Davenport : Acrostichum lomarioides Jexman 



319 



Mr. Gilbert describes his Bermuda plants as '' being magnificent 

 in size, reaching far abov^e the head of any man, sometimes to the 

 height of eight or nine feet/' But J. Donnell Smith found plants 

 of A, any cum in Florida growing to the height of elev^en feet. \ 



Pteris aqidlina ordinarily averages from two to four feet in 

 height, yet in Florida it has been known to reach the height of 

 twelve and fourteen feet. 



As for the uniformly fertile and sterile fronds, here again the 

 force of JenmanVs description of *' all the pinnae of the one being 

 barren, and all of the other fertile," is neutralized by his unfortu- 

 nate citation of Professor Eaton's figure in Ferns of North America 



I 



2 : //. 5<?, for an illustration, as that figure does not represent a 

 frond with all of the pinnae fertile, but one with only the upper 

 half fertile, as in normal A, mircuni. ' ' I 



I do not wish to be understood as calling in question the valid- 



J 



J 



w^hich I have not seen, and if there should exist a form there with 

 uniformly dimorphous fronds in the same sense as we have them 

 in Onoclca^ Osviuiida^ and some other genera — with the tissue of 

 the lamina transformed into sporangiferous receptacles, as, for ex- 

 ample, in AcrosticJiiini {Polylyotryd) apiifolittui — it ^vould be en- 

 titled to recognition, but no such fern has as yet been recorded 

 from Florida.' 



