Only after a rainfall does the resurrection fern expand its leaves and become green and as con 

 spicuous as it appears on the prostrate log in the foreground. At other times the numerous leaves an- 

 curled up and shriveled, exposing only gray, scaly, lower surfaces, and the plant appears as a dead 

 mass attached to the trunks of trees or lying on the branches. The spore cases are set in pocket like 

 depressions on the lower side of the leaf blade, thus helping to retain the spores during alternate ex 

 panding and shrinking of the leaves. 



In the moist soil of the bottom of the sink are several plants of the leather fern. These remain 

 fresh and green throughout the year, and sometimes attain a height of ten feet. The numerous spores 

 and spore cases complet(»ly cover the lower surface of some of the le,-iflets willi a red or lirown feltlike 

 coating 



Ferns of Tropical Florida' 



]W .1 ( ) Jl N K r X K ELS y\ A L L 



Head Curator of the Museum and Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden 



THE fern flora of tropical Florida 

 is exceedingly rich. The num- 

 ber of ferns and fern allies in 

 this region is quite remarkable when 

 we consider tliat the area involved com- 

 prises only a few hundred square miles, 

 a mere fraction of the state's large area. 

 Although variety in soil and other 

 ])hysical features is slight, this area 

 barbors more than fifty per cent of the 

 fern flora of Florida. An overwhelming 

 majority of the species are typically 



tropical American. In addition to 

 these, there are several cosmopolitan 

 and a few endemic ferns. Nearly one 

 third of the species are epiphytic, liv- 

 ing on the moisture of the air onlv, 

 while anchored on trees or on pros- 

 trate logs. This condition doubtles.< 

 makes up to some extent for the lack 

 of variety in topography, climate, and 

 soil. 



Tropical Florida, as here understood, 

 consists of two definite areas composed 



' Written as preface for a new handbook on the ferns and fern allies of tropical Florida, now in 

 preparation by Dr. Small. The illustrations are from photographs by the Author 



