255 



formation and to indicate the directions in which future observations may 

 be made useful if accompanied by vouchers that will enable one to verify 

 the accuracy of the information at any future time. 



The fern flora of Indiana seems meagre to one familiar with the profu- 

 sion that is manifested in many other parts of the country. For ferns to 

 flourish there must be more uniformity of moisture, and less irregularity 

 of season than have been manifested in this state in recent years. A cli- 

 mate interrupted by long periods of drought, swamps that lose their water 

 during summer, a soil that is constantly being gullied by rains that flow 

 away quickly from the surface, or areas that are likely to be covered by 

 the alluvium of rivers at times of high water— these are not the condi- 

 tions under which ferns reach a high state of development in either luxu- 

 riance or variety. The ravines along the streams where some moisture is 

 always present, furnish the richest stations were ferns may be found 

 within our limits ; permanent swamps will also furnish their quota but the . 

 variety is there less than the profusion of certain species. 



There are just 50 species of Pteridophytes that now stand on the state 

 list either verified or with moTe or less probability of verification. Of 

 these, thirty-three are members of the order Filices, and the remaining 

 seventeen are distributed among the five related orders. Of the fifty spe- 

 cies, we have verified, either by consultation of accessible herbaria or by 

 personal collection during the past season, all but ten, as follows : Onoclea 

 Struthiopteris, Phegopteris dryopteris, Cheilanthes vestita, Equisetum syl- 

 vaticum, E. laevigatum, E. robustum, E. variegatum, Lycopodium ob- 

 scurum, L. inundatum, and Selaginella rupestris. 



Certain species have been credited to the state that were based on errors 

 of determination. Among these Dryopteris Filixmas (Aspidium) is most 

 prominent ; this has been variously confused with D. Noveboracensis and 

 especialy with D. spinulosa. Its range from Lake Superior northward 

 precludes its being found in Indiana. Phegopteris polypodioides was as- 

 serted by one correspondent to be found in Jefierson county and he rein- 

 forced his statement by the announcement that the plant had been de- 

 termined at Cambridge. On sending for the plant I found it to be only a 

 young plant of P. hexagonoptera, and not a very complete specimen at 

 that. Lycopodium Selago was reported by two collectors from Putnam 

 county, but the plant growing there is L. lucidulum, of which the rock 

 forms bear a more or less striking resemblance to that alpine species. Bo- 

 trychium lunaria as printed in the list of plants of Dearborn county was a 



