148 Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 



approximate (the lowermost 1 or 2 pairs farther apart), ascending, often 

 falcate and somewhat involute in drying, narrowly deltoid, or the short- 

 stalked lower ones rather broadly deltoid and strongly inequilateral 

 (broader on the lower side); rachises and whole lower surfaces of the 

 pinnae densely paleaceous, the scales widely imbricate, extending beyond 

 the margin of the pinnules and entirely concealing the thick, roundish or 

 irregularly oval ultimate segments beneath, the segments glabrous above; 

 scales pale castaneous with lighter borders and tips, or sometimes whitish 

 with a dark center, large, variable in outline (varying from exactly 

 cordate and acute to deltoid-cordate and acuminate or ovate-lanceolate 

 and long-acuminate or attenuate), lightly attached above the closed 

 sinus of the very deeply cordate base (the lobes overlapping), long-ciliate 

 at the base or upward to the middle, erose-denticulate toward the apex, 

 the cells irregular, with deeply sinuous partition walls; rachises of the 

 pinnae bearing few or numerous slender pale scales above and at the sides, 

 these recurved upon the upper side of the segments, together with the tips 

 and long cilia of some of the large under scales ; sporangia rather numerous, 

 borne within the deeply recurved semicircular border of the distal half or 

 two-thirds of the segment, the margin lightly crenate, nearly unmodified. 

 Leaf tissue dull to yellowish green, herbaceous, minutely papillose. 



Type in the United States National Herbarium, no. 51039, collected in 

 Surprise Canyon, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California, alti- 

 tude 1550 meters, April 13, 1891, by Frederick V. Coville and Frederick 

 Funston (no. 593), on the Death Valley Expedition of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. 



As stated above, the correctness of referring this plant of southern 

 California and near-by territory to C. myriophylla has been repeatedly 

 questioned. Eaton, acting apparently at the suggestion of his contribut- 

 ing correspondent, William Stout, at one time separated it in the herb- 

 arium as a new species and gave it a manuscript name, according to Mr. 

 C. A. Weatherby, who has examined the Eaton material at New Haven. 

 This disposition was entirely correct, notwithstanding the broad variation 

 it exhibits in shape, color, and ciliation of lamina scales. In relation to 

 C. Fendleri and C. Wootoni its most notable characters are the rigid, 

 thick, blackish or dark brown rhizome scales and the very deeply cordate 

 bases of the lamina scales, the latter so delicately attached above the closed 

 sinus as to rotate at touch and to be readily detached from the lamina. 

 The characters which distinguish it from other related species and from 

 a peculiar form described below as C. Covillei intertexta are indicated in 

 the key. 



The following additional specimens of Cheilanthes Covillei are in the 

 National Herbarium. 



California: Hills west of Big Pine, Inyo County, Heller 8261; Sur- 

 prise Canyon, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, alt. 1625 meters, 

 Coville & Funston 643 ; same locality, alt. 1560 meters, Coville & Funton 

 651; Slate Range, Inyo County, alt. 1150 meters, Coville & Funston 188; 

 near Willow Creek, Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, alt. 1950-2300 

 meters, Coville & Funston 777 ; east slope of the Panamint Mountains, 



