A List of the Ferns of Texas 
By B. F. Busy 
It is now twenty years since Davenport published his “ Distri- 
bution of ferns in the United States”? * in which he gives a very 
good idea of the distribution of the speciés then known. In this 
list he assigns to every state the species known to him to occur 
in it, and to the state of Texas accredits thirty-five species, one of 
which number proves to be a duplication, leaving but thirty-four 
members of this interesting group of plants then known to have 
been found in the state. 
During the twenty years that have passed since Davenport 
prepared his list, much interest has been taken in the study of 
ferns, and there has been great activity in collecting them, which 
has brought to light many species and varieties not previously 
known to occur in North America, and also a large number of 
newly described ones; and has added many to the known number 
in states but little explored. The state of Texas, by its immense 
area and its extremely diversified topography, with deep swamps 
in the east and the southeast, rich rocky woods in the northeast, 
wooded coasts in the south and southwest, and high mountains 
in the west and northwest, is adapted to a great variety of fern- 
life. On account of the vast territory embraced, which was not 
inhabited by white people or was but sparsely settled, the utter 
lack of railroads, the inaccessibility of various regions, and the 
small number of collectors in the state, little was known of its 
fern flora previous to 1860, and not very much when Mr. Daven- 
port prepared his list in 1883. 
But the later collections, especially those of Nealley in western 
Texas, of Jermy in southern Texas, and of Reverchon in eastern, 
western and central Texas, and my own in southern and southeastern 
Texas, have done much to increase our knowledge of the number 
and distribution of the ferns of the state, and critical study of sev- 
eral genera by Professor Underwood, Mrs. Britton and others has 
brought out additional species. 
* Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. 20: 605-612, 1883. 
343, 
