﻿Underwood : The ternate Species of Botrychium 533 



lamina of Brown's type being only 8 cm. wide by 6 cm. high ; the 

 others are somewhat larger, especially a specimen in the Kew 

 Herbarium from New Zealand which measures ly by 12 cm. 

 The plants are fleshy and in texture approach some of the Ameri- 

 can species of the group more nearly than the Japanese B. tenia- 

 turn ; the segments, however, are very different and the characters 

 are sufficient to keep the species distinct. There are nine sheets 

 of this species in the Kew Herbarium with a distribution from Aus- 

 tralia to Tasmania and New Zealand. A second New Zealand 

 species will be noted below under B. biformc Colenso. 



6. Botrychium obliquum Miihl. ; Willd. Sp. PL 5: 63. 18 10. 



This species, the most common in the eastern portion of 

 America, was sent by Muhlenberg, under the above name, to 

 Willdenow who published it as follows : 



" B. scapo inferne unifrondoso, fronde subbiternato, foliolis oblongo-lanceolatis ser- 

 rulatis basi inaequaliter cordatis. W. 



" Botrychium obliquum. Muhlenberg in litt. 



" Schiefe Mondraute. W. 



" Habitat in Pennsylvania, (v. s. ) 



" Scapus quinquepollicaris basin versus unifrondosus. Frons irregulariter biternata. 

 Foliola semipollicaria oblongo-lanceolata serrulata basi dilatata cordata valde inaequalia. 

 Spicae bipinnatae. W." 



Seventeen years later Sprengel, whose knowledge of the Ameri- 

 can species was based on very insufficient data, after redescribing 

 B.fumariae {B. bitematuni) added "B. obliquum Miihlenb. W. est 

 junior planta" — a statement the more remarkable when we know 

 the relative size of the two species ! The type of this species is in 

 Willderuow's herbarium at Berlin and consists of a small rootless 

 specimen of the familiar eastern plant with the sterile lamina only 

 5.5 x4 cm.; larger specimens from Muhlenberg also exist in 

 the Kew Herbarium so that there is no doubt of the type of the 

 species. It has the widest range of any of our species extending 

 from Canada to Mexico, but is rare west of the Mississippi River. 

 A thin leaved southern form which ranges from Florida to Texas 

 may be worthy of varietal rank at least. The exact relations 

 of Eaton's "sub-var. intermedium" to this species are also difficult 

 to discover and will possibly involve cultivation to elucidate re- 

 lationship ; much doubtless depends on age and environment. 



