Eaton : Pteridophytes observed in Florida 475 



. ASPLENIUM SERRATUM L. 



This fine fern was first shown to me by Dr. Small in Snapper 

 hammock, about ten miles below Miami. Subsequently I found 

 it at Costello's and Ross's hammocks in the Homestead region, 

 and at Breckell hammock near Miami. At Costello's there were 

 but few plants, but at the other places they were abundant, grow- 

 ing on the ground, prostrate logs, and even on the bases of the 

 trees. The caudices are short, erect, felted by the many roots, 

 the fronds ascending or somewhat drooping at the tips. Their 

 color is dark, glossy green. It grows in rather low places in the 

 hammock, but not where swampy, and is subject to thorough 

 drying out in the winter. It was abundant in Fahkahatchie 

 cypress, Lee County, in a hammock of live-oak, growing on tree 

 trunks, decaying logs and cypress knees down to the high-water 

 mark. At the last locality there were a kw plants with the 

 margin of the frond above the middle irregularly incised, some- 

 times half way to the midrib. This may be characterized as forma 



mcisum. 



ASPLENIUM VERECUNDUM Chapm. 



This was the most delicately beautiful of all the ferns found on 

 the trip. It was first seen at Costello's hammock, but was sub- 

 sequently found in several other hammocks in the vicinity, and on 

 the face of the bluff and in adjoining woods near the Punch-bowl 

 in Breckell hammock. It usually grows on the sides of the lime- 

 sinks, but often in irregularities of the rock, in the more humid 

 places, as for instance near the large sinks. Near the sea at the 

 Punch-bowl it grew on detached boulders or the bare rock. 



The well -like sinks, often six to ten feet deep, round as if shaped 

 by man, form a peculiarly fitting home for this fern, and often the 

 sides are lined with it to a depth of several feet. The large, older 

 fronds appear to be dark-green, while the young ones, being thin 

 and delicate, catch and reflect the light as do some cave mosses, 

 appearing as a delicate silvery mesh over the dark background. 

 In texture and cutting they are strikingly like some filmy ferns. 

 The water at the bottom of the well keeps the air humid, a condi- 

 tion apparently necessary for the fern. The stipes are very short, 



m 



