Notes on Marsilea Villosa. 49 
The locality was not revisited until May of 1917, at which time 
the water had not entirely dried up. Many fruiting specimens were 
collected where the water had disappeared, particularly along the 
edge of a road, where the rhizomes were covered with a loose vol- 
canic ash. ‘The sporocarps were covered with rust-colored silky 
hairs, and in many specimens were hidden in the dense rust-colored 
wool of the rhizome. It is notable that practically all fruiting plants 
were found either at the edge of the water—not in it—or in places 
that had become dry early in the season (see P. XIV). Plants 
growing in deeper water generally wither up and die before pro- 
ducing sporocarps. The locality was visited several times during the 
latter part of 1918, and finally July 1, 1919, when a portion of the 
area was found to be full of rubbish and dry. Only a few fruiting 
plants and no living sterile plants were seen. 
Under culture in an aquarium, glabrous plants of Marsilea vil- 
losa behaved exactly as in nature, in respect to the development of 
pubescence, while the water was evaporating. All specimens expert- 
mented upon produced a vigorous vegetative growth, but died before 
producing sporocarps. 
Following Brackenridge’ it is my opinion that 7. villosa Kaulf. 
and M. vestita Hk. and Grev. are the same species. Differences in 
regard to the pubescence, length of petiole, and compactness of root- 
stalk of different herbarium specimens of these species are merely 
the result of environmental conditions at the time the specimens were 
collected. Differences in size and width of the leaves of different 
specimens are merely individual variations. 
It is probable that 7. villosa was brought from the West Coast 
of North America to Hawaii by natural means. 
* Brackenridge, Wm. D., op. cit. 
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