1901) Davenport, — Notes on New England Ferns,—II 267 
as now understood, and there appears to be a steadily increasing 
tendency towards its more general recognition. 
The latter genus (Asplenium), as defined by Linnaeus, originally 
embraced all ferns with their sori arranged in lines diverging from 
the midribs, but in, or about 1800 (exact date uncertain), Roth! 
noticed that certain species of Asplenium produced a large proportion 
of peculiarly curved sori mixed with the regular straight (asplenioid) 
form, and deeming this to be of sufficient importance to constitute a 
new generic character, he founded upon it his genus Athyrium. As 
the special character of the athyrioid sori is the subject of the 
following note there is no need of dwelling on it further here, but it 
is a little singular that the very first species mentioned by Roth, 
A. fontanum, under his new genus should have asplenioid sori, so 
that if it were not for the clear and unmistakable description of the 
semi-lunar sori as he called them in his text, and his explicit declara- 
tion that it was these sezz-uzar sori which led him to propose a new 
genus, the validity of the genus itself might be seriously questioned. 
John Smith (in * Historia Filicum ") says of it that it is better 
represented by the habits and character of the ferns comprising it 
than by the shape of the sori, but Moore more correctly apprehended 
Roth's views in saying that the genus is best known by the charac- 
ter of its peculiar sori. 
Probably the truth of the matter may be in the combination of all 
of these characters, as it is certain that true 447Zy7/a may be quite as 
readily distinguished from Asplenium by their habits, and the more 
compound structure of the fronds as by the peculiarities of their sori. 
This combination of characters may readily be seen in the Lady 
fern, and as the athyrioid sori largely predominate in that species it 
has become the accepted type for Athyrium. 
1The genus Athyrium was first published by Albrecht Wilhelm Roth in 
Tentamen Florae Germanicae, ** which was published in three volumes extending 
from 1788 to 1800. The Ferns were published in Volume 3, which is dated 1800, 
but Pfeiffer cites 1797, and 1798 is sometimes given as the date when the genus 
was first proposed, that being the date of the Preface (Sept. 14). According to 
Dr. Underwood (see an excellent historical * Review of the Genera of Ferns,” 
reprinted from Memoirs Torrey Botanical Club, 1899) Bernhardi quoted Roth’s 
genera in 1799, which would indicate an earlier appearance than the date of the 
volume itself. 
The name Athyrium is derived by  Wittstein | ( E£ymologisch-botanzsches 
Handworterbuch, 83) from d privative and 8vpeos, a shield, on the ground that 
Roth must have meant that the sorus having the indusium solely on one side, is 
in a sense without a shield. Lowe (Our Native Ferns, ii. p. 4) inclines to the 
belief that the name is from the Greek ** Athyros — opened." 
