10 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



are quite unknown to science, are scarcely to be expected from 

 this region. 



Future additions to our list of fern species are likely to 

 come almost entirely from the Southern and South-western 

 States and to consist not of new species but of species from 

 further south which have reached our region by wind-blown 

 spores. Several such have, within recent years, been reported 

 from southern Florida and the possibilities for other finds is 

 believed to be still good. The fem here illustrated, however, 

 does not belong to this category, but appears to be absolutely 

 new to science. Moreover it belongs to a section of its family 

 that is far from common, for in the great Asplenmin alliance, 

 while there are species with both simple and compound fronds, 

 the plants with simple fronds are greatly in the minority and 

 those with pinnatifid fronds, similar to our specimen are sel- 

 dom found at all. The only other pinnatifid spleenwort in 

 North America is the rare Aspleniiun pinnatifidnin. The new 

 plant was discovered in Arizona not far from Fort Huachuca, 

 in the autumn of 1907 by Mr. James H. Ferriss for whom it 

 was named in the January Fern Bulletin. Only a small 

 colony was found in a little-frequented canyon and so far as 

 known this is the only station for it. It is likely, however, that 

 the same plant may be discovered in Northern Mexico, when 

 that part of the world comes to be thoroughly known, botani- 

 cally. 



RELATIVES OF THE MUSHROOM. 



THE mushrooms and toadstools, although the most con- 

 spicuous of the higher type of fungi, are not the only 

 representatives of the group in America. There are many 

 curious forms in field and wood rather closely related to them, 

 but which none but the student of such things would think of 

 placing in the same category. They are familiar objects to the 

 saunterer although he is usually unable to name them, for as 



