122 



THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 



FRUITING PINNAE. 



before they are unfolded. The grass seems strewn with 

 silver balls and as you reluctantly tread on them and 

 brush by them, the scent is delicious." 



Prof. Peck has described a variety fragrans of the 

 New York fern which is principally distinguished by 

 the odour, and later, Eaton made a variety suaveolens of 

 which he says, " Fronds narrower, slightly more rigid, 

 very sweet scented in drying, the under surface copiously 

 sprinkled with minute glands." This is apparently only 

 a form which, exposed to the sun, has made some slight 

 changes to adapt itself to the new conditions, as other 

 ferns are known to do. 



The fertile fronds are produced a little later than the 

 sterile and scarcely differ from them except that heavily 

 fruiting fronds are slightly taller and narrower. As in 

 all of the Aspidiums, the sori are round and covered with 

 a kidney-shaped indusium. In this species the indusium 

 is dotted with little glands and the sori are rather small 

 and borne in a double row on each pinnule near the 

 margin. 



Young collectors frequently mistake this for the marsh 

 fern, and indeed the early botanists were themselves in 

 some doubt about it. Several gave it the specific name of 

 thelypteroides because of its resemblance to Thelypteris,zr\d 

 others called it the variety Noveboracense of the latter. 

 The two, however, are very distinct. If it is remembered 

 that in Noveboracense the pinnae are always much 

 decreased toward the base of the frond, it will not be 



