198 THE MARSILIAS. 



States. In reality it is an abundant plant in Louisiana, 

 at least, being common for more than two hundred miles 

 along the Mississippi. It probably occurs in moist 

 grounds throughout the State. In the city of New 

 Orleans it may be found along many roadside ditches, 

 and in one street that the author knows of it grows quite 

 across the street. 



In books devoted to the fern allies, all the dimensions 

 of the marsilias are rarely given. The length of the 

 petiole depends almost entirely upon the depth of the 

 water in which the plant grows, yet measurements of it 

 are usually included, while nothing is ordinarily said about 

 the length of the rootstock. In the present species the 

 author has found rootstocks more than a yard long, and 

 longer ones are probably common. Observations on this 

 point for all our species are much to be desired. 



In the size and shape of the leaf this species is almost 

 like Marsilia quadrifolia. The blade, however, is likely 

 to be sparsely hairy, even at maturity. The plant 

 requires a wet soil, but is probably as common out of 

 water as in it. It is often found, however, rooted in the 

 shallow water on the edges of the bayous and sending 

 long floating stems into deeper water. It bears fruit 

 only on the stunted plants in drier situations, so that 

 fruited herbarium specimens rarely indicate the beauty 

 of this plant at its best. 



The sporocarps are as big as peas and are borne singly 

 on peduncles half an inch to an inch or more long, which 

 appear to rise from the axils of the leaves. They are 

 sparingly clothed with pale -brown hairs, even when 

 ripe. The peduncle terminates in two rather conspicu- 

 ous teeth, the upper of which is usually hooked, from 

 which circumstance the plant derives its specific name. 



