MAXON—STUDIES OF TROPICAL AMERICAN FERNS. 147 
Typr Locality: Shady woods near Caracas, Venezuela (Bredemeyer). 
Distripution: General in tropical America, being widely dispersed in the West 
Indies and extending on the continent from Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil. It occurs 
also in southern India, Ceylon, and tropical Africa. 
InzustRrations: Hook. & Am. loc. cit. pl. 71 (as A. subalatum); ? Plum, Trait. Foug. 
pl. 66. f. B.; Hook. Exot. Ferns pl. 16. 
This, which is the commonest species of the trichomanes group in tropical America,, 
is well known and shows comparatively little variation. It is remarkable for the 
almost uniform position of its few sori upon the proximal side 
of the pinne and for the laciniate character of the upper mar- 
gins. Plate 16 of the Exotic Ferns shows an extreme condition, 
in which the sori are numerous and paired, somewhat as in A. 
carolinum; but the specimen figured was doubtless taken from 
cultivation at Kew and is not typical. In the specimens cited 
below the occurrence of any sori at all upon the distal side of 
the pinne is decidedly unusual and the cutting of the pinne is 
very different from that of A. carolinum, as explained under 
that species. 
Asplenium subalatum Hook. & Arn., the type of which is from 
Tepic, Mexico, differs in no respect from the usual form of A. 
formosum, as may be ascertained from the excellent plate. 
Plumier’s figure, cited above with doubt, possibly represents 
: . . os . castaneum. Rhi- 
this species as known to him from a small Martinique specimen. — june scales. Prin- 
In this case the name nanum, having page priority over formosum, gle’s 6150, Scale 8. 
would technically have to replace the latter well-known name. 
Asplenium formosum occurs usually, if not invariably, along watercourses, either 
upon rocky or solid earth banks. It is commonest at low or middle elevations (150 
to 900 meters), but in Bolivia ascends to 1,800 meters. The following specimens 
(localities and habitat data here omitted) are in the U. 8. National Herbarium: 
Jamaica: Fredholm 3255; Clute 279; Mazon 781, 825. 
Cuba: Wright 854; Britton, Earle & Wilson 4733; Shafer 538; Maxon 3923. 
Harti: Nash & Taylor 1222, 1346. 
Porto Rico: Britton & Marble 472; Sintenis 414. 
Dominica: Eggers 844. 
GuaDELouPE: Duss 4123, 4202. 
MaRTINIQUE: Duss 1651. 
MontsERRAT: Turner. 
Mexico: Galeotti 6471; Langlassé 350; Jones 527; Rose & Painter 6944; Orcutt 
4638; Purpus 2178; Liebmann. 
Britiso Honpuras: Blancaneaux. 
GuaTEMALA: Heyde 214; Cook & Griggs 673; Deam 6079; John Donnell Smith 1065 
(von Tiirckheim), 1176 ( Walker), 2444 (J. D. S.), 3222 (Heyde & Luz). 
Honpuras: John Donnell Smith 5678 ( Thieme). 
Nicaraacua: Wright. 
Costa Rica: Cook & Doyle 244; Hitchcock 8446a, 8458a; Pittier 914, 3070, 4446; 
Tonduz 8799, 9456, 12751; Maxon 582. 
Panama: Maxon 4671; Pittier 4478. 
Cotomsi1a: Lehmann 6015; H. H. Smith 966. 
VENEZUELA: Fendler 133. 
Botrvia: Williams 1074, 1075. 
Braziu: Sio Paulo, Regnell I 487; Ulbricht. 
Cryion: Ex herb. Hope. 
NyasaLaNnD: Buchanan 258. 
Kamerun: Zenker & Staudt 642. 
Fic. 7. — Asplenium 
