VARIATIONS IN THE COMMON 

 POLYPODY. 



T 



BY J. C. BUCHHEISTER. 



^O gain a complete knowl- 

 edge of any fern it is not 

 enough to collect and to study 

 the type onh'. Varieties and 

 forms are equally to be noted. 

 Variety hunting is not only a 

 logical and legitimate sequence 

 of the pursuit of species, but is 

 also full of scientific interest. 

 Whether some of such varieties 

 are to be elevated to the rank 

 species or not, has nothing to 

 do with the case. The "species 



makers" should not go to ex- 

 tremes, of course, but on the 

 other hand those, w^ho will 

 acknowledge nothing but the 

 t\^pe, are wrong also. 



Acting upon this conviction 

 I began this season an investi- 

 gation of the common poly- 

 pody- {Polypodium vulgare) 

 with the result, that I have 

 now a series of interesting 

 forms and varieties, the existence of which was unknown 

 to me, since I had contented myself with the collecting of 

 the t3^pe, and imagined that I knew all about this "com- 

 mon" fern. 



All ferns are inclined to fork and to sport otherwise, 

 and I have quite some experience in this line in regard to 

 the Christmas fern (Po/jstic7jt7m acrostichoides) and others 

 but I never knew of what our polypody is capable of until 

 I found such specimens as are here shown. Fronds slightly 

 crenate are frequent, but the form figured in No. 1 is dis- 

 tinctly lobed. Usually the fronds are large w^hile the stipe 

 is short. 



Fig. 1. 



