178 



more plentiful in this thicket than either of the above named 

 species. 



At first I had some doubt whether my discovery was B. st7n- 

 plex or some nearly related species. But to settle ail doubts I 

 had recourse to one better acquainted with the ferns of this coun- 

 try then I, and sent the plant to Prof L. M. Underwood (whose 

 beautiful work on the subject I have been using). He very 

 kindly confirms my opinion. lie said, *' Your specimen is a 

 medium sized form of Botrychiwn simplex^ which as you say, 

 greatly increases the range of the species as published." In con- 

 clusion, I may add that within a radius of two miles from Ellicott 

 City I have found between twenty-five and thirty species of ferns, 

 nong them is one rare one, not already mentioned, Camptoso- 

 ? rhizophylhis. Ferns are, indeed, in abundance in the neigh- 



A 



borhood of Ellicott City. J 



Notes on Melica and Poa. 



In the last number of the BULLETIN is an article entitled 

 *' Grasses in the Wrong Genus Cover '' by Dn W.J. Beal, in 

 which article two species heretofore ascribed to Poa are trans- 

 ferred to Melica. I feel obliged to dissent from the views of Dr. 

 Beal and will briefly give my reasons. In the genus Melica^ so 

 far as I am aware, the flowering glumes are always thicker than 

 the empty glumes, and are generally rounded on the back, at 

 least not compressed and keeled. The characters of Melica are 

 well given by Dr. Thurber in Bot. Cal. Vol. 2, p. 302. Describ- 

 ing the flowering glumes (which he calls lower palets) he says: 

 '* Lower palet at length subcoriaceous, rounded or flattish on 

 the back, 5 to many-nerved, the scarious tip usually blunt and 

 entire or 2-toothed, &c.'' Again, *' sterile flowers much the 

 smaller and convolute together at the top of the spikelct." In 

 describing Poa^ he says : *' Lower palet herbaceous or membrano- 

 herbaceous, with scarious margins and top, compressed-keeled, 



&c/' 



The two Poas transferred by Dr. Beal agree with the charac- 

 ters of the genus Poa except in the obtuse glumes, and that is 

 subject to much variation in other species of true Poa. Poa 

 macrantJia probably belongs to a group of polygamous or dioi- 



I 



