24 



POLYPODIACEAE 



1. Adiantum pedatum aleuticum Rupr. 

 \\ estern ^laiden-hair. Fig. 44. 



Adiantum pedatum aleuticum Rupr. Beitr. Pflanzenk. Russ. Reich. 

 3: 49. 1845. 



Adiantum pedatum rangiferiiuim Burgess, Proc. Roy. Soc. Can- 

 ada 4-': 11. 1887. 



Rhizome thickish, short-creeping or oblique, densely 

 paleaceous ; scales rich brown, lance-oblong to deltoid- 

 ovate, acuminate, entire. Fronds close, erect, 25-100 

 cm. long; stipes stout, castaneous to dark brown, much 

 longer than the blades, chaffy at the base ; blades usually 

 reniform-orbicular, 12-50 cm. broad; pinnae 5-14, some- 

 what pedately arranged, arising from the outer side of 

 2 equal branches surmounting the stipe, pinnate, the 

 larger (middle) ones 12-40 cm. long, 2-5 cm. broad; 

 pinnules close, spreading to very oblique, short-stalked, 

 mostly oblong to deltoid-oblong, the lower margin en- 

 tire, the upper deeply and often unequally cleft; sori 

 linear to oblong-lunate, solitary on the truncate lobes. 



Cliffs and rich rocky or swampy woods, Canadian and Humid 

 Transition Zones; Alaska to the mountains of southern Califor- 

 nia (San Bernardino County), and along the Rocky Mountains to 

 Utah; also in the Gaspe region, Quebec. Type locality: Aleutian 

 Islands, Alaska. Apparently passing gradually into the common 

 typical form of eastern North America. 



2. Adiantum jordani C. ^^liill. 

 California INIaiden-hair. Fig. 45. 



Adiantum cmarginatum D. C. Eaton, Ferns N. Am. 1: 285. t?l. 



38. f. 1-3. 1879, not Bory, 1810. 

 Adiantum jordani C. MiiU. Bot. Zeit. 1864: 26. pi. 1. /. 1. 1864. 



Rhizome creeping, slender, rather densely paleaceous ; 

 scales large, rigid, oblique, dark brown, lance-attenuate, 

 entire. Fronds several, rather close, mostly erect, 20-50 

 cm. long, the stipes nearly as long as the blades, dark 

 brown ; blades ovate to deltoid-ovate, 12-30 cm. long. 

 8-15 cm. broad, 2-3-pinnate at the base, simply pinnate 

 at the apex; pinnae oblique-spreading, stalked; pinnules 

 long-stalked, roundish to transversely oval or semi- 

 circular, 8-30 mm. broad, entire below, the outer edge 

 shallowly 2-5-lobed, sharply denticulate if sterile, the 

 numerous veinlets terminating the whitish teeth ; sori 

 linear, straight or usually arcuate. 



Rocky cafions. Transition Zone; principally at low elevations 

 in the coast ranges of California, from San Diego County north- 

 ward to southwestern Oregon; rare in the Sierra Nevada of 

 central California. Type locality: Ukiah, California. 



3. Adiantum capillus-veneris L. 



\'enus-hair Fern. 



Fig. 46. 



Adiantum capillus-veneris L. Sp. PI. 1096. 1753. 



Adiantum modcstum Underw. Bull. Torrey Club 28: 46. 1901. 



Rhizome creeping, cordlike, laxly paleaceous; scales 



small, thin, light brown, lance-linear, attenuate, entire. 



Fronds often spaced, laxly ascending or pendent, 20-70 



cm. long, the slender purplish-black stipes as long as the 



blades, or shorter ; blades usually ovate or lance-ovate, 



12-40 cm. long, 8-22 cm. broad, 2-3-pinnate at the base, 



gradually simpler above ; pinnae laxly spreading, 



stalked ; pinnules stalked, obovate to rhombic or 



obliquely oblong, 5-30 mm. long, narrowly to broadly 



cuneate, the outer edge deeply lobed or incised, the 



margins (if sterile) denticulate, the teeth acutish to 



long-acuminate; sori solitary on the lobes, mostly 



oblong-lunate. 



Shaded banks, sinkholes, and rocky ravines. Upper and Lower 

 Sonoran Zones; Virginia to Florida, west to Missouri, Utah, 

 southern California, and the Mexican Border region; warm- 

 temperate or subtropical regions of both hemispheres. Type 

 locality, European. Extremely variable according to range, 

 moisture, and degree of fertility. 



