Proceedings of the Club 



Tuesday Evening, Dec. 12, 1899 



President Brown in the chair, 33 persons present. Two new 

 members were elected. Dr. D. T. MacDougal, Botanical Garden, 

 N. Y., and Miss Anna F. Thompson, Summit, N. J. 



The scientific program was opened by a paper by Dr. L. M. 

 Underwood, " On the Genera of the Schizaeaceae." 



Dr. Underwood explained the peculiar characters of the spor- 

 angium by which the Schizaeaceae are distinguished, illustrating 

 with figures, and then sketching the history of the order. Linnaeus 

 put its species under Acrostichiun and Osmunda ; Richard was 

 the first to begin segregation, erecting in 1792, the genus Lophidium. 

 In 1793, Schizaea was founded by Smith on a South African 

 plant common through the Transvaal region, quite similar to 

 our own species of New Jersey. Wallich founded another genus, 

 Actinostachys, in 1822, on an East Indian form. Dr. Underwood 

 considered these three genera to be valid, though recent German 

 systematists, as Prantl, have not recognized them. 



Swartz constituted another genus in 1 800, Mohria, from Cape 

 Colony, of which only one species is known. Lygodium, our 

 best known genus, was established by Swartz in 1800, and in- 

 cludes one well-known Atlantic species, L. palmatmn, the Climb- 

 ing-fern. 



Several other genera, as Anemia and Trochopteris y were dis- 

 cussed, with remarks on principal species. About 90 species of 

 the order have Been published, largely American and tropical, 

 especially the abundant Brazilian forms of Anemia and allies. 



Professor Lloyd suggested the interest attaching to Trochopteris 

 as possibly a very primitive form. 



Dr. Underwood said it is sparsely represented from Brazilian 

 collections, perhaps because of its small size and habit of growth 

 close to the ground, the largest specimen known being only 

 three inches in diameter. 



The second paper was by Dr. D. T. MacDougal, " Studies on 

 Hexalectris." This rare Southern orchid is of great interest on 



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