602 Underwood: American ferns 



otic a proceeding as to break off the upper half of a compound 

 leaf of ash or hickory or sumac and expect a botanist to describe 

 a species from this fragment only. And yet a very large num- 

 ber of fern species have been described from just such fragments 

 and their types are often of such a character that after real per- 

 sonal field work in the type locality of a given species, it is 

 only with the greatest uncertainty that we can recognize the ele- 

 gant and complete specimens of modern collecting as the same as 

 these old fragments, especially after they have been handled for 

 two or three generations. " We have a series of these fragments 

 from Jamaica and elsewhere that are now in doubt and will very 

 likely remain in this condition to the end of time. One hesitates 

 to throw away an imperfect specimen after it has once been 

 mounted in a collection, but it might be better except, of course, 

 in the case of old types to commit them to the flames and save 

 succeeding generations from wasting gray matter on them. 



2. Fe tidier I2i y from Trinidad (distributed by Professor D. C. 

 Eaton as Acrostichwn sorbifoliuni), probably represents a distinct 

 species. We had long supposed that this represented Lomaria 

 longifolia, 2l species described by Kaulfuss in 1824, citing: (1) 

 Willdenow's -description of Acrostichurn sorbifolium (Sp. PI. 5 : 

 1 1 5, excl sjyn.) f and (2) a figure of a separate pinna by Plumier on 

 plate 117 (the type of Acrostichurn sorbifolium L.). An exami- 

 nation of Willdenow's herbarium shows that he had under this 

 species a plant with elongate pinnae, which seems to differ in no 



nary Stenochlacna sorbifolia 



Martin 



and Guadeloupe, as well as in those of Sherring from Grenada, and 

 among those of Lloyd from Dominica. 



The Trinidad plants differ more widely (1) in the vestiture of 

 the bases of the leaf-stalks and the rootstocks, the scales being 

 densely long-hairy and ciliate, while they are smooth in S. sorbi- 



folia 



characters ; 



(3) in the closeness of the venation, there being 1 1-12 intercostal 

 spaces to 1 cm. (instead of 7-9 as in 5. sorbifolia) ; and in various 

 other characters. Unless further information appears, Lomaria 

 longifolia Kaulf. will become a synonym of 5. sorbifolia, but the 

 Trinidad plants may come to be recognized as a distinct species 

 of Stenochlacna. 



