BENEDICT: GENERA OF THE FERN TRIBE VITTARIEAE 155 
S. National Museum, to Mr. E. D. Merrill of the Bureau of 
Science, at Manila, and to Dr. E. B. Copeland of the College of 
Agriculture of the University of the Philippines. I am also in- 
debted to Dr. H. Christ of Basel for several favors in the way 
of loans of material, and to Prince Roland Bonaparte of Paris for 
a specimen and photographs of the type material of Hecistopteris 
Werckleana Christ. 
Opportunity has been had to observe living material of several 
species grown in the conservatory of the New York Botanical 
Garden. Lastly I have had formalin and alcoholic material of a 
few species, collected in the field through the kindness of Mr. R. =e 
Williams of the New York Botanical Garden, and of Mr. E. D. 
Merrill and Dr. C. B. Robinson of the Bureau of Science at 
Manila. 
Professor Carlton C. Curtis of Columbia University, and Dr. 
Marshall A. Howe of the New York Botanical Garden have aided 
me by reading manuscript and my thanks are due them for their 
help. 
In the succeeding pages, the matter is presented under the 
following headings: 
Tribal characters. 
II. Genera. 
III. Ontogenetic stages. 
IV. General considerations. 
Summary. 
Plates. 
L: FRIBAL- CHARACTERS 
(PLATE 2, etc.) 
Reference has already been made in a general way to some 
of the tribal characters of the Vittarieae. These must now be 
set down in detail before any comparative study of the genera 
will be profitable. It should be noted that the tribe is to be 
distinguished from others by no one of the characters alone, the 
specialized epidermal idioblasts alone perhaps excepted, but de- 
pends rather for its separation upon the agreement which the 
included species show as regards several characters. 
