novice may separate them into the groups
mentioned, and in the popular mind they are usually so
separated. As treated in this book, the horsetails will
be considered as those species of Agw7se¢tum in which
the stems die at the approach of winter and the fruiting-
cones are without a terminal point. Their sterile stems
also usually produce regular whorls of branches, and the
fertile often do so. These form the section Zucguzsetum,
or Lguisetum proper, of the systematist.

The Field Horsetail.

The field horsetail (Aguisetum arvense) is without
doubt the most abundant ‘species of Lguzsetum in the
world. Not only is it widely distributed, but wherever
it grows it usually occurs in the greatest abundance.
Normally a moisture-loving plant, it can adapt itself to

44 THE HORSETAILS.

a wide variety of situations, and is often found in dry
and sterile places in which few other plants can exist,
such as dry roadsides and railway embankments. In
the latter situation it thrives exceedingly well, and,
though rooted in cinders, covers vast stretches of the
surface with a pleasing mat of its yellowish-green sterile
stems. All who have ever travelled a dozen miles on a
railway in summer have doubtless seen this plant.

The appearance of the fertile stems of this species is
among the first signs of returning spring. They come
almost before the grass has begun to green, often start-
ing up in such numbers as to give a strong tinge of their
own warm flesh-colour to the sunny slopes on which
they grow. There is something very mushroom-like in
the rapidity with which these fleshy stems mature when
once they have started to develop, and the likeness is
increased by the fact that, like the mushroom, they have
no green in their composition.

The first stems are usually fully developed and show-
ing their spores long before one has discovered that they
have started. If one begins the season early enough,
however, he may find just beneath the surface of the
earth numerous buds in which the fruiting-cones are all
complete and waiting for the first warm day to call them
forth. Indeed, as early as midsummer of the preceding
year these buds may be found. Just before growth
commences they often measure an inch or more in
length and half an inch in diameter. At this time the
sheaths are also fully developed, and overlap one another
like shingles on a roof, thus completely enclosing the
catkin. Growth consists in the development of the
internodes, and often proceeds at the rate of nearly two
inches a day. At maturity they are from a few inches

FIELD HORSETAIL. Eguzsefum arvense.

Sterile frond.

FIELD HORSETAIL. Lguisetum arvense,

Fertile frond,

THE HORSETAILS. 45

toa foot or more high, but less than a quarter of an
inch in diameter The earliest stems are to be found in
dry sandy places; those growing in wet or clay soils
develop much later.

The full-grown fertile stems are most attractive objects,
the yellowish sheaths with long, pointed, dark-brown teeth
contrasting very prettily with the deep flesh-colour of
the internodes. There are usually from six to ten of
these sheaths on a stem, each nearly an inch in length
and half an inch wide at the top, flaring upward like a
funnel. The upper sheaths are usually largest. In the
bud, the bases of these sheaths are deep yellow in colour.

The mature cones are yellowish-brown and frequently
two inches in length. They are a third of an inch in
diameter and much like those of the scouring-rush in
appearance, except that they are softer and more catkin-
like and lack the hard terminal point. The sporophylls,
owing to the way they are placed in the cone, are usually
six-sided, but there are often more than six sporangia,
and the outer ends of these are plainly indicated by
elevations on the outer surface of the sporophylls. The
spores are produced in great abundance, and at the
proper time the slightest jar will suffice to shake them
out in grey-green clouds. By striking a ripe cone upon
the back of the hand one may shake out a little heap of
spores that under a simple lens may be seen suddenly to
boil up, at the same time becoming lighter in colour.
This is due to the uncoiling of the elaters as the mois-
ture in them evaporates and the spores prepare to drift
away on the wind.

Soon after the spores have been shed, the fertile stems
wither and disappear. At the same time the sterile
fronds begin to be noticed, springing from the small

46 THE HORSETAILS.

buds at the top of the rootstock near the point where
the fertile stem arises. The sterile stems are much
taller than the fertile, in favourable circumstances reach-
ing a height of three feet. Ordinarily they are from ten
to fifteen inches high. The sheaths are shorter and nar-
rower than those of the fertile stems, but, like them, are
dilated upward. They are never so noticeable, being
usually pale green in colour and tipped with slender
dark-brown teeth. Toward the base of the stem the
entire sheath may be dark brown.

In the section to which the field horsetail belongs, the
structure and number of grooves in the stem and the
arrangement of the sheaths play a less important part in
the identification of the species than they do in the
fTippochete. They are, however, not
without value for this purpose. In the
present species it may be noted that
there are eight or more leaves in the
sheath of the fertile stem, and about
fifteen inthat of the sterile one. Since
there is usually one leaf for each groove
of the stem, the number of the latter
is easily ascertained. The tips of the leaves of this
species are not deciduous, and the central hollow of the
stem occupies about one third of its diameter.

In what may be considered the normal plant, the stem
is erect and bears about twenty whorls of slender
branches, a whorl at each joint of the stem. Each whorl
consists of adozen or more simple, three-angled, ascend-
ing branches six inches or more long, making a bushy
frond in which it is not difficult to fancy a likeness to
the tail of a horse. Doubtless it was the appearance of
this species that earned the common name for the

Section of Stem.

PLATE Il.

WOOD HORSETAIL. Lauisetum sileaticum,

COPCRIGHT, 1505, BY FREDERICK A STCKES COW RANY

THE HORSETAILS. 47

group. The branches, as in the evergreen species, are
produced from buds in the axils of the leaves in the
sheath, and these, as they develop, burst through the
base of the sheath instead of growing up out of it.
The branches arc, of course, jointed like the stems, with
sheaths at the joints, and at their junction with the main
stem each is surrounded with a dark-coloured sheath of
its own which gives an additional girdle of colour to the
joints of the main stem. In the ordinary plant a few of
the lower nodes do not produce branches, while toward
the tip the whorls of branches are successively shorter,
forming a blunt-ended frond above which the stem con-
tinues for a short distance as a slender prolongation.

As might be expected of a plant growing under such
diverse conditions of light, warmth, and moisture, there
is great variation in the form of the sterile frond. Mr.
A. A. Eaton has recorded no less than nine named forms
in the Fern Bulletin. None of these seem fixed, and
it is likely that all can be changed to the normal form by
a change in the soil or surroundings. The erect form
which we have taken as typical is mainly found in moist,
rich, light soil in half shade. The next most noticeable
form is named decumbens, and is characterized by the
main stem spreading along the ground with only the tip
erect. The short branches, however, are all erect, and
this makes a peculiar one-sided form easy to recognize.
It is common in exposed sterile soil and is usually to be
found on railway embankments. In the form called
diffusum there appears to be no central stem, the
branches arising from the summit of the rootstock and
spreading flat on the earth. This is often found along
roadsides, and in other places, in the company of decum-
bens. Pseudosylvaticum is a form in which the branches

48 THE HORSETAILS.

branch again, as they do in the wood horsetail. In
these forms the branches have no central hollow, and
many of them are more than three-angled.

The fertile fronds seem little inclined to change with
the changes of the sterile one. Occasionally, however,
small catkins appear on the tips of sterile stems in
early summer, forming the variety campestre. This is
supposed to be due to a late spring frost cutting down
the regular fertile fronds, and thus throwing a fruiting
tendency into the sterile stems.

The. main rootstock of this species is perennial,
branching, and creeps extensively a foot or more below
the surface of the earth. At short intervals secondary
rootstocks are given off, and these go directly to the
surface, there giving rise to both fertile and sterile fronds.
The rootstocks are in all respects like the stems except
that they lack the central hollow. The internodes of the
secondary rootstocks are often heavily clothed with short,
tawny felt, and at the nodes, as in the main rootstock,
the usual sheaths occur. From the base of the buds in the
axils of these sheaths the roots are produced. When the
buds develop they produce rootstocks, though if exposed
to the air they may take on the form and function of stems.
They often remain dormant for an indefinite period, but
will grow at once if needed in the economy of the plant.

The secondary rootstocks often bear at the nodes
small rounded tubers as large as peas. These have the
same structure as the rootstock, and are probably in the
nature of arrested branches. More than a dozen of
these tubers have been found on a twelve-inch section
of secondary rootstock. It has been conjectured that
these tubers act as storehouses of food upon which the
plant can draw when the fronds are developing.

Legutsetum arve

stre,

Lgu

THE HORSETAILS. 49

In Great Britain this species is called ‘corn horsetail,”
on account of its abundance in grain fields. It has also
a great many names referring to its appear-
ance, among which may be mentioned

“mare’s-tail,” “cat’s- tail,’ “colt’s-tail,”

,

“fox-tail,” ‘“pine-top,” ‘ pine-grass,’
yw, “meadow-pine,” and ‘ bottle- brush.”
“Jointed rush,” in allusion to its structure,
and ‘“snake-grass,’”’ a reference to its habitat,
, are names it shares with other species of
LX Eguisetum. In old botanical works it is
occasionally called “ toad-pipes,” ‘* paddock-
pipes,” and “tad-pipes,” all of which have
been given in reference to its association
with frogs and toads, “ paddock” being
an old word for “frog.” The appellation
“smoke-rush ” is not clear.

The field horsetail is found around the
world in the northern hemisphere from lati-
Nh J tude 38° to 83°. It has also been reported
. from the Canaries and from the Cape of
AN Good Hope. Inthe United States it does
‘&)) 7. Rot appear to reach the Gulf States, but it
is found sparingly in California. It grows
in woods, fields, meadows, swamps, and
along streams, and is especially plentiful
along railways. When fresh, cattle eat it

s a

BUDS AND TUBERS OF FIELD HORSETAIL,

50 THE HORSETAILS.

with impunity, though when cut with the hay it has
been found to be quite poisonous to horses. At the
first hard frost in autumn, the stems in exposed places
perish, but where protected by vegetation they may
exist for some time longer.

This species is so widely distributed that the cultiva-
tor of the fern allies seldom has to transplant it to his
grounds; but if it be desired to make it grow, nothing is
easier. A bit of the root-stock, planted almost any-
where, will soon produce one of its characteristic thickets.
Once started, it is most tenacious of life, and if buried
six feet or more in loose soil will ultimately come to the
surface again.

The Ivory Horsetatl.

It is a curious coincidence that the commonest species
in both groups of Aguzsetum should each be related toa
second species that very much resembles it except in
size. The great scouring-rush is so near like the com-
mon one that it may be doubted whether the two are
not forms of a single species; but in the case of the
field horsetail and its gigantic counterpart no such
uncertainty exists. The difference in size alone would
almost be sufficient to distinguish them, for the sterile
fronds of this giant species, the ivory horsetail (Eguzsetum
telmateia), often reach a height of ten feet. Otherwise
the two have many points of general resemblance, though
none are sufficiently close to cause confusion in identify-
ing them. Both are among the earliest of spring plants
and are able to grow in a varicty of situations, and the
fertile fronds are sharply differentiated from the sterile,
dying soon after the spores are shed. In view of these

ORY HORSETAIL. § Lguesetum telmateta,
Fertile frond.

THE HORSETAILS. st

resemblances it is curious that the range of Lguisctum
telimateta in America should be restricted to a narrow
strip of country on the Pacific coast, while Agursetum
arvenuse is spread over nearly the whole continent. The
two may thus sometimes grow in the same locality, but
no intergrading forms have been found. When they grow
in company, Aguzsetum arvense appears to be a week or
more earlier than Zguisetum telmatcia. The time at which
the fertile spikes appear depends somewhat on the locality.
In California, according to Campbell, growth continues all
winter, and the fertile fronds, developing gradually,
spring up and spread their spores whenever they are ripe.

In British Columbia the fertile spikes are produced
during the first warm days of spring, which occur about
the middle of April. Ina short time they have reached
a height of from ten inches to two feet, with a diameter
of aninch or more. The stems are therefore the heavi-
est of any species in the North Temperate Zone. They
are reddish brown, contain thirty or more shallow
grooves, and at the joints are encircled by the large,
loose, light-brown sheaths, which, including the long,
slender teeth, are nearly two inches in length. The cat-
kins are two or three inches long, and three quarters of
an inch thick, and consist of twenty or thirty whorls of
sporophylls.

The sterile fronds appear as the spores are being shed.
These are ordinarily about three feet high, though in
favourable situations they may attain to more than
thrice that height, in such cases being half supported by
the shrubbery among which they grow. Often they
grow in such masses that it is difficult to pass through
them. When the stems appear, the branches are short
and closely appressed, but later they spread out some-

52 THE HORSETAILS.

what, as in the field horsetail. There are sometimes
more than twenty whorls of these branches, and from
twenty to forty branches ina whorl. Near the tip the
whorls are rather close together; below, they are farther
apart, and the lower third of the stem is naked. The
average length of the branches is nearly six inches, but
in some instances they are three times as long. The
sterile stems are pure white, and the sheaths which
closely invest them are pale green, with brown teeth.
The common name of this species was given in allusion
to the colour of these stems.

Although the ivory horsetail grows in regions where
the earth is not penetrated very deeply by the frost, in
the North, at least, its stems are strictly annual. The
rootstock is similar to that of Aguzsetuim arvense, though
larger, and at the nodes it also bears numerous tubers
which are as large as marbles. These tubers often occur
in necklace-like strings, and show very plainly that they
are the swollen internodes of the rhizome.

Like Lguisetum arvense, this species has numerous vari-
eties, mostly of an ecological nature. Late in the year
one may find fruiting-cones on the ordinary green stems.
In the case of similar cones on the normally sterile
fronds of Eguzsedum arvense, it has been assumed that
they have been caused by an injury to the fertile stems;
but in Francis’s “ British Ferns” it is stated that the
cones on £gurtsetum telmateia are caused by drought, and
that with specimens grown in pots these cones may be
produced at will by withholding water at the proper
time.

Equisetum telinateta is well distributed in the Old
World, being found from Ireland and Scotland to
Siberia, Persia, and North Africa. In America it is

IVORY HORSETAIL, Ligudsetum telmateta,

Section of Sterile frond.

THE HORSETAILS. 53

found at low altitudes along the coast from southern
California to British Columbia and Alaska, being abun-
dant in the central part of its range and the dominant
Equisetum in British Columbia. According to Mr. A. J.
Hill, the Indians are said to eat the fertile spikes. In
addition to the usual common names, this plant is some-
times called the “great water horsetail” and the “ mud
horsetail,” neither of which is very appropriate, at least
in this country, where the plant grows in any soil, includ-
ing railway embankments. The spores lose their vitality
soon after they are shed, and this may perhaps account
for its being less abundant than the field horsetail. The
species seems to be rarely cultivated, though it ought to
be a most desirable species for decorative planting.

The Shade Horsetatl.

The American collector is likely to see little of the
shade horsetail (Aguisetum pratensc), for its centre of
distribution is in the far North. Only a few stations for
it in the United States are known. It is possible, how-
ever, that when students become more familiar with this
species it will be found to be more widely distributed.
Its rather close resemblance to the field horsetail makes
it easily overlooked by the novice.

One of the important features in which this species
differs from the field horsetail is found in the fertile
shoots, which, after the spores have been shed, put forth
whorls of branches from the nodes and thereafter behave
in all respects like sterile stems. While this is true of
the majority, other stems may be found that die as soon
as the spores are shed, and the species is therefore
usually described as having three kinds of fronds. The

54 THE HORSETAILS.

vegetative impulse seems to exist in different proportions
in each one, some having so little that they do not sur-
vive the spring fruiting. It is interesting to know that
the size of the sheaths varies with the kind of stem,
being largest in the evanescent fertile stems, of medium
size in those fruiting stems that later bear branches, and
smallest in the wholly sterile ones. Before the fertile
stems have produced branches, they are much like the
fertile stems of the field horsetail, except that they are
usually shorter, slenderer, paler in colour, and with less
flaring sheaths. They have been described as sea green
with pale sheaths tipped with long, pointed, white-
margined brown teeth. The catkins are about cylin-
drical, an inch long, and a quarter as wide, and perish as
soon as the spores are shed.

The sterile stems are erect, fifteen inches to two feet
in height and very slender. They are white or pale
green in colour and contain from eight to twenty grooves.
Below, the stems are smooth, but toward the apex the
ridges are thickly set with tooth-like projections of silex
which are frequently large enough to be seen with the
unaided eye. The sheaths closely encircle the stem,
and are pale green, tipped with white-margined brown
teeth similar to those of the fertile stems. In the upper
two thirds of the frond, each node gives rise to a whorl
of simple, jointed, three or more-angled branches.
These are peculiar for having the joint nearest the stem
short and bent sharply downward, while the rest of the
branch is spreading or ascending. This character is one
that the eye readily appreciates.

The shade horsetail is found in the North Temperate
and Arctic Zones of both hemispheres. According to A.
A. Eaton it ranges southward to New Jersey, Michigan,

Lequisctum pratense,

SHADE HORSETAIL.

Sterile frond.

SHADE HORSETAIL, Kgwisetum pratense.

Fertile frond.

THE HORSETAILS. 55

Minnesota, and along the Rocky.Mountains to Colorado.
It has also been reported from Iowa. In Minnesota it
is said to be common, but elsewhere in the United
States it is very rare. From Alaska to the Hudson
Bay region it appears to be plentiful. It is more abun-
dant in the Old World than with us, growing in culti-
vated fieldsas well as in waste places, often so plentifully
as to be considered a troublesome weed. Eaton
observes that it must be common in the rye fields of
Germany, since it is nearly always present in the straw
in which German glass is packed for export.

In appearance and habitat this species stands so
nearly midway between the field horsetail and the wood
horsetail that the beginner might fancy it a hybrid
between them, but students of the equisetums do not hold
this view. The three forms of fronds, however, are of
interest in showing in a single species the relationship
between fertile and sterile shoots.

The Wood Horsetail.

In his book, ‘The Fern Garden,” Shirley Hibbard
characterizes the wood horsetail (Lgursetuim silvaticum)
as ‘the most elegant of all the plants upon the face of
the earth.” This may seem like extravagant praise to
those who have never chanced upon its graceful green
spires reared in the shadows of some moist woodland ;
but to those who have, it will probably seem not much
overdrawn. If not ready to admit its claim to be the
most elegant of plants, they will scarcely deny that it is
the handsomest of the equisetums and fully the equal
of any other plant whose beauty depends entirely upon
the outline and cutting of leaf and stem.

56 THE HORSETAILS.

As in all species of “:g#ise¢um in which there is a
marked difference between fertile and sterile fronds, the
fertile are first to push up, appearing shortly after those
of the field horsetail and in their early stages scarcely to
be distinguished from them. There is, however, from
the beginning, a greenish tinge to the stems, presaging
their subsequent vegetative functions, while the sheaths,
rather longer for their width than in Aguzsetum arvense,
are tipped with long teeth of bright reddish brown. At
first the sheaths are dilated upward, but they soon
change to urn-shape on account of the swelling buds
within. The fruiting cone is about an inch long and
one third as wide. It is of the same general colour as
the stem, and consists of the usual number of sporophylls
borne above the topmost sheath on a pedicel two or
three inches long.

Before the spores are ripe, whorls of branches have
begun to develop from the upper joints. Sometimes
even the lowest whorl of sporophylls push out a few
short branches. The fruiting parts usually wither as
soon as the spores are shed, while the rest of the stem
continues to develop branches and soon is hard to dis.
tinguish from the wholly sterile fronds, except that the
sheaths are somewhat larger and the apex of the stem
not so slender and tapering.

The sterile fronds closely follow the fertile, and when
fully developed may reach a height of three feet. The
stem is slender and has twelve to eighteen grooves, the
ridges between being rough with small particles of silex,
but never rough enough to be noticeable. The lower
nodes do not produce branches, but above there is a whorl
of branches at each node, the lowermost reaching a length
of three to six inches, and the others gradually decreas.

WOOD HORSETAIL. Egudsetum seleaticum,
Sterile frond.

Feqursetuim stilvatécune,

Fertile fronds.

WOOD HORSETAIL.

THE HORSETAILS. 57

ing in length to the apex of the frond. Occasionally,
however, the branches at the apex are nearly as long
as those below. The branches of cach whorl spread
out nearly horizontally, and each is again branched,
the longest branchlets being nearest the stem. The
effect produced is that of a series of circular green plat-
forms diminishing in size upward, with the main stem
as a central column. The fine and slender branchlets
with drooping tips make the whole frond exceedingly
delicate and graceful. This is the only species in the
world in which the branches are again regularly
branched. In some cases the secondary branches are
also branched. :

The rootstock of the wood horsetail is slenderer than
that of Aguisetum arveuse; otherwise it much resembles
it. The sheaths of the secondary rootstocks, however,
are better developed, though the buds from which the
fertile spikes are produced are smaller. The secondary
rootstocks also bear tubers, though not so abundantly
as does L£guisetum arvense or LEguisetum telmateie.
These tubers are usually much larger than those of
F-quisetum arvense and are ovate instead of spherical.

The wood horsetail is found in America from
Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, and Nebraska to the Arctic

WOOD HORSETAIL BUDS AND TUBERS,

58 THE HORSETAILS.

Circle, but apparently does not occur in the United
States west of the Rocky Mountains. It is also found
in the northern parts of both Europe and Asia. It
delights in rich moist soil, its favourite haunts being
deep woodlands and the banks of shaded streams. It
is rarely if ever found in fields, though it may persist in
pastures and swamps for some time after the sheltering
trees have been removed. Like the field horsetail, it is
sometimes called “ bottle-brush ” in allusion to its fronds.
It has the reputation of fruiting sparingly, and the fruit-
ing-spikes are certainly not so abundant as those of
other species when the plant grows in deep shade,
though in exposed positions they may always be found
in season. Plants that extend their bounds by root-
stocks or bulbs usually produce few seeds or spores, and
our plant seems to be no exception to therule. Accord-
ing to Withering, horses are fond of this species, and in
the north of Europe it is said to be sometimes pre-
served for winter fodder.

The wood horsetail readily adapts itself to a life in
the fern garden if given a fat soil and plenty of shade
and moisture. It spreads nearly as rapidly as the field
horsetail and presents a far more attractive appearance.
It may also be grown in the greenhouse. In such situ-
ations the rootstocks, being prevented from following
their inclination to spread about, send up great num-
bers of the graceful, emerald-green fronds that are the
delight of all who see them.

The Water Horsetail.

Of all our American equisetums the water horsetail
(Equisetum fluviatile) is undoubtedly first to start into
growth each spring, but, owing to the length of stem it

Lequisetum fluviatile,

WATER HORSETAIL.

THE HORSETAILS. 59

produces before fruiting, it does not put forth its
catkins until several other species have shed their
spores. As its name implies, this species is usually
found in several inches of water, and the rootstock,
lying in the unfrozen mud, early feels the vernal impulse
and starts the young stems upward soon after the ice
has disappeared and while yet the meadow grasses are
brown and sere. These developing stems are most
striking objects, being ringed at close intervals with
many circles of the black saw-like teeth of the sheaths.
Sometimes as many as thirty circles of teeth may be
found on the stem before it has pushed above the sur-
face of the water. Growth, as in the other species, is
principally a matter of lengthening internodes.

About the last week in May, in the southern part of
its range, the stems that are to produce the spores
develop a fruiting-catkin an inch or more in length and a
third as thick. Fertile fronds are ordinarily not abun-
dant, but it is said that a period of drouth will greatly
increase their numbers. As soon as the spores are shed,
this catkin withers, but from the sheaths of the stem
that bears it slender branches have been developing, and
these, lasting through the season, make the stems look
so much like the regularly sterile ones that they cannot
be distinguished from them at first glance. Since the
production of spores is a heavy draft upon the vigour of
the stem, the fertile fronds are usually overtopped by
the others, which often reach a height of five feet or
more.

There is no uniformity in the manner of branching, as
in most other species, but each stem is likely to vary the
pattern somewhat. In general, however, the lowest ten
or twelve joints are unbranched, then come several

60 THE HORSETAILS.

whorls of simple branches which grow successively shorter
upward, ceasing entirely six inches or a foot below the
apex, which thus extends above the bushy portion as a
slender whip-like prolongation. The lowest branches
are often a foot or more in length and seem more-in the
nature of secondary stems. Usually the branches are
much shorter and are disposed in regular horizontal
whorls, though often, especially toward the apex of the
stem, the symmetry of the whorls is destroyed by the
failure of certain branches to develop. It is not uncom-
mon, also, for both fertile and sterile stems to be entirely
without branches, in which event they might be mis-
taken for forms of the common scouring-rush. In
branched forms the lowest branches may occasionally
put forth a few branchlets, but usually the branches are
simple.

The stems of this species are smooth and contain from
ten to thirty shallow grocves which are not very promi-
nent in the living plant, but become more marked in the
dried specimens. The sheaths are like the stem in
colour, about as broad as long, and closely appressed to
it. The teeth, separated from one another by rounded
sinuses, are short, sharp, and nearly black in colour.
According to A. A. Eaton, the number of grooves in the
stem and the number of leaves in the sheath increase
upward, so that the upper joints often contain a third
more than those below. The stem is hollow for about
four fifths of its diameter, none of our other species
equalling it in this respect. The carinal canals are
apparently always present, but the vallecular are often
wanting in growing stems, though very prominent in
older ones. The rootstock, which is about as thick as
the stem, is also hollow. It is usually not very deep in

WATER HORSETAIL. LZaaisetum puviatile.

PLATE Ill.

CCPYFISHT, 1905, @¥ FRELEFICK A, STOKES COMPANY

THE HORSETAILS. 61

the soil, perhaps because the overlying water makes it
unnecessary by keeping out the frost. As the aérial
stems rise through the mud, they send out roots from
the basal joints, and it is pro-
bable that if the entire stem
was buried in the mud _ it
would promptly take up the
offices of a rootstock. Branches
of the rootstock sometimes
produce tubers which are de-
scribed as “about the size of a
nutmeg, but shaped like a fig.
Half a dozen have been found
ona single branch.

This species has very little silica in its outer coat and
is one of the smoothest of the equisetums. It is readily
eaten by cattle, and is said to be fed to cows in Sweden
to increase the flow of milk. In Lapland, reindeer eat it
even when dried, though they will not touch hay, and
Linnzus recommended that it be gathered and preserved
with reindeer-moss for winter use. When abundant it
is occasionally cut for hay in America. According to
Haller, the Romans were accustomed to eat it. Musk-
rats are very fond of the young stems and often work
much havoc among them just as they are pushing up to
the surface of the water.

The water horsetail extends from Virginia, Kansas,
and Washington to the far North, being not uncommon
in the northern United States, though not always present
in what appear to be favourable locations forit. While
it prefers to grow in several inches of water and is com-
monly found in the quiet reaches of shallow, slow-
moving streams or on the margins of lakes and ponds, it

”

SECTION OF STEM.

62 THE HORSETAILS.

is often found in mud or moist sand and gravel at mid-
summer, owing to the lessening of the water by drouth.
Along certain rivers it forms a continuous border for
miles, almost to the complete exclusion of other plants.
It occurs also in northern Europe and Asia, belting the
earth ina zone nearly a thousand miles wide. It is a
polymorphic species and in some of its disguises is hard
to identify. Its irregular branching and appressed
sheaths are most characteristic features. It is'so much
like the marsh horsetail and the shore horsetail in
appearance that the novice may have trouble in dis-
tinguishing between them, but since this is the only one
of the trio that is abundant it is safe to give it the
benefit of any doubt that may arise.

In many books the species is called Egursetum limosum,
but fuviatile is the older name. This difference in age,
however, well illustrates the small differences that govern
the work of botanists. The name /vzatile stands just
before /¢mmosuim in “ Species Plantarum” and is, therefore,
older by the mere length of time it takes for the printer
to set a line of type; and yet this is held sufficient to
make the one for ever right and the other for ever wrong.
Limosum is now used to characterize the nearly un-
branched form. Among its common names are “mud
horsetail,” “ joint-grass,” and ‘“ paddock-pipes.” The
last name is also given to Eguzsetum arvense, but is more
appropriately applied to this species, since it is found
in the places beloved of ‘“ paddocks,” as frogs were
commonly called.

The Marsh Horsetatl.

At first glance it is possible°to mistake the marsh
horsetail (Agutsetum palustre) for the water horsetail,

ELguisetum palustre,

MARSH HORSETAIL

THE HORSETAILS. 63

but the fact that Eguzsetum palustre is rare in the settled
parts of America will save the collector from making
many mistakes of this kind. Should he by chance
collect the rarer species, he will discover, by comparing
it with the other, that there are many small though
important points of difference. Although the two are
so much alike in habitat and structure, the stems of
Equisetum palustre are more deeply grooved and have
a smaller central hollow, the sheaths are dilated upward,
and the rootstock is solid, all of which are the exact
opposites of the conditions that prevail in the water
horsetail.

The marsh horsetail is a smaller species than Lguesetane
fiuviatile, seldom reaching a height of two feet, and,
though delighting in rich moist soil, is not so frequently
found growing in the water. The stem is slender and
often branched from the very base, producing regular
whorls of short branches. Occasionally the basal
branches may be much longer — perhaps two thirds the
length of the main stem —and may be borne half erect
like secondary stems. Fertile and sterile stems are
much alike, except that in the one the main stem is
terminated by a catkin, and in the other the apex ends
in a slender unbranched tip.

The catkins are unusually large for the size of the
plant, being an inch or more long and about a third as
wide. They are borne above the last whorl of branches
on slender pedicels an inch or more long, and, as is the rule
among horsetails, perish as soon as the spores have been
dispersed. The species begins to fruit early in summer,
and a succession of new stems may often prolong the
season into autumn, though the greatest number of
catkins will be found early in the year. Sometimes

64 THE HORSETAILS.

the long basal branches, or a few of those near the tip,
may bear small cones of fruit also.

The sheaths in both fertile and sterile fronds are
longer than broad, greenish in colour, with rather loose
black teeth bordered with white margins. They invest
the stem quite loosely, being dilated upward. The
leaves are convex, grooved in the middle at the apex,
and strongly keeled below.

The stems have from five to twelve broad, deep
grooves, the ridges separating them being narrower,
sharply elevated, and rounded on the back. These
grooves are fewer in number than in Lguisetum fluviatile
and in fresh specimens are much more prominent.
When dried for the herbarium the difference is not so
marked. The branches usually contain fewer angles
than the stem, and their sheaths are also green and
dilated. The central cavity of the stem occupies about
one sixth of the diameter, a character which alone is
sufficient to distinguish it from Lgutsetum fluviatile.
Carinal and vallecular canals are also present. Although
so much like the water horsetail, it occasionally pro-
duces forms that are very much like varieties of
Lquisetum arvense, and the likeness is heightened by
the similarity of the internal structure of the stem.

The marsh horsetail has been reported from all the
New England States except Rhode Island, and from
Illinois and Washington. In none of these States is
it abundant or extensively distributed, and in many
the record rests upon a single locality. It is more
plentiful in British America, extending to Alaska and
Hudson Bay. It grows among grasses in damp mead.
ows, in moist woodlands, and in open swamps. Dr. C.
B. Graves has found it in Connecticut in meadows sub-

A Form of Egwésetum lttorale,

THE HORSETAILS. 65

ject to frequent overflow. It occasionally forms thick-
ets, as the other species do, but appears not to be as
gregarious as some. In the colder parts of the Old
World the plant is more plentiful, but becomes rare in
southern Europe. Mr. A. A. Eaton notes in the Fern
Bulletin that the Indians of Alaska make baskets of the
rootstocks of some species of Lgudsetui and concludes
that this is the one used.

The Shore Horsetail.

Many botanists are inclined to question the right of
the shore horsetail (Zgudsetum littorale) to be called a
distinct species. It presents a most perplexing series of
forms and appears never to be twice alike. Now it is
tall and abundantly branched, like Aguzsetum fluviatile,;
again it may be prostrate or decumbent, like forms of
Eyuisctum arvense; and at other times may simulate
Equisetum silvaticuin or Equisetum palustre. The sheaths
may be appressed or dilated, the central cavity may
occupy one-half or two-thirds the diameter of the stem,
and_ the stem itself may be either branched or simple.
Still more remarkable, the spores are abortive and have
no elaters, this being the only form of Eguzsetum having
this latter characteristic. All these differences seem
best explained by the theory that the forms given the
name of Eqwisetum littorale are really hybrids between
some other species, and while the author accepts this
theory the form is here treated as a species in order not
to confuse the novice, who will find it listed as a species
in all other American works.

Since the varieties of the shore horsetail most often
resemble specimens of Aguisetum fluviatile and £qutse-

66 THE HORSETAILS.

Zune arvense, it has been conjectured that these specics
are its parents. In both structure and habit it is about
halfway between the two, and in some localities a series
of intergrading forms could be selected, leading almost
imperceptibly from one to the other. The strongest
point made against the theory of the hybridizing of
these two species is the fact that they do not fruit at
the same time, but in reality this may be indirect evi-
dence in its favour. Lguisetuim prothallia may live for
some months if unfertilized, giving ample opportunity
for crossing between species that do not fruit at the
same time, while the infrequency of such an occurence
would account for the rarity of the hybrid form. Since
in all the Eguiseta the sexes are on separate prothalli,
it would be a much easier matter to prove or disprove
this theory than it would be in the case of ferns where
both sexes are on the same prothallium.

As commonly described, Ayuisetum littorale is three
feet or less in height, usually erect, with slender stems
containing from six to twenty grooves. In some speci-
mens the stems are unbranched, in others branched oniy
in the lower part, and in still others branches occur nearly
to the top. In all, the upper nodes are prolonged into a
whip-like tip which in fruiting specimens bears a small
fruit-cone. Usually the stems with cones are not
branched as much as the others. At the base of the
stem the sheaths are dark in colour; above, they are
green with short, narrow, dark-coloured teeth bordered
with white. The sheaths may be appressed near the
base of the stem, but beyond they usually widen out
The catkins are borne on very slender pedicels and often
do not become much larger than pepper-corns, though
occasionally they may attain a length of half an inch,

FORMS OF SHORE HORSETAIL. Feguisetum lttoratle.

THE HORSETAILS. 67

The sporophylls do not draw apart at maturity, as in
other species; but this is of no consequence, since the
spores will not germinate.

The range of Eguisetum lttorale is given as from New
Jersey and Pennsylvania to Minnesota and northward.
It is only occasionally found, but, where present at all,
often occurs in great abundance notwithstanding the
abortive spores, since it spreads rapidly by means of its
rootstocks. Mr. Eaton notes that along the lower Mer-
rimac River the plant is so abundant as to be cut for hay
under the name of “ joint-grass.”” It prefersa drier location
than does £gursetum fluvtatile, but both may be found
together. According to Mr. Eaton the two species may
readily be distinguished in the field by a section of the
stem just below the joints. In stems of Lgu/setum litto-
rale the cross-section presents a star-like opening, while
that of Eguisctum fluviatile is larger and circular. In
ELquisetun littorale the vallecular canals are always pres-
ent, but they are absent in Lgudsetuim fluviatile except in
large or old stems. It is easily distinguished from Egut-
setum fluviatile, however, by the fact that the sheaths
are never so closely appressed to the stem, the grooves
of the stem are fewer and deeper, and the central hollow
is not so large. The shore horsetail is also found in the
Old World, extending from England to France, Austria,
Russia, and Scandinavia.

THE LYCOPODIACEA, OR CLUE-
MOSSES.

THE LYCOPODIACEZ.

;N the early days of plant study, long
/ before the art of simpling had crys-
talJized into the science of botany,
people had very hazy ideas regarding
the affinities of plants, and the most
diverse were often placed in the same
group. The Lycopodiacez were then
thought to be mosses, but the fact that
they bear their spores in club-shaped
spikes did not escape notice, and they
were accordingly called club-mosses to
distinguish them from the true mosses,
which bear their spores in capsules.

Although everyone nowadays knows
that the club-mosses are not very
closely related to the mosses, the name
is so convenient and descriptive that it
is likely always to be used in speaking
of them.

In appearance the club-mosses
are as different from the scouring-
rushes as one could well imagine.
The most noticeable character-
istics of the scouring-rushes are
the great development of stem

Wy and the small functionless leaves,
A moss Capsule. while the club-mosses are remark-

92 THE LYCOPODIACE€.

able for their leaves, which, though small, are so numer-
ous as often to make it easier to infer the presence of a
stem than actually to see it.

In our species of Lycopodium there is nothing that can
be called a rootstock, unless we are inclined to call the
main axis a combination of rootstock and stem. In some
species this axis is above ground and covered on all sides
with the leaves; in others it is beneath the surface or
buried in the débris that covers the forest floor; and in
still others it creeps upon the surface of the earth with
roots on the under surface and leaves on the upper. In
all, it may send out roots whenever it comes in contact
with the earth. It is noticeable, however, that there is
only one growing end to this axis, and that the other is
more rootlike in appearance. As the stem continues to
add to its length at the growing end, it as slowly dies at
the other, and thus the plants year by year move slowly
forward, and, though rooted in the soil, no individual
plant occupies quite the same position for two successive
seasons. Indeed, although the life of the plant has
continued uninterruptedly, it may be fairly questioned.
whether after some years it is the same individual. The
leaves are not the same, the roots and stem are not the
same, and it does not occupy the same place in the
woodland. <

In some species the main axis reaches a length of ten
or fifteen feet; in others, less than half as many inches.
It usually takes a course parallel to the surface of the
earth and occasionally sends out secondary stems that
are exactly like it in growth and function. From all
these stems spring the short upright branches that form
the noticeable part of the plant. The leaves are small
and pointed, with a distinct midrib, which, however, does

THE LYCOPODIACE&. 73

not extend to the apex. They are arranged on the stem
and branches in from four to sixteen rows, the number
depending upon the species. These numerous short
leaves, mostly standing out from the stem, make many
species look exceedingly like mosses, especially when
not in fruit; but even then they may be distinguished
from mosses by the fact that their stems contain pro-
nounced fibro-vascular bundles, while those
of the mosses do not.

The lycopodiums are among the latest of
the fern allies to fruit. Some in the northern
States do not shed their spores
until latein October. The spore-
cases are always borne at or near

the tips of the branches. In one
type they are in the axils of

unchanged leaves; in another the

ib,

leaves are more or less reduced

and yellow in colour, forming
cone-like spikes which in some

A Fruiting-
Sporecase species are borne above the spike,

foliage leaves on slender stems. The sporangia or spore-

Sporophyll and

cases, one in the anil of each leaf, are one-celled kidney-
shaped structures with thin tough walls. The spores are
very abundant, and bright yellow in colour. Undevel-
oped spore-cases are often found above and below the
zone of fruitful sporangia.

The prothallium of Lycopodium is still imperfectly
known. In the species in which it has been studied it
usually consists of a cylindrical mass of pale cells either
wholly or partly underground and bearing both male and
female elements. These pale prothallia, lacking the
green colouring-matter of ordinary plants, cannot secure

74

THE LYCOPODIACE2&.

their food as other plants do, and so have set up a part-
nership with a fungus which is always present and aids

in the work.

The prothallia of certain exotic species liv-

ing on trees are slender, much-branched structures and
are saprophytic, that is, they live, like the mushrooms,

SPOROPHYLLS OF LYCOPODIUM.
x. L.complanatum. 2. L. alpinum. 3. L. sabine-

6. L.
8. L. Carolinianum.
ro, L, obscurum, 11. L. alopec-

folium. 4. L. clavatum. 5. L. Sitchense.
cernuum. 7. L. annotinum,
g. L. inundatum.
uroides,

upon the decayed
vegetable matter in
their ’ Be-
cause of this asso-
ciated fungus it is a
difficult matter to
grow the prothallia
of the Lycopodiacee,
and that of many
species has never
been seen. Further
observations of these
structures are very
much to be desired.
It is suggested that
the prothallia might
be raised by infest-
ing them with spores
of the fungus. This
might possibly be
done by watering the
spores with water in
which the roots of the
lycopodiums

vicinity.

have

been soaking. This theory is being put to a practical
test, but the experiments have not progressed far enough

to have the results included here.

In all flowering plants, and in nearly all others, the

THE LYCOPODIACE. 75

roots, penetrating the earth, give off rootlets here and
there as conditions require ; but in the Lycopodiums the
roots branch dichotomously, dividing into two equal
branches which may again divide in the same way. The
roots do not seem to have any special point on the stem
from which to grow, but develop on any part that
touches the soil.

There are about a hundred species of Lycopodium
known at present. The majority are found in the
warmer regions of the world, where they often grow on
the branches of trees, many feet from the ground.
Other species clamber over the vegetation like the climb-
ing ferns. Our species are all low and inconspicuous
plants, keeping close to the earth on moors or in swamps,
woodlands, and thickets. Some are very hardy, electing
to grow in barren rocky wastes on the very edge of the
world, as it were. They are often found in the greatest
abundance on rough mountain-tops or bordering the
roadsides in elevated districts. Some extend northward
to the Arctic Circle and beyond. All our species are
perennial, and not only are the leaves of most of them
evergreen, but many appear to last for several years.

The lycopodiums of the present are mere rem-
nants of the race. During the Coal Period they were
most luxuriant, and the various forms attained the
height of trees. Of these the lepidodendrons and sigil-
larias are well known, while the roots of other species
were once erroneously referred to a genus called Szzg-
maria. The spore-cases of some of these old lycopo-
diums have been so carefully preserved by nature that
their structure may still be discerned. It is a curious
fact that the ancient species were heterosporous, with
two kinds of spores like Jsoefes and Selaginella, while
living lycopodiums have spores all alike.

76 THE LYCOPODIACE.

The club-mosses are probably the best known of the
fern allies. During the winter holidays, great quanti-
ties of certain species are used in festoons, wreaths, and
other decorations. The steadily increasing demand for
such greenery is pushing several of the more decorative
species to the verge of extinction, since they reproduce
very slowly. The spores of some species form an import-
ant article of commerce, and, under the name of lyco-
podium powder, may be found in any drug store. They
contain more than half their buik in oil, and, if sprinkled
in the flame of a candle, may be seen to ignite witha
flash. They have been extensively used in fireworks
under the names of vegetable brimstone and vegetable
sulphur. If sprinkled thickly over the surface of a glass
of water, one may plunge his finger to the bottom with-
out its being wetted. Their chief value to the druggist
is for dusting pill-boxes, to keep the pills from sticking
together. Various species of Lycopodium Nave been
used in dyeing, and some are emetic, but their medicinal
effects are too violent to entitle them to a place among
drugs of the present. Most species are also more or
less astringent.

The word Lycopodium comes from two Latin words
meaning “wolf” and “foot,’’ but the reason for its
application to these plants is not apparent unless it is in
allusion to the habit they have of growing in wild and
inhospitable regions where only the foot of the wolf is
likely to tread.

Kkry To THE LYCOPODIUMS.

I. — Sporangia in the axils of ordinary leaves
Leaves flat. Lowland species. . L, luctdulum
Leaves curved upward. Mountain species LZ. se/ago
II. — Sporangia in cone-like spikes
Sterile stems prostrate ; fertile, erect, unbranched
Prostrate stems usually branched L. alopecurozidecs
Prostrate stems short, seldom branched
Rooting throughout L. Carolinzanum
Rooting at base and tip only . L. cvundatum
Fertile and sterile stems erect ; rootstock creeping
Cones closely sessile
Averaging an inch or more long ZL, odscurum
Averaging less than an inch long
L. annotinum
Averaging less than half an inch long
L. cernuum
Cones apparently stalked
Branches about four-sided . L. alpinum
Branches round
Leaves bristle-tipped, $ inch long
L. clavatum
Leaves not bristle-tipped, shorter
L. Stichense
Branches flattened
Cones two to four, peduncle long, stout
L. complanatum

Cones one to three, peduncle short, slender
L. sabinefolium

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

Wi, IKENESSES among the club-mosses are so
y .
noticeable that any member of the group is

easily recognized. Certain differences in the
manner of growth, however, make them
separable into two groups, in one of which
the species are small and the plant body
mostly erect or decumbent, while in the
y, other the plants are larger and
* the principal stems long and
trailing. These latter are the
species that figure in our holiday
decorations, and as most of them are well known in
consequence, and are also common and widely distrib-
uted, they will be discussed in this first of two sections
devoted to the club mosses.

The Common Club-Moss.

One seldom goes far in the scrubby uplands without
coming upon the long, dark-green stems and yellow
spikes of the common club-moss (Lycopodium clavatiune),
which delights to grow close to the earth and half
hidden by the surrounding vegetation. In = sunny
thickets, however, it is often so abundant as completely
to carpet the ground for many yards with its interlacing
stems, and it is everywhere one of the most abundant
species of its genus.

82 : THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

The main stem often reaches a length of tén feet or
more, though it is usually much shorter. At the grow-
ing end it is usually,above ground and covered on all
sides with the green leaves; at the opposite end it is
more or less hidden under an accumulation of dead vege-
tation, and the stems and leaves are yellowish. Here
and there, throughout its length, single, stout, cord-like
roots are given off, which extend downward until they
enter the soil, where they usually branch once or twice.
Frequently this main stem is branched, and these
branches, like the axis from which they spring, main-
tain a course parallel with the earth. At short intervals
along these stems other branches are produced which
extend upward. During the first year they are from
one to three inches long and are simple, but at the next
growing-season they add more to their length and at
the same time put out short side branches. This con-
tinues for several years until the older branches are
several times branched, with occasional roots springing
from the portions nearest the earth. There is thusa
regular gradation from the short simple branches at the
growing tip of the stem, less than a year old, to the
larger much-divided branches at the other extreme
which have outlasted several seasons.

The leaves are evergreen and persist for several years.
They are arranged on stem and branches in about eight
longitudinal rows, and so close in the rows as to over-
lap. They are about a quarter of an inch long, very
narrow, and each ends in a long soft bristle. On
account of the angle at which they are set on the stem,
the branches appear about half an inch in diameter.
The edges of the branch leaves are entire or occasionally
toothed; those on the main stems have larger teeth.

Peay Sey

Lycopodium clavatum,

COMMON CLUB-MOSS,

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 83

The old leaves are dark green in colour, but the new
growth is light silvery green and very noticeable in
early summer. Owing to a slight constriction at the
place where each scason’s growth begins, it is very easy
to ascertain the age of each branch by counting the
constrictions.

About midsummer the plant begins to put up its
fruiting parts. These are simply transformed branches,
and often indicate the relationship by producing one or
more sterile branchlets instead of the usual cones of
spores. The fruiting-spikes are always borne at the
tips of branches of the previous year, in the position
that sterile branches hold on other branch-tips of equal
age. The fruiting peduncles are most abundant on the
older parts of the plant, but any branch that is more
than a year old may produce them. Sometimes in a
distance of a single foot along the main stem there will
be a dozen or more peduncles, each with three or four
strobiles, or fruit-cones, at the summit.

The stalks or peduncles are from three to eight inches
in length, the average being about five inches. They
are nearly of the same diameter as the stem, but, owing
to the absence of leaves, appear much slenderer. They
are clothed with appressed bracts like the leaves in out-
line, but which are smaller and at maturity are yellowish
in colour, The strobiles are from one to three inches
long, thicker than the peduncle, and consist of a great
number of close-set, little ovate or heart-shaped sporo-
phylls with thin ragged edges and soft bristle tips, each
covering a yellow kidney-shaped spore-case. The spores
are bright yellow and are produced in prodigious quanti-
ties. They are ripe in early autumn. The lycopodium
powder of the shops is composed of the spores of this

84

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

species, the supply coming mostly from Sweden, Russia,

RRO ers

ee nee

Ce
LE te
3S

ae
eae

SSS SSS

Wy

WA

Nf
Y

Lycopodium clavatum
nonostach yon.

and Switzerland. It is obtained by gather-
ing the spikes just before the spores are
shed, and collecting the powder in papers.
Occasionally a form of this species is
found in which there is but one strobile
on each peduncle. This has been named
variety monostachyon. It is usually found
in dryish situations, and its form is appar-
ently due toa lack of some of the normal
plant’s requirements. While the variety
usually produces but one strobile to each
spike, it is possible to find plants with
single strobiles near the growing end, and,
farther back, peduncles bearing two or more
strobiles.
This plant is one of those in greatest
demand for holiday decorations, and the
i demand for it has made it rare in many
\y localities. Fortunately, owing to its
\i manner of rooting, the whole plant is
\ seldom pulled up, and the fragments
\) left behind may ultimately produce

‘4 thrifty plants, so that it is likely to be

a long time before it entirely disappears
from a locality.

This is the club-moss par excellence,
as its specific name indicates. In
America, however, it is better known
as “ground-pine,” ‘“running-pine,” or
“trailing Christmas green.” Among Old
“World names for it may be mentioned
“fox-tail,” “stag-horn,” “ buck-horn,”

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 85

“buck grass,” and “wolf's claw,” all of which doubtless
have reference to the manner in which the branches grow.
In Cornwall it is known as “ good-luck.” Other names
applied to it in various localities are “ coral evergreen,”
“ running-moss,” “ snake-moss,” “ toad-tail,” and “ lamb’s-
tail.” The plant has strong astringent properties, and
was once used in medicine. In Sweden the stems are
woven into doormats and the plant is known as ‘ matte-
grass." It seems to have been the custom for holiday
parties in the Old World to trim their hats with the
stems of the club-moss. The Swedes especially are men-
tioned in this connection, and Wordsworth alluded to
the custom in the following lines:
“ Or with that plant which in our dale
We call stag’s-horn or fox’s-tail
Their rusty hats they trim.

And thus as happy as the day
These shepherds wear the time away,”

This species is one of the most widely distributed of
its genus. It is common in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic
regions of both Hemispheres, and has also been reported
from tropical America, Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, Mad-
agascar, India, Java, New Guinea, the Hawaiian Islands,
and eastern Asia. As might be expected, there is con-
siderable difference in the appearance of specimens from
the extremes of its range, and it is a question whether
they are all varieties of one species or a series of closely
related species. Many, of course, have been described
as separate species. The author has collected specimens
in the American tropics, which are almost exactly like
our common form except that they are more luxuriant
and have longer peduncles. In North America it ranges
from the Arctic Circle southward to Oregon, Iowa,

86 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It also occurs
in the mountains of North Carolina. In the southern
part of its range it may be expected only in the elevated
regions. Further extensions of its range are likely to be
made when these have been thoroughly explored. Its
habitat may be described as upland woods, but it is
found in many exposed places and often grows in old
fields and pastures. Its abundance makes it one of the
first species likely to be found by the novice.

The Stiff Club-Moss.

If, while collecting in the haunts of the common club-
moss, one should come upon a plant closely resembling
that species except that the fruiting-cones are sessile on
the ends of the branches, he may feel sure he has dis-
covered the stiff club-moss (Lycopodiuim annotinuin). This
is seldom so abundant as its better-known relative, but it
is by no means rare in the elevated parts of the northern
United States and Canada.

The species is like Lycopodium clavatum in so many
habits and superficial features that, with the exception of
the manner of fruiting, one description would “almost
serve for both. The main stem may be said to come
nearer our idea of a rootstock, being yellowish for most
of its length, less leafy, and somewhat more deeply
buried in the débris of the forest floor. In length it
ranges from three to six feet or more, and the upright
branches are usually simple the first season. The second
season they branch or continue to increase in length,
finally reaching a height of twelve inches in robust
specimens, and often three or four times forked. The
branches appear to arise dichotomously, and are more
nearly erect than in the common club-moss.

ge oe
TAS F SSS
FF LEVT ae

Lycopodium annotinum,

STIFF CLU3-MOSS,

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 87

The leaves are about a quarter of an inch long, some-
what firmer than those of Lycopodium clavatum, and are
arranged on stem and branches in from five to eight
rows. They are narrowly lanceolate with toothed mar-
gins, and end in an acute point without a bristle. At
the ends of the branches the tips of the leaves point up-
ward, but below this they are more spreading. As the
new season’s growth springs from the midst of the erect
leaves, there are, in consequence, alternating zones on
the branches in which the leaves are spreading or
appressed, each appressed zone marking the ending of
one season’s growth and the beginning of another. From
this circumstance the plant is called the ‘“ interrupted
club-moss” in the Old World. The zones are most notice-
able in specimens growing in exposed places. Accord-
ing to Moore’s “ British Ferns,” old branches, after
fruiting, bend over, take root, and start new rootstocks,
but there appears to be need for further observation on
this point before the statement is accepted.

The chief distinguishing feature of this species is found
in the strobiles or fruit-cones. They are half an inch to
an inch or more long, about one fourth as wide, and are
borne singly on the tips of the branches with no sign of
the peduncle so noticeable in Lycopodium clavatum.
They are, as usual, made up of a great many small,
closely assembled sporophylls, yellow in colour when
ripe, and broadly heart-shaped with an irregular margin
and slender tip. Each subtends a kidney-shaped spore-
case filled with pale yellow spores which are ripe in late
August or September.

In the far North, and on mountain tops in milder re-
gions, there isa form of this species called variety pungens.
It is characterized by its thicker, shorter, sharper leaves

88 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

set closer on the branches and nearly appressed to them.
The zones marking the beginning of each season’s growth
are also very clearly marked. It is in all ways a more
compact plant than the type, the differences, without
doubt, being due to the cold and exposure to which it is
subjected.

The stiff club-moss is found from Washington to Col-
orado, Minnesota, Michigan, and New Jersey to Alaska
and Greenland, appearing to be very common in suitable
places in British America. It also occurs in the colder
parts of the Old World and in the Himalayas. It loves
the moist, shady woodlands, and is seldom plentiful in
the dry and exposed places in which Lycopodium clava-
zum thrives.

The Ground-Pine.

Although several lycopodiums are more pine-like in
appearance, the name of ground-pine is most often
applied to the plant known to the botanist as Lycopodium
complanatum. It would require a lively imagination to
detect in this species any resemblance to the pine, for
the flat branches form little horizontal fans and semi-
circles quite unlike pine needles or branches. By what-
ever name called, however, it isa distinct and easily recog-
nized species, while its abundance, varied habitat, and
extended distribution make it well known to collectors.

Like the common club-moss, the ground-pine has a
long running main stem or rootstock which may reach a
length of eight orten feet. It creeps along close to the
earth, or an inch or two below the surface, and at inter-
vals sends down its single cord-like roots. The branches
are erect, those of the season being from two to five

Lycopodium annotinum pungens,

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 89

inches long and consisting of ashort main branch termi-
nating in a bud-like point with a pair of opposite fan-like
lateral branches just below it. These lateral branches
fork four or five times near the base, or, occasionally,
nearer the tips, the terminal branchlets being from half
an inch to two inches long and spreading out horizon-
tally in flat semi-circles. Occasionally there is a single
lateral branch near the base of the main stem. The
following year the bud-like point carries the main branch
upward a few inches more, and there produces another
pair of similar forking lateral branches. This process
may be repeated for several years in succession, resulting
in main stems a foot in height. The lower lateral
branchlets also lengthen more or less in subsequent sea-
sons by additions to the tips, the new growth being very
noticeable at midsummer by reason of its lighter colour,
These lateral branches may also send up short branches
like the main one the second season, such branches aris-
ing from the point where the branchlets are given off.
The branchlets of our common plant are ¢ f
flattened in a plane parallel to the earth,
and have a very distinct upper and lower
side, or, in other words, they are dorsi-
ventral. The upper surface is also darker
green.

In the matter of leaves this species
differs greatly from most of our native
club-mosses. First of all, owing to the

dorsi-ventral branchlets, there are two

Upper and under
surface of Branchlet.

kinds of leaves arranged in four rows.
Extending lengthwise of the branchlets
on the under side is a row of very short pointed leaves ;
in a similar row on the upper or dorsal side is a series of

go THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

larger leaves with tips closely appressed ; while on each
edge of the branchlets, and most noticeable from above,
is another row of the large leaves with slender spreading
tips. The largest of these leaves are often not an eighth
of an inch long, but their bases, being broad and decur-
rent, forma tiny lateral wing to the branchlets. The
leaves on the main stem usually have narrower bases.

The fruit-spikes are an inch or more long and are
borne on slender yellowish peduncles three or four inches
in length. These are produced from near the tips of the
main branches, two or three peduncles from each branch,
and from their position are apparently transformed
lateral branches. At the apex each peduncle forks, and
each fork immediately forks again, thus giving rise to
four cones of fruit. Occasionally there are one or two
more fruit-cones, but four is the usual number. The
peduncles are sparsely clothed with slender, nearly
appressed scales, and the cones consist of large numbers
of white-margined, heart-shaped scales with broad bases
and slender tips, each covering a kidney-shaped spore-
case initsaxil. The spores are very numerous and are ripe
about August or September. Like those of Lycopodium
clavatum, they are gathered in quantity and have acom-
mercial value. In most club-mosses, after a branch has
once borne fruit, it commonly does not fruit again, but
in this species it is not unusual for new branchlets and
new fruit-spikes to be produced for two or perhaps more
successive seasons.

This species was named complanatum by Linnzus, and
until recently our well-known plant has been called by
that name. It would seem, however, that the branch.
lets in the Linnazan specimens were less inclined to
spread horizontally, and from this circumstance Mr. M.

SO AE

eee eh Se

odium complanatum,

Lycop

GROUND-PINE.

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. gt

L. Fernald thinks our plant should have a different
name. He has recently proposed to call it variety flade/-
liforme. There seems to be good reason for thinking
that the Linnean plant is represented in our far North»
or, rather, that our plant with spreading fan-shaped
branches tends to bear these branches erect as one pro-
ceeds northward.

Growing with the common ground-pine, and seldom
distinguished from it by the novice, may often be found
specimens in which the branchlets are more erect and in
which the under row of leaves scarcely differs in size from
the upper and lateral rows. This has usually been regard
ed as a fairly distinct variety or species named chaniuccy'-
parissus. In contradistinction to the type, the main
stem is quite like a rootstock, being pale,
slender, and buried several inches in the
earth. The foliage is often lighter in
colour, and the branchlets also more
inclined to lengthen at the tips the second
season than in Lycopodium complanatui,
and while they are not spreading they
are more or less flattened, as in the other.
The fruiting parts are exactly like those
of Lycopodium complanatuim but are said
to ripen their spores two or three weeks

earlier. This latter feature, however,

Lycopodium com-
planatum chane-
euparissus,

sie ae ¥ _ Upper and under
surroundings of the plant. Chamarp. _ Uppet and unde

parissus is rarely if ever found growing
alone, and the invariable proximity of specimens of

seems to depend entirely upon the soil and

Lycopodium conplanatum suggests that it is only a
strong and well-marked form, due, perhaps, to the main
stem being accidentally covered with earth. Intergrad-

92 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

ing forms often occur. Since this form has always been
known in American publications as Lycopodium com-
planatuin chamecyparissus, it is called by this name here
to avoid confusing the beginner. An older name for it
has been recently unearthed, and if one is inclined to call
it a separate species it should be named Lycopodium
tristachyon. Those who consider it a variety or form
should callit Lycopodium complanatum tristachyon. The
difficulty experienced in raising lycopodiums from
spores prevents the application of a fairly decisive test
of the distinctness of these two forms. If it could be
shown that from the spores of one form the other may
also be produced, we would be warranted in thinking
them forms of the one species.

Lycopodium complanatum, like the common club-moss,
is occasionally found with fruiting-peduncles bearing a
single strobile each. This form has been described as
the variety Wzbdez. It may be expected in localities
where the type abounds, usually in the more sterile and
uncongenial surroundings.

This species is used in great quantities for decorations.
It is said that the trade in Christmas greens began in
New Jersey with this plant more than half a century
ago. The State is still prominent in the business,
though the demand long ago became so great that other
sources of supply had to be found. At present the
supply is drawn-from the States about the headwaters
of the Mississippi, more than two hundred tons being
gathered each year from a single State. The price
realized is about $75 a ton. In consequence of the
annual raids made upon it, the plant is rapidly becoming
rare, but small patches of it are still to be found in most
localities, while in some remote regions it still carpets

Lycopodium complanatum chamecyparrssus.

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 93

the ground to the exclusion of all else. Because of its
use in decorations it is probably oftener seen than any
other species.

Among its common names are “trailing Christmas
green,” “running-pine,” ‘“ground-cedar,’ and “ festoon
ground-pine.” It shares the name of “creeping jenny,”
with the common club-moss, and is also known as “ hog-
bed” and “liberty.” Occasionally it is called ‘ princess
pine,” but this name belongs by right to one of the
heathworts.

The ground-pine is found in the North Temperate
Zone of both Hemispheres and has been reported from
Madeira, the Azores, Madagascar, Java, Sumatra, New
Guinea, and other tropical islands. It is also found in
the Andes. Some of the forms from tropical coun-
tries are very different in appearance from ours and will
doubtless some day be considered distinct species. In
North America the plant ranges from the mountains of
Georgia to Labrador, Iowa, Washington, and Alaska.
In the United States the greater part if not all of the
plants belong to the variety flabelliforme. As Canada
is reached it fades gradually into the type. The range
of the variety chamecyparissus is usually given as from
Maine to Georgia and Minnesota, but it will probably
be found to be coextensive with that of the type when
it is better known. The plant loves moist, shady
woodlands, but may also be found in thickets and
pastures, and along roadsides, often in dry situations,
especially in upland regions.

The Ground-Fir.

In the northern parts of our continent there grows a
species of Lycopodium that much resembles Lycopodiuimn

94 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

complanatum in general appearance, and which is as-
sumed by some to be connected with it by the form
called Lycopodium complanatum chamecyparissus. While
it is possible that chameucyparissus may represent part of
the line along which its evolution proceeded, it is cer-
tainly a distinct species now. Botanists know it by the
name of Lycopodiuim alpinum, and the general public
speak of it as the ground-fir.

The ground-fir resembles its congeners in having a
long and creeping mainstem, close to the earth, from
which at short intervals it sends up short, erect branches
that fork repeatedly, forming dense, flat-topped clusters.
As in the other species, the branchlets add to their
length the second and perhaps subsequent seasons, the
new growth usually again forking. The leaves are about
an eighth of an inch long, broadly lanceolate, pointed,
and decurrent. They are dark green in colour, thick,
rounded on the outer surface, and closely appressed to
the branches, along which they are arranged in four
rows. Owing to this arrangement of the leaves, the
branchlets appear four-sided.

The fruiting parts are raised above the flat-topped
clusters of branchlets on very short peduncles
which are manifestly continuations of the main
branches, and which resemble the branchlets ex-
cept that they are less leafy and the leaves are
somewhat narrower. The peduncles usually fork
once near the spikes, and the leaves gradually
merge into the short-pointed, toothed, and
broadly heart-shaped sporophylls of the spike.
ee Ue spikes are from half an inch to an inch long,

aljinum. cylindrical, and become yellow-brown with re-
flexed sporophylls when aged. The peduncle appears

Lycopodium alpinunt,

GROUND FIR.

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 95

to remain green, Among the majority of botanists it
is customary to call this peduncle a branchlet, and
this species is therefore described as having sessile
spikes, but these spikes are not sessile in the sense that
those of Lycopodium annotinum are. Inthe other species
it is evident that the peduncles are transformed branches,
and since the branchlets that bear the spikes in this
species differ in a few slight particulars from those that
bear only foliage leaves, it is as reasonable to call them
peduncles as branches.

In the Old World this species is sometimes known as
“heath cypress.” It was once used in dyeing woollen
goods a pale yellow, the process being simply to boil
the goods in water with the plant and some leaves of
the bog whortleberry.

Lycopodium alpinum as now understood ranges from
British Columbia to the Arctic Circle, being common in
Alaska and Greenland. It is also found in the North
Temperate Zone of the Old World, extending southward
into the more elevated portions of Germany, Switzer-
land, and Spain. It delights in the open spots in moun-
tainous country, but in the colder parts of its range may
be found on grassy moors near sea-level.

The Savin-Leaved Cluib-Moss.

The several forms or species of Lycopodium growing in
the northern part of North America have given botanists
no end of trouble in working out their proper relation-
ships. They are all more or less like Lycopodium coim-
planatum, and it was once the custom of students to
refer them all to this species, just as the novice would
be inclined to do at present. It was less than ten years

96 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

ago that the tendency to call Lycopodium complanatum
chamecyparissus a distinct species began, and a still
shorter interval has elapsed since Mr. Fernald pointed
out the differences between the real Lycopodium com-
planatum and our common form. Lycopodium alpinum,
while much like these in general appearance, has always
had some standing in botanical circles as a distinct
species, though even in several editions of ‘‘Our Native
Ferns” Professor Underwood has suggested the possi-
bility of its being another form of Lycopodium com-
flanatum. In the same way the savin-leaved club-moss
(Lycopodium sabtne folium) has often been thought to bea
form of Lycopodium alpinum. All these, however, are
now believed by many to be separate species. There is
no doubt that they are all closely allied to Lycopodium
complanatum,—they might properly be called the
Lycopodium complanatum group; but with a series of
each before him even the novice would have no trouble
in distinguishing between them. Whether the differ-
ences they present are of specific value depends upon
the view-point of the student. The forms were all
named long ago, and are not therefcre new segregates,
but the tendency in the past has been to ignore them as
species.

The savin-leaved club-moss may be distinguished from
its nearest of kin, Lycopodium alpinum, by the fact that,
while the leaves are in four rows as in that species, the
branchlets do not usually appear to be so much flat-
tened. This is probably due to the fact that the leaves
of Lycopodium sabinefolium are slightly longer and
slenderer, and not so closely appressed to the stem.
The whole plant is slenderer than Lycopodium alpinum,
but it has the same trailing habit and manner of growth.

ae

y

SAVIN-LEAVED CLUB-MOSS. Z ycopodium sabinefoliunt,

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 97

The most striking difference between these two
species, however, is found in the fruiting portions. In
Lycopodium alpinum they are raised somewhat above the
foliage on thick branch-like stalks with appressed leaves,
but in the present form they are borne on slender
peduncles two or three inches long, which bear only
scattered, slender, spreading leaves. In Lycopodiuim
alpinum there may be some doubts as to
whether there is any peduncle at all to the
catkins; but no doubt whatever exists regard-
ing their occurrence in Lycopodium sabine-
folinm. The spikes are an inch or less in
length, slender, and the whorls of leaves on
the peduncles below the spike have the odd
trick of producing sporangia. When the
spores are ripe the sporophylls are usually re-
flexed as in Lycopodium alpinum, The cat- f
kins are usually borne singly, but there are Branch of

k ., Lycopodinm
occasionally two or three together. Like saéineyoliwm.
Lycopodium complanatum, the old branches produce new
branchlets and new catkins for at least two years in suc-
cession.

The savin-leaved club-moss is named for its resem-
blance to the juniper (/wziperus sabina). Its range is
given as from Prince Edward Island, northern New
England, and Ontario, northward. In geographical
position it lies between Lycopodium complanatum and
Lycopodium alpinum, and the three may not improbably
represent three strongly marked races of the same
species. It is of interest to note that while Lycopodium
alpinum ranges around the globe in high latitudes,
Lycopodium sabinefolium is not found in the Old World,
although there is a variety much like it in Japan called
Lycopodium Nikoense.

ars

98 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

Lycopodium Sitchense.

Half acentury ago Ruprecht described a species of
club-moss from the northern part of North America, to
which he gave the name of Lycopodiuim Sitchense. Until
recently little attention has been paid to this plant,
because it has always been considered a variety of
Lycopodium sabinefolium. It differs from that species as
at present considered in having shorter main stems, and
shorter, slenderer branches and branchlets which form
flat-topped tufts of green after the manner of Lycopodium
alpinum, The branches are not dorsi-ventrally flattened,
and according to Underwood the leaves are arranged on
the stem in five rows.

Lycopodium Sitchense is the smallest and most delicate
of all our trailing species. The main stems are often
less than a foot long and creep on the surface or just
beneath it. Its leaves are very slender, about an eighth
of aninch long ,and thickly set on the branches, from
which they stand out in a way that faintly suggests the
leaves of Lycopodiuin obscurum. As in all the other trail-
ing lycopodiums, the main branches con-
tinue to add new branchlets for several
years.

The catkins are from half an inch to an
inch long and an eighth of an inch in
diameter, and are borne on slender pedun-
: cles or are occasionally sessile on the ends of

en the branches. Most descriptions of this

Sitchense. species record the peduncle as less than
half an inch long; but specimens collected in the
Province of Quebec by M. L. Fernald have peduncles
nearly two inches long, and this feature seems to be not

oe
IIT?)

Lycopodium Sttchense,

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 99

uncommon. When peduncles occur, they are sparingly
clothed with slender bracts that are nearly like the
leaves in shape and size. In many cases but a single
cone is borne on the peduncle, but in the majority the
peduncle forks near the summit, each fork ending in
acone. At maturity the sporophylls appear to be
reflexed. ,

Lycopodium Sitchense is found in the United States in
Maine, New York, Idaho, and Washington, and extends
northward to Labrador and Alaska. It has not been
half a dozen years since its claims to specific distinction
have been seriously considered, and therefore compara-
tively little is known about it. It will doubtless be
found to be more abundant in the northern tier of
States than it has thus far been found to be. Owing to
its northern habitat it is likely to occur upon mountain
tops only in the southern parts of its range.

The Tree Club-Moss.

It-is not the tree-like proportions of the tree club-moss
(Lycopodium obscurum) that have suggested its common
name, but rather its habit of growth and general appear-
ance. The upright stems are so much like miniature
pine trees that any one finding the plant for the first
time is likely to identify it by associating its appearance
with the idea suggested by the common name.

The tree-like aspect of this species is heightened by
the fact that the main stem is deeply underground, and
the branches arising at some distance from one another
seem to be different plants instead of several branches of
one individual. Of all our lycopodiums, this species has
a main stem that is most like a rootstock, being slender,

100 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

pale in colour, sparsely clothed with yellowish scale-like
leaves, and sending out roots abundantly. It creeps
extensively, but seldom becomes as long as the stems of
those species that are wholly above ground.

The principal branches rise from two to five inches
above the earth before producing branchlets, and are
covered with many rows of curved, slender leaves each
about an eighth of an inch long, but decurrent upon the
branches in sucha way as to appear much longer. Each
main branch produces from five to eight alternate
lateral branches, the lowest of which are largest and
again branched two or three times before the final
branchlets are produced. The branchlets are from half
an inch to two inches long, thickly set with slender,
almost linear, pointed leaves arranged in four rows.

Like the other common lycopodiums this species con-
tinues to add to the length of the branches for several
years, during which the main branches continue to rise
and put forth other lateral branches. The first year
these latter are simple or slightly forked at the tips, and
the next year the new growth springs from these tips,
some producing one and some two branches. During
the winter the leaves become a light yellow-green in
colour, and the new growth, being dark green with
silvery tips, is very noticeable. Branchlets as well as
branches are crowded, half erect, and in old specimens
form compact tree-like forms nearly a foot high.

The spikes of fruit are borne singly on the tips of the
old branches, often as many as fifteen spikes on a
single main branch, though the number is usually much
less. The spikes are cylindrical, from half an inch to
two inches or more in length, and an eighth of an inch
in diameter. The sporophylls or scales of the spike are

PLATE IV. TREE CLUB-MOSS. Livcepoitium vhseurun.

COFYRIGHT, 1905, @Y YREDERILK A STOKES COMPANY

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. Io

broadly heart - shaped, with a slender tip, and closely
overlap. Occasionally the spikes are prolonged into
leafy branches above, showing unmistakably the rela-
tionship of spikes of fruit to the ordinary branches.
The spores are ripe about September, though many
ripen later.

Lycopodium obscurum ranges from Newfoundland to
North Carolina, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Montana.
It is found in southern Canada and extends northward
along the Pacific to Alaska. It prefers moist, shady
woods, and is one of the common species of the
Eastern States. None of our other species resemble
it very closely, which makes it a plant easy to identify.
This is another of the species used for holiday decora-
tions and is known as “ bunch evergreen” or “ crowfoot.”

The Stag- Horn Club-Moss.

Nearly all the club-mosses in our flora are lovers of
the north, and become rare as soon as warmer regions
are reached. This probably accounts for the fact that
the great State of California has not a single species of
Lycopodium within its borders. The Gulf States fare
somewhat better, though their species are not of north-
ern ofigin, but instead are northward extensions of
tropical species.

The rarest of the tropical club-mosses within our
boundaries is the stag-horn club-moss (Lycopodium cer-
nuum), which barely reaches the southern parts of Missis-
sippi, Alabama, and Georgia, but is more frequent in
Florida. In general habit it is like the tree club-moss
except that the rootstock or main stem is seldom subter-

102 THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS.

ranean. The aérial branches with us reach a height of
fifteen inches to two feet and are erect or ascending.
At short intervals they give off whorls of spreading
lateral branches that are five or six inches long and
branch again repeatedly. There are thus formed several
nearly level circles of green about the main branches,
after the manner of the wood horsetail. Should the
main branches become decumbent at base, the lateral
branches, near the earth, may lengthen and become
secondary rootstocks. The main stems and branches
bear large numbers of spreading leaves an eighth of an
inch or more long, but so slender that the stems never
seem to be heavily clothed. The branchlets bear great
numbers of similar, though shorter, spreading leaves,
which give the plant a soft and airy appearance.

The catkins are very small, often no more than an
eighth of an inch long, and are borne at the ends of
the branchlets, from which they droop slightly. The
sporophylls are ovate, tapering toa slender point, with
finely ciliate margins. The plants are very fruitful, and
the tall stems, with their circular whorls of branches
covered thickly with the small cones, make a very attrac-
tive picture.

Lycopodium cernuunt is pre-eminently a tropical species.
It is found around the world in warm latitudes, and ex-
tends to Japan, Cape Colony, and New Zealand. As
might be supposed,. the specimens from the United
States are undersized plants. In favourable situations
it often grows to the height of six feet or more, half
supported by the vegetation in its vicinity. The cones
may also reach a length of nearly aninch. In our region
the plant may be looked for on moist, half-shaded banks,
but in the tropics it occasionally grows in drier situations.

copodium obscurum,

VW

Lo

TREE CLUB-MOSS.

REET PS RE

q
STAG-HORN CLUB-MOSS. Lycopodium cerniiune.

THE TRAILING LYCOPODIUMS. 103

It is probable that it will yet be found in Louisiana,
Texas and California.

The name of stag-horn club-moss, or stag-horn moss,
has doubtless been given this species in allusion to the
branches, which have considerable resemblance to the
antlers of the deer. The plant does well in cultivation
and is common in conservatories.

THE ERECT OR DECUMBENT
LYCOPODIUMS.

THE PREC) OR DECUMBENT
LYCOPODIUMS.

sf RITERS on the fern allies usually place the
lycopodiums of the world in four distinct
sub-genera, but the plants are all so
much alike that no botanist ever thinks
of considering any of these divisions
as separate genera. The species to be
presently treated come from three of
these sub-genera, and so do not
form a natural group; but since all
of them lack the long trailing stems
of the other species it will be con-
venient to consider them together.

The Shining Club-Moss.

On deeply shaded hillsides, where
the soil is rich and moist, one may
often discover the dark-green and
glossy stems of the shining club-
moss (Lycopodium lucidulum). To
such localities the plant clings per-
sistently in spite of the falling leaves
and shifting particles of soil that
constantly tend to bury it. Year
after year its growing tips struggle

108 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS.

upward, and as regularly the parts at the other extreme
disappear beneath an accumulation of débris. It is cx-
ceedingly rare to find a specimen that is not thus half
buried, and in which many of the basal leaves are not
yellow and dead in consequence.

The stems of this species are constructed on a plan
somewhat different from that of the trailing species.
There is neither rootstock nor main stem in the usual
sense, but instead, the whole plant may be likened to
one of the primary branches of Lycopodium clavatum,
When the young plant begins growth, there is at first a
single short stem. At length this forks at the apex into
two equal branches, and these, after lengthening from
one to several inches, fork like the original stem, this
process continuing yearly during the life of the plant.
The stems do not fork every year, but may continue for
several seasons simply adding to their length. Growth
proceeds very slowly, often not more than an inch a year.
The stems attempt to grow erect, but after some years
the weight causes the stem to become decumbent at base,
and it then begins to decay. In the meantime, at inter-
vals along the old stem, strong roots have been sent
down into the soil, and when this decay has reached the
first fork there are thus formed two separate plants
where there was but one originally. Subsequently these
two become four, and so on, a single plant ultimately
giving rise to a whole colony. The living plants are
often five or six times forked, but the majority fork
only two or three times.

The leaves are about a quarter of an inch long,
narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate and sharp-pointed,
the outer third of each leaf bearing a few scattered teeth
on the margins, They are thickly set on all sides of the

MAME
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SHINING CLUB-MOSS. Lycopodium luctdulum.

DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 109

stem and stand out nearly at right angles to it, except
those at the tips of the stems, which are erect. Thenew
and spreading growth, springing from the midst of the
erect leaves, marks the stem with regular zones of
spreading and appressed leaves, by which the age of the
plant may be told. On old parts of the stem, the leaves
are usually reflexed. The leaves, though short, are the
largest borne by any North American species, and are
further distinguished by their very firm texture and
dark-green colour.

The spores are borne in kidney-shaped sporangia, one
of which is found in the anil of each of the ordinary
spreading leaves near the tips of the stems. This in
appearance isa wide departure from the usual way of
fruiting, but when one considers that the difference is
simply that in fruiting the leaves are not changed in
shape and colour, a fundamental resem-
blance is easily seen. One other difference
marks the fruiting of this species,— the ends
of the fruiting-branches continue to grow,
and the new leaves of one year become
the spore-bearing leaves of the following
season. Thus each stem has in time several

zones of sporangia. In some cases there

Sporangia. are at least six of these zones. The spor-
angia are bright yellow, and quite noticeable among the
green leaves, but the spores do not appear to be very
abundant. The empty spore-cases often remain upon
the stems for years. .

In addition to the ordinary means of reproduction by
spores and the less common multiplication by the
division of the stem, this species produces numerous
small bulblets that are capable of forming new plants.

110 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS.

These are found above or below the zones of sporangia
and issue from the same.part of the leaf that the
sporangia do. Each bulblet is borne ona six-bracted
stalk barely a quarter of an inch long, much as the seed-
pod is borne in flowering plants. The bulblets are about
as long as their stalks and appear as two cotyledon-like
scales. Stalk and bulblet have been likened to small
plump dustpans. They may be found in their prime
about midsummer, and by
early autumn they have
dropped from their stalks
and begun to form new
plants. They may be easily
found by searching beneath
the old plants. The stalks
upon which the bulblets are
borne usually continue for a
long time on the plants and may often be found in
herbarium specimens.

This species is sometimes called the “ hemlock club-
moss,” from the resemblance of its shiny leaves to those
of the hemlock tree (7suga Canadensis). It is also called
“swamp evergreen,” in allusion to the moist places in
which it loves to dwell. It is extremely tenacious of life,
Specimens have been known to continue growth fora
year or more when placed in a vase of water in the
house. Most of the club-mosses are very difficult to
transplant, but this species takes readily to cultivation.

A variety of club-moss has recently been described by
Professors Lloyd and Underwood, that differs from this
species only in being shorter and thicker and with
slightly narrower leaves. It grows in the same manner
as does the better-known plant, produces the same kind

A Bulblet.

A Single Spore-case.

Lycopodium porophilum,

DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. M1

of bulblets, and appears upon examination to be merely
a depauperate form of Lycopodium lucidulum. This view
of the matter is fully borne out by the habitat of the
plant, for it is described as growing only on sandstone
rocks. It is only to be expected that this moisture-lov-
ing species, germinating upon a dry sandstone rock,
would fail to come to its full luxuriance if it lived at all.
It has been described as Lycopodium porophilum, but
seems scarcely worthy of even subspecific rank. It
would more properly be called Lycopodium lucidulum
porophilune.

Its range is given as from Wisconsin to Indiana, Ken-
tucky, and Alabama, always on sandstone rocks. The
discoverer of the Kentucky station for this plant, Miss
Sadie F. Price, author of “The Fern Collector's Hand
Book and Herbarium,” has furnished the author with
specimens of this form and with the drawing which
faces page 110. She writes that she collected it for a
dwarf form of Lycopodium luctdulum and that when
growing it looks like an unthrifty specimen of that
species.

Lycopodium lucidulum ranges from Newfoundland to
South Carolina, Alabama, Iowa, and Minnesota. Mr. J.
B. Flett has recently discovered specimens in Washing-
ton that have been referred to this species, but owing to
the fact that the leaves are thinner, with bluntish tips
and fewer teeth, it has been named forma occtdcntale.
Lycopodium lucutulum is also reported from Japan,
China, and the Himalayas. It does not seem to be
known in Europe, though the so-called variety patens of
Lycopodium selago almost exactly matches our plant.
Its favourite haunt is a cool springy bank in the dense
shade of coniferous trees, though it may also be found

112 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS.

in drier situations. It rarely forms large patches, but
is seldom absent from suitable localities throughout its
range.

The Fir Club-Moss.

The fir club-moss (Lycopodium selago) is very much
like the shining club-moss in general appearance; but
the collector will not often mistake typical specimens,
for the reason that they rarely grow in company. In
the United States, the fir club-moss is a plant of high
mountain summits, and is not plentiful until British
America is reached. It is a shorter plant than Lycopo-
dium lucidulum and seldom reaches a height of more
than six inches. The stem forks several times, produc-
ing close, flat-topped tufts of branches that are usually
erect, but in old or thrifty stems may become decum-
bent. Each year the branches add to their length,
though, owing to the short seasons in its haunts, the
annual additions are not very great. The leaves are a
little more than an eighth of an inch long, crowded,
narrowly lanceolate with a rather broad base, and are
arranged upon the branches in about eight rows. They
are somewhat concave on the upper side and curve
upward toward the apex of the stem. In typical plants
the edges of the leaves are entire and the apex is sharp-
pointed.

The sporangia are borne in the axils of the leaves as in
Lycopodium lucidulum, but although they are no smaller
than in that species they are not as conspicuous, owing
to the upward-curving leaves. They are also less numer-
ous, The sporangia are not found on stems less than
one season old, and, since they persist for some time,

Lycopodium selago,

FIR CLUB-MOSS.

DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 113

several zones of sporangia may be found on a single
stem. This species also produces gemmz or bulblets in
profusion, and propagation by that means is probably
more common than by spores.

Until recently no doubts were entertained as to the
specific distinctness of Lycopodium lucidulum and Lycopo-
dium sclago, Dut it has recently been asserted that as
one passes downward from the mountain haunts of
Lycopodium selago he may find forms of it that gradually
merge into Lycopodium lucidulum, It is therefore sug-
gested that Lycopodium sclago is only a mountain form
of our common species. It is also noticeable that in
Europe, where Lycopodium sclago is common and Lycopo-
dium lucidulum unknown, there is a variety with spread-
ing, toothed leaves that appears to be very close to, if
not identical with, our Lycopodium lucidulum. Some
botanists are inclined to lay stress upon the fact that in
Lycopodium lucidulum the zones of leaves are alternately
appressed or spreading, while in Lycopodininm selago they
are all appressed or at least ascending; but it can easily
be shown that the alternating zones of Lycopodinim
fuctduluim are due to longer periods of growth, the
spreading leaves being produced at the height of the
season. If only a few leaves were produced each year,
they would undoubtedly be ascending. Should further
studies prove the truth of the theory that the plants
called Lycopodium luctdulum and Lycopodium selago are
but extreme types of one species, a rearrangement of
names will be necessary. Lycopodium selago, having
been named first, would retain its name, while the other
would become Lycopodium selago lucidulun.

This species was once valued for its medicinal quali-
ties. It was occasionally used as an emetic and cathar-

114 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS.

tic, but it is too powerful to be safe. According to
Moore’s “ British Ferns ” it was also used in the form of
an ointment as a counter-irritant. A decoction of the
stems is said to be used in Sweden to destroy vermin on
cattle. Like other species, this plant has been used for
dyeing and for fixing the colour of woollen goods. In
Ireland it is known as “ Virgin Mary’s furze,’ and in
Cornwall as “ good-luck.” According to M. W. Gorman
the natives of Alaska use the stems to produce a kind of
intoxication.

In the United States, Lycopodium selago is found from
North Carolina to Maine, Michigan, and Washington.
but only in the higher mountains. It extends to Alaska
and Greenland, being most plentiful and growing nearly
at sea-level in these northern countries. It is abundant
in northern Europe and Asia, and has been reported
from Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctic America.
Many forms of it are reported from the tropics, but these
are probably distinct species.

The Bog Club-Moss.

The club-mosses with which the average collector is
most familiar delight in moist spots in woodland, on
mountain side, or on moor, but the bog club-moss
(Lycopodium inundatum) is so fond of moisture that
it frequently grows in beds of sphagnum close to the
trembling boggy margins of our small lakes and ponds,
its habitat alone being often sufficient to identify it.

The stems of this species present still another depar-
ture from the more familiar club-moss form. They are
slender and threadlike, from two to eight inches long,
and are rooted near the base, beyond which they usually

dyin

. Ay nN alia WY we . ‘
ES NON

BOG CLUB-MOSS. Lycopodium ¢nundatum,

(Twice natural size.)

DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 11g

rise clear of the earth, bending over in the form of an
arch to root again at the tip. The plant is therefore as
truly a walking club-moss as Camptosorus rhisophyllus
is a walking fern. In the smaller specimens the stems
commonly do not branch, but in the larger ones two or
three short branches may be produced, each of which
roots at the tip like the main stem. Indeed, this is their
only means of continuing existence, for at the end of the
growing season the older parts of the plant die, leaving
these vigorous, bud-like tips, filled with plant-food, as so
many points from which new stems may be produced
the following year.

The leaves are from an eighth to a quarter of an inch
long, linear, entire, with broad bases and pointed tips,
and are closely crowded on all parts of the stem, though
owing to its horizontal position those on the under side
turn upward, so that all appear to grow from the upper
side. The fruiting parts are at the tips of separate
stems which are much like the main stems except that
they are stiffly erect. They are quite short, usually
under five inches high, and spring from the older parts
of the main stem. They are clothed with leaves similar
to those on the other parts of the plant, but less spread-
ing, and there is usually but one fruit-stem to a plant.
The cone of fruit is froma quarter of an inch to two
inches long and about twice the diameter of the stem.
There is no sharp line marking the separation between
stem-leaves and sporophylls, one almost imperceptibly
merging into the other. Typical sporophylls are broad
and rounded at base, toothed above, and suddenly
narrowed to a long slender tip; but, near the base of the
spike, sporangia are borne by the ordinary linear stem-
leaves. The sporangia approach globose in shape, and

116 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS.

though but one is borne in the axil of cach sporo-
phyll they are numerous enough to make the spike
the heaviest part-of the plant. The spores are ripe
in late autumn.

A larger form of this plant, with slender branching
stems and slightly longer leaves, has been named the
variety Lzgcloviz. According to Baker’s “ Fern Allies”
the fertile stems of this are sometimes a foot long, with
a spike six inches in length. It is the author's opinion,
however, that a form of the closely related Lycopodium
alopecurotdcs has been wrongly identified as this form.
He has seen no specimens of the so-called variety
Higelovit that were not more properly placed elsewhere.

In localities where the bog club-moss is undisturbed,
the plants frequently form “ fairy rings” like those formed
by various fungi. The rings are due to the creeping
habit of the plant, which tends to carry the tips slowly
outward from the centre, which is left vacant by the
dying of the older parts. Where the progress is unob-
structed, the circles continue to enlarge for many years.

The bog club-moss is a northern plant, being plentiful
in Labrador and Alaska, and extending southward to
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington. It
is also acommon:species in the north of Europe. It is
seldom found except in swampy ground, and is con-
sidered rather rare in the United States. After the
Carolina club-moss it is our smallest species. It is possi-
ble to find fruiting specimens less than two inches long.

The Fox-Tail Club-Moss.

Just asthe bog club-moss begins to be rare southward,
another species appears which resembles it so closely

FOX-TAIL CLUB-MOSS.
Lycopodium alopecurotdes, One-third natural size.

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Lycopodium alopecuroides adpressum,

DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 117

that the novice might be excused if he should think it a
gigantic specimen of the northern plant. This new spe-
cies is the fox-tail club-moss (Lycopodium alopecurotdes),
a plant which reaches its best development in the South-
ern States, but which in the northern part of its range is
still so robust that the single characteristic of size is
nearly enough to distinguish it.

The sterile stems of Lycopodium alopecuroides are from
ten inches to two feet long. In small specimens they
may arch as do those of Lycopodium inundatum, but in the
larger plants they are likely to be simply trailing. The
main stems are about an eighth of an inch in diame-
ter and give off several lateral branches, the more vig-
orous of which may branch again. The stems root most
abundantly near the tips, but may also produce slender
roots wherever they come in contact with the soil.

The leaves are a quarter of an inch or more in length
and are produced thickly on all sides of the stem, but
those from the under surface grow upward and appear as
if produced from the sides. They are narrowly linear,
spreading, with the tips pointed, and the margins bear-
ing an occasional slender tooth.

The fruiting stems are erect, a foot or more high, and
are clothed with appressed or spreading leaves like those
of the sterile parts. The spore-bearing area is from one
to four inches long, and about one third thicker than the
stem which bears it. The sporophyls are much like
the ordinary leaves, but Jonger and with more teeth.
The spores ripen very late in the year, often not until
the end of Octoberin the north. Unlike Lycopodium
znundatum, a single plant often produces several fer-
tile stems, as well as certain additional upright stems
that are manifestly in the nature of fertile stems, but

118 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS.

which never come to fruition. These latter are borne on
the branches or on the newer parts of the main stem, and
are doubtless produced too late in the season to be fruit
ful. In exposed places throughout its range there is
found growing with the type a form that by some has
been considered a species and named Lycopodruim
adpressum. It differs from the type in being somewhat
smaller, with shorter, thicker, less spreading leaves,
and with slender fruiting-stems clothed with appressed
leaves in shape like those of the sterilestems. The fruit-
spikes are from one to four inches long, and about twice
the diameter of the stems that support them, the sporo-
phylls being rather broader at base than in the type.
Owing to the appressed leaves, the fruiting parts are
more distinct and cone-like than those of the type.
The spores are produced in great abundance. Sev-
eral fertile stems are usually produced on each plant,
and the upright sterile stems noticeable in the typical
Lycopodium alopecuroides are also plentiful. All the char-
acteristics in which this form differs from typical plants
are such as might be produced by an unusual amount of
light and heat, and the exposed situations in which the
plants grow seem fully to account for this appearance.
Under these circumstances it seems better to call this
a sub-species and to name it Lycopodium alopecuroides
adpressum, Although this form has always been known
by the name of adpressum, whether treated as a species or
as avariety, it has recently been proposed to change it to
Chapmant, because the name adpressum was earlier ap-
plied to another plant. If considered as a variety, our
plant would now be called Lycopodium alopecuroides
Chapman.

A curious form of adpressum was found on Staten

PLATE V. LYCOPODIUM ALOPECUROIDES ADPRESSUM.

COPYRIGHT, .90%, BY PRELERICK A. STCHES ZCYPANY

DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 119

Island, New York, by W. II. McDonald, who named it
folyclavatum, It is like ordinary adpressum with the
exception that the fertile stems each bear from two
to six short branches, some of which produce fruit cones
while others are sterile.

Still another form of Lycopodium alopecurotdes is occa-
sionally considered a distinct species and called Lyco-
podium pinnatum, It is a slender plant, growing in
wet places, and derives its specific name from the sup-
position that its stems are pinnately branched. It
is certain, however, that while the stems may appear
pinnate they are not really so, and that this is simply a
more branched form of the species. Aside from this
character the stem is long and slender, and the leaves
are inclined to stand out at right angles to the stem,
this being due to the watery habitat the form affects.

Lycopodium alopecuroides is essentially a tropical plant
and within our limits is confined rather closely to the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In South America it is said
to extend to Monte Video. The typical form extends
northward to Long Island, where it was first discovered
by the author near Babylon. The form pénnatui isa lux-
uriant phase of the plant found only in watery situations
in the Gulf States. Lycopodiuin alopecuroides adpressuim
extends to the coast of Massachusetts and is the common-
est form from New Jersey to Virginia. The plant isa
lover of the swampy sand-barrens and often covers large
areas. So far as known, both the species and varieties
are absent from the interior of the continent.

The various disguises of this plant have always been a
puzzle to botanists. It was first described asa variety
of Lycopodium inundatum, and when the forms were

discovered they too were named as varieties. There is

120 DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS.

no doubt, however, that it is distinct from Lycopodium
mundatum. The common name of “fox-tail club-
moss” has been given this species in allusion to the
bushy spike of fruit like a fox’s tail.

The Carolina Club- Moss.

The Carolina club-moss (Lycopodium Carolinianuim)
is one of the most diminutive of its race, and its
claims to being the smallest North American species
could not be contested with any prospects of success by
any save the bog club-moss. In the northern part of its
range, at least, it is clearly entitled to the honour, and it
is only when we include the more robust plants of the
South that any doubts arise.

The sterile stems of this species are from one to four
inches long and are appressed to the earth, clinging so
closely by means of numerous roots that the plant can
scarcely be got up entire without the use of knife or
trowel. Owing to their position the stems are markedly
dorsi-ventral, and the leaves are of two sorts, the larger
often a quarter of an inch long, borne on the sides of
the stem and spreading; the others awl-shaped and
borne on the upper side of the stem. The large leaves
are ovate-lanceolate with a broad base, entire margins,
and pointed apex. In these, one side is longer than the
other, causing them to curve sidewise and throwing the
tiny midrib a little to one side of the middle. Although
so short, the stems usually produce one or two smali
spreading branches.

The fruiting-stems, of which there appears to be but
one toa plant, no matter how robust the specimen, rise
from the older portion and often reach a height of ten

CAROLINA CLUB-MOSS, Lycopodium Carolinéanum,

DECUMBENT LYCOPODIUMS. 121

or twelve inches,—several times the length of the
sterile stems. They are very slender, but are stiffly
erect and sparsely clothed with small, linear, appressed,
long-pointed leaves. At the top is borne the single
cone, consisting of many close-set, yellow sporophylls,
each subtending a roundish spore-case. The sporophylls
are broad and rounded, with spreading tips, and the
cone is about three times the diameter of the stem or
peduncle. Inthe northern part of its range the fertile
stems are usually short, and the cones are from half an
inch to an inch long. In the South the stems are taller,
and the fruiting portion often three or four inches long,
though not much thicker than in the Northern plant.

The Carolina club-moss is found from central New
Jersey south to Florida and Louisiana, so far as known,
only near the coast. It delights in open sandy swamps
in the pine-barrens, and in its New Jersey haunt is fre-
quently a neighbour of that rare little fern, Schrsea
pusilla, It is not found in Europe, but according to
Baker's “‘ Handbook of the Fern Allies” it occurs in
Ceylon, Hong Kong, New Guinea, Tasmania, and the
Cape of Good Hope. It is also reported to occur in
South America as far south as Brazil. It is probable
that many of these forms will ultimately turn out to be
different species. Some are described as having stems a
foot long. In the tropics, forms referred to Lycopodiuim
Carolinianuin sometimes bear tubercles on the sterile
stems,

THE PSILOTAGEZE,

THE PSILOTACEA.

NE of the most curious of all the fern
allies, and one of the rarest in our flora,
is that relative of the lycopodiums
which botanists call Pselotum triguetrum.
This, in fact, is often considered as
one of the Lycopodiacez, and in many
books will be found included as one of the four genera
supposed to belong to that family; but the typical
Psilotum form is so different from that of Lycopodtuim
that in the opinion of modern botanists we are war-
ranted in placing the species in a separate family which
has been named the Psilotacew. In this family, as now
recognised, there is the single genus Psz/o¢win, and in
this genus less than half a dozen species. Baker's ‘‘ Fern
Allies”” names but two species and several varieties,
Others are inclined to give some of the most pronounced
of these varieties specific rank, but in any event the

genus will always remain with very few species. The
family being so small, a description of our single species
will suffice for an account of the whole family.

Like many of its relatives among tropical lycopo-
diums, our species (Pselotum triguctrunt) is epiphytic and
usually grows on the trunks of trees, though it is occa-
sionally found upon the earth, on fallen logs, or the like.
The mature plant has no true roots, from which it is con-
jectured that it is a saprophyte, like the mushrooms,

126 THE PSILOTACE-

absorbing its nourishment from decaying plant tissues by
means of its root-likerhizomes. These rhizomes are curi-
ous structures consisting of a great number of cord-like
organs that form a tangled mass from six inches toa foot
or more in extent. From various parts of the rhizome
the stems rise toa height of twelve inches or more, at the
top forking repeatedly to form the fan-shaped branches.
The base of the main stem is about one tenth of an inch
in diameter and is three-angled, and the branchlets are
three-winged. The leaves are reduced to tiny linear
scales less than one twelfth of an inch long, and, though
scattered along the angles of the stems
and branches, are so inconspicuous that
the plant always appears to be leafless.
The sporangia occur singly along the
branchlets, each small leathery spore-case
held in a slight hollow of the stem by a
forked sporophyll which looks like a pair
of the stem Icaves. The spore-cases are
globular or top-shaped, three-lobed, three-
celled affairs, opening at the top, when
ripe, by three tiny oblong slits. Spore-
cases of this type are often called synan-
gia. From their appearance they have

Sypangia of been likened to tiny apple-dumplings.

Although the spore-cases are produced in abundance
and the spores are numerous, the plant has additional
means of reproduction. When it grows in soil, it may
send out certain slender subterranean shoots which pro-

duce a great many buds or bulblets by which the plant
multiplies rapidly. Occasionally these buds may re-
main dormant for a long time. The prothallia of this
species is unknown,

Psilotum triquetrum.

THE PSILOTACE. 127

The range of Pstlotum triguetrum is from northern
Florida southward. The species was once reported
from South Carolina, but some doubt may be enter-
tained as to its existence there at present. In central
Florida it is not uncommon, usually growing on the
palmetto, and it is probable that it may yet be dis-
covered in other of the Gulf States near the coast. It is
widely spread in the tropics, extending quite around the
world and reaching Japan and New Zealand. It has
long been known under the specific name of ¢riguetrum
in allusion to its three-angled branches, but recent works
occasionally list it as Pszlotum nudum, Campbell, in
his ‘Mosses and Ferns,” is inclined to add to the
Psilotaceze the genus 7iesipteris, which contains a single
species growing in New Zealand. Other authors place
this with the Lycopodiacee. No fossil plants have yet
been found that can with certainty be referred to the
Psilotacee, though various specimens from the Coal
Measures are commonly regarded as belonging to this
family.

THE SELAGINELLACEAZ, OR DWARF
WEUB-MOSSES,

THE SELAGINELLACE-.,

W N the time of Linnzus the plants that are now

/ referred to the genus Selaginel/a were thought to
Woh be true club-mosses, and such species as were
i then known will be found in old botanical works
\S in the genus Lycopodium. There is, however,
this important difference between them. In the
Ww lycopodiums the spore-cases bear many spores all
\Y of the same size and appearance, which produce

prothallia of one kind, while in Selagznella the lower
spore-cases in the fruit-spikes each bear about four large
spores called megaspores, while the spore-cases higher
up in the spike bear great numbers of smaller spores
called microspores. When the microspores germinate
they form very reduced prothallia bearing only anther-
idia, and are therefore called male prothallia; while the
megaspores produce larger prothallia
with only archegonia, and hence are
called female prothallia. Both sorts
of prothallia begin to develop before
the spores have left the sporangia, but
even after the spores have fallen, the
prothallia, unlike those of most of the

Megaspore of Selag7-
ferns ane fern allies, never lewve “oa,

the spores. When the prothallium in
the megaspore has nearly attained its growth, the thick

132 SELAGINELLACE&.

and rough walls of the spore split apart at the apex,
exposing the part of the prothallium bearing the arche-
gonia, and these, after fertilization, contain the develop-
ing plants. On account of the early development of the
prothallium, and various other features connected with
the manner of spore production, the selagi-
nellas are thought by many students to be more
nearly related to the flowering-plants than
are any other Pteridophytes. The fertile spikes
differ very little from the flowers of the pines
and their allies. The most noticeable distinc-
tion is that the microspores of the pines (called
pollen) are borne in separate catkins.

In most other respects the selaginellas have a
general resemblance to the lycopodiums, but
except in tropical countries this is is not close
enough to be confusing. Our North American

eae species are easily distinguished by their much
Selaginella. smaller size; in fact they are so diminutive
that they are much likelier to be confused with the
mosses than with the lycopodiums.

In our species the main stems seldom reacha length of
more than six inches. Often they are trailing, but occa-
sionally they are more erect. The trailing species, as in
the lycopodiums, send out forking roots at frequent
intervals, but the species with upright stems root only
near the base. The stems are usually branched, though
not dichotomously so, and the whole plant is generally
very close to the earth.

The leaves are minute and very abundant, clothing
both stems and branches. The form of the leaves has
been made the basis for dividing the genus into two
sections. In one they are all alike and arranged in many

cs

CA

oe.

gp

PLATE VI. ROCK SELAGINELLA. Sedaginedla rupestris.

COPYRIGHT, 1¥08, BY FREDERICK 4. STOKES COMPANY

SELAGINELLACE&. 133

rows, and in the other they are of two forms and
arranged in four rows. Of these four rows, two contain
large leaves and two contain small ones. The large
leaves are in the two rows on the sides of the stem,
while the small ones are on the up-
per side of the stem and alternate
with them.

The fruit is borne at the ends of
the branches, a spore-case in the
axil of each leaf. In some species
the fertile spikes are hardly to be
distinguished from the ordinary
branches, while in others the spore-

Two forms : : :
of Selaginelia bearing leaves are yellowish in

ais 4 .
evs eolour, more or less changed in

shape, and are assembled in little cones as
in most lycopodiums. Often these cones are
distinctly four-sided. The sporangia are

nearly spherical and open transversely at Leaf of
. _ . i . Selaginella
the apex. The species mainly fruit late in rupestris.
(Enlarged.)

the year.

There are nearly four hundred species of Selaginclla
known to science, the great majority being found in the
tropics, where their size and abundance render them a
conspicuous part of the undergrowth in woods and on
moist banks. In our region they are usually so small
and moss-like as to be easily overlooked. The plants
from the warmer parts of the world are often character-
ised by a delicacy in form and colour that causes them
to be in great demand for cultivation in conservatories
nearer the Poles. Several of them are climbing species.
The famous resurrection-plant, or resurrection-moss, sold

under various other names to the curious, is a species
of Selaginella.

134 SELAGINELLACE.

The name Selaginella is a diminutive of Sefago, the
ancient name of one of the lycopodiums which our
species greatly resemble. Formerly the quillworts
(Lsoetes) were united with the genus Se/aginclla to
form the Selaginellacez, but as they are regarded at
present they not only form a distinct family, but are
included in another order. The Selaginellacex, there-
fore, may be said to consist of the single genus Sc/ag7-
ucla. -

Key To THE SELAGINELLAS.

I,— Leaves narrow, all alike F 3 . ‘i a
Stems pendant, rooting throughout. Western
S. Oregana
Stems erect, rooting at base only. Western
S. Bigelow?
Stems creeping and tufted : : .
Branchlets under % of an inch long. Western
S. ecnerascens
» Branchlets longer
Leaves tipped with a point. Western
S. Watsond
Leaves tipped with a white bristle
Leaves closely appressed. Southern
S. arenicola
Leaves somewhat spreading. Eastern
S. rupestris
Fertile stems larger than the sterile, Northern
S. spinosa
II.— Leaves broader, of two sizes : P
Plants weak, trailing, rooting throughout
Fertile spike roundish, leafy a Si apus
Fertile spike four-sided. Western S$. Douglass¢
Plants slender, erect or ascending. Southern
S. Ludoviciana
Plants stout, densely tufted, rooting only at base
Leaves obtuse, awnless. S. lepidophvila

Leaves awn-tipped . » S. Prengled

THE TRUE SELAGINELLAS, OR SELA-
GINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP

THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS
GROUP.

OST botanists consider
that the shape, size,
and arrangement of the
leaves of Sclaginella are.
of sufficient importance
to warrant the separa-
tion of this genus into

four sub-genera. The first of these is called Eusclaginella
and-contains those species with leaves all alike and ar-
ranged in many rows. From the fact that the common
species in eastern North America are typical of this
group, they are often spoken of as the Selagtnella ru-
pestrts group. Although here called the true selagi-
nellas they are relatively few in number, probably
less than twenty-five in all, though distributed very
widely over the earth.

The Rock Selaginella.

The student of the mosses is likely to be better
acquainted with the haunts of the rock selaginella,
(Scelaginella rupestris) than the student of the fern
allies himself, for it is a species of the dry ledges
and mossy boulders, growing in situations shunned by

140 THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP.

others of its kin, and so small as to be easily overlooked
unless one is on a special hunt for it. One who has
once seen it, however, will seldom overlook it again, for
the whole plant has a characteristic grey-green colour not
common to mosses, that is sure to catch the eye and
make recognition at some distance possible.

The main stems of this species are from one to five
inches long and nearly prostrate. From these issue
great numbers of secondary branches, several times
forked, but all so short that the topmost branch does
not reach a height of three inches. The plants grow in
communities, with branches so intertwined that the
individuals are difficult to distinguish, the whole form-
ing a dense little mat that often covers an area of several
square feet.

The leaves are arranged in about eight ranks, and so
close together upon the stems and branches as to
completely cover them. At the tips of the branches
they are more or less spreading, but elsewhere they are
rather closely appressed. They are frequently described
as less than a sixteenth of an inch long, but in vigorous
specimens they may reach more than twice this length,
exclusive of the awn-like tip. They are narrow, with a
deep groove on the back, and taper from the base to the
rounded apex. Each leaf bears a slender white bristle
at the tip, which is one third to one half the length of the
leaf. It is these white bristles among the green that
give the peculiar greyish colour to the plant. The
leaves also bear numerous cilia on the margins, and the
bristles also have very short ones.

The fertile spikes are similar to ordinary branches in
appearance, the most noticeable differences being that
they are erect and distinctly four-sided. The sporophylls

ROCK SELAGINELLA.

Selaginella rupestrts,

THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP. I41

differ from the ordinary foliage leaves only in being
broader at base and having rather more numerous cilia.
They are arranged in four ranks, a row on each of the
four angles of the spike, with the bases
closely over-lapping. The spikes are from
half an inch to an inch long. After the
spores have fallen, the sporophylls be-
come reflexed, and the sporangia, split
nearly into halves, spread out in the axils
like small greenish flowers. The megas-
porangia are supposed always to bear
four megaspores, but all four do not
always develop. They are bright orange
yellow in colour and are large enough to
be seen with the unaided eye. They are
borne so plentifully by this species that
they are often noticeable on the ground
about the plants late in autumn. The
megaspores and microspores are said to Spike of Rock
be borne in the same leaf axils. (enteged)
Until a few years ago Selaginclla rupestris was consid-
ered to be a widespread though somewhat variable
species. Recently, however, it has become the fashion
to describe each form as a distinct species, no matter
what its characteristics, and about forty of these forms
have been so described. It can scarcely be doubted
that the species, as once regarded, covered too great a
range of forms; but it is equally certain that many of
the newly described species are mere forms due to con-

ditions of environment. The points most relied upon
for separating them are the presence or absence of the
bristle tips of the leaves and the number of cilia on the
leaf margins. Only the more noteworthy forms can be

142 THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP.

treated here. The student who wishes to make further
investigations is referred to the article by Dr. Hierony-
mus in the volume ‘of Hedwigia for 1900. A synopsis,
with a key to the American forms, was published in the
Fern Bulletin, Volume 10, 1902.

A form from the mountain tops of North and South
Carolina, in which the awns on the tips of the leaves
are longer and twisted, was long ago described as a
species and named Se/aginella tortipila. It is more com-
monly called a variety. A plant allied to this, but with
stems more erect, is the variety Sherwoodit (Sclaginella
Sherwoodt?, Underwood.) Still another form from
the coastal. plain of the Carolinas and Georgia has been
named Selaginella acanthonota. It differs from typical
Selaginella rupestrisin having about twelve cilia along the
dorsal groove in the leaves and is probably best consid-
ered a variety and called Selaginclla rupestris acanthonota.
A densely tufted form from western Nebraska and
Montana is the variety densa (Sclagrnella densa, Rydberg).
A form with lax, less crowded leaves, and shorter awns,
has been reported from Colorado and New Mexico as
the variety Fend/eri?. Plants from New Mexico and
Arizona with smaller megaspores and less angular fertile
spikes is the variety raupincola (Selaginella rupincola,
Underwood).

In Baker's ‘Handbook of the Fern Allies” the
range of Selaginella rupestris is given as “ North and
South Temperate zones of both the Old and New
worlds, also on the Andes, Himalayas, and mountains of
Brazil and Ceylon.” In the early editions of Under-
wood’s “ Our Native Ferns” it is recorded as growing
from ‘“ New England to Florida, Texas, California, and
northward.” In the latest edition of the latter book its

THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP. 143

range is given as ‘ New England and Ontario southward
to Alabama and westward to California and British
Columbia,” —this latter probably being nearly correct
for our part of the world. It shows, however, how
greatly the idea concerning this species has changed
within ten years.

Selaginella rupestris is usually found on dry rocks, and,
in the Eastern States at least, appears to have a pref-
ference for granite, gneiss, and micaschist. It is exceed-
ingly irregular in distribution, being abundant in some
sections of its range and extremely rare in others. In
the vicinity of New York it isa common species and
may be found in the public parks as well as on a large
number of the rocky outcrops in the surrounding country.
It is likeliest to be found in thin soil on the tops of the
ledges, and, being an evergreen species, is most easily
found in early spring. This species is sometimes called
“ orey moss.”

Selaginella Watsoni.

The plant recently named Sclaginella |Vatsont may be
recognised at once by the fact that it looks like a
luxuriant form of Selaginclla rupestris. The leaves
are rather larger and thicker than in Sclaginella rupes-
tris, with few or no cilia, and end in a short, pale
green awn. Owing to the colour of the awn and
the scarcity of cilia, the plant has a tinge of deeper
green than is found in the common plant of the East.

The main stems are from four to six inches long,
nearly prostrate, and produce strong roots, throughout
their length. The fertile spikes are an inch or more
long and sharply four-angled. This species is a plant of

144 THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP.

elevated regions and is found only in the West. It has
been reported from various peaks in Utah, Nevada, and
California, always at altitudes above 5,000 feet. A form
very similar to this, but differing in having about eight
cilia on the leaf-margins and no awn tips to
the leaves, has been described as a species
under the name of Selaginella mutica. The
fact that the sporophylls usually have a short
awn-tip seems to indicate that it is a form of
Selaginela lVatson?, and this is further borne
out by its habitat in the mountains of Colo-
rado, New Mexico, and Arizona. We would
4 therefore call it Se/aginella lVatsoni mutica, and
Branch of give itsrange as high mountains from Colorado

Selaginella

Watmne. to New Mexico and California.
(Enlarged.)

The Sand-Barren Selaginella.

It is almost certain that the sand-barren selaginella
(Selaginella arenicola) and the common species of the
Northeastern States, sprang from the same. stock;
but the former has lived so long in the sandy wastes
that border the Gulf of Mexico that its appearance has
been greatly changed in consequence. Possibly there
may yet be found intergrading forms, but the typical
plant is so distinct in appearance that it is properly con-
sidered a separate species. This species is an excellent
illustration of the adaptation of plants to their surround-
ings. It grows in exposed sandy places, and accordingly
its leaves are narrow, plentifully ciliated, and appressed
closely to the stem, partly in an effort to avoid excessive
transpiration, and partly, no doubt, to protect its green
cells from the strong light.

Selagtnella Bigelowit,

THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP. 145

The stems, under the influence of the intense insola-
tion, are nearly erect, but seldom become more than two
inches high. They are densely tufted, much branched,
and form compact little mats on the sand. From the
part nearest the earth, slender branching roots descend
into the soil, and in the search for moisture extend for
long distances, being often three times the length of
the aérial parts of the plant. The leaves are smaller
than those of any of our other selaginellas, and those on
the sterile stems are
not distinguishable
from one another by
the unaided eye.
Under a lens they
are seen to be very
narrow, with a whitish
awn at the apex and
many minute cilia on
the outer edges,while the usual channel
runs lengthwise of the outer side. They
are thickly clustered on the stems and
branches, and so closely appressed that
stem and leaves combined havea diam-
eter of about a thirty-second of an
inch. The fruiting-spikes are very
numerous and terminate the ends of
the branches. Although the whole

SAND-B\RREN SELA. Plant is usually under three inches
GINELLA,
Selaginella arenicola,

high these fertile spikes may reach a
length of an inch or more. They are
sharply four-angled, with a diameter somewhat greater
than that of sterile branches. The sporophylls are much
larger than the leaves and are borne in four closely

146 THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP.

imbricated rows, one row on each angle of the spike.
They are often triangular in outline, broad at base, and
end in a short awn. The margins bear abundant cilia
that are so small as not to be easily seen. The megaspo-
rangia are especially abundant and bright yellow in
colour, quite distinguishable without a lens.

The sand-barren selaginella has thus far been reported
from Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, but it is likely to
be found in suitable situations in any of the sand-bar-
rens along the Gulf coast. Its slender, cylindrical, grey-
green, erect stems will be easily identified when found.
It was originally described as Selaginclla arenarta.

Selaginella Bigelovii.

In the days when it was customary to refer everything
at all resembling Selaginella rupestris to that species, it
was described as having stems from six inches to a foot
long. The plant that is nowadays called Selaginella
rupestris is much smaller, and at its best does not reach
the minimum length quoted. An explanation of the
discrepancy is found, however, when we take into con-
sideration one of its forms recently named Selaginella
Bigclovii. In this thestems ordinarily reach a length of
six or eight inches, and in vigorous specimens are, of
course, still longer.

It is likely to surprise the beginner to learn that
Selaginella Bigelowti was ever referred to Selaginella
rupestris. Aside from its long stems, its habitat and
manner of growth are sufficiently different to separate it.
It is an erect or ascending species, with stems that pro-
duce roots only near the base. For some distance
above the soil, the stems are commonly unbranched, or,

Wy
ae
Be

fg,
PY a0
Xe

Selaginella ctnerascens,

THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP. 147

if branched, the branches may be considered essentially
like the main stems. Toward the apex the stems are
pinnate, with short, alternate branches, the lowest from
one to three inches long and increasing in length to the
summit. These lateral branches are branched in the
same way as the main stem, and their branches are again
divided, the ultimate branchlets rarely reaching the
length of halfan inch. The leaves are narrowly linear,
slightly channelled down the back, with numerous cilia
on the margins and a short white awn at the apex.
They are small, numerous, and closely appressed to the
very slender branches. Those on the main branches are
usually light brown, the rest being dark green. The
fertile spikes are fairly plentiful and usually occupy the
places of lateral branchlets a short distance from the tips
of the branches. The cones are froma quarter to half
an inch long, and quadrangular, the sporophyls being
rather triangular, short, pointed at the apex, ciliated on
the margins, and slightly eared at the base. The fruit
may be found on the plant at all seasons of the year.
Sclagineclla Bigelovit is found in southern California
only, but there it isnot an uncommon species. It grows
in the foothills at altitudes up to about 3,000 feet, and
prefers half-shaded clay soil or the chinks of rocks.
Like many of the mosses and ferns in this region, its
chief period of growth is in the rainy or winter season.
At other times it becomes dry and brittle, but revives at
the next rainy season.

.

Selaginella Cinerascens.

Selaginella cinerascens is another of the segregates of
Selaginella rupestris that has been described so recently

148 THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP.

as to have no common name. In general appearance it
is most like Sclaginclla Bigelovit, but may be at once dis-
tinguished from that species by the fact that it is a pros-
trate plant rooting from all parts of the stem.

In robust specimens the main stems may reach a
length of six inches or more, but they are usually shorter.
These stems are pinnately branched, the branches short
and rather numerous. From these branches still smaller
branches, about a quarter of an inch long, arise, and
upon these are usually borne a pair of branchlets so
small as to be mere spurs, which, with the branch-tip,
form a figure suggestive of the conventional fleur-de-lis
design. All parts of the plant are covered with leaves,
those on the main stems being closely appressed, and
those on the branch-tips more spreading. The leaves
are rather broadly linear, acute or rounded at the apex,
with a suggestion of a terminal awn, and with few or no
marginal cilia.

The spikes are short, and about twice the diameter of
the stems, with the ovate-acute sporophylls in four ranks.
The megaspores are of a pale lemon colour, and the mi-
crospores dark orange. According to Mr. Eaton, who
described this species, the megaspores and microspores
are developed in separate spikes. +

Selaginella cinerascens is found on dry, bare hills in
southern California. Fora time after it was described,
it was confused with another species called Selaginella
bryotdes, described by Nuttall, and some of the earlier
references to it will be found under the latter name.

The Oregon Selaginella.

One of the most remarkable of the selaginellas is the
Oregon selaginella (Se/aginella Oregana) which, until it

Selaginella Oregana,

THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP. 149

was recently discovered in northwestern Washington by
Mr. J. B. Flett, was supposed to grow in Oregon only.

Although its stems are less than a sixteenth of an inch
.1 diameter, they are said occasionally to reach a length of
six feet. As a consequence it is a pendent species,
growing with mosses on the trunks of trees and emitting
copious roots, from both stem and branches, that strike
into the bark and hold the plant in place.

The stems are pinnately branched like those of Se/ag?-
nella Bigelowit, though the lateral branches are longer
and farther apart, with fewer branchlets. The stems are
light brown in colour, and so sparingly covered with
leaves as to be noticeable, especially in the older parts of
the plant. The leaves are narrow, about a twelfth of an
inch long, with a short white awn at apex and occasional
cilia on the margin. Those on the branchlets are dark
green and loosely spreading; on old branches they are
light brown and half appressed. Some of the leaves
early lose their terminal awns, and, in consequence, in
some books this species has been described as awnless,
The fruiting-spikes are slender, four-angled, and appar-
ently not very abundant.

This species is found in the dense forests near the
Pacific coast and grows in tangled mats. Mr. Thomas
Howell, author of a “ Flora of Northwest America,”
writes that he found it growing from the branches and
prostrate trunks of maple trees, from which it hung to a
length of from six inches to three feet. It often grows
among mosses, one of which, Hrprum loreum, might be
mistaken for it at first glance. Mr. Howell is of the
opinion that its season of growth is from September to
June. The plant has always been spoken of as Selag?-
nella Oregana and will be found in most books under

150 THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP.

that name, but it was earlier given the name of Selagy-
nella struthwoloides and this is one of the names by which
it is likely often to be called in future.

The Prickly Mountain Moss.

If the fern allies were placed in genera founded upon
external appearances alone, that plant which the British
call the prickly mountain moss (Selaginella spinosa)
would be found among the -lycopodiums. It has a
very decided resemblance to the marsh club-moss and is
about the same size, but the fact that the fertile spikes
bear both microsporangia and megasporangia for ever
separates it from the true club-mosses.

Like the bog club-moss, and unlike most of the
selaginellas, there is a marked difference between the
fertile and sterile stems. The latter are close to
the ground, very slender and threadlike, with occasional
short branches half an inch or more long. The entire
sterile portion seldom reaches a length of more than
four inches and bears roots only near the base. The
leaves are loosely spreading and arranged on all sides of
the stem. They are broadly lanceolate, acute, and the
margins are beset with scattered teeth too stout to be
called cilia.

The fertile spikes grow from near the base of the main
sterile stems and reach a height of three inches or more.
They are quite erect and resemble the fruiting-stems of
a Lycopodium since they consist of a leafy stalk sur-
mounted by a loose cone of sporophylls. The leaves on
the stalk are similar to those on the sterile stem, though
slightly larger and more closely appressed. As they
merge into the sporophylls they become larger and

— ais ell

(Slightly enlarged.)

PRICKLY MOUNTAIN MOSS. Selagenella spinosa.

THE SELAGINELLA RUPESTRIS GROUP. 151

broader, with stronger teeth, and often stand at nearly
right angles to the stem, making the cone quite conspic-
uous. The cones are an inch or more long, and usually
there is but one fertile spike on each plant. The lowest
sporophylls bear three or four megaspores, which are as
large as the seeds of many flowering-plants. The fertile
spike is deciduous, but the sterile stems survive the
winter.

Selaginella spinosa is rare in the United States, being
found only in the elevated parts of Maine, New Hamp-
shire, New York, Michigan, and Colorado. In British
America it is more abundant and found at lower alti-
tudes. It is also found in both Alaska and Greenland.
In the Old World it is reported from the British Isles
and across the northern part of the Continent, extending
south to Germany. It delights in moist, grassy places,
being much like the club-mosses in this respect. The
name of prickly mountain moss is in allusion to the
toothed leaves, though these are if no wise either spiny
or prickly. The specific name also alludes to this cir-
cumstance. Inthe days when this was thought to bea
club-moss it was called Lycopodium sclaginelloides, or the
selaginella-like club-moss. Its transference to the genus
Selaginela has made this specific name meaningless.

THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA
GROUP.

THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA
GROUP.

sv
apap HE genus SclagincHa contains by far
44 | the greater number of the fern allies,
x and the sub-genus Stachygynandrum,

to which our creeping species belong,
comprises nearly three fourths of the
species inthe genus. The sub-genus,
however, was not founded upon the
creeping habit, for many of the spe-
cies have erect or ascending stems,
but all agree in having two sorts of leaves like our creep-
ing species, thus sharply distinguishing them from the
relatives of Selaginella rupestris. Notwithstanding the
great number of species in this section it 1s very poorly
represented in North America. It is a characteristically
tropical group, and our species seem in the nature of un-

usual extensions northward.

The G reeping Selaginella.

The creeping selaginella par execllence, and the least
conspicuous, is the one known to botanists as Selaginella
apus. What the curly grass or the little grape fern is to
our other ferns, this species is to its relatives among the

156 THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP,

fern allies. Owine to its small size, creeping habits,
and general resemblance to the mosses and hepatics, it is
very difficult to find for the first time; but when once
its characteristic haunts are known, the collector finds it
again with case.

The stems are from two to four inches long and lie
close to the earth, to which they are attached by numer-
ous slender forking roots emitted from all parts of the

CREEPING SELAGINELLA. Selaginella Apus.

plant. From the main stems, scattered, alternate, pros-
trate branches are given off, the longest reaching a
length of two inches or more and again branching. The
leaves are borne on all parts of the stem and branches,
and are remarkable not only for being of two sizes, but
for being borne in two different planes. The larger
leaves are scarcely an eighth of an inch long, ovate,
acutish or obtuse, unequal-sided, with the broadest side
toward the tip of the stem. They are very thin, with
serrulate margins and distinct mid-ribs, and are arranged
alternately on the stem, from which they spread at

THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP. 157

right angles. Alternating with these larger leaves is a
series of smaller ones attached to the stem on the
upper side, to which they are closely appressed, with
their tips pointing outward. These smaller leaves are
about half the size of the others, and, like them, are
somewhat unequal-sided. They are ovate at base and
end in a tapering point.

The fruit-spikes are half erect and are borne on the
ends of the branches, from which they differ little in
appearance except in being more leafy. They are ob- |
scurely four-angled, and the lens shows
them to consist of four rows of sporo-
- phylls of equal size. This is explained
upon the supposition that in the
fruiting-spikes the two rows of small
leaves on the stems have become as
large as the others. The spikes are
under half an inch long and are usually
borne singly. The sporophylls are
ovate, sharp-pointed, and keeled in the

Spike. (Enlarged.)

upper half.

The majority of our selaginellas are found in dry situ-
ations, but the present species is a lover of moisture and
is found in wet meadows and pastures in company with
mosses and sedges. It is frequently abundant on the
bare soil at the base of sedge tussocks and on the sides
of channels formed by tiny rills. It must often be
sought on hands and knees, though it is occasionally so
plentiful as to form close mats. In the vicinity of New
York it is frequently found on damp lawns. It is ex-
ceedingly like some of the mosses of the genus AZnuzum,
but can always be distinguished from them by its leaves
of two sizes. Its colour is of a characteristic and deli-

158 THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP.

cate yellowish green, and in time becomes so well known
as to be singled out by the eye at considerable distances.

Most authorities consider this plant an annual, but
this is clearly a mistake. It may be found as soon
as the snow disappears, though the spores are not
ripe until August or September. The beginner has the
best chance of finding it early in spring, before the grass
has begun to green. It is then most easily found in wet
pastures and in grass fields damp enough to permit of a
growth of mosses. The hue of its fronds makes it then
very conspicuous.

The creeping selaginella is found from Maine and
Ontario to Florida, Texas, and British Columbia. In
the greater part of its range it does not seem to be
abundant, but its small size and resemblance to the
mosses may often enable it to live undiscovered.

Selaginella Ludoviciana.

In the American tropics there are at least half a dozen
species of Selaginella so nearly like the creeping sela-
ginella that they might easily be mistaken for it, and the
species called Selaginella Ludoviciana is one of this num-
ber. Indeed it has often been suggested that Selaginclla
Ludovictana may be only an erect variety of the com-
mon creeping species, the differences it presents being
accounted for by the different climate in which it grows.
To one who has seen it in its native haunts, however, it
does not appear to possess many of the characteristics
of Selaginella apus, except that in the shape and size of
the leaves the two are nearly alike. The stems are from
six to eight inches in length and strong enough to hold
themselves nearly erect, and the roots usually appear

Selaginella Ludovictana,

THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP. 159

from only the lowest joints of the stem. The stem is
branched as in Selaginella apus, but the longer basal
branches are nearly upright, though their branchlets,
especially during the growing season, droop gracefully
away from the main anis of the plant.

This species begins growth early in the year, and by
the middle of April the stems are mature. The sporan-
gia are borne in the axils of the leaves at the tip of the
branchlets, and the fruiting parts have more of a resem-
blance to a cone than they have in Selaginella apus,
owing to the fact that the sporophylls are less spreading.
The spikes of fruit are often more than half an inch
long and are usually abundant. The spores are ripe in
May or earlier.

Although both kinds of leaves are like those of Seda-
ginclla apus, it may be noted that they are slightly
longer for their width and somewhat thicker than in that
species. The sporophylls also have longer tips. These
differenccs, however, are not apparent until viewed with
a lens.

Scelaginclla Ludoviciana Nas thus far been found only
in a few scattered localities in Florida, Alabama, and
Louisiana. It was first discovered by Drummond at
Covington, in the latter State. The author has collected
it at Pearl River, and it has been found in several other
places in the vicinity of New Orleans. Its favourite
haunts are the more open spots in the sandy pine barrens.
It does not appear to be quite so dependent upon mois-
ture as the creeping selaginella but it is by no means a
dry-ground species. It is probably not uncommon in
suitable situations along the Gulf coast and may yet be
found in Texas. The illustration is made from plants
collected by Prof. R. S. Cocks at Mandeville, Louisiana.

160 THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP.

Selaginella Douglasii.

The species named Selaginella Douglasii is one of the
rarest of the fern allies in collections. It is reported to
grow in northern California, Oregon, Washington, and
British Columbia, but it appears to be seldom found.
It is more rigid than Selaginella apus, but has much the
same appearance, spreading over the ground and rooting
from various parts of the stem.

This is a somewhat larger plant than the creeping
selaginella, often reaching a foot in length. It is regu-
larly and alternately branched, and these branches are

Selaginella Douglast?.
branched once or twice more in the same manner. The
leaves are similar in size to those of Se/aginella apus, but
firmer in texture. The lateral rows are very blunt, but
the small leaves, though blunt, are tipped with a short
whitish point. The leaves are thickly crowded on the
branches and branchlets, the lateral Ones, as_ usual,

PLATE Vil. SELAGINELLA LUDOVICIANA,

COPVAIGHT, 1905, BY FEELERICK A. STOKES (CM FANY

THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP. 101

spreading at nearly right angles to the stem, and the
upper leaves nearly parallel to it. Both kinds are occa-
sionally ciliate at base. The spores are borne in distinct
four-sided cones, about half an inch long, on the tips of
the branches. The tips of the sporophylls are blunt,
and until maturity are closely appressed to the stem.
The cone alone is nearly sufficient to distinguish the
species. Our illustration was made from specimens col-
lected in northern Oregon, kindly sent by Mr. J. B.
Flett.

The Resurrection Moss.

There are two principal ways by which the scanty
vegetation of the more arid parts of the earth manages
to exist in spite of the lack of moisture. In plants like
the cactus, with a thick epidermis, the moisture accumu-
lated during the occasional rains is carefully hoarded and
very slowly given back to the air. In other plants, lack-
ing this thick epidermis, it has been found possible to
dry up in the intervals between rains and revive again at
the first return of moisture. Many ferns and various
flowering-plants have this faculty, but none are better
known because of it than the little plant called the
resurrection moss (Sclaginella lepidophylla). This is
due in large measure to the itinerant venders, who, in
their efforts to sell specimens of it, have told many won-
derful stories about it. It is commonly asserted that it
needs only to be placed in water for a day to develop a
handsome spike of flowers. The truth of the matter is
that, when dried, the plant curls up, forming a compact
brown ball which may be preserved in that condition for
months, and then, upon being placed in water, will uncoil

162 THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP.

and become fresh and green again in a few hours,—a
fact initself almost as marvellous as the stories told of it.
The plants may be thus alternately dried and relaxed
many times, but it should not be supposed that such
plants are alive and will grow. The spreading of the
fronds is simply due to the way in which the tissues
absorb water. When rooted in the soil of their native
home, however, they do not die during drouth, and when
they relax again in the rainy season new growth really
takes place.

Selaginella lepidophylla is a native of our arid South-
west, and there grows on the tops of the sunbaked rocks
in regions where rain does not fall for a year or more at
a time. During such periods its fronds remain com-
pactly folded, their colours blending with the dry earth.
When rain comes they at once awake and spread out in
bright green rosettes, appearing as luxuriant as if drouths

g were unknown. Notwithstanding
the trying conditions to which
they are subjected, they often
cover considerable areas as thickly
as dandelions on a lawn.

The branches, flattened dorsi-
ventrally, rise from a central crown
ao and produce roots only near the
re base. They are very numerous,
\ y YS from two to four inches long, with
branchlets that fork at the ex-
tremities in such a manner as to
Branch of Resurrection Moss. be nearly fan-shaped. The leaves
are arranged in four rows as usual, those on the sides of
the stem being an eighth of an inch or less in length, thick,
oblong, minutely ciliate, and very obtuse; those on the

oo es

AOR he
BOS FoR

RESURRECTION MOSS. Selagznella Lepidophylla.

THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP. 163

upper surface are nearly as long and scarcely differ in
shape. The lateral leaves are ascending, but the upper
rows are nearly parallel with the branchlets that bear
them. Both kinds are closely imbricated, and are likely
to be faintly white-margincd. The fruiting-spikes are
borne on the end of the branchlets. They are square,
half an inch or less long, with triangular sporophylls
strongly keeled on the back. In old plants the leaves
turn a reddish-brown on the under surface.

In recent years a considerable trade in this plant has
sprung up, the large dealers ordering in lots of ten
thousand or more. They are sold mostly to collectors
of curios. Mr. J. H. Ferriss tells me that in the yards
of settlers at the mouth of the Pecos River in Texas he
has seen waggon-loads of this plant drying, preparatory
to being shipped to Eastern dealers.

Selaginella lepidophylla is found in Arizona, New
Mexico, and Texas in suitable situations. Though not
widely distributed within our limits it isa very common
species, and its range extends southward across the
tropics to Peru. It is often called “ bird’s-nest moss,”
in allusion to the way the fronds roll up when dry. It
is, however, most widely known as the resurrection
plant.

Selaginella Pringlet.

This species, named for the veteran collector, C. G.
Pringle, resembles Sclaginclla lcpidophyla very much,
spreading out in similar green rosettes in moist weather
and rolling up when dry. The leaves are of the same
size, but more pointed, and are further distinguished by
being tipped with a hard, whitish, awn-like point nearly

164 THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP.

as long as the body of the leaf. The fruiting-spikes are
short, with less triangular sporophylls.

The plant has been collected in Mexico and was
found in the Chenate Mountains of Texas by Neally.
Owing to its being easily confused with Selaginclla
lepidophylla, but little is known about it, and even its
range cannot be properly defined. More notes concern-
ing it are very much needed. Both this species and the
preceding, when growing, have a strong resemblance to
the exotic selaginellas commonly cultivated, and, owing
to their manner of growth in circular tufts, are desirable
additions to the conservatory for their contrast to the
other species.

Selaginella Pilifera.

According to Baker’s “Fern Allies,” Selaginella pilt-
fera has been collected in Texas by Wright, but no
recent collector has found it, and the opinion is held by
most American students that the plant does not now
occur within our limits. Its habitat is the plateau of
central Mexico, and it may possibly stray northward in
the Southwest. The following description should aid
collectors in identifying it should they find it. The
lateral leaves are ovate, oblique, very small, pale green,
rigid, and tipped with a short point. They are serrulate,
with the upper side of the base dilated and ciliated.
The upper leaves are half as long as the others, lanceo-
late, and also cuspidate. The spikes are square, less
than half an inch long, with ovate-lanceolate strongly
keeled sporophylls. From the foregoing it will be seen
that it is a plant much like Se/aginclla Pringlet, and col-

RESURRECTION MOSS. Selayduclla Lepidophylla.
When dry.

THE CREEPING SELAGINELLA GROUP. 165

lectors who find the latter plant should look carefully
for this one,

*

In 1904 Mr. C. F. Saunders discovered in southern
California an apparently undescribed selaginella, of the
Selaginella rupestris group, which has not yet been named.
In the same year Mr. A. A. Eaton brought back from a
trip to southern Florida specimens which have since been
referred to the tropical Se/aginella Caribensts a near ally
of the creeping selaginella. This plant is not uncom-
mon in the West Indies, but is likely never to be more
than arare or adventive plant in our territory. It is
a stronger and heavier plant than the creeping sela-
ginella and will be recognized at once from its resem-
blance to that species.

THE SALVINIACEA.

THE SALVINIACE-.

ince all vegetation requires a cer-
‘ tain amount of water for its
« processes, it is not unusual for
~ various species of plants to be
found growing in swamps and
bogs, or even in lakes and ponds,
but cases in which plants have
entirely severed their connection
with the earth and taken to
floating on the surface of the
water are far lesscommon. In
a survey of the vegetable kingdom, however, we find
that all the great groups have species or even whole
families that have adopted this mode of life. Among
the flowering-plants the little duckmeats (Lemna) are
likely first to come to mind, but there is the great water
hyacinth (Praropus), of Southern waters, and many
another, like the bladderworts, nearer home. Among
the liverworts various species of Azecza are found float-
ing, and even the ferns have provided an instance in that
remarkable floating fern, Ceratopteris thalictroides. It is
not surprising, then, to find a family of the fern allies
like the Salviniaceee committed to such an enistence.
Indeed it is sometimes suggested that the Salviniacez

170 THE SALVINIACE.,

have arisen through some such ancestor as the floating
fern, though as a matter of present relationships the
species of this group appear to have closer affinities for
the filmy ferns (Hymenophyllacex), especially as regards
the formation of their sporocarps. In any event they are
probably more closely allied to the ferns than any of the
other fern allies except the Marsiliacew, and some are
so much like ferns in their structure as to have received
the common name of water-fern. Asa class they are,
with the Marsiliaceez, sometimes spoken of as the
Hydropterids (which may be translated as water-ferns),
or as Rhizocarps, which refers to the way the sporocarps
are borne in these families.

The Salviniacee contain but two small genera, Sa/
vinta and Agolla, and these differ markedly in structure.
All of them, owing to their position on the water, are
dorsi-ventral, the stem growing horizontally. In Azo//a,
roots are sent down into the water, and at first glance
this seems to be the case in Sa/vinza also, but a closer
inspection shows that what appear to be roots in this
genus are really dissected leaves and that the species are
rootless. Above the water the vegetative leaves spread
out, those of Salvinia oblong and entire, while those of
Asolla are cut into more fern-like shapes. In most
species numerous lateral branches are given off by the
main stem, and these readily separate from the plant
when the water is agitated, and form new plants. A
rough day on the water, therefore, greatly assists in
multiplying their numbers.

The spores are of two kinds, as in Se/aginella and
fsoetes, and are borne in structures called sporocarps, or
conceptacles which appear to be special forms of an
indusium. They are much like what would result if the

THE SALVINIACE. 171

urn-like indusia of the filmy ferns should completely
enclose the sporangia. In Sa/omia the sporocarps are
borne on the submerged leaves, usually in clusters of
three; in Azo//a they are borne in pairs in the axils of
the aérial leaves. Some of the sporocarps in each cluster
of Salvinia always bear megasporangia. There are about
ten in each sporocarp, and each megasporangium bears a
single large ovoid megaspore. The
microsporangia are more numerous,
globose, and contain a large number
of microspores. In Aso//a the pairs
of sporocarps are usually of two

3 : : Cross-section of Salvinia
sizes, the smaller beating a single — sporocarps. (Enlarged.)

megaspore, and the larger producing several microspo-
rangia and numerous microspores. The mature sporo-
carps drop from the plant and promptly sink to the
bottom of the water, where they continue to enclose the
spores for some time. The latter are finally liberated by
the decay of the walls surrounding them. The micro-

bas spores of dsol/a are usually held together by

a solid sort of protoplasm which produces
hooked processes from the outer surface.
The sporocarp appears to be an outgrowth

Spores Of of the leaf that, beginning with a ring sur-

Azolla.
(Enlarged) rounding the sporangia, slowly increases
until it has completely enclosed them. Before this has
happened, however, certain alga take up their abode in
the sporocarps, and when the latter mature they go into
a resting condition, forming little colourless spheres.
These spheres are seldom absent from the ripe sporo-
carps.

The genus Salvzuia was named for Salvini, a Floren-
tine professor. There are about a dozen species known

172 THE SALVINIACE.

to science, most of them in tropical waters. The name
Azsolla is derived from two Greek words meaning “to
dry” and “to destroy,” and is most appropriately
applied to these delicate little plants whose life is so
closely dependent upon moisture. There are less than
half a dozen species in the world. Like the salvinias
they delight in the warm waters of tropical regions. The
species in both genera are very small, the largest having
leaves not more than two inches long, while in a majority
they do not reach a length of half an inch. All are
supposed to be short-lived, possibly annual plants, but a
few seem to live to a greater age. A dozen or more
species of Salvinia have been found in a fossil state, but
usually in deposits of no very great age.

SALVINIA.

SALVINIA.

T may be seriously doubted whether any
| species of Sa/vinza is native to North
America, In all books devoted to the
Pteridophytes we are credited with one
species, Sa/eznia natans, but the evidence
to show that it isa native or even natural-
ised is far from convincing. It was re-
ported from western New York by Pursh
about a century ago, but the exact locality
has always remained unknown, if it ever
really existed. The only other record is
the station at Oscher’s Lake in the Bois
Brulé bottoms in Perry County, Missouri, where it was
collected by C. H. Demetrio in November, 1886. Mr.
Demetrio has kindly favoured the author with part of
the original collection in fine fruit and with an account
of his finding it. It was collected but once, with 4 so//u,
while on a fishing-trip to the lake, and was not noticed
among the other specimens until they were being pre-
pared for the press at home. It has apparently never
been seen since at this station, nor has it ever been
collected elsewhere in a location entirely free from the
suspicion that it may have been introduced, and it seems
but fair to conclude that the plant is not native to North
America,

Paradoxical as it may seem, this plant, so rarely found

176 SALVINIA.

in this country, is really quite abundant, but always in
cultivation. Few greenhouses in which there are tanks
of water plants are without it, and it has become domes-
ticated, as it were, in many small ponds, fountains, and
artificial lakes.
So far asknown
ithas shown
’ no tendency to
spread to other
waters unless
its occurrence
at Oscher’s
Salvinta natans, ~ Lake is an in-

stance.

The main axis of Sa/vinéa natans may reach a length
of two or three inches, but is usually shorter. Along
this the leaves are thickly clustered in several longi-
tudinal rows. Two of these rows on the under side of
the stem are finely dissected into
thread-like divisions, and go down in-
to the water functioning as roots,
since there are no true roots ; the
others float on the surface. These
latter are half an inch or less in
length, bright green, almost as broad
as long, with a very blunt tip, and
slightly heart-shaped base. Above i
they are thickly set with very short, Sporecarps of Salvinia.
soft, branching hairs that, though apparently so insignifi-
cant, are of great importance to the plant, since they
keep it right side up in the water. It is practically im-
possible to make these plants float with the upper surface
downward, for the tiny hairs hold great numbers of air

SALVINIA, 177

globules among them, which push the plant back as soon
as it is overturned. Thus the plants can ride secure in’
the heaviest storms. On the under side of the leaves
there are also numerous fine brown pellucid hairs. The
sporocarps are from four to eight in a cluster, and are
borne on a common stalk arising from the submerged
leaves.

With the exception of the two questionable stations
in the United States, Sa/aznia natans is found only in
the Old World, extending from the south of France to
India and northern China. It thrives well in sunny
pools, spreading rapidly by division of the plant body.
It is also easily grown in a dish of water in the house.
Crayfish are said to feed upon the plant when other food
is scarce.

THE AZOLLAS.

THE AZOLLAS.

jacee oftenest called the water ferns,

and their finely divided fern-like fronds

well merit the name. Though few in

number of species, and small and deli-

cate as individuals, they have a wide
distribution and are found in all the warmer parts of the
world. In North America we have two species, one
Western and the other with a wider range.

Azolla Caroliniana.

If asked to name the smallest of the North American
fern allies one need have no hesitancy in mentioning
Asolla Caroliniana. With the exception of its Western
congener there are no others that even approach its
diminutive proportions. Three or four full-grown plants
may be hidden under a single copper cent, and yet so
abundant is this species that vast stretches of water are
often completely covered by it.

Taken singly, the plant is a handsome one. Its stems,
so slender as to be invisible to the eye, fork several
times, and are covered with the tiniest of two-lobed over-
lapping leaves, from pale green to deep red in colour.

182 THE AZOLLAS.

As they float on the surface of quiet pools their resem-
blance to small green and red snowflakes is more than
an idle fancy. From the stems slender rootlets go
down into the water, and should it happen that the plant
is stranded by reason of the lessening of the pools in
summer, the rootlets are able to strike into the mud
and so continue the existence of the
plant. There is some reason for be-
lieving that the differences in the
colour of the fronds are due to differ-
ences in habitat, those growing on the
water in full sun being usually tinged
with red, while those that root in the
Azolla Carotiniana. ud are nearly always deep green.

(Enlarged.) This species is supposed to be an
annual, but the author has found it, though in lessened
numbers, in mid-winter in New Orleans, often in pools
liable to have a thin coating of ice. It develops very
rapidly with the return of warm weather, and by mid-
April the pools back of the levees along the lower
Mississippi are entirely covered by it. Some idea of its
possibilities of growth may be gained from a note by
Prof. R. S. Cocks, in the Fern Bulletin for 1904, in
which he says that in Audubon Park, New Orleans,
between the months of June and September, there was
removed from the surface of a pond about a quarter of
an acre in extent no less than fourteen cartloads of this
plant, with a total weight of seven tons.

The sporocarps are borne in the axils of the leaves,
and in addition to the spore-cases nearly always contain
the resting bodies of a certain alga (Anabena asolle.)
As soon as the spores begin to germinate, these resting
bodies of the alga do the same, and as soon as the

THE HOME OF AZOLLA.

THE AZOLLAS. 183

Asolla \eaves are developed, they creep into the hollow
interior through a pore at the base of the larger lobe of
the leaf, and there form colonies. These colonies are
nearly always found in Agol/a leaves.

Azolla Caroliniana appears to grow naturally as far
north as New York, but in the northern part of its
range it is never so abundant or so conspicuous as it is
nearer the equator. It is found throughout the South
and extends to Arizona and Washington. It occurs in
the Mississippi valley at least as far north as Iowa, but
its northern range is not well defined. Beyond our
limits it is found in suitable places as far south as
northern Patagonia. It delights especially in still waters
and is seldom found in streams. It is easily cultivated
in ponds where it does not grow naturally, and has been
thus naturalised in many places, one of the best known
of which is on Staten Island, New York.

Azolla Filiculoides.

With the exception that Asolla filiculoides is a
slightly larger plant than A’so//a Caroliniana, it is almost
exactly like it to the unaided eye. Study with the lens,
however, shows that the branching in the present species
is inclined to be pinnate in form and the fronds elon-
gated, while in Asolla Caroliniana they are more deltoid
in outline. The large lobe of the leaves in Asolla fili-
culoides is ovate, while that of the other is rhombic-
oblong and obtuse.

Asolla filiculoides is widely distributed in South
America, being most abundant on the Pacific slope, and,
according to Baker, is found in the Andes up to an ele-
vation of 16,000 feet. Within our limits it extends to

184 THE AZOLLAS.

California only, but is often abundant there. It has the
same habitat as our common species and appears to
thrive in cultivation. Mr, Eaton states that he has seen
ditches in California covered two inches deep by the
multitudes of this plant.

Azolla Filicu ardess
(Enlarged.)

THE MARSILIACEA, OR PEPPER-
WORTS.

THE MARSILIACEA.

‘<s"N account of the way in which the
spores originate, the Marsiliacee
and Salviniacea are believed to be
closely allied. They present several
differences, however, quite as strik-
ing as their resemblances. All are
a lovers of the water, but while the
species of Salviniacea are floating, those of the Marsili-
acee are rooted in the mud in swampy places or at the
bottom of ponds. The species of the first are all
regarded as annual, while those of the latter are said to
be perennial. Both bear their spores in sporocarps, but
these are very different structures in the two families.
In the Salviniacee the sporocarp represents a single
sorus like that of ordinary ferns; in the Marsiliaceze the
sporocarp is really a modified leaf and contains several
sori. It may be likened to the berry-like structure that
encloses the sori in the sensitive fern (Oxoclea). Like
the Salviniacee, this family also consists of two small
genera, Afarstlia and Piliularia, both most abundant in
the waters of the warmer parts of the globe.

Although more closely related to the ferns than any of
the other fern allies, the Marsiliacezw are far from ferns
in appearance. Nor do they have a greater resemblance

188 THE MARSILIACE.

to any of the fern allies. The leaves of the marsilias
are always four-parted, with slender petioles and much
resemble those of oxalis or four-leaved clovers. Those
of Pilularia are slender tapering organs, in outward ap-
pearance like the leafstalks of their relatives. In both
genera the leaves rise from a jointed branching rootstock
growing parallel to the earth and sending down abun-
dant rootlets from the joints or occa-
| y 1) sionally from other parts of the stem.
it The leaves are coiled in the bud, like

i

) those of the ferns, and in Jarszlza they
Wy are veined like them.
The sporocarps are from one to six

in number and are borne on short pedi-
Veininginteafof cels that spring from the petiole of the
leaf. Usually they are so close to the
stem as to appear to be borne in the axils of the leaves,
though in one exotic species, Alarsilia polycarpa, they
often number as many as twenty, and are strung along
the petiole for some distance, each on
a separate pedicel. In Pelularia they
are usually solitary. In AZarszlia the
sporocarps are oblong, and in Prluda-
ria they are round. From their shape
and size, like peppercorns, the mem-
bers are sometimes called pepperworts.
The Pilularia sporocarp contains from a ce
two to four chambers, each of which
contains a single sorus bearing megasporangia at the base
and microsporangia at the tip. The megasporangia each
contain but a single megaspore, while the microsporangia
contain numerous microspores. In MJarszlia each half
of the sporocarp may be considered as a single cell, but

THE MARSILIACE. 189

these are separated by many transverse divisions, each
containing a sorus. Around the inner wall of the sporo-
carp runs a gelatinous ring to which the sori are attached,
and, when the sporocarp opens, this ring absorbs water and
increases enormously in size, by this means pushing out
of the sporocarp and drawing the sori with it. The
whole process may be completed in half a day, and may
be witnessed by any who will take the trouble to soak a
Marsilia sporocarp in water. Before soaking, a small
part of the outer covering of the sporo-
carp should be chipped off, so that the
water mayenter. The small oblong sori,
attached to the almost transparent ring
of jelly, make it a most interesting object.

Cross-section of

An illustration of it will be found at the Pitularia sporocar p.

a 7 . (Enlarged.)
beginning of this chapter. Each sorus

contains both megasporangia and microsporangia, the
former few in number and each containing a single ivory-
white megaspore. The sporocarps have a very thick,
hard wall almost impervious to water, and may remain
beneath the water for a long time without opening. So
nearly impervious to liquids are the sporocarps when
uninjured, that they have been kept in 95% alcohol for
nearly six years, and then the spores still had vitality
enough to germinate. Sporocarps dried and kept in the
herbarium for eighteen years have also produced spores
capable of growing.

The sporocarps of J/arszlza finally open by splitting
into halves. Those of Prlu/arta split into four valves
from the apex. Since the sporocarps are modified leaves,
the four valves of the Pri/aria sporocarp may be taken
to indicate that the original leaf was like that of AVarszlra.
Baker therefore states that the leaf in Pr/u/aria is now

190 THE MARSILIACEA,

merely a filiform petiole. The prothallia are very rudi-
mentary and develop with great rapidity. According to
Campbell they may develop from the spores and produce
mature sex-organs in twenty-four hours,

There are nearly fifty species in the genus Marsilia,
mostly in tropical regions. Of Prludaria there are about
six species, widely distributed. AZarszfia was named for
an early Italian naturalist, Aloysius Marsili. P2lularta is
from the Latin word for a “little pill,” and is in allusion
to the small pill-like sporocarps.

KEY To TITE MARSILIAS.

_ Sporocarps usually two on each peduncle. Eastern,
AL, guadrtfolta
Sporocarps rarely more than one ona peduncle
Plant nearly smooth, Southern é . AL, uncrnata
Plant densely hairy. Western A, vestita
Plant larger, less hairy. Southwestern Al, macropoda

THE MARSILIAS.

THE MARSILIAS.

HERE is scarcely a genus of plants
anywhere whose species have a
more general resemblance to one
another than the genus Jlarszlia.
The four-leaved clover is the un-

varying pattern after which the
leaves are cut, and when the collector has once seena
single species he will have no trouble in referring sub-
sequent finds to its proper genus at least. Specific
differences are found in such matters as size, hairiness,
and the number and arrangement of the sporocarps.
At least four good species are known within our limits,
only one being found in the Eastern States, the others
being confined to the West and Southwest.

Marsilia Quadrifolia.

Marsilta quadrifolia is a common species of the Old
World extending from southern Europe to India, China,
and Japan. In America it has been found at only a
single station, Bantam Lake, Connecticut, and this cir-
cumstance has suggested the idea that it is not really
native to our country. But, if not a native, the plant
has become so thoroughly settled in its home that it
may justly. be claimed as a naturalised member of our

19% THE MARSILIAS.

flora. From the original station plants have been sent
to many other places, and in each they have grown
luxuriantly, vying with the natives in their ability to
hold their territory and to gain more. The pretty
oxalis-like leaves resting upon the water or rising a short
distance above it may be counted as an addition to our
lakes and ponds, while the ease with which it may be
grown makes it a general favourite. It may even be
grown in a tubin the back yard, and is often seen in
conservatories.

In its native haunts Alarszlza qguadrifolia usually roots
in the mud beneath shallow water, the very slender
rootstock, a yard or more long, creeping above the soil
and sending up great numbers of leaves on slender
petioles that elongate until they reach the surface.
While this is the usual habitat, it may often be found
quite out of water at midsummer. The leaves are
then quite short, but such plants are usually very fruitful.
The joints of the stem are short, and from each is pro-
duced a tuft of roots and a leaf. In the bud these
leaves are coiled and the four divisions folded together,
but as they reach the air they unfold and spread out on
the water like the leaves of the water-lily. In vigorous
specimens the petioles often hold the young leaves
above the water. In outline the blade is nearly circu-
lar, from half an inch to two inches or more in diam-
eter, and is divided into four equal leaflets, wedge-shaped
at base and rounded onthe outer margins. The divisions
are marked by numerous fine veins that run from the
petiole to the margin, forking several times. The young
leaves are more or less hairy, but when full grown they
are smooth.

The sporocarps are about half the size of peas and are

PLATE VII]. MARSILIA QUADRIFOLIA.

CCRT RSET

1808, GY FYELER UK A. STOKES COMPANY

THE MARSILIAS. 197

borne two or three together near the base of the
leaves. The common peduncle is about half an inch
long, with a short stalk for cach sporocarp and is
usually united for a short distance with the petiole of
the leaf. In colour the ripe fruits are dark purplish
brown. When young they are clothcd with minute
yellowish hairs, but at maturity these disappear. The
fruit is most abundant in shallow water. «At the point
where the pedicel appears to join the sporocarp there
project from it two small points called teeth. In this
species the teeth are very short and obtuse. There are
from sixteen to twenty sori in each sporocarp.

Like the clover and owalis, which it resembles, this
species has the habit of closing its leaves at night. This
is done by two of the leaves rising, folding face to face,
and then being enfolded by the other two in the same
position they had in the bud. The reason for this so-
called sleep position is doubtless to be found in the fact
that, like most water plants, the stomata or openings
for transpiration are found on the upper surface, and
this folding is in some way concerned with their protec-
tion. It is noticeable that only the young leaves or
those rising above the water display these movements.
When taken out of the water the leaves quickly close as
in the night position. Baker spells the specific name
guadrifoliata, but American writers do not.

Marsila Uncinata.

Marsia uncinata is commonly regarded as a rare
species, and in the latest edition of Underwood's text-
book it is recorded from but two stations in the United

198 THE MARSILIAS.

States. In reality it is an abundant plant in Louisiana,
at least, being common for more than two hundred miles
along the Mississippi. It probably occurs in moist
grounds throughout the State. In the city of New
Orleans it may be found along many roadside ditches,
and in one street that the author knows of it grows quite
across the street.

In books devoted to the fern allies, all the dimensions
of the marsilias are rarely given. The length of the
petiole depends almost entirely upon the depth of the
water in which the plant grows, yet measurements of it
are usually included, while nothing is ordinarily said about
the length of the rootstock. In the present species the
author has found rootstocks more than a yard long, and
longer ones are probably common. Observations on this
point for all our species are much to be desired.

In the size and shape of the leaf this species is almost
like Marsilia quadrifolia. The blade, however, is likely
to be sparsely hairy, even at maturity. The plant
requires a wet soil, but is probably as.common out of
water as init. It is often found, however, rooted in the
shallow water on the edges of the bayous and sending
long floating stems into deeper water. It bears fruit
only on the stunted plants in drier situations, so that
fruited herbarium specimens rarely indicate the beauty
of this plant at its best.

The sporocarps are as big as peas and are borne singly
on peduncles half an inch to an inch or more long, which
appear to rise from the axils of the leaves. They are
sparingly clothed with pale-brown hairs, even when
ripe. The peduncle terminates in two rather conspicu-
ous teeth, the upper of which is usually hooked, from
which circumstance the plant derives its specific name.

Marsilia Quadrrfolia,

Marstlia Unecnata,

THE MARSILIAS. 199

There are often twenty-four or more sori in each sporo-
carp. A specimen is illustrated on page 188.

Mearsilia uncinata is now known to occur from Louis-
iana to eastern Texas, and it is probable that its range
will be still farther extended. It appears to be plentiful
in the delta region of the Mississippi. When first
described it was thought to be a variety of AZarsilia wes-
tita, but its longer rootstock, less hairy leaves, and spo-
rocarps will distinguish it from that species. In its
natural habitat Jfarsifia uncinata may be singled out
from the surrounding vegetation for some distance by
the peculiar fresh green colour of the leaves. During
the winter months either the plants disappear, or the
rootstocks remain in a resting condition without leaves,
though they reappear early in the new year.

Marsilia Vestita.

The smallest of our marsilias, and the one with the
least predilection for a watery habitat, appears to be
Marsilia vestita. While it often grows in shallow
water it is usually found on wet muddy banks, where it
may either grow in dense tufts or put forth short exten-
sions of its rootstock.

The petioles are from one to five inches long, and the
leaves quite small, usually under an inch in diameter.
Both leaf and petiole are clothed with soft, short, white
hairs that may be either spreading or appressed. These
are so numerous on the younger parts of the plants as to
give them a hoary appearance. The outer edge of the
leaflets is rounded, entire or occasionally slightly toothed.
This is a variable plant, however, and all the characters
do not hold for single specimens,

200 THE MARSILIAS.

The sporocarps are smaller than those of d/arselia
uncinata, but larger than those of Alarsilia quadrtfolt.
They probably average a little less than a quarter of an
inch Jong. They are borne on peduncles so short as to
appear sessile or nearly so, and are densely covered with
the fine whitish hairs found on other parts of the plant.
The lower tooth of the sporocarp is short and blunt; the
other is slightly longer and curved.

Marsilia vestita is found from Dakotaand Washington
to Texas and California. Southward it extends into
Mexico. It has been reported as naturalised in central
Florida, and according to Baker it is found in British
Columbia also. Mr. A. A. Eaton notes that in the San
Joaquin Valley, California, it is called “ horse-clover”
and is greedily eaten by horses. Prof. C. E. Bessey, how-
ever, reports in the Fern Bulletin that it is becoming a
weed in several wet meadows in Nebraska. Campbell
asserts that it is an annual, but upon this point more
notes are desirable. Mr. Eaton is of the opinion that
while the leaves may die the rootstock does not. Likean
exotic species, Murszlia hirsuta, it is said occasionally to
bear tuber-like bodies on the ends of certain branches of
the rootstock, which under proper conditions may pro-
duce new plants.

Marsilia Macropoda.

The species called Marstha macropoda is like Marsilia
vestita in being more or less hairy, but it has a longer
rootstock, much larger leaves, and sporocarps that are
borne in clusters of from two to four instead of
singly. It also probably lives longer than Jfarsilia
vestita.

dflurstlia Vestita,

THE MARSILIAS. 20

The rootstock of this species is like that of .J/arsiia
quadrifolia in being wide-creeping. It grows beneath the
water and sends up its large leaves to the surface. These
are often two inches or more across, with deltoid seg-
ments having a rounded outer edge. Both sides bear
silky whitish hairs that seldom fall off at maturity. The
sporocarps are about a quarter of an inch long and are
very densely covered with long, tawny, hair-like scales.
The teeth are very small, the lower one often absent.
There are about twenty sori in each sporocarp.

Marstlia macropoda has been thus far found only in
southwestern Texas and New Mexico. The woolly
nature of the leaves and fruit suggests that it may be an
extreme form of JJarsilia vestita that has been modified
by its different habitat. While it is a lover of water it
may often be exposed to the air by the drouths of sum-
mer, and appears to be most fruitful when growing with
the minimum of moisture, as do most of the marsilias.
Baker writes the specific name macropus.

Marsilia Tenuifolia.

So far as known, the plant called J/arsilia tenutfolia
has been collected but twice, both times in western
Texas. It hasa close resemblance to J/arsilia vestita and
by some is thought to be a form either of that species or
of Aarsilia macropoda. It is described as being slenderer
than J/arstlia vestita with an extensively creeping root-
stock. According to Underwood the leaves are villous
with appressed hairs and toothed on the margins ; accord-
ing to Baker they are nearly or quite smooth, with
entire margins. The sporocarps are said to be borne
singly upon short pedicels and to be tomentose.

202 THE MARSILIAS.

The plant has been so seldom seen as to be practically
unknown, and it is small wonder that the authorities
disagree regarding it. Until we have more definite
information it seems permissible to consider it a form of
Marsilia vestita.

Marstlia \Macropoda,

THE PILLWORT,

THE PILLWORT.

HE only American representative
of the genus Prlularia is that
rare little plant called Prlwlaria
Americana. In structure it

resembles a very small species of

Aarsilia without leaf-blades. It
\ grows among grasses and sedges
in wet places, but is seldom found
in standing water, though it may be in-
undated at certain seasons of the year.

The rootstock is fine and thread-like

and creeps close to the soil, sending

down a tuft of roots from each joint of
the stem, while above rise the slender
leaves. In our plant these are seldom
more than two inches long, are
very slender, and taper to a point
like those of the quillworts. Like
the leaves of the ferns they are

coiled in the bud. The

_~.~ sporocarps are borne on

short stalks in the axils
™ of the leaves and area

206 THE PILLWORT.

little more than one twelfth of an inch in diameter.
They are round and dark brown and contain four cells,
in each of which is a sorus bearing megasporangia and
microsporangia. From the shape of the sporocarps this
plant gets its name of ‘ pillwort,” while an allied species
is known abroad, by the name of “ water-pepper,” from
the same circumstance.

Pilularia Americana has been found in a few localities
in California and Oregon, and is reported from Arkansas
also. It is quite likely that it grows in many other
places where its size and shape, so much like the imma-
ture rushes and sedges surrounding it, may aid it to go
undetected. This species has also been found in Chili.
An allied species is found throughout Europe.

Mr. S. B. Parish, writing of the habitat of our species
in the Fern Bulletin, says:

“In winters of abundant rainfall little pools form in the hollows of
the clay mesas about San Diego, and on the surface of these pools
and on their muddy margins these plants tind a congenial home.
Often successive years pass with rainfall insufficient to maintain these
pools, and consequently without affording the pilularias an opportu-
nity for growth,”

The plants are thus apparently annuals, though all the
species of Marsiliacez are regarded as perennials.

PILLWORT, Pelularza Americana.

THE ISOETACEA, OR QUILLWORTS

THE ISOETACEA:

™=5<? HERE is doubtless no fam-
ily of plants so little
known to the botanists
of the regions in which
they grow as the Iso-
etacee, or quillworts.
The flowers, fruits, and leaves of the flowering-plants
make them conspicuous; the ferns, lacking flowers, are
still noticeable from the beauty of their fronds; and even
the fern allies, with the present exception, may attract
attention by reason of their strange forms and curious
manner of growth; but the quillworts, most of which
pass their whole existence beneath the waves of lake or
river, far removed from the other objects of the botan-
ist’s pursuit, ordinarily escape observation, or, if seen,
are dismissed with the thought that they are immature
specimens of some sedge or rush. Even the botanists
themselves for a long time paid little attention to them,
usually referring such forms as were found to the single

210 THE ISOETACE.

species /svetes lacustris. Although numerous species are
now known to occur in the waters of the Eastern States,
the early volumes on the flora of the region make no
mention of them. Scarcely fifty years have passed
since botanists began to study these plants understand-
ingly, and students are yet by no means agreed as to the
limits which should separate various species or the posi-
tion they should occupy as a group in botanical classi-
fication. Baker, in his “Fern Allies,’ places them in
the Selaginellacee ; Campbell, in ‘‘ Mosses and Ferns,”
considers them closely related to such ferns as the
adder’s-tongue (Ophioglossum) and the moonwort (Botry-
chium); while still others believe that their structure
indicates a closer connection with the pines and their
relatives. They are nowadays usually placed in a sepa-
rate order, family, and genus, as we have placed them
in this volume.

Notwithstanding the close superficial resemblance be-
tween the quillworts and other water vegetation, the
difference between them is quickly recognised as soon as
one has become acquainted with a single species. A
quillwort is essentially a rosette of short, hollow, cylin-
drical, pointed leaves with sporangia in their axils. The
central axis to which these leaves are attached is short
and flat, so that there is never produced an elongated
stem, as in the other fern allies. If one can imagine a
fruit-spike of Selaginella in which the axis has failed to
develop, and in which the sporophylls have lengthened
into quill-like though flaccid leaves, he will have a good
idea of the typical quillwort. The resemblance of the
plant body to the bulbs of flowering-plants has also been
frequently noted.

The trunk, main axis, or rootstock, though flat and

THE ISOETACEZ. 211

tuber-like, has a central vascular bundle surrounded by a
region of growing cells that annually produce new bark
on one side and add to the vascular tissue on the other.
At two or more points this tissue is more active than at
others, with the result that mature rootstocks are either
two, three, or morelobed. Inthe hollows between these
lobes, the roots are given off, and these are peculiar for
forking two or three times like the selaginellas, instead of
branching irregularly as those of most plants do.

The leaves number from ten to two hundred and are
arranged spirally on the upper part of. the rootstock.
At the point where they join it they are wide
and somewhat triangular in cross-section, but
above they approach cylindrical in form. In
length they range from less than two inches to
morethan two feet. Running lengthwise through
the centre of the leaf is a bundle of bast which,
with the surrounding tissue,
separates the hollow interior

into four parallel chambers
containing many cross-parti-

Cross-section of leaf . ae
near base. tions. In addition to the cen-

tral strand of bast there are frequently four
others, called peripheral bast bundles, near the
surface. One of these is at the back on the
outer side, another is in the middle of the inner

face, and the two others are found on either side “;,,;

showing
sporan-
gium,

of this on the inner edges of the leaf. In most
of our species the peripheral bast bundles are
absent; when two are present they will be found to be
the dorsal bundle and the one in the middle of the
inner face. The two on the inner edge of the leaf are
usually absent.

212 THE ISOETACE-.

Only the outer earlier whorls of leaves produce sporan-
gia. When the spores are ripe the fertile leaves slowly
decay, but the sterile, somewhat rudimentary leaves
remain green through the winter. In the terrestrial
species these leaves may form somewhat spiny processes.
The tips of ordinary leaves usually end in a long taper-
ing point, which, with the hollow interior, is probably
responsible for the name of quillwort applied to the
plants.

The quillworts are usuaily about four years old when
they begin to bear spores, and, as might be expected,
their manner of fruiting shows most plainly their rela-
tionship to the fern allies. Their resemblance to the
selaginellas is particularly striking, since they bear two
kinds of spores. These are produced in the axils of the
outer leaves in a hollowed-out portion of the leaf. In
each of these hollows is a single oblong sporangium
which may occasionally reach a length of more than a
quarter of an inch. Over this sporangium the substance
of the leaf projects in the form of a thin indusium or
velum, in a few cases entirely covering the sporangium,
but usually leaving a third or more exposed. The
sporangia are said to be one-celled, but they contain
partitions that divide them into several incomplete
chambers. This feature is also found in fossil lepidoden-
drons. Just beyond the sporangium there arises from
the inner surface of the leaf a small, thin, triangular flap
called the ligule. It is most strongly developed in ter-
restrial forms, but its use is unknown. In many species
some of the cells in the walls of the sporangium become
thickened, giving it a spotted appearance which is some-
times considered of diagnostic importance. The spots,
however, are not visible to the unaided eye.

THE ISOETACE-. 213

The sporangia in the outermost leaves contain numer-
ous large spores called megaspores, macrospores, or
gynospores, while nearer the centre of the plant similar
sporangia bear a much larger number of smaller spores
called microspores or androspores. The megaspores
always produce female prothallia, and the microspores
those of the opposite sex. The megaspores are about
one fourth the size of a pin’s head, but are large enough
to be seen with the unaided eye. Undera lens strong
enough to resolve their structure they appear as spheres
of dazzling white encircled by an elevated ridge near the
middle, called the cquator, and with three other ridges
called commissures going from the cquator to mect in
the centre of the upper hemisphere. One half of the
spore is thus divided into
three nearly equal areas,
while the other is with-
out ridges. Between the
ridges, especially on the
upper hemisphere, the
surface is thrown into
many curious patterns in
which spines, crests, pits,
and labyrinthine forms predominate. Each separate
species has its own pattern of marking, and thus the spores
afford important characters for identification. The white
coating of the spores has been found by Mr. Raynal
Dodge to be silica, the same flinty matter that gives
roughness to the stems of the scouring-rush.

The microspores are about one thousandth of an inch
in length and very numerous. According to Dodge

Megaspores. (Greatly enlarged.)

there may be as many as a million spores in a single
sporangium. They are usually oblong, somewhat triangu-

214 THE ISOETACEA.

lar in cross-section, and have a smooth papillose or spiny
surface mimicking the megaspores. The size of the
spores is usually given in thousandths of a millimeter,
the Greek letter “ standing for a single thousandth.
Three hundred and fifty thousandths of a millimeter
would be written 3504

The prothallia of the quillworts lack
chlorophyll, and, like the prothallia of
Selaginella, do not separate from the
spores. At maturity the spore simply

Microspores. opens along the three commissural
(Greatly enlarged.) : : : :
ridges, exposing the archegonia, and in
this position the eggs are fertilized by the sperms.
Some of the aquatic forms have the power of producing
buds in place of sporangia, and these finally float away
and become new plants.

Of the fifty or more species of /soetes alarge number
dwell constantly on the bottom in lakes, ponds, and
slow-moving streams, at depths of from one to ten feet
beneath the surface of the water. Others, however,
occur in such situations that the receding water in sum-
mer exposes them to the air, while a few are rarely if
ever submerged, though they always grow in wet places.
Those that are exposed to the air have stomata or
breathing-pores, but those always beneath the surface
have none. It is interesting to observe that in those
species that are only occasionally exposed to the air, the
stomata are found only on the tips of the leaves, in the
position where they would be most useful to the plant
should the water leave any part of it exposed.

The species of /soe¢es are so much alike externally that
for exact identification a compound microscope is neces-
sary. An examination of the ripe megaspores alone is

THE ISOETACE-. 215

usually sufficient to indicate the group to which the
plant belongs, but other considerations must often be
taken into account in naming the species. In the fol-
lowing pages, illustrations of the megaspores only have
been given. These all have the same magnification, so
that the comparative size of the spores may be easily
seen. It is expected that when the plants are better
known than at present the species will be more easily
distinguished, because more accurately described. Fur-
ther notes on all our species are greatly desired.

The word /soc/es is said to be derived from two Greek
words meaning ‘“‘equal’’ and “year,” and was applied to
these species because of the perennial character of the
leaves. The species are widely distributed throughout
the world, but are most plentiful in the glacial lakes and
the streams leading from them in the northern hemi-
sphere. They are an isolated group not closely con-
nected with any other living forms, but exhibiting in
their structure certain features that seem to indicate
that the modern monocotyledons, to which the grasses,
lilies, and orchids belong, may have arisen from the
same parent stem. As recognised at present, /soefes is
the only genus inthe family Isoetacea, and this family
the only one in the order Isoetales.

KEY TO THE ISOETES.

I, — Plants normally submerged

Spores with low tubercles or warts, LI. Bolandert
Spores with slender spines . . L. echtnospora
Spores with short rounded crests . I. Macoun?
Spores with worm-like crests . Li Averoglyphica

Spores with thin crests sparingly anastomosing
I, lacustrts
Spores with many anastomosing ridges
; L. Tuckermant
II. — Plants normally exposed in summer
Indusium complete
Spores with fine warts . . LI. melanospora
Spores with heavy tubercles. L. flacetda
Indusium incomplete
Spores with faint crests and warts J. Howell7
Spores with numerous truncate spines 7, Graves7z
Spores with spines and short crests
Mostly spinulose . . L, saccharata
Crests often anastomosing L.rtparta
Spores reticulated
Ridges sub-continuous . J. Canadensé's
Ridges anastomosing

Ridges thin . . L, Engelmann’
Ridges moderately thick L. valida
Ridges very thick . L. foveolata

III. — Plants seldom if ever submerged
Spores smooth : . : L. Orcutt?d

Spores faintly warty

Warts few . . a L, Nuttallee

Warts many 7
Commissures wide . JL. melanopoda
Commissures narrow . L. Butleré

Spores with short spines. * L. metnzma

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS.

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS.

SERIES of JSsoetes specimens
could easily be selected which
would show every gradation
from the most deeply sub-
merged plants to those habit-
ually living in dry ground,
but such a series would of ne-
cessity include specimens of

many species. The water-loving species, however, keep

close to their own element, and it is only under excep-
tional circumstances that they appear above the surface ;
while the terrestrial forms are for a great part of the
year entirely above water, though growing in moist
places. Between these two there are certain species
that always live for a part of the year under water
and a part of the year exposed, so that for purposes
of study it is very convenient to divide the genus into
three groups containing aquatic, amphibious, and terres-
trial species respectively, though a hard and fast line
between them cannot be drawn. The species of the first
group have been selected for description in this chapter.

Braun’s Quiltwort.

If, while floating upon the quiet surface of some small
mountain lake, the collector should discern. two or three

220 THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS.

feet below the surface, a colony of plants like small
green rosettes, he may conclude that he has found
Braun’s quillwort (Lsoetes echinospora Braunit). Since all
the aquatic quillworts have the same general plan for the
plant body, it is possible that such a conclusion may have
to be modified later and his specimens referred to some
other species, but Braun’s quillwort isso abundant and
so widely distributed that until its spores have been ex-
amined one is fairly safe in assuming that any new find
is this species.

The leaves are from ten to thirty in number and occa-
sionally reach a length of ten inches, though the average
is probably lessthan five. They are dark green, occasion-
ally reddish at base, and while in the water are half erect.
When fresh from the water they are somewhat rigid and
inclined to curve backward. There are a few stomata
present on the tips of the leaves, but the peripheral bast
bundles are absent, as is usual in the submerged species.
The sporangium is pale spotted, and the velum or in-
dusium about half covers it.

The principal distinguishing charac-
ter is found in the megaspores. These
are from 350/ to 550 in diameter and
covered with broad spinules which are
~ often forked or toothed and sometimes
recurved. Occasionally, too, the spin-
ules may become confluent into short

Megaspore of crests. The microspores are from 264
Isoetes echinospora . é .
Braunit. to 30 in length, white or grey in

colour, smooth, and very numerous. Three hundred
thousand microspores have been found in a single
sporangium. The spores retain their vitality for some
time, and plants have been raised from the spores taken
from herbarium specimens.

BRAUN'S QUILLWORT. Jsoetes echtnospora Brauntze.

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS. 231

The typical /svetes echinospora is an Old World species
found in the lakes of northern and central Europe. It
differs from our plant in having an unspotted sporangium,
a narrower indusium, and no stomata. These differences
have been considered sufficient to make our plant a sepa-
rate variety. There can scarcely be a doubt that the two
forms have arisen from a common ancestor. Our plant
holds the same position in North America that the type
does in Europe. In the “ Ferns and Fern Allies of New
England,” Dodge gives its habitat as “ margins of ponds
often wholly submerged; also on the muddy shores of
streams or on the tidal tracts of rivers, often where the
water is very brackish.” The author has seen it in many
of the small glacial lakes of northern Pennsylvania, but he
has never collected it in a locality in which it was ever
likely to be above water. There seems, therefore, to be
some difference in its habitat in different parts of its range.
The fact that it bears stomata may be taken as an indica-
tion that it is prepared for an occasional exposure to the
air.

Our plant ranges from Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wash-
ington to Alaska and Greenland. Ac-
cording to Baker it is also found in
Iceland. The American plant has
several forms or varieties. A stouter
plant with more numerous leaves and
abundant stomata is called the variety
robusta, and a form with long slender iS
spinules on the megaspores is called the Pons aa
variety Booltiz. Robusta is recorded as Segre
growing in Vermont and New Hampshire, and Boot¢7i
has never been found except in the few localities in
Massachusetts where Boott first found it. These forms

222 THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS.

appear to be trivial ones produced by the habitat in
which they grow. Most botanists now give little atten-
tion to them. According to Eaton Boottiz is found in
sand, and this may account for its characteristic slender
leaves.

Tsoctes echinospora muricata is a more pronounced form.
The leaves are longer, slenderer, and
inclined to be spiral and the mega-
Ss spores are slightly larger, and covered
with shorter, thicker, and more con-
fluent spinules. In deep water the
slender leaves are inclined to take on
aspiral form. This variety is found

Meeaanars BE from Nova Scotia to New Jersey.
Isoetes echinospora — Tsoetes echinospora Flettii comes from a
few lakes in Washington and British
Columbia, and differs from the type in having stout
leaves, and the spines of the megaspores few, very short,
almost wart-like. This is an extreme form and by some
might be considered a distinct species. In spore char-
acters it approaches the various other species of the
Northwest, and except for the size of the spores might
be considered a variety of /soetes Bolandert.

A stout plant, also from northwestern
America, has been named J/soetes echino-
Spora truncata. This has megaspores
thickly covered with short truncate
columns. The spores are noticeably
flattened on the hemispheres contain-
ing the commissures, and are not . Megaspore of
easily confused with those of other ce aobsiay
species. This form is reported from Vancouver Island
to Alaska, but is as yet not common. The author would

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS. 223

be inclined to call this a distinct species and to name it
Lsoetes truncata.

In 1888 Underwood described a new species from speci-
mens collected on Vancouver Island, to which he gave
the name of Lsoctes maritima. This, Mr. Eaton is con-
vinced, is but a variety of Jsoctes echinospora. When it
was described it was supposed to be a terrestrial species,
and the resemblance of its megaspores was not considered
important; but inquiries of the collector having since
shown that it is regularly inundated by the tide, Mr.
Eaton seems warranted in calling it /soctes echinospora
marina. Itis described as having from eight to twelve
rigid leaves one to two inches long. The megaspores
are covered with rather thick, bluntish spines.

In many lakes and ponds Jsoetes echinospora and its
varieties form an almost unbroken carpet over large
areas, the width depending upon the rate with which
the water deepens, being widest in shallow ponds and
ending usually when depths of three or more feet are
reached. It grows either in sand or mud, though it is
said to prefer mud, and is most luxuriant where exposed
to the sunlight. It appears to be also fairly abundant in
certain rivers, usually only where it is covered with
water most of the time. Until one has become accus-
tomed to its appearance it is often likely to be mistaken
for the other water plants with which it grows. Should
our common plant ever be considered distinct from the
European species it would have to have a new name,
since Braunit is preoccupied asa specific name. Braun
has suggested that in this event it be called /soctes am-
bigua. The crisp bulbs of this species are favourite mor-
sels with muskrats, and cattle are said to feed upon the
leaves of any species that are accessible.

is}
to
+

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS.
The Lake Quillwort.

The lake quillwort (/soefes lacustris) was not named
because it is the typical quillwort of our lakes, but be-
cause it was first found and is quite abundant in the lakes
of Europe. There are good botanists
who doubt that it has ever been found
in America, though it was often re-
ported by early collectors. At that
time, however, it was customary to
refer all our plants to Old World species
Megaspore of of similar appearance, and this probably

Tsoetes lacustris.

explains the many reports of its occur-
rence in regions where nowadays it cannot be found.
Tsoetes lacustris is described as having from ten to
thirty dark-green leaves from three to six inches long.
There are no stomata in the leaves, and the indusium cov-
ers about one third of the unspotted sporangium. The
megaspores are from 500 to 800# in diameter, marked
all over with short, thin, wavy ridges. The microspores
are 35 to 45 long, light grey, and smooth. The Ameri-
can plant differs from the European in the larger mega-
spores, and Durieu proposed that it be called /soetes
macrospora. It would seem wise, in view of the appar-
ent absence of true /svetes lacustris, to refer all our plants
to [soetes macrospora. Mr. A. A. Eaton concurs in this
opinion, but since /svetes lacustris has long had a place in
our flora we have here included: /soetes macrospora with it.
The typical [svetes lacustris is spread widely through
the lakes of northern Europe, and is well enough known
to receive the common name of “ Merlin’s grass.” It
grows in from one to six feet of water. Fish are said
to be fond of the tendér leaves, and are reported some-

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS. 225

times to root them up. The fleshy corms or rootstocks
have occasionally been eaten in Europe, but are said to
have an earthy taste that is scarcely palatable. The
American range of this species is given as from New
Jersey, Lake Superior, Colorado, and California north-
ward. The plant originally described by Engelmann as
Lsoetes lacustris, variety paupercula, is considered by Mr.
Eaton as entitled to specific rank. It has fewer, thinner,
and shorter leaves and smaller spores. It is found in
Colorado and California. This form was also collected
by Henderson, who named it Ssoetes occidentalis.

Tuckerman’ s Quillwort.

In Tuckerman’s quillwort (/soctes Tuckermant) we have
a plant with much the habit of Braun’s quillwort, but
with spore characters that link it more closely with
Lsoetes lacustris and TIsoetes riparia. It may be distin-
guished at sight, however, by the
leaves, which are very slender and
tinged with red. They are from two
to five inches long and usually spirally §
twisted. It was long thought that this
species lacks stomata, but it is now
known occasionally to bear them
in small numbers, especially if grow- Megaspore of

Lsoetes Tuchkermant.

ing in situations where they may be

exposed to the air. The sporangia are small, sparingly
pale spotted, and the upper third is covered by the in-
dusium. The megaspores are 450 to 560 in diameter,
marked with parallel and anastomosing ridges on the
upper segments, and somewhat more reticulated below.

226 THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS.

In New Hampshire, Mr. Eaton has discovered plants in
which the spores were of various diameters up to 750/#
but otherwise like the type. “The microspores are
smooth and 26 to 32# long.

So far as known, Tuckerman’s quillwort is confined to
the New England States. It was formerly considered
rare, but a more careful study of the material has shown
that much of what was once referred to Jsoetes lacustris
and J/soetes riparia really belong to this species. Mr. A.
A. Eaton asserts that within its range it is likely to
occur in any large pond with sandy shores, especially if
a little silt has been deposited upon the sand. It grows
in from one to four feet of water, forming extensive
colonies, and is rarely found in situations where the
water is not at least a foot deep during the drouths of
summer. The depth at which it grows suggests the
possibility that the red colouring-matter in the leaves
may aid in assimilation, just as the same colour is known
to do in the red seaweeds.

Plants from Maine and New Hampshire, in which the
leaves are longer and stouter, have been named the
variety Jorealis. This is said to have enough likeness to
plants of /soetes lacustris to be almost entitled to rank
as a form of that species. Still another form, described
as [soetes Harveyi, has recently been foundin Maine. In
this the leaves are stout and very numerous, often one
hundred or more, though less than three inches in
length. The sporangia are small, unspotted, and about
one-third indusiate. The megaspores are 525 to 6504
in diameter, but may occasionally be found of diameters
up to 800#. The spores are similar to those of typical
Tuckermant, but the leaves are very different. In the
opinion of the describer, however, it is not sufficiently

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS. 227

distinct to be called a species, and it has recently been
reduced to a variety of /soetes Tuckermant.

Under the name of Jsvetes heterospora Mr. A. A.
Eaton has described a species from Mount Desert
Island, Maine, which the author would be inclined to
call a form of /soctes Tuckermani also. In this form the
leaves are two or three inches long, from fifty to seventy-
five in number, and lack stomata. The sporangia are
thickly spotted and are one third or more indusiate.
The megaspores are normally 540” to 675 in diameter,
but specimens with a diameter of 1150 are often found.
They are densely covered with thick, jagged, anastomos-
ing crests, often honeycombed below. The microspores
are 30# to 40# in length, dark brown, and papillose. The
megaspores often have neither commissures nor equato-
rial ridge. Occasionally what answers to the latter is
present, but misplaced, often enclosing but a small area
on one side of the spore. This seems to indicate an
aberrant plant. Thus farit has been found in but two
localities, both on Mount Desert Island, Maine.

Bolander’s Quillwort.

In the western part of America the lakes occasionally
contain a species of /soetes called Bolander’s quillwort
Usoetcs Bolandecri), which by the single item of the spore
markings may be separated from all our Eastern species.
In its own region, however, it is easy to confuse with
other species, which are marked much like it. In
appearance this species has a resemblance to the mem.
bers of what, for convenience, may be called the /sectcs
echinospora group. Its leaves are erect, bright green,
from five to twenty-five in number, and from two
to four inches long. They generally have few stomata

228 THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS.

and no peripheral bast bundles. The sporangia are
broadly oblong or elliptical, and sparingly spotted.
The megaspores are 300 to 450” in diameter, marked
with small dots or warts which rarely run
together to form wrinkles. The micro-
spores are deep brown, 26/ to 31 long,
spinulose or rarely smooth. This species
is found in western Colorado, Utah, and
iMeeatosre of California, and grows in streams as well
tsoetes Bolander?. 4 in ponds. The form called Sonned was
described from plants collected at Donner Lake, Cali-
fornia.

In 1866, Bolander, after whom this species was named,
found at Mono Pass, on the eastern slope of the Sierra
Nevada, at an altitude of 7,000 feet, a peculiar form
which has since been known as Jsoctes pygim@ea. Its
resemblance to /soetes Bolandert is so marked that there
should be no doubt of their being two forms of the same
species. The principal difference is that the plants of
Tsoetes pygm@a have shorter leaves, seldom reaching an
inch long. The microspores also are less spinulose. To
the author this seems but a mere form of the better-
known species, and he would call it /soctes Bolanderi
pygma@a. Its small size is undoubtedly due to its place
of growth in a cold mountain stream. The megaspores
are exactly like those of /soetes Bolanderi, only a trifle
smaller. It has been collected but once, though often
searched for during the past half century.

Lsoetes Hieroglyphica.

From certain lakes in Maine have been collected
specimens of an Jsoefes which, to judge from spores
alone, is distinct fromall others. This has recently been

THE AQUATIC QUILLWORTS. 229

named SLsoctes hicroglyphica. Ut is described as having
ten to twenty leaves two or three inches long, which
are recurved and somewhat blunt at the tip. The
sporangium is unspotted and about one third indusiate.
The megaspores are very characteristic,
being from 485 to 590” in diameter,
and marked, except near the equator,
with rather large wormlike ridges. The
body of the spore is quite smooth and
greyish in colour. The microspores
are from 31 to 44 long and are warty.

Megaspore of —
In outward appearance the plant has “tes Averogéyphica.

great resemblance to Jsoectes Tuckermant, to which it is
no doubt closely related, though the spore characters are
distinctive. °

Tsoetes Macount.

Tsoetes Macounz is known to grow only on Atka Island,
off the coast of Alaska, from whence it was brought by
J. M. Macoun in 1891. The plants were found in a
pool on the side of an extinct volcano, and apparently
in such a position as to be always submerged. The
leaves are from five to twelve in number,
about two inches long, and quite stout.
The megaspores average about 450# in
diameter and are set with stout blunt
spinules usually about twice as long as
broad. The microspores are finely and

Megaspore of, :
fooetes Macount. — densely papillose and about qo” long. It

is possible that this is still another form of /soctes echino-
spora. It has considerable resemblance to the varicty
Fictt?i, and the differences it presents may be due to its
habitat.

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

“q IE aquatic quillworts are naturally
found in lakes and ponds, since few
other situations present the unvary-
ing water-level and other conditions
favourable to their growth. The
amphibious quillworts, on the con-
trary, are more frequently to be found along rivers and
streams where the receding waters leave them exposed
to the air for at least a part of the summer. The few
members of this group that grow in lakes and ponds are
to be found close to the margin, in which situations they
are usually above the water for a part of the summer at
least.

Engelmann’ s Quillwort.

Among American students of the /soctes there are few
whose names are more closely associated with the genus
than that of the late Dr. George Engelmann, of St.
Louis, and it is most fitting, therefore, that the species,
Lsoetes Engelimannt, which commemorates his name,
should be both common and widely distributed.

This species may at once be distinguished from the
aquatic quillworts by its much longer leaves. In the
quiet waters of lake and pond the leaves of the quill-
worts are inclined to be short and arranged in a distinct

234 THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

rosette ; but in rivers where the species are exposed to
more or less current the leaves are likely to be longer,
and, though arranged in circles, the rosette appearance
is often obscured because the flaccid leaves all extend in
the direction taken by the current. In the present
species the leaves are sometimes up-
ward of a hundred in number and
twenty or more inches long. Ordinary
forms, however, are usually less than a
foot in length. Being exposed to
the air for a large part of the year, the
Megaspore of leaves have abundant stomata, and
the peripheral bast bundles necessary

to give strength to the aérial leaves are also present.
The plants usually grow on the margins of streams.
During winter and spring they are covered by the
water, but as the waters diminish with the warm
weather the leaves are soon exposed to the air, either
by floating on the surface of the shallow water or by
being left entirely exposed. The leaves found early in
spring are the ones that bear the sporangia. They are
long and flaccid, and upon exposure to the air are likely
to decay, being replaced by circles of shorter recurved
leaves, some of which, if the season is long enough, may
also perfect sporangia. It is probable that these leaves
are normally sterile and alternate with the fertile leaves.
The sporangia are unspotted and have a narrow in-
dusium. The spores are released by the decay of the
sporangium, and for some time after the leaves have
fallen the sporangia may be found attached to the plant.
The megaspores are from 350” to 550 delicately honey-
comb reticulated. The microspores are 24# to 28# in
length, and nearly smooth, In the southern parts of this

Lsoctes Engelmanni.

ENGELMANN’S QUILLWORT. Jsvetes Lugelmanne,

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS. 235

species’ range the spore-markings are less constant and
the species breaks up into varieties. The variety foutana,
distinguished from the type by having many stomata, four
or more peripheral bast bundles, and a spotted sporan-
gium, has been reported from eastern Pennsylvania. A
very slender form, with about a dozen
leaves, often found with the type, is
named variety gracilis. It is probably
due to plants growing in deep water or
in dense shade. The variety Georgiana
has few leaves and slightly larger mega-

spores. More pronounced is the form

“ y Megaspore of
from North Carolina described as — Ssvctes Engelmanni

Caroliniana,

Tsoetcs Engelmanni Caroliniana. In

this the leaves and indusium are slightly broader, and
the megaspores are marked by thin and broken crests
which often present spinules like those of /soetes echino-
spora and have few if any reticulations. The microspores
also are slightly larger and densely spinulose.

Tsoetes Engelmanni is found most abundantly on the
gravelly shores of rivers and streams. Eaton says that
in New England it is very common in clay soil in
ponds and ditches, but rarely occurs in mud and sand.
In parts of New Hampshire it is reported as common in
nearly every millpond and ditch with a clay bottom. It
is likely that the plants growing in ponds are seldom
above water, which shows how arbitrarily the amphibi-
ous group of quillworts has been constituted. The
species ranges from Maine to Delaware, Pennsylvania, and
Missouri. The variety Georgiana is found only in the
State for which it is named. Jsoetes Engelmannt Carolin-
zana has been found in several localities in North Caro-
lina.

236 THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

Eaton's Quillwort.

In 1867 Engelmann described a gigantic species of
quillwort from eastern America, which he considered a
form of Jsoetes Engclmanni and to which he gave the
name of /soctes Engelmannt valida. It is described as
having from fifty to two hundred leaves two feet or more
long, springing from a very massive trunk, and is in fact
the largest form of /soetes in America, if not in the
world. It has never been reported from New England,
but within recent years there has been discovered in that
region an equally large quillwort which has been named
Lsoetes Eatont, These forms are so neatly alike as to
suggest that they are two forms of the same species. If
valida is really different from Latonz and a mere form
of Lsoetes Engelmanni, it is not easily explained why it
does not occur in New England, where the species is so
common. The fact that /svetes Fatoni
is confined to New England seems to
indicate that this is the New England
counterpart of valida. When the New
England form was discovered it was con-

eel sidered a distinct species, and in this

tsoetes valida. inion the author concurs. As aspecies,
however, it should be known as Ssvetes valida, since this
varietal name was given before that of /soctes Eavront.

The trunk of this form is occasionally four inches in
diameter, and the leaves have been known to reacha
length of twenty-eight inches. The summer leaves are
usually much shorter, often under six inches long. The
peripheral bast bundles are usually present, though weak,
and there are abundant stomata. The sporangia are re-
markably large, frequently half an inch long, but the

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS. 237

megaspores, Curiously enough, are smaller than the aver-
age, beine from 300” to 4530” in diameter. The mega-
spores of Jsoetes Eatoni are described as being marked
with “convolute labyrinthiform ridges, cristate on the
angles of the inner face.” The markings of the spores
alone are nearly sufficient to constitute this a good
species. They appear like those of Jsoctes Engelmann,
in which many of the connecting crests have disappeared.
The fact that the so-called variety wa/zda is described as
having spores smaller than the type is also significant.
Mr. Eaton, who has made a very careful study of this
genus, is of the opinion, however, that the two forms are
not identical.

If we consider them two forms of one species the
range may be given as from New Hampshire to Dela-
ware and Virginia. The plant is rare, however, and has
been found only in a few localities within this territory.
A curious thing about the plants from New England is
that they appear to bedicecious. Microspores are seldom
found, but the megaspores are abundant. It is surmised
that the same sporangium may occasionally bear both
kinds of spores, as is sometimes the case in Ssoetes Tuck-
ermant.

lTsoetes Canadensis.

The history of the quillwort now called /soetes Cana-
densis is a good illustration of the way small and easily
overlooked differences may affect our conception of
species in the genus /soctes. It was first called the variety
Canadensis of [soctesriparia. Later the same species was
found in New England, and, its identity being overlooked,
it was described as /soctes Dodger. The name first given

238 THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

to the plant of course holds good, and since it seems cer-
tain that this is a separate species it is therefore properly
called Jsoctes Canadensis. For some time, however, the
name of /svetes Dodger is the one it has commonly borne.

In appearance Jsoctes Canadensis is much like Lsoetes
Engelmanni. The leaves are from eight to fifteen inches
long, often seventy-five in number, and when under
water are half erect and inclined to twist. The leaves
that appear in summer are shorter, as usual. The spor-
angia are about one fourth indusiate and spotted. The
ss ne are 500“ to 675“ in diameter, with irregular,
low, sub-continuous, thin crests scat-
ered over them, The hemisphere that
bears the commissures is decidedly
flattened, and the commissures them.
selves are inclined to produce thin,
short, lateral projections. In appear-

apace al ance the spores suggest the spores of

Teuetes Canadensis § Tsanjes Eugeducasne, in which the crests
have so nearly disappeared that vestiges of only the
heaviest-remain. The microspores are 22 4 to 404 long,
ashy in colour, and wrinkled.

Mr. Eaton has described a variety of this species from
Massachusetts, in which the leaves contain four bast
bundles and are rather stiff and erect, even when out of
the water. To this the varietal name of Roddins7z has
been given. The megaspores are described as being
thickly beset with anastomosing jagged walls, much as in
Tsoetes riparia, though thicker. A variety, Amesz7, of
Tsoetes saccharata, appears to be enough like Rodbinsii to
be classed with it. So intermediate are the characters
that distinguish Roddzuszz that it might with equal pro-
priety be regarded as a variety of J/soefes riparia or

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORT. 239

of Lsoctes Canadensis; but it is probable that Ssoctes
riparia does not occur in New England. This is doubt-
less the plant that has so frequently been mistaken for
that species in this region.

Tsoctcs Canadensis has been found in various localities
from Maine to Pennsylvania, and also in Ontario and
British Columbia. It is doubtless more abundant than
it is at present known to be. If grows in shallow water
in rivers.

The River-Bank Quillwort.

The river-bank quillwort (/soctes riparia) was found near
Philadelphia by Nuttall in 1815, but, as was usual in those
days, it was referred to the common European /soetes
Jacustris, and it was not until thirty years afterward that
its distinctness was recognised and the name it now
bears was assigned to it.

Isoctes riparia is a medium-sized species with from
fifteen to thirty round leaves that oc-
casionally reach a length of a foot, but
are commonly several inches shorter.
The leaves have abundant stomata, are
without bast bundles, and the sporangia
are spotted and about one third indu-
siate. The megaspores are 450/ to 650# fe ee
in diameter, with thin, jagged, irregular crests that so
nearly resemble those of both J/soctes lacustris and
Lsoetes Tuckerimanit that good students of the genus can-
not always agree as to theiridentity. They may usually
be distinguished from Ssvetes Tuckermant, however, by
the crests being more numerous, thicker, and longer,
and from Lsoctes lacustris by the crested commissures,

240 THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

The true /svetes riparia has apparently never been
found anywhere except along the lower Delaware,
though often reported from other localities.

Tsoetes Saccharata.

This was formerly supposed to be a distinct species,
but additional collections and further study have shown
it to be so nearly like /soctes riparia that it is now often
suggested that they are two extreme
forms of the same species. Not only
are typical plants very much alike, but
various intergrading forms have been
found. Notwithstanding this, it will
be retained as a species here, in order

Megaspore of not to confuse the beginner, who will
seetes saccharate. © 4 i+ 56 treated in the text-books.
The leaves are from ten to twenty in number, dark

green, slender, and from two to five inches long. They
have no bast bundles, and the stomata are abundant.
The indusium is narrow, and the sporangium spotted.
In diameter the megaspores measure from 400# to 5304
and appear “as if sprinkled with minute grains of white
sugar.’ They may be distinguished from those of
typical /svetes riparia by the markings being slenderer
and shorter, with a faint resemblance to those of Jsoetcs
echinospora.

At present, typical plants of Jsectes saccharata have
been found only on tidal flats about the head of Chesa-
peake Bay and the rivers that empty into it. A com-
plete list of the stations, with a map and discussion of
its distribution, was published in the Botanical Gazette
for September, 1903. Two seasonal forms, named

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS. 240

reticulata and Palimeri, respectively, have been found.
It isa remarkable fact that /svetes riparia forms should
be found only at the head of Delaware Bay, and /soefes
saccharata forms only in similar situations in a neighbour-
ing bay, especially since the two are so closely related.
It would seem as if the progeny of a single species
settling in the region have been modified by the sur-
roundings until they have assumed their present forms.
Mr. Eaton apparently considers that /soetes saccharata is
represented in New England, since he has recently
described the variety Ameszz from Massachusetts. It
appears, however, better referred to J/soctes Canadensis
Robbinstt.

Tsoetes Foveolata.

Whatever may be the status accorded this form, at
present, it is certainly closely related to JSsvetes Engel-
mannt, The patterns of the markings on the mega-
spores are almost identical, but there is so much differ-
ence in the thickness of the reticulations that the spores
present a very different appearance.

Tsoetes foveolata is a stouter, shorter plant than Ssveres
_Lngelmanni, with from fifteen to sixty pinkish leaves two
to six inches long, bearing stomata
mostly near the tips. The peripheral
bast bundles are absent, and the spo-
rangia are thickly spotted with dark
cells which are often assembled into
groups. Some plants appear to bear

only megaspores. These are from me
380 to 560 in diameter, flattened on Pe
the hemisphere bearing the commis-

sures, and covered with reticulations so wide and so

242 THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

numerous as to almost obliterate the openings between
them, which thus resemble little pits. This appearance
gives the plant its specific name. The microspores are
dark brown, 22” to 34” long, and marked like the meg-

aspores.
Tsoetes foveolata plenospora is a larger form, with longer
and more numerous leaves, pinkish in colour. The

megaspores are similar to those of /soctes fovcolata, but
with higher, thinner crests, especially in the lower part
of the spore, and thus have a great resemblance to the
spores of JLsoetes Tuckermant. Both the species and
variety have been found in New Hampshire and Massa-
chusetts only, and there in but few stations.

Tsoetes Gravestt.

It is possible that geological conditions play an im-
portant part in the making of /soctes species. It has
been noticed that a very slight change in the composi-
tion of the soil makes a change in the species inhabiting
it. Aclose student of the genus wrote recently:

“You may always expect to find certain species in
certain soils. As soon as I see a pond in my region I
can usually tell what species of /soe¢es you will find in it
if they occur at all.”

No experiments appear to have been made to dis-
cover whether the same species will take on different
forms when grown in different soils; but, should this be
proved to be true, it would throw much light upon the
relationship of /soetes riparta and TIsoctes saccharata, and
perhaps give a clue to the origin of the plants which
have been named J/soctes Gravesi. Thus far they have
been found in only a few stations in the State of Con-

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS. 243

necticut. When first discovered they were referred to
Tsoctcs Eatont, but a later opinion is that the plants are
specifically distinct. In the shape and
size of the spore they resemble that
species, but the markings are more
like those of JSsovtes riparia. As in Lso-
etes Eatont the microspores are seldom — Megaspore of |
fa iinet: fsoctes Gravesti.
The plants have from fifty to seventy-five leaves,
which are erect and sharp-pointed, and possess four bast
bundles. The indusium is narrow, and the sporangium
light cinnamon colour. The megaspores are from 3504
to 400” in diameter, greatly flattened in the upper hemi
sphere, and densely covered with stout truncate, mostly

single columns. The shape of the spores is very charac-
teristic. It is difficult to believe that a species of this
genus should be restricted to so small a region, and the
idea suggests itself that this is still another form of the
species which goes under the name of /sectes Engelmannt
valida or Lsoetes Eatont, The author would be inclined
to call it Lsoetes valida Gravesit. The presence of the
bast bundles in the leaves, the small size of the mega-
spores, and the marked flattening they display, the lack
of microspores, and the dicecious nature of the plant, all
point to a close relationship to the form described as
Lsoetes Eatont, and Mr. Eaton writes that if this plant is
ever reduced to a variety it must be made a variety
of this form.

Tsoetes M. elanospora.

This peculiar species was discovered in 1869 by

Canby, who found it growing in shallow excavations in
> dD

granite rock on Stone Mountain, Georgia. It is remark-

244 THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

able for having very dark grey, almost black, mega-
spores, being unique in this respect among the species of
eastern America. It is also one of the few species in
which the indusium completely covers the sporangium.
This species has from five to ten tapering, slender
leaves about two inches long. The sporangia are rather
roundish, and the megasporesare from
3504 to4504 in diameter. Thesurface
is marked by many slight projections
that are roundish or confluent, form-
ing low, short, scale-like crests. The
microspores are smooth or slightly
Megaspore of papillose. The plant has been found
Isoetes melanospora. = Sym 3
in several localities, but never outside
of Georgia. It is so different from the other species of
the East that identification will be easy, even for the
beginner.

Tsoetes Flaccida.

The only species of quillwort with which the State of
Florida is credited is the one bearing the name of J/soeves
flaccida, In general appearance it is like all the am-
phibious quillworts, but the spore-char-
acters are unlike any others of our
region, being more closely related to vari-
ous tropical species. This difference, and
the limited area it inhabits, make it an-
other species easily identified by the

i 2 Megaspore of
beginner. Isoetes flaccida.

The leaves are from ten to thirty-five in number, and
from three inches to two feet long. The plant usually
roots beneath the water, and the long leaves float on the

THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS. 245

surface, though the whole plant may sometimes be found
exposed. The sporangia are rather small and are com-
pletely covered by the indusium. The megaspores are
from 300 to 4ooF in diameter and are marked in a dis-
tinct and remarkable way. In some there is a single
large button-like tubercle in the centre of each of the
three areas outlined by the commissures and equator; in
others, there are several smaller tubercles in these areas.
On the lower hemisphere these tubercles incline to run
together, forming thick wrinkles. The equator and the
commissures are unusually heavy.

Two. varieties of this species have been named. The
variety rigida is smaller, slenderer, with more erect leaves.
The variety Chapman? is distinguished by having larger
megaspores that are almost smooth on the upper hemi-
sphere. Thus far /sectes flaccida has been found only
in Florida. It may possibly occur in the southern parts
of the other Gulf States, but will probably always be a
rare species.

lsoetes Howelli.

This specics may be described by saying that it is like
Isoctes Nuttallit, with the exception that the megaspores
are not so conspicuously marked with roundish warts,
but usually have low crests that may be cither isolated
or confluent, especially in the lower hemisphere. The
spores are practically of the same size, often dark grey or
nearly black, and the author is inclined to recard itasa
form of Lsoetes Nuttallii in spite of the differences in
habitat.

The species has a larger number of leaves than Jsvetes
Vuttalli?, which is to be expected from its location under

246 THE AMPHIBIOUS QUILLWORTS.

water, but it is significant that the peripheral bast bun-
dles prominent in /soetes Nuttallii are also present, while
the numerous stomata found indicate that it, too, is
often exposed to the air. It is found
only within the range of its relative
. —from California to Idaho and Wash-
y ington. Two other forms, described
as Isoetes Underivoodit and Tsoetes nuda,
are now believed to be the same as
LTsoetes Howell, Mr, Eaton has re-

Megaspore of -
Isoetes Howellt, cently described a plant from the same

range which he calls /seetes Pipert. It is distinguished
by heavier markings on the megaspores and would seem
to be still another variety.

THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS.

THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS.

TY is singular that while the
quillworts of eastern Amer-
ica are mostly characterised
by megaspores marked with
spines and crests, those of
the West, especially in the
warmer parts, are marked
with fine dots and warts.
This apparent influence of
temperature on the mark-
ings of the spores is also
observed in the Southeast,
where the spines and crests
fade into tubercles. Along
with these peculiar patterns

of spore-markings in the West goes a tendency of the

plants to grow out of water, and in that region there are
several species that are by courtesy called terrestrial.

That they are terrestrial in the sense that a lily or a

dandelion is terrestrial is of course incorrect. Many of

these species are covered with water for a part of the
year at least, and the whole genus is so fully committed
toawatery habitat that they always grow in moist places.

When, for any reason, the places in which they grow

become dry, the plants go into a state of estivation in

which the leaves disappear and the whole plant assumes

250 THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS.

a resting condition. The spores of all are very much
alike and show a regular gradation from one extreme
to the other. Evidently all the species are closely related.

Isoetes Melanopoda.

One of the best-known of the terrestrial species is
Lsoetes Melanopoda, which was first discovered in Illinois
and appears to be peculiar to the prairie region extend-
ing from that State southwestward. It is often found in
alkaline flats, and its behaviour there is described as
follows:

“Many of the wells and springs running into or passing through this
clay are damaged or sometimes rendered unfit for use by the quanti-
* ties of sulphates of magnesia and soda entering into solution there
from. Occasionally this clay rises to the surface, forming low level
places which are popularly known as alkaline flats. During winter
and spring, while the rainy weather lasts, the flats, owing to their
level surface and imperfect drainage, are very wet, but by or before
the first of July, when the dry summer has well begun, they have be-
come the driest of all dry places, for the clay prevented the water from
soaking in, and the soil is so thin that an adequate store of moisture
could not be laid up. These flats are the home of J/soetes Butlerz.
There are occasional basins in the flats which contain more or less
water, and here /svetes melanopoda grows. It also occurs in nearly
all ponds, ditches, and wet-weather streams, It is more common
than the other, or at least it appears so, and it is so much easier to
find, owing to its greater size and paucity of companions. It disap-
pears in August.”

From this it will be seen that this plant is scarcely a dry-
ground species, though Underwood so lists it. Baker
places it among the amphibious species. It is found in
damp sands, however, and has been collected in a water-
melon patch. A certain amount of dryness seems ac-

THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS. 3

un

ceptable to it, at least so faras the production of fruit
is concerned, for it has been found that, when covered
with water, the leaves last through the season, though
spores are seldom produced.

The leaves of this species are from fifteen to sixty in
number, slender, erect, and from six inches to a foot
long. They are usually black and shining at base ; hence
the specific name. sAsinall the species that are exposed
for a considerable time to the air, the leaves possess
stout peripheral bast bundles which
aid in holding them erect. The indu-
sium is very narrow or sometimes ab-
sent, and the sporangium is spotted.
The megaspores are usually small, but
vary in size, averaging from 250/ to
4oo/in diameter. They have broad,
low commissures and are marked with
indistinct dots and low vermiform wrinkles. Except for
the fact that they are not dark coloured, they have a
close resemblance to those of Jseetes melanospora. The
microspores are spinulose. The megaspores and micro-
spores are usually borne on separate plants.

As the water in its habitat disappears, the leaves be-
gin to shrivel, and soon little holes are left in the soil
at the bottom of which are the bulbs and sporangia.
With the renewal of moisture the spores and the parts
surrounding them rise and float away, to form new colo-
nies. This species is found from Illinois, Iowa, and Ne-
braska to Texas, and it also has a variety in California

Megaspore of
Ls0c bes we lanopoda,

which differs in having smooth megaspores and larger
microspores. In some parts of its range, /seetes melano-
foda is abundant, but it is not evenly distributed, being
often rare or absent. In Texas a larger plant with pale

to

52 THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS.

leaf bases and a broader indusium is called the variety
pallida.

Tsoetes Butleri.

Closely related to /soctes niclanopoda by spore charac-
ters, at least, is the species called /soctes Butlerz, which
is able to grow in even drier Incalities, and closely
approaches our idea of a terrestrial species. The effect
of the lack of moisture is doubtless shown by the fact
that it isa smaller plant with shorter and fewer leaves.
It shows its dependence upon water, however, by
disappearing earlier in the year than J/soectes melanopoda,
often, in the South, before the first of July.

In this species the sexes seem always to be separate.
The megaspores are larger than those
of Isoctcs melanopoda, measuring from
400# to 600 in diameter, and marked
with heavier warts or points; otherwise
they are quite like them. Jsoetes But-
fert has been reported from Missouri,

Megaspore of Oklahoma, and Tennessee, and is as

Tsoetes Butleri, :

yet arare species. It doubtless occurs
at many other points. The variety zaculata is larger,
with unspotted sporangia.

Tsoetes Nuttaltit.

Tsoetes Nuttallii is a species of the Northwest, first
found along the Columbia River, in Oregon, by the
botanist whose name it bears. It is usually about three
inches in height, with firm, erect leaves from twenty to
sixty innumber. It grows in wet places, but apparently
never under water. The sporangiaare entirely covered
by the indusium, and the megaspores are usually quite

THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS. 253

small — fyom 250” to 500# in diameter. The megaspores
are very characteristic, being white or light grey in
colour, with a peculiar glassy lustre, as
though made of porcelain. They are
marked by small, regular warts, which are
sometimes so minute as to be barely
distinguishable. They have the greatest
resemblance to the spores of Ssoctes Bo-

: Megas of
landert, and the two might be regarded p5o18 Hevea.

as forms of a single species, one growing beneath the
water and the other modified for an aérial existence.
The two are found in the same general region, /yocfes
Nuttallii being reported from California to British Co-
lumbia and Idaho.

Tsoetes Orcuttt.

The plants referred to Jsoctes Orcuiti belong to the
same general group of which J/soctes Nuttallir may be
taken as the type. The megaspores, however, are very
smooth, at best having only a faint granular appearance.
They have the same glassy lustre as those of J/soc¢es
Nuttall? and are dark blue-grey in colour. The indu-
sium is entire. From resemblances of the spores,
indusium, and habitat, the author has no doubt that this
isasouthern form of Jsoctes Nuttallii, and
believes it would be better characterised
by calling it Lscetes Nuttallit Oreutti.

The leaves of this form are few, from
two to four inches long, and contain
from two to four bast bundles. The
jMegaspore of Megaspores are from 240 # to 300 in di-

ameter, and the microspores are dark

254 THE TERRESTRIAL QUILLWORTS.

brown, 224 to 35# long. This form was found in the
vicinity of San Diego, California, and has since been dis-
covered in Lower California. It grows in the evanescent
pools mentioned as the habitat of Prlularia Americana,
and, like that plant, it disappears soon after the pools
dry up. When, through lack of winter rains, the pools
do not appear, the plants remain dormant sometimes for
two years or more in succession.

Tsoetes Minima.

This diminutive species, with leaves from one to two
inches long, was collected by Suksdorf on a damp prairie
near Waverly, Washington, and has not been found else-
where. The leaves have the bast bun-
dies usual to terrestrial species, and the
indusium nearly covers the unspotted ¢
sporangia. The megaspores are from
290” to 350 in diameter, covered with
short, blunt, slender spinules that in ar- ae
rangement suggest what would result if —_Megaspore of
the warts on the spores of other species Rees
common to the same general region were elongated.
The equator is also set with these points, making it
“resemble a ship’s wheel.” This is, so far as known,
the smallest American species.

CHECKLIST OF THE FERN ALLIES.

CHECKLIST OF THE SPECIES: AND: PRIN.
CIPAL VARIETIES OF FERN ALLIES: 1N
NORTH AMERICA, NORTH OF
MEXICO.

AZOLLA.

Azolla Carolinianiim Willd.
Azolla filiculoides Lam.

EQUISETUM.
Equisetum arvense L,
Equisetum arvense f. caimpestre Schultz
Equisetum arvense 7. dectinbens Meyer
Equisetum arvense f. Ciffusum A, A, Eaton
Equisetum arvense f. pseudosilvaticum Milde
Equisetum Ferrissi Clute
Equisetum fluviatile L.
Equisetum fluviatile f. timosune (L.)
Equisetum Funstoni A. A. Eaton
Equisetum hiematle L.
Equisetum hiemale intermedinum A. A, Eaton
Equisetum hiemale robustune (A. Br.)
Equztsetum robustum A. Br.
Equisetum levigatim A, Br.
Equisetum lUitorale Kuhl.
Equisetum palustre L.
Equisetunt pratense Ehrh.
Equisetum scirpoides Michx,
Equisetam silvaticum L.
Equisetum telmateia Ebrh.
Equisetum variegatum Schleich.
Equisetum variegatum Alashaniin A, A, Eaton

58

CHECKLIST OF THE FERN ALLIES.

ISOETES.

Isoetes Bolanderi Engelm.
Isoetes Bolanderi pygmaea (Engelm.)
Lsoetes pygmaca Engelm.
Isoetes Bolanderi Sonnei Henders.
Isoctes Butleri Engelm.
Isoetes Butleri f. inmaculata Engelm.
Isoetes Canadensis (Engelm.)
Lsoetes Dodged A, A, Eaton
Isoetes Canadensis Robinsii A. A. Eaton
Lsoetes saccharata Amesiz A. A, Eaton
Isoetes echinospora Braunii (Dur.)
Isoetes echinospora Braunii f. Boottii (A. Br.)
Isoetes echinospora Braunii f. robusta (Engelm.)
Isoetes echinospora Flettii A. A. Eaton
Isoetes echinospora maritima (Underw.)
Lsoetes maritzma Underw.
Isoetes echinospora muricata (Dur.)
Isoetes Engelmanni A. Br.

Isoetes Engelmanni Caroliniana A, A, Eaton
Isoctes Engelnanni f. fontana (A. A. Eaton)
Lsoetes Engelmanni fontana A, A, Eaton

Isoetes Engelmanni f. Georgiana Engelm.
Isoetes flaccida Shuttlw.
Isoctes flaccida f. Chapmani Engelm,
Isoctes flaccida f. rigida Engelm.
Isoetes foveolata A. A. Eaton
Isoetes foveolata plenospora A, A. Eaton
Isoetes Gravesit A. A. Eaton
Isoctes hieroglyphica A, A, Eaton
Isoetes Howellii Engelm.
Lsoetes nuda Engelm,
Lsoetes Underwoodi¢ Henders.
Isoetes Howellii Piperi (A. A, Eaton.)
Isoetes Piper? A, A. Eaton.
Isoetes lacustris L.
Isoetes lacustris paupercula Engelm.
Lsoetes paupercula A. A, Eaton
Lsoctes occidentalis Henders.

260

CHECKLIST OF THE FERN ALLIES.

Isoetes Macounii A, A, Eaton
Isoetes macrospora Dur.
Isoctes melanopoda J. Gay
Isoetes melanopoda Ff. pallida Engelm.
Isoetes inclanopoda fF. Californica A, A, Eaton
Isoetes inclanospora Engelm.
Isoetes minima A, A, Eaton
Isoetes Nuttallii A. Br.
Lsoetes Suksdor fit Baker
Isoetes Orcutti A, A, Eaton
Isoetes riparia Engelm,
Isoetes saccharata Engelm.
Isoectes succharata jf. Patmeri A, A. Eaton
Tsoctes saccharata f. reticulata A. A. Eaton
Isoetes Tuchkermani A, Br.
Isoetes Tuchermani Harveyi (A. A. Eaton)
Tsoetes Harveyt A. A, Faton
Isoetes Tuchermani heterospora (A, A, Eaton)
Lsoetes heterospora A. A. iaton
TIsoetes Tuckermani f. borealis A. A. Eaton
Isoetes truncata (A. A. Eaton)
Lsoetes echtnospora truncata A, A, Eaton
Isoctes valida (Engelm)
Lsoetes Engelmanni valida Engelm,
Lsoetes Eatont Dodge

LYCOPODIUM.

Lycopodium alopecuroides L.

Lycopodium alopecuroides adpresstum Chapm.
Lycopodium adpressum (Chapm,)
Lycopodium Chapmanni Underw.

Lycopodium alopecuroides fF. pinnatium Chapm.
Lycopodium pinnatum (Chapm.)

Lycopodium alpinum L.

Lycopodium aninotinune L.

Lycopodium annotinum pungens Spring,

Lycopodium Carolinianwm L,

Lycopodium cernuium L,

262

CHECKLIST OF THE FERN ALLIES.

Lycopodium clavatum L.
Lycopodium clavatum f. monostachyou Hook.
Lycopodium complanatum L.
Lycopodium complanatum chamaecyparissus (A, Br.)
Lycopodium chamecyparissus A, Br.
Lycopodium tréstachyon Pursh.
Lycopodium complanatum f. flabelliforme Fernald
Lycopodium complanatium f. Wibbei Haberer
Lycopodium tircidulum Michx.
Lycopodium lucidulum porophyliun (Lloyd & Underw.)
Lycopodium porophylum Lloyd & Underw.
Lycopodium ltucidulium f. occidentale Clute
Lycopodium inundatum L, ;
Lycopodium inundatum f. Bigelovii Tuckerm.
Lycopodium obscurum L.
Lycopodium dendrotdeum Michx
Lycopodium sabineefoliwum NV illd.
Lycopodium selago L.
Lycopodium Sitchense Rupr.

MARSILIA,

Marsilia quadvrifolia L.
Marsilia macropoda Engelm.
Marsilia uncinata A, Br.
Marsilia vestita H. & G.

PILULARIA.
Pilularia Americana A, Br.
PSILOTUM.

Psilotum triquetrum Sw.
Pstlotum nudum (L.)

SELAGINELLA,

Selaginella apus Spring,

Selaginella arenicola Underw.
Selagtnella arenarta Underw,

Selaginella Bigelovit Underw.

264

CHECKLIST OF THE FERN ALLIES.

Selaginella cinerascens A, A, Eaton
Selaginella bryotdes (Nutt.)

Selaginella Douglasii (H. & G.)

Selaginella lepidophylla Spring.

Selaginella Ludoviciana A. Br.

Selaginella Oregana D, C. Eaton
Selaginella struthioloides (Presl)

Selaginella Pringlet Baker

Selaginella rupestris (L.)

Selaginella rupestris Sherwoodii (Underw.)
Selagtnella Sherwoodit (Underw.)

Selaginella vupestris Fendleri Underw.

Selaginella rupestris acanthonota (Underw.)
Selaginella acanthonota (Underw.)

Selaginella rupestris tortipila (A. Br.)
Selaginella tortépila A. Br.

Selaginella rupestris rupincota (Underw.)
Selaginella rupincola Underw.

Selaginella rupestris deusa (Rydb.)
Selaginella densa Rydb.

Selaginella spinosa Beauv.
Selaginella selaginotdes (L.)

Selaginella Watsoni Underw.

Selaginella Watsoni nautica (D, C, Eaton)
Selaginella mutica D, C, Eaton

SALVINIA.

Salvinia natans Hoffm.

EXCLUDED SPECIES.

Equisetum Mexicanum Milde
Equisetum ramosissinvaun Desy,
Marsilia tenuifolia Engelm.
Selaginella pilifera A, Br.

266 CHECKLIST OF THE FERN ALLIES.

AUTHORS’ NAMES ABBREVIATED IN THE CHECKLIST OF FERN

ALLIES,
A. Br. A, Braun. Kuhl. Kuhlewein.
Beauv. P. de Beauvois, L. Linneus.
Chapm. A. W. Chapman. Lam. J. B. de Lamarck.
Desf. R. L. Desfontaines. Michx. A. Michaux.
Dur, Durieu, Nutt. Thomas Nuttall.
Ehrh, F. Ehrhart. Rupr. Ruprecht.
Engelm. G. Engelmann. Rydb, P. A. Rydberg.
H.& G. Hooker & Greville. Schleich. Schleicher.
Henders. L. F. Henderson. Sw. O. Swartz,
Hoffm. G. F. Hoffman. Tuckerm., E. Tuckerman.
Hook. W. J. Hooker. Underw. L. M. Underwood.

Willd. K. S. Willdenow.

GLOSSARY.

ACULEATE.— Armed with prickles.

ACUMINATE.— Tapering to a slender point.

ACUTE.—Pointed ; ending in a sharp point.

ADVENTITIOUS.—That which comes from abroad; as a plant intro-
duced by chance.

ADVENTITIOUS Bubs,.—Buds produced without order on any part
of the plant.

AMPHIBIOUS. —Said of plants that are covered with water for a part
of each year.

ANASTOMOSING,—Forming a network; as veins uniting with one
another,

ANDROSPORE.—The smaller spore in /soefes and various other fern
allies; a microspore.

ANNULUS.—A ring, especially that which surrounds the spore-cases
in most ferns,

ANTHERIDIA,—The male organs on the prothallium.

APICULATE.—Terminating abruptly with a small point.

APPRESSED.— Turned upward against the stem; said of small leaves.

ARCHEGONIA,—The female organs on the prothallium.

AREOLA (PL. AREOLA&).—A space enclosed by anastomosing veinlets-

AREOLATE,—Having areole.

ARTICULATED,—Jointed or having the appearance of a joint.

AURICLED,-—Eared,

AURICULATE.— With ear-like appendages.

Basr.--Strands of strengthening tissue.

BIPINNATE,—Twice pinnate.

BIPJNNATIFID.—Twice pinnatifid,

BLADE, — The expanded, leafy portion of a frond.

BRISTLE.—A stiff hair; any slender outgrowth from the plant, as in
the fruiting parts of filmy ferns.

BULBIFEROUS,-—Bearing little bulblets.

268 ~ GLOSSARY.

BULBLET.—A small bulb, especially such as are borne upon leaves or
in their axils.

CARINA (PL. CARIN#).—A small ridge, especially the ridges on
the stems of Egudsetim,

CATKIN.—A name given to the fruiting parts of many fern allies.

CAUDATE,—With a slender, tail-like appendage.

CauDEX.—A trunk, especially that of a tree-fern.

CHAFF.—Slender, papery scales,

CHARTACEOUS,—Having the texture of parchment.

CHLOROPHYLL.—The green colouring matter of plants.

CILIATE.—Fringed with fine hairs,

CIRCINATE.—Coiled, as the buds of ferns, from tip to base.

CLAVATE,—Club-shaped,

COMPOUND.—Divided into two or more portions ; said of the frond.

CONCEPTACLE,—The Structure that encloses the sori in certain fern
allies ; a sporocarp.

ConeE.—A name applied to the fruiting parts of Aguzsefum.

CONFLUENT.—Blended together.

CORDATE.—Heart-shaped ; ovate with a sinus at base,

Cortaceous, —Like leather in texture.

CRENATE.—With rounded teeth; said of margins.

CRENULATE.—Scalloped with small rounded teeth.

CROSIER.—An uncoiling frond.

CRowN.—The growing end of the rootstock or caudex.

CUNEATE.—Wedge-shaped.

CuSPIDATE.—Terminating in a sharp, hard point,

DECIDUOUS.—Not evergreen; subject to being shed at certain sea-
sons.

DECOMPOUND.—Several times compounded or divided.

DECUMBENT.—Not erect ; bending along the ground.

DECURRENT.—Extended downward along the rachis; said of the
bases of pinne, etc.

DEFLEXED.—Bent abruptly downward.

DENTATE,—Toothed ; said of the margins.

DENTICULATE, —Finely toothed.

DEPAUPERATE.—Starved ; prevented from coming to its natural size
through lack of nourishment.

DicHoTomous.—Forked in pairs ; two-forked.

GLOSSARY. 269

DIMIDIATE,—Halved, or as ifone half were wanting, as in the pinnules
of some adiantums,

DimorPHous,—Of two forms; said of ferns whose fertile and sterile
fronds are not alike.

DISSECTED,—Cut into many lobes or divisions.

DoORSI-VENTRAL.— Having an evident upper and under surface ; flat-
tened in a plane parallel with the earth,

ELATER.—One of the two bands into which the outer coat of the
LEquésetum spore splits at maturity.

IELLIPTICAL.—Oblong with rounded ends.

EMARGINATE.—Notched at the summit.

ENTIRE.—Not divided ; said of fronds or pinnules whose margins are
without notches or teeth.

FALCATE,—Scythe-shaped ; curved upward.

FERTILE, —-Producing spores,

FIBRO-VASCULAR.—Consisting of wood-fibres and ducts, as in the
stems of the fernworts.

FILIFORM.— Thread-like.

FLABELLATE,—Fan-shaped.

FOVEOLATE,-—Honeycombed.

FROND.—A fern leaf. Properly the word frond includes both s/pe
and d/ade, but frequently it is used simply to designate the
leafy portion.

F RUIT.—Sporangia.

FRUIT-DOT.—A sorus.

F uGAcIous,—Short-lived ; falling early.

GLABROUS,—Smooth,

GLAND.—A minute globular or pear-shaped organ which usually
secretes a resinous, waxy, gummy, or aromatic product.

GLANDULAR.—Furnished with glands.

GLaucous.—Covered witha very fine powdery substance, as plums
are,

GLUTINOUS, -—Covered with a sticky exudation.

GYNOSPORE.—The larger spore in /soefes and other fernworts; a
megaspore.

HAaBit.—The general appearance of a plant,

HABITAT.—The natural dwelling-place of an animal or plant.

HETEROSPOROUS.—Producing spores of two sizes or kinds.

270 GLOSSARY.

Hrrsure.—Having coarse stiff hairs.

IMBRICATED.—Overlapping or breaking joints, like shingles on a roof,

INCISED.—Cut into deep, sharp teeth.

INDUSIUM (PL. INDUSIA).—The thin, scale-like covering of immature
sori.

INTERNODE.—The spaces between the nodes of the stem, especially
in Egudsetum,

INVOLUCRE.—The cup-shaped process surrounding the sporangia
in the filmy ferns ; an indusium.

IsOSPOROUS.—Producing spores of one kind.

LACINIATE.—Cut into deep, narrow, irregular lobes ; slashed.

LANCEOLATE.--Rather narrow and tapering to the apex ; occasion-
ally tapering at base also,

LAMINA.—A blade ; the leafy portion of a frond,

LEPTOSPORANGIATE.—Producing sporangia from the superficial
tissues of the frond.

LIGULE.—A_ small triangular tongue-like organ on the leaves of
Lsoetes.

LINEAR.—Long and narrow.

LoBE,—One of the small divisions of a frond.

LUNATE.—Shaped like a half-moon.

MACROSPORE.—A megaspore,

MARGINAL,.—Situated on, or close to, the margin.

MEGASPORE.—The larger spore in those species having two sizes of
spores, especially in Lsoctes.

MEMBRANACEOUS.—Like a membrane ; very thin and flexible.

MICROSPORE.—The smaller spore in those species with spores of two
sizes, especially in /soees.

MipRIB.—The prolongation of the stipe through an undivided frond
or pinna.

MIDVEIN,—The principal vein in a pinnule or segment.

MucCRONATE.—Having the midvein prolonged beyond the pinnule,
forming a point.

NopE.—The swollen regions of a stem from which the leaves grow,
especially in Lguzse/um,

OBLANCEOLATE.—The reverse of lanceolate ; broadest near the
apex.

OBLONG.—Two or three times longer than broad.

GLOSSARY. 271

OBOVATE.—The reverse of ovate,

Obruse,—Blunt; without point.

ORBICULAR.—Circular,

OvaTE,—Egg-shaped ; the broadest part near the base.

PALEACEOUS.—Clothed with chaff.

PALMATE, —With spreading divisions, like the fingers of the hand.

PANICLE.—A cluster of fruit in which the stems branch more or less.

PaPyRACEOUS.—Paper-like.

PEDICEL.—A tiny stalk; especially the stalk of the sporangium.,

PEDUNCLE.—A stalk; especially the stalk of the fruiting parts in
Lycopodium.

PELTATE,—Shield-shaped; said of scales and indusia that are
attached to the frond by their centres.

PERSISTENT, —Not falling away; remaining on the plant.

PETIOLE.—Same as stalk and stipe.

PINNA (PL, PINN.2:).—One of the primary divisions of a frond.

PINNATE, —Consisting of several leaflets arranged on each side of a
common petiole or rachis,

PINNATIFID,—Divided in a pinnate manner, but with leaflets not
entirely separate,

PINNULE.—One of the small divisions of a pinnate leaf,

PROCUMBENT.—Lying along the ground.

PROLIFEROUS.--Giving rise to new plants.

PROTHALLIUM (PL, PROTHALLIA).—The minute scale-like growth
from the spore of a fernwort.

PUBESCENCE.—A covering of soft, short hairs.

PUBESCENT,-—Covered with fine, soft hairs.

QUADRIPINN (VE, —Four times pinnate.

RACHIS.—The continuation of the stipe through a compound frond.

RECEPTACLE.—The part of the frond to which the sporangia are
attached, especially in the filmy ferns,

REFLEXED.—Abruptly bent downward or backward,

RENIFORM.—Nidney-shaped,

REVOLUTE.—Rolled backward, as the margins of some fronds.

RHIZOME.—An underground stem ; a rootstock,

Roorstock.—Same as rhizome. The portion that produces the
fronds or stems in most of our species.

SCALES,—The chaff on the stems of ferns,

272 GLOSSARY.

SCANDENT,—Climbing.

SEGMENT.—One of the smaller divisions of a pinnatifid frond.

SERRATE,—With saw-like teeth ; said of margins.

SESSILE.— Without a stalk.

SHEATH.—The circle of confluent leaves in Egzdsetum.

SINUATE.—Wavy ; said of margins.

Stnus.—The re-entering space between two lobes.

SoRuS (PL. SORI).—An assemblage of sporangia; a fruit dot,

SPATULATE.—Spoon-shaped.

SPIKE.—A name given to the fruiting parts of the fern allies.

SPINE.—A sharp point; a thorn.

SPINULOSE.—Thorny ; set with small spines.

SPORANGIUM (PL. SPORANGIA.)—A tiny globe in which the spores
are produced,

SporE.—A one-celled body, the fruit of the higher cryptogams ; it is
produced asexually and is the analogue of a seed.

SPORE-CASE,—Same as sporangium; the case in which the spores
are borne.

SPOROCARP.—A capsule-like structure enclosing the sori in certain
fern allies, as in AZarszlza,

SPOROPHYLL.—A leaf that bears spores, often modified for the pur-
pose.

STALK.—Samne as stipe.

STERILE,—Barren. Said of leaves or stems that do not produce
spores.

STIPE.—The petiole or stalk of the fern leaf which bears the leafy
portion aloft.

SrToLon, —A trailing, or often underground, branch.

STOMATA.—Minute openings in the leaves of plants.

SUBULATE.—Awl-shaped,

TERNATE.—With three nearly equal divisions.

TOMENTOSE,—Covered with matted wool.

TOMENTUM.—Close matted woolly hairs,

TootH.—The smallest division of a frond;a slender prolongation
from the sheath in Egwzse¢um,

ToRTUOUS.—Bent or twisted in different directions,

TRIPINNATE.—Three times pinnate.

TRUNCATE. —Appearing as if cut off abruptly.

GLOSSARY. 273

UNDULATE.—Wavy-margined.

VALLECULA (PL, VALLECUL#).—A hollow; especially the grooves
in the stem of Lgzcsetum.

VALLECULAR. --Pertaining to the valleculz.

VASCULAR. --Containing vessels, ducts, etc., as the stems of ferns,

VeEIN.--One of the small branches in the framework of a leaf.

VeLuM. --The indusium in /soe/es,

VENATION,—The manner in which the veins are arranged in the
leaf.

VERNATION. ~The arrangement of leaves in the bud.

VIVIPAROUS, -- Producing young upon various parts of the plant.

\WHORL,.--A circle; as of leaves on a stem.

WINGED, —Bordered with tissue, as the rachis of some ferns.

Index to the Common Names.

BAMBOO, 23.

Lird’s-nest moss, 163.
Bog club-moss, 114.
Bolander’s quillwort, 227.
Bottle-brush, 49, 58.

Branched scouring-rush, 33.

Braun’s quillwort, 219.
Buck-grass, $5.
Buck-horn, 84.
Bunch evergreen, Io.

CALAMITES, 6,

Carolina club-moss, 120,
Cat’s-tail, 49.
Colt’s-tail, 49.

Common club-moss, 81.

Common scouring-rush, 19,

Coral evergreen, 85.

Corn horsetail, 49. -
Creeping-jenny, 93.
Creeping selaginella, 155.
Crowfoot, lol.

Durcu rush, 24.
Dwarf scouring-rush, 38.

FEaron’s quillwort, 236.

Engelmann’s quillwort, 233.

Frsroon ground-pine, 93-
Field horsetail, 43.
Fir club-moss, 112.

Fox-tail, 49, 84.
Fox-tail clab-moss, 116.
Frog’s fishing-poles, 24.

Goon luck, 85, 114.
Great scouring-rush, 26,
Great water horsetail, 53.
Grey moss, 143.
Ground-cedar, 93.
Ground-fir, 93.
Ground-pine, 84, 88,
Gunbright, 23.

ILeArIL cypress, 95.
Hemlock club-moss, 110.
Ilog-bed, 93.
Ilorse-pipes, 24.

INTERRUPTED club-moss, 87.
Ivory horsetail, 50.

JoINT-GRASS, 23, 62.
Joint-rush, 23, 49.

LAKE quillwort, 224.
Lamb’s-tail, $5.
Lepidodendron, 6.
Liberty, 93.

MARE'S-TAIL, 49.
Marsh horsetail, 62.
Matte-grass, 85.
Meadow pine, 49.
Merlin’s-grass, 224.

INDEX TO THE COMMON NAMES. 275

Mountain rush, 24.
Mud horsetail, 53, 62.

NAKED horsetail, 23.
ORKGON selaginella, 148.

PADDUCK-pipes, 24, 49, 62.
Pepperwort, 188,

Pillwort, 206.

Pine-grass, 49.

Pine-top, 49.

Pipes, 24.

Polishing-rush, 23.

Prickly mountain moss, 150.

lrincess pine, 93.

RESURRECTION moss, 161,
Resurrection plant, 163.
River-bank quillwort, 239.
Rock selaginella, 139.
Running moss, 85.
Running pine, 84, 93.

SALVINIA, 175.
Savin-leaved club-moss, 95.
Scouring-rush, 23.
Scrub-grass, 23.

Shade horsetail, 53.
Shave-grass, 23.

Shining club-moss, 107.

Shore horsetail, 65.
Sigillarias, 6.
Smoke-rush, 49.
Smoke-weed, 24.
Smooth scouring-rush, 30.
Snake-grass, 49.
Snake-moss, 85.
Snake-rush, 24.
Snake-weed, 24.
Stag-horn, 84.

Stag-horn club-moss, Lor
Stiff club-moss, 86.
Swamp evergreen, IIo.

TAD-PIPES, 49.

Toad-pipes, 49.

‘Toad-tail, 85.

Trailing Christmas-green, 84, 93.
Tree club-moss, 99.
Tuckerman’s quillwort, 225.

VARIEGATED scouring-rush, 36.
Virgin Mary’s furze, 114.

WATER fern, 170, 181,
Water horsetail, 58.
Water-pepper, 206,
Winter-rush, 24.
Wolf’s-claw, 85.
Wood horsetail, 53.

Index to the Scientific Names.

Syuonvins and exotic species are italicised.

ANAB-ENA,

soll, 182.

AZOLLA.

Caroliniana, 181.
filiculoides, 183.

EQUISETUM.

arvense, 43.
f. campestre, 48.
f. decumbens, 47.
f. diffusum, 47.

f. pseudosilvaticum, 47

Ferrissi, 28.
fluviatile, 58.

f. limosum, 62.
Funstoni, 34.
giganteum, 33.
hiemale, 19.

f. intermedium, 25.

robustum, 26,
levigatum, 30.
littorale, 65.
Mexicanum, 33-
palustre, 62.
pratense, 53.
VAMLOSISSIIN win, 3.
scirpoides, 38.
silvaticum, 53.
telmateia, 50.
variegatum, 36.

Alaskanum, 38.

oO

Isorres.

ambigua, 223.
Bolanderi, 227.
pygmeea, 228,
Butleri, 252.
immaculata, 252.
Canadensis, 237.
Robbinsii, 238.
Doidge!, 237.
Eatoni, 236.
echinospora, 221,
Braunii, 220.
Boottii, 221,
Flettii, 222.
maritima, 223.
muricata, 222.
robusta, 221.
truncata, 222,
Engelmanni, 233.
Caroliniana, 235.
fontana, 235.
Georgiana, 235. °
gracilis, 235.
valida, 236.
flaccida, 244.
Chapmani, 245.
rigida, 245.
foveolata, 241.
plenospora, 242.
Gravesii, 242.

INDEX TO THE SCIENTIFIC NAMES.

ffarveyi, 226,
heterospora, 227.
hieroglyphica, 225.
Ilowelli, 245.
Piperi, 246.
lacustris, 224.
paupercula, 225.
Macouni, 229.
macrospora, 224.
maritima, 223.
melanopoda, 250.
Californica, 251.
pallida, 252
melanospora, 246.
minima, 254.
nuda, 246.
Nuttallii, 252.
Occidentalis, 225,
Orcutti, 253.
paupercula, 225.
Piperi, 246.
Pygmed, 228.
riparia, 239.
saccharata, 240,
Amest, 241.
Palmeri, 241,
reticulata, 241.
Tuckermani, 225,
borealis, 226.
heterospora, 227.
truncata, 222.
Cniderivoodt, 246.
LycopopiuM.
adpressum, 118,
alopecuroides, 117.
adpressum, 118.
polyclavatum, 119.
Chapmani, 118.
alpinum, 94.
annotinum, 86,
pungens, 87.
Carolinianum, 120,

to
NI
Ni

CNAMENPALISSUS, OL.
cernuum, IOf.
Chapman, V8,
clavatum, 81,

f, monostachyon, S4.
complanatum, 88,

chamecyparissus, QT.

f, flabelliforme, gt.

tristachyvon, 92.

f. Wibbei, 92.
inundatum, Ir4.

f. Bigelovii, 116.
lucidulum, 107.

f. occidentale, I1f.

porophylum, 111.
monostachyon, 84.
nikoense, OF.
obscurum, 99.
porophy lum, Li.
Pinnatum, 119.
sabinefolium, 96.
selaginelloides, 151.
selago, 112.

f. patens, TIT.

lucidulum, 113.
Sitchense, 98.

tristachyon, 92.

MARSILIA,

hirsuta, 200.
macropoda, 200.
macropis, 201.
polvearpa, 185.
quadrifolia, 195.
guadrifoliata, 197.
tenuifolia, 201.
uncinata, 197.
vestila, 199.

PSILOTUM.

nuduity, 127.
triquetrum, 125.

SALVINEA,

natans, 175.

INDEX TO THE SCIENTIFIC NAMES.

SELAGINELILA,

acanthonola, 142
apus, 155.
arenaria, 146.
arenicola, 144.
Bigelovii, 146.
bryotdes, 148.
Caribensis, 165.
cinerascens, 147.
densa, 142.
Douglasii, 160.
lepidophylla, 161.
Ludoviciana, 158.
mutica, 144.
Oregana, 145.
pilifera, 104.

Pringlei, 163.
rupestris, 139.
acanthonota, 142.
densa, 142.
Fendleri, 142.
rupincola, 142.
Sherwoodii, 142.
tortipila, 142.
rupinucola, 142.
Sherwoodil, 142.
spinosa, 150.
Struthioloides, 150.
tortipila, 142.
Watsoni, 143.
mutica, 144,