142 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [august 



that the only modified epidermal structure of the cotyledon is the mul- 

 ticellular glandular hair (represented by \ny fig. 8), while I found all 

 those shown in u\y figs. 4-g. He did not examine the hypocotyl. 



By consideration of his results Mr. Preston builds up a theory of 

 the phylogeny of these trichoma structures which at once falls to the 

 ground in view of the results reached by me. It seems scarcely worth 

 while to propound theories of phylogeny based on a few observations 

 on a single species. I think also that the theory of the above named 

 writer to account for the lobing of the cotyledons is of no great value. 

 He suggests that the lobing of the foliage leaf is ''thrown back" upon 

 the cotyledon. This assumes firstly that "throwing back" can actually 

 occur, while as a matter of fact it yet remains to be proven ; and sec- 

 ondly that the cotyledons are homologous with leaves, something which 

 also remains unproven. The suggestion^ concerning the morphology 

 of the cotyledon made at the recent Chicago meeting of botanists of 

 the central states seems more reasonable than the one which would 

 consider the cotyledon as really a leaf, — Francis Ramaley, University 

 of Colorado, 



TWO FERN MONSTROSITIES. 



(with five figures) 



During the summer of 1900 two remarkable fern monstrosities were 

 found on the Eaurel ridge, in northern West Virginia. Aspleniumpin- 

 natifidum Nutt. was found on a spot on the north side of the rocky 

 canon of Decker's creek, at an altitude of about 1400 feet. There were 

 not a dozen plants, all told, and none of them were quite normal. The 

 species is abundant and typical four miles to the north, across the 

 Cheat. The three accompanying figures illustrate the variability of 

 the Decker's creek material, and will describe the fronds better than 

 words can do. Individual fronds on most, but not on all, of the plants 

 were typical, and insure the determination. Fruiting fronds had nor- 

 mal sori. There were no rooting tips. The region is rather rich m 

 ferns, but I could not find Camptosorus in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood. The ''Aspleniuin ebenoides'' described by C. E. Waters in Fern 

 Bulletin of January 1902, with three different fronds on one plant, is 

 remarkably like this monstrosity. 



3 Lyon, FIarold L., The phylogeny of the cotyledon. To be published in Postehta^ 

 Annual of the Minnesota Seaside Station, season of 189 1. 



