164 MAGOUN AND BTJEGESS ON 



sou's list is thus curtailed, have been increased to sixty-four. Of the seventeen additions 

 we are indebted to British Columbia, at the time of the publication of the synopsis almost 

 a terra incognita as regards its floral treasures, for no less than nine, viz., Polypodium 

 Scouleri, Polypodium falcatum, Gymnogramme triangularis, Cheilanthes gracillima, Pelhcn 

 densa, Lomaria spicant, Phegopteris alpestris, Aspidium rigid inn, and Aspidium munitum ; 

 three, Cheilanthes lanuginosa, Woodsia Oregana and Woodsia scopulina are common to 

 British Columbia and the Northwest Territory ; three, Cystopteris montana, Botrychium 

 matricariafolium and Botrychium lanceolatum, range from Nova Scotia to Lake Superior 

 and north-westward ; and two are furnished by the elevation to the rank of species, as Aspi- 

 dium Boot/ ii and Botrychium simplex, of plants recognized by Professor Lawson as varieties. 



The total of known species of Filices and Ophioglossacece in the world at the present 

 day is estimated to be about 3,000, of which the great bulk is tropical, and of 

 this number the North American continent, north of the Mexican boundary, can claim 

 to date only 166. Now, when we consider that nearly 100 of these are natives 

 of the extreme Southern and South-western States, it will be seen that our working botan- 

 ists have not been idle, and that Canada, considering the boreal nature of her climate, 

 compares most favourably with the neighboring republic in the number of her ferns. To 

 convey some idea of the distribution of our species, two tables have been prepared, the 

 one showing their general range, the other their allotment as regards Canada. 



Table I is based on Mr. Redfield's division (Torrey Bulletin, January, 1875,) of North 

 American species into six great classes, viz : — 



" I. Cosmopolitan. — Widely distributed over the globe in both temperate and tropical 

 regions. 



II. Boreal. — Inhabiting (with a few exceptions) the northern portion of the United 

 States, extending through Canada and British America, some species even reaching Labra- 

 dor, Greenland and Alaska, and nearly all represented also in the northern portions of 

 the Old World. 



III. Appalachian. — Extending throughout the mountain and hilly region of the States 

 east of the Mississippi, often to the coast, and northward into Canada, and in a few in- 

 stances also inhabiting the Old World. 



IV. Pacific. — Extending along the western border of the continent at points from 

 Alaska to California, in a few cases appearing also in the Rocky Mountain region. 



V. New Mexican. — Inhabiting the central mountain regions of New Mexico and Col- 

 orado, many of the species extending thence into Mexico, and some even to South Amer- 

 ica, and a few of them also occurring in California. 



VI. Tropical. — Inhabiting the border of the Gulf of Mexico, most of the species ex- 

 tending into the West Indies and tropical America." 



The sixth class, of course, does not concern us, and is only introduced to show the 

 distribution in its entirety, while the fifth presents the solitary and anomalous Cheilanthes 

 lanuginosa which, properly New Mexican in its range, extending in the United States 

 from Illinois to Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, unaccountably reappears in British 

 Columbia and on the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. The additional class intro- 

 duced shows which of the species are peculiar to the North American continent. 



