30 



ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE HART'S=TONQUE 

 IN AHERICA.* 



Bv WILLIAM R. MAXON. 



The following account comprises chiefly an historical narrative 

 of the discovery of the American stations for the Hart's-tongue, t 

 I'hyllitis Scolopendrium (L. ) Newm., \ with descriptions of habitat, 

 especial mention being made of the natural conditions which appear 

 to determine a suitable environment for the fern. Attention has 

 been given also to the question of the fern's former distribution, 

 and an attempt made to determine the principal causes that have 

 operated to effect the peculiarly limited distribution of the present. 



I shall discuss the American stations substantially in the order 

 of their discovery. Considerable care has been exercised in sup- 

 plying in full and verifying all available references bearing directly 

 upon the subject. The central New York stations are the only 

 ones w r ith which I am personally familiar. These I have frequently 

 visited at various times from 1895 to 1898, while living at Oneida 

 and Syracuse, N. Y. To the several correspondents, mentioned 

 later, who have generously furnished data, largely the result of 

 personal observation, I would extend my sincere thanks. || 



CENTRAL NEW YORK STATIONS. 



In central New York the Hart's-tongue has been found grow- 

 ing in four separate localities : (a) Geddes ; (b) Chittenango Falls ; 

 (c) Jamesville ; (d) Perryville. The range of territory covered is 

 comparatively small, and the stations are separated by short dis- 

 tances only. Each station is entirely distinct, however, and scat- 

 tering plants seem not to occur in the intervening- territority. 



* Published by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 

 tThe term is applied here only to the species Scolopendrium. 

 \ Principal synonomy : 



Asplenium Scolopendrium L. Sp. PI. 1078. 1753. 



Scolopendrium vulgare J. E. Smith, in Mem. Acad. Tur 5: 421. 1793. 



Scolopendrium officinarum Sw. in Schrad. Journ. Hot. 2- Part 2, 61. 



(1800) 1801. 



Phyllitis Scolopendrium (L.) Newm. Hist. Brit. Ferns, Ed 2. 271. 1854. 

 Scolopendrium Scolopendrium (i,.) Karst. Deutsch. Fl. Ed. i. 278. 1880-83. 

 II A large part of the present paper is extracted from aa unpublished thesis 

 by the writer presented to the faculty of Syracuse University, June, 1898, en- 

 titled : " A Contribution to the Biology of the Hart's-tongue Fern." 



