58 



THE MOONWORT AND ITS ALLIES. 



take kindly to cultivation if taken up with plenty of 

 soil and, after replanting, left to themselves. They 

 resent any digging about their roots. 



The Little Grape Fern. 



The little grape fern (Botrychium simplex] is among 

 the rarest of our Botrychiums, Whether this is alone due 

 to its small size, or whether it really is rare in the south- 

 ern part of its range, we have scarcely 

 enough data to decide. It has been re- 

 ported from a few localities in Massachu- 

 setts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland and 

 Wyoming and appears to increase in num- 

 bers as we go northward. In Dodge's 

 " Ferns and Fern Allies of New England," 

 it is reported as " abundantly scattered 

 over Vermont, its habitat usually poor soil, 

 especially knolls of hill pastures." By oth- 

 ers the habitat is given as "moist woods, 

 meadows and swamps." 



Mature plants are usually less than three 

 inches high although luxuriant specimens 

 may reach twice that height. The plant 

 has a reputation for being extremely varia- 

 ble as may be judged from this description 

 taken from a recent botanical work. " Ster- 

 ile portion ovate, obovate or oblong, entire, 

 lobed or pinnately parted, borne near the 

 - ^ ase f ^e stem or higher, sometimes above 

 t ^ G middle; fertile portion a simple or slightly 

 compound spike, sometimes reduced to only a few sporan- 

 gia. Spores large for the genus." Six varieties have been 

 described but it is not difficult to select a complete suite 



VERN E S/ 

 ium S i m pi ex . 



