178 MACOUN AND BURGESS ON 



woods or sandy woodlands. Sterile segment usually long petioled from near the base of 

 the plant, evergreen, triangular or pentagonal in outline, ternate with the primary divi- 

 sions stalked, as may also he the secondary or even the tertiary, and pinnately decom- 

 pound ; ultimate segments, varying from roundish-reniform to obliquely or broadly ovate, 

 entire, crenulate, or toothed; fertile segment long stalked, usually much taller than the 

 sterile, and bi-quadripinnate ; bud pilose, with the apex of both segments bent down, 

 with a slight curve inward. 



This description includes the following varieties of Eaton's "Ferns of North America," 

 viz., Yar. lunaruAd.es, which is small and has the barren segment two to four times ternate, 

 and the ultimate segments distinct and roundish-reniform, (found only in South Carolina 

 and the G-ulf States) ; var. rutafolium, small, with only the lowest segments distinct, and 

 these obliquely-ovate, (in America found only in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and the 

 neighboring region) ; var. australe, which is large and much decompound, with the ulti- 

 mate segments broadly ovate or roundish rhomboid, (found chiefly along the Pacific coast) ; 

 and sub-var. intermedium, (B. lunarioides of Gray's Manual), similar but smaller and less de- 

 compound than australe (the common form through Canada, except in the extreme east and 

 west.) 



Var. obliquum, Milde, (B. obliquum, Muhl.), has the sterile segment with ovate-lanceolate 

 or lanceolate pinnatilid secondary or tertiary divisions, the terminal lobes of which are 

 long pointed, but the lower ones roundish or obliquely ovate, the margins crenulate or 

 toothed. 



Var. disseclum, Milde, (B. dissectum, Muhl.), has the divisions of the sterile segment com- 

 poundly and laciniately cut into small, narrow lobes and teeth, but is otherwise as in 

 the last. 



In some specimens collected by Prof Macoun in dry, rich woods at Fort William, Lake 

 Superior, Out., and referable to the sub-var. intermedium, the sterile segment springs from 

 about the middle of the plant, and is barely overtopped by the fertile. 



In its various forms this species has a very wide range, extending quite across our 

 territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific and far northward. The following are some of 

 the localities where it is recorded as found : Cape Porcupine ; Boylston, G-uysborough Co.; 

 Rawdon, Hants Co. ; and other places in Nova Scotia. — Rev. E. H. Ball. Bedford and 

 Windsor, N. S.; Rapide de Femnie, about six miles below Grand Falls, N. B., var. ruUcfo- 

 hum. — P. Jack. Rather common in New Brunswick. — Fowler. Quebec, Que. — Wm. Sheppard. 

 Three Rivers, Que. — Madagan. St. Joachim, Que. — Provancher. Richmond and Drummond 

 Cos., Que. — J. A. Bothwell. Waste places near Prescott Junction, Oat. — B. Billings. Ham- 

 ilton, Ont. — J. M. Buchan. Leamington and Blenheim, Out— Burgess. London, Out. — W. 

 Saunders. Ottawa, Out. ; New Westminster, B. C, both sub-var. intermedium and var. 

 australe. — J. Fletcher. Along the north shore of Lake Superior, at Nipigon Eiver, Red 

 Rock, Fort William, etc. ; frequent on the western prairies, especially toward the Sas- 

 katchewan ; a limestone mountain in Peace River Pass, Pocky Mountains, Lat. 56 3 . — Ma- 

 coun. Mouth of Rainy River, Lake of the Woods. — G. M. Dawson. Yar. obliquum seems 

 to occur much less commonly than the type. New Germany and Oaklands Lake, Mahone 

 Bay, N. S. — Rev. E. H. Ball. Dry, rich woods near A Hopyard, Belleville, and sandy soil, 

 Rice Lake Plains, Ont. — Macoun. London, Out. — W. Saunders. About Hudson Bay. 

 York Factory and on the " Height of Land," in the Rocky Mountains. — Drummond. Yar 



