Nov., 1904.] Notes on the Ohio Ferns. 205 



NOTES ON THE OHIO FERNS. 



W. A. Kellerman and H. A. Gleason. 



Of the eighty-three species and varieties of ferns included in 

 the flora of the north-eastern United States forty-three are known 

 definitely to occur in Ohio and are represented by specimens in 

 the State Herbarium. Some of the forms are quite rare, and a 

 few of them are very limited so far as their distribution in the 

 State is now known. It is with the hope of increasing the State 

 collection and extending our knowledge of these interesting plants 

 that special attention is called to this subject. Critical inspec- 

 tion of the list appended below is also solicited. Possibly interest 

 and convenience may be enhanced by the publication of a State 

 Fern Florula, with notes on characters and distribution, figures 

 illustrating venation, fructications, and such taxonomic chaiac- 

 ters as beginners, amateurs and students might appieciate. Par- 

 tial material for such a brochure is at hand but we would much 

 desire for examination a fuller set of specimens from the various 

 counties of the State. Can not every teacher of Botany in Ohio 

 and every one interested in our fern flora assist by sending 

 specimens ? 



The Fourth State Catalogue, published in 1899, lists forty- 

 nine species of ferns, and a fiftieth is mentioned in the appendix, 

 but not fully authenticated. Since its publication three others 

 have been reported, and a fourth is added in this paper, bringing 

 the total number of ferns reported from the State to fiftv-four. 

 Of these eleven must be excluded from the list, as they are not 

 authenticated by herbarium specimens. These are the following. 



Species to be Excluded from the Ohio List. 



!■ Ophioglossum engelmanni Prantl. The specimens from 

 Painesville, Lake County, labeled as this species in the herbarium, 

 and upon which the publication of the species as a member of the 

 Ohio flora was based, do not differ in any essential respect from 

 Ophioglossum vulgatum L. The range given in Britton's Manual 

 for 0. engelmanni is Virginia and Indiana to Missouri, Texas, 

 and Arizona. It is thus southern in its distribution, with a range 

 about like that of Polypodium polypodioides (L.) A. S. Hitch- 

 cock, and may therefore yet be found in some of the counties 

 along the Ohio river. 



Botrychium simplex E. Hitchcock. Included in the Fourth 

 State Catalogue on the authority of the Newberry Catalogue, in 

 which it was reported from Lorain county by Dr. Kellogg. Its 

 range according to Underwood in Britton's Illustrated Flora is 

 from Prince Edward's Island to Maryland, Wyoming, and 

 California. 



